Welcome back! We are glad to be back from holiday break, and to welcome you to a brand new year. Our New Year's resolution is to cook up an even better year of recipes, tips, help, and posts that inspire you in the kitchen, and there are plenty of new things and surprises on the way.
In the spirit of that resolve, we wanted to ask you, our wonderful readers, what you would like to see more of. What keeps you coming back the the Kitchen? If there are other things you'd like to see too, please leave a comment!
I'd definately like to see more recipes, tips and techniques, wine coverage, and maybe a listing of a varitey of restaurants in the NY area possibly star listing as well as a scale of cost. I would also like to have a list of recipes (especially 'round the upcoming holidays combined with decor) for Valentines Day from the dedicated readers here at A.T. You definatley have done a great job already and hope to see more inspiring things going on in the kitchen this upcoming year!!
Definitely tips and techniques for me. There are already so many food blogs out there sharing recipes, it's hard to distinguish between them. It's the additional tips and techniques that help your site stand out; that, and everything is presented concisely and in an entertaining way. There are serious foodie sites that go into too much depth with their information, but you keep it to a length that I can digest (sorry) in my daily blog-reading.
I also like the scavengers and other info about products and stores, though it's great that you don't only have those, because I don't always have extra money to spend on kitchen gadgets!
i'd love to see more recipes and tips & techniques. also love love love the cheese bios. but i'm not really a big fan of the events or store listings, i can't go visit any of them. unless you start blogging from philadelphia, of course.
I've found a few cooking vlogs on youtube. It would be great if the Kitchen crew would demonstrate techniques and recipes using embeded videos.
Since I could only choose one, I chose "recipes," since those are the most useful to me. But I love the media roundups, and I think more product reviews would be fantastic.
I chose seasonal - mainly because I recently joined a local food co-op (first pick up is this saturday - yeah!). And I'm looking forward to experiencing/experimenting with veggies I wouldn't normally buy at the supermarket.
Also, I'd like to see more vegetarian recipes, options, posts, etc.
I agree with all of the above.. great ideas!
My 2 cents...perhaps more vegetarian/vegan- friendly recipes and articles...??!! That can facilitate reader input and idea-sharing.
Aside from that, this blog is très magnifique!
Miam Miam indeed... Bon Appétit!! (:
I have a suggestion for when you do Scavenger or Events--can you separate the cities in an obvious way? Sometimes I read a whole article, excited, until I get to the end and see a street name I don't recognize and realize it's not in my city. Other than that, keep up the great work!
Shannon,
The name of the city is always in the post title, like today's "LA Classes and Events: 01.09.07" or yesterday's "NYC Scavenger: Le Creuset Grill Pan for $40" - the only one that isn't specific is the eBay Scavenger, which is because much of what is sold on eBay can be sent anywhere.
Hope that helps!
I vote for more vegan-friendly/adaptable recipes too. Sometimes straight-up substitution of ingredients is not enough and it'd be helpful to have suggestions on that. Vegans like good food too!
I agree with all these suggestions, except the part about the restaurant reviews. There are tons of sites and blogs for that. The Kitchen is about cooking at home!
Jennie (2),
Right you are. We're about cooking, not restaurants. The one thing you won't see on The Kitchen is restaurant reviews. However, we do love doing restaurant reproductions (had a dish you liked? care to try to reproduce it?), and we will review books written by restaurant chefs.
The site's mission is to celebrate that sacred act of cooking.
I, too, enjoy the recipes -- particularly vegetarian-friendly ones using seasonal produce.
Recipes for me too. Perhaps every now and then someone could do easy seasonal recipes that we could try after work.
I also chose seasonal and conscientious cooking. It's easy to forget that just because you can make a strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries in January, doesn't mean you should. No matter now good those suckers look in the plastic container at the Ralph's, they always taste like...well, not strawberries. At least not now. Now's the time for an apple galette. Love this blog. Keep up the excellent work.
Tips & techniques are awesome! I'm in Boston, so I say nix the LA/NYC events/restaurants!!! :) No fair teasing us like that!
More ingredient info would be great - an article on some ingredient, how to find a good brand/type, different varieties, how to use the ingredient...Does this fall into tips & techniques or maybe seasonal? Does it even make sense?
Whatever you do, don't stop the cheese monger pieces!
Seconding mbird, stuff like short basic things, too, "how to chop an onion" or "this is what stiff peak egg whites look like" and that sort of thing.
I chose seasonal and conscientious cooking, but I do have a caveat. I don't need lots of information about the virtues of locally grown produce, or organic tomatoes, or the evils of transfats. What I do need is information that easily translates into daily cooking. For example, I'd love recipes for seafood that focus on sustainable types of fish, or a post that talks about what kinds of fish are environmentally sound to buy, or a post that recommends environmentally sound substitutes for fish that are overfished. I'd also love posts that talk about how to get the most bang for your organic buck--for example, if I have limited resources and need to buy apples and bananas, should I buy organic bananas and conventional apples, or vice versa? I don't need theoretical posts; I do need practical, budget-conscious suggestions for how to implement seasonal and conscientious cooking into my life.
Can I also put in a plug for the first person singular? I can't stand it when you all write in the first person plural when the post is clearly from one person with an individual voice. It would be great to "get to know" your individual writers a little better, and become familiar with their particular voices.
Gretchen, totally agree with your points! Well put.
i voted for recipes, because i really value recipes tested by real cooks in real kitchens. i would also like to push for more tips & techniques.
I'd like to see more recipes, techniques, and bring back brown bag Thursdays!! I take my lunch almost every day and I really liked those posts :)
what about a cooking reference desk? it would be great to have a list of, say, common substitutions and measurement conversions.
now that i don't live in new york anymore, i'm less interested in the events and scavengers.
I'd like to see some tips on using a tiny kitchen. Being new to the city, I have been challenged by shrinking my space for cooking. So glad to be here, but how can I best utilize the small space I have for productive cooking? Are there cutting/prep boards that can be placed on top of a gas stove to create additional counter space that are flame retardant? Which pots and pans are best for storage? Collapsable collanders are a wonderful idea but I get a skeevy feeling calling up the number on the tv and ordering one. Would rather buy one in a local store. That kind of thing.
Thanks everyone - I enjoy your tips and product reviews!
Bar Tending/Party Drink Recipes
Linda: I have a tiny kitchen with hardly any counter space, and my over-the-sink cutting board is invaluable for creating additional workspace while I'm cooking.
I chose "Tips & Techniques" but I also agree with what Gretchen said about seasonal cooking.
I don't need recipes unless they are heavy on the tips and techniques, i.e. they're more than just a straight list of ingredients and directions -- I already have tons of cookbooks.