The Kitchn Archive
2012
August

The Kitchn Archive: Aug 2012

5 Ways to Use Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is that wonderful, fresh sauce that brightens anything it comes in contact with. Traditionally made with olive oil, lots of fresh parsley, lemon, garlic and shallots, it’s most often used as a sauce on grilled meats and fish, but I’ve found that keeping a little container of it in the refrigerator allows you to dress up even the most basic of leftovers.
Megan Gordon
Aug 31, 2012
Mold Chocolate in Any Shape Using a Common Baking Ingredient
Have you ever tried your hand at molding your own chocolate? It doesn’t have to be a special occasion and there’s no expensive molds required when you have a well stocked pantry. Want to see which three items you can use in your kitchen for perfectly molded custom sweets? 1. Cornstarch 2. Powdered Sugar 3. Brown Sugar For years I’ve used the first two items on this list almost exclusively when molding my own chocolates or candy.
Sarah Rae Smith
Aug 31, 2012
Recipe: Strawberries with Chimayó Chile
Invented by my stepfather, this fiery red concoction consists of strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and Chimayó chile. Strawberries served with vinegar is nothing new, but the addition of chile powder adds a whole new dimension. It might sound a little strange at first, but the combination of sweet, tart, and spice is marvelous.
Emily Han
Aug 31, 2012
Otomi Fabrics at the Table
Otomi fabric is handmade by Otomi Indians of Hidalgo, Mexico. The Otomi patterns (which are hand-embroidered in the traditional fabrics and printed in the manufactured facsimiles) are said to come from the ancient cliff drawings of the region. We love the bright colors and bold geometries of Otomi fabrics and would welcome such a lively print to the tabletop in our otherwise plain-Jane dining room:In these examples, we find Otomi fabrics or Otomi-inspired fabrics on tables or in the kitchen.
Regina Yunghans
Aug 30, 2012
How To Make a Chalkboard Menu Board
My wife and I usually meal plan for the week on Sunday mornings. We get a stack of magazines, I pull up a recipe planning site on my iPad, and we pick items that are simple and drool-worthy. With our selections made we go grocery shopping, often returning home with a pile of fresh produce. About midweek, though, we’d forget some of our recipe decisions and leave our veggies to veg-out beyond edibility. We needed a more prominent visual reminder. We needed a chalkboard meal plan menu!
Chris Perez
Aug 30, 2012
Grilling Tip: Check Your Propane Gas Level With a Cup of Water
If you’re planning on grilling this Labor Day weekend, we have a safe and easy way to check the propane level in the tank of your gas grill — all it takes is a cup of water. To check the level of gas in your propane tank, bring a cup of water to a boil and pour it over the side of the tank. Now feel the tank and look for the point where the tank goes from feeling hot (empty) to cool (filled with propane). That’s your propane level. So simple!
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 30, 2012
Recipe: Baked Chicken with Bacon
My friend Aura is a very good cook. She lives in Florida with her husband, Leo, and two adorable (I do not use that word glibly) children. When I think of Aura’s cooking, I think of fruit salads, smoothies, and the freshest dishes from her native Guatemala — light, healthy, and driven by Florida’s tropical fruits and vegetables. So I was surprised, one winter evening a few years ago, to sit down at her table and find a big, bubbling casserole of chicken wrapped in bacon.
Faith Durand
Aug 29, 2012
Making Sea Salt in The Hamptons
The folks at Amagansett Sea Salt Company want you to know you’re wrong about salt. Think it’s supposed to be uniform in color, texture, and shape? They beg to differ. They say the best salt is kind of a mess — irregularly shaped, filled with natural moisture, color and, of course, a wide variety of flavors and tastes. Just see if you don’t agree after watching Food Curated’s video profile — looks pretty great to us!
Stephanie Barlow
Aug 29, 2012
Alina’s Exotic Cooking Lair
Alina takes the best of what a country’s cooking and design tradition has to offer and brings it into her home. All the materials are natural and all the colors are warm. It seems that, aside from the food, everything about this kitchen will last forever. online retail store Alina finds fun and inexpensive fixes that yield sophisticated results. She also salvages great old pieces and occasionally splurges on quality products.
