Drain with a baking rack.

"No strainer? Use a wire rack with a grid-like pattern. Empty pots and pans through the rack for perfectly strained veggies, potatoes, and pastas." —Tom Costello, executive chef at Thyme Restaurant in Yorktown Heights, New York

Make fluffy couscous in a baking dish.

"Add a thin layer of couscous to the bottom of a large baking dish, pour in boiling water, and leave the dish on the countertop, covered, for five minutes. The pasta won’t get weighed down like it does in a pot, so it will come out perfectly soft." —Nadia Giosia, host of Cooking Channel’s Nadia G’s Bitchin’ Kitchen.

Roll dough with a wine bottle

"If you don’t have a rolling pin, remove the label from an empty, clean wine or liquor bottle and fill the bottle with cold water. Try this with dough for biscuits, piecrusts, and tarts." —Damian Sansonetti, chef and owner of Piccolo in Portland, Maine