When you have another "not again!" moment during cooking or baking, don't you wish there was a genius standing right next to you to tell you how to fix it? Well, I found this genius on yahoo.com this week, taken from the Rachel Ray Magazine. Here are answers to the 12 most asked cooking questions - see if you haven't asked one or two of these:

QUESTION 1: Does meat really need to rest before I slice and serve it?

The Pros Answer: You should. When meat is hot, its proteins are tight, and all the juices get pushed to the middle. Letting the meat rest for a few minutes allows the proteins to relax (which makes it more tender) and evenly distributes the juices. Resting time depends on meat size: A whole turkey might need 20 minutes, while a steak that serves two will only need 8 to 10 minutes. If you're worried about it getting cold during that time, keep it warm by loosely tenting it with foil.

QUESTION 2: Do bone-in chicken breasts taste better than boneless?

The Pros Answer: It's true! Any meat that's cooked on the bone is going to be juicier and more flavorful. But there's a catch: Bone-in cuts of meat can take twice as long as boneless to cook. So if you're crunched for time during the busy week, boneless chicken and chops are the smart choices.

QUESTION 3: Recipes often advise reserving some pasta cooking water to use in the sauce. Won't regular water work as well?

The Pros Answer: Not really. The cooking water has starch in it from the pasta. When you add it to sauce, the sauce thickens and clings better to the pasta. To reserve some, use a ladle or dunk a glass measuring cup in the pot before you strain the pasta. Mix it into your sauce a few tablespoons at a time until you're happy with the consistency.

QUESTION 4: If I can't find Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at my grocery store, what other cheeses can I use instead?

The Pros Answer: You can use another hard, aged cheese that's good for grating. Grana padano is a great substitute, and is cheaper, milder and melts a bit easier than parmigiano-reggiano. Asiago, which is sharp yet buttery; and pecorino-romano, which has a more pungent flavor is also a good choice. And if you see Parmesan cheese in your grocery store, make sure the word "reggiano" is on the label - this means it's an authentic Italian cheese (otherwise, it's imitation, and nowhere near as delicious!).

QUESTION 5: Is it true that most home cooks only need a few knives. What should I buy?

The Pros Answer: The single most important one is a chef's knife (between 8 and 12 inches long). It'll be your workhorse: Use it to chop onions, smash garlic, halve melons...you name it. Next is a serrated knife, which uses a sawing motion to cut through delicate foods like tomatoes and bread without smashing them. Last, get a paring knife for all those handheld tasks (hulling strawberries and taking eyes out of potatoes).

QUESTION 6: My market's hit or miss with fresh herbs. What's a good rule of thumb for using dried instead of fresh?

The Pros Answer: In general, use one-third the amount of dried herbs to replace chopped fresh. So if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, use 1 teaspoon dried. The most flavor is released by adding dried herbs toward the beginning of cooking. BUT: Cilantro, basil and parsley are tender and delicate; they lose flavor when dried. If you don't have fresh on hand, just omit them; add more salt and pepper for flavor.

QUESTION 7: Why does my meat always sticks to the pan when I try to sear it? What am I doing wrong?

The Pros Answer: Chances are you're not letting your pan get hot enough, so your meat isn't caramelizing- which means it's sticking to the pan because it's not getting a golden-brown crust. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat for at least five minutes. (Don't use a nonstick pan for this purpose; because it has a special coating, it shouldn't be preheated when empty.) Then add oil; as soon as it starts to shimmer, add your meat in batches (to avoid overcrowding the pan). It'll be tempting to move the meat around or lift it to see how it's doing, but the secret to a nice sear is to leave it undisturbed for at least two minutes per side.

QUESTION 8: I hate onions! Can I just leave them out when cooking, or is there something else I can use that will give me the same texture?

The Pros Answer: If onion is the main ingredient in a dish-an onion tart, for example-I wouldn't bother making the recipe, because there isn't another ingredient that comes close to the exact taste and texture of an onion. But if you're cooking something like chili, where onion is used as an aromatic-the backbone or base flavoring of a dish-you can saute other aromatics instead, such as celery, fennel, carrots or garlic.

QUESTION 9: Can I leave wine out of a recipe?

The Pros Answer: Yes, you can just use the same amount of whatever other liquid the recipe calls for. If you're making risotto, for example, add more chicken broth or water. If there aren't other liquids in the dish, replace the alcohol with a splash of something acidic, like lemon juice or cider vinegar. (If there's cream in the recipe, however, it will curdle, so in those cases just omit the liquid altogether.)

QUESTION 10: If a recipe calls for coarse salt can I just use table salt?

The Pros Answer: No. Table salt grains are much smaller than coarse salt grains-so a teaspoon of table salt is a lot more potent than a teaspoon of coarse salt. You don't have to invest in fancy sea salt; kosher salt is an affordable coarse type that works well in most recipes. If you only have table salt handy and the recipe calls for coarse, start by putting in half as much table salt, and taste the dish from there.

QUESTION 11: When a recipe calls for just butter, should I use salted or unsalted?

The Pros Answer: When baking, you generally want to use unsalted butter. Cooking with unsalted butter gives you more control over how salty the final dish tastes, so it's a good idea. However, keep salted butter at the table to spread on fresh bread!

QUESTION 12: What cooking staples can be kept in the freezer?

The Pros Answer: Freeze chicken stock and pesto in ice cube trays-then just pop them out to use in soups and sauces. Nuts stay fresh longer in the freezer and defrost quickly. And keep a loaf of bread for breadcrumbs.