Jill Slater
Aug 28, 2012
Recipe: Brazilian Flan (Pudim de Leite Condensado)
I spent this past weekend in San Francisco with my sister’s family, celebrating my birthday as well as the completion of their new house. Her well-designed kitchen is one of chefs’ dreams—not only is she a talented interior architect, but she’s also a stellar cook. All of the shiny appliances had me aching to make a mess, so I enlisted her two kids to help me christen the new space with love.
Nealey Dozier
Aug 28, 2012
Sweet, Salty, Sour & Spicy: A Photo Guide to Mexican Snacks
If you’ve ever been tempted by the unfamiliar snacks at the local bodega, but unsure about what you’re getting yourself into, check out this helpful photo guide to Mexican sweets and snacks from Saveur. Identifying snacks like tart tamarind candies and sour-spicy potato chips, it has me itching to try some new treats.Many Mexican candies balance sweetness with savory and spicy flavors, such as Vero Mango, a fruity lollipop covered with a salty chile paste coating.
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 28, 2012
Wine Words: Traditional Method
Traditional Method (or méthode traditionelle) is a wine word associated with the production of Champagne and other bottle-fermented sparkling wines. It is an official, technical term denoting a specific method and process. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Classic Method’ (méthode classique), while it used to be called the ‘Champagne Method.’Traditional Method means that the sparkling wine in question was bottle fermented. i.e.
Mary Gorman-McAdams
Aug 27, 2012
10 Essentials for a Starter Toolkit
Whether you’re hanging artwork, taking measurements or assembling furniture, there are a few essentials you’ll want to have on hand in your starter toolkit. • Essentials for Starter Toolkit Apartment Therapy
Carrie McBride
Aug 27, 2012
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Recipe: Herbed Panko Chicken
Chicken always gets a bad rap: it’s either declared boring, bland, or just plain bad. Well not in my book. Granted I don’t cook the same few recipes day in and day out, but still, I always enjoy it when I make it. I especially love breading chicken, whether it’s for chicken Parmesan, Milanese, or my signature Provencal. No matter the variation, the steps are always the same—flour, then egg, then breading. Cook until golden.
Sponsored Post
Aug 27, 2012
Dinner Party Dilemma: What To Do When You’re Served Something Unpalatable?
Have you ever been a guest at someone’s house for dinner and been served a meal that is a complete turnoff? This is of course a common scenario when traveling and encountering a new cuisine but it can just as easily happen at your boss’ dinner table. Maybe it’s way, way, way spicier than you can handle, or the meat is strange or unfamiliar, cooked a little too rare, or not cooked at all.
Dana Velden
Aug 27, 2012
Party Like a Burundian! A Burundian Dowry Party & Wedding Feast
Two dear friends were married last weekend, in a three-day explosion of fun, laughter, tribal drum squads, and really, really good African food. One half of this couple is from Texas. The other is from Burundi, a small East Africa nation between Rwanda and Tanzania. Her family brought rich cultural traditions to this wedding, including, to my surprise, a dowry ceremony. Have you ever been to an African wedding? Not a Chicken McNugget, all appearances to the contrary!
Faith Durand
Aug 24, 2012
Video: How To Oil Your Butcher Block
(Image credit: Maxwell Ryan) Today’s One Minute Tip comes from Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, who recommends this technique not only for butcher blocks, but for cutting boards and other wooden kitchen items as well. • Video: Oil Your Butcher Block Apartment Therapy
Carrie McBride
Aug 23, 2012
Injera: Ethiopia’s Traditional Bread in Pictures and Words
If pictures aren’t enough to get me excited about trying a new food, then a good story certainly is. That’s the situation right now with injera, a crepe-thin bread that is a staple in Ethiopian cuisine. The book Cutting for Stone describes it like this: “The mark of a native is that your fingers are never stained by the curry; you use the injera as your tongs, as a barrier, while you pick up a piece of chicken or beef sopped in the sauce.” Mmmm.
Chris Perez
Aug 23, 2012
Recipe: Sukuma Wiki (African Braised Kale with Tomatoes)
Yesterday Cambria shared a family recipe for African peanut stew, a celebratory dish made with beef, spