Last week's Where on the Web Ask Rula Razek a question

Food emergency

When your cake falls, your gravy is lumpy, and you're afraid your turkey will be too dry, where can you turn for a cooking rescue? The Web, of course. In addition to the hundreds of recipe sites online, there are plenty of resources for struggling gourmets: ask-a-chef forums, glossaries of cooking terms, even streaming video demonstrations of unfamiliar techniques, such as how to shell a lobster.

At Askachef.com, 10 professional chefs are available by e-mail to help with your latest food crisis. Queries range from "How can I get thick cookies instead of flat?" to "What wine goes with a pork roast?" Keep in mind that it may take a day or so for a chef to respond. If you need an immediate fix, search the compendium of previous answers to see if your question already has been asked. Or hit the message boards at Epicurious.com, where users of the Kitchen Counsel forum may be able to help.

Other resources I like:

Allexperts.com When you need to consult an Indian cooking expert or a fellow beer-brewing enthusiast, click on this site's Food & Drink link.

Foodsubs.com This food thesaurus doubles as a helpful substitution guide, so when you need to know what crème fraîche is (and what to use instead), this is the place to go.

Foodtv.com Click on Cooking 101 for access to a video library that demonstrates skills such as deboning chicken and carving turkey. Also look here for live Q&A sessions with Food Network chefs.

By Contributing Editor Rula Razek, editor of the Internet Cool Guide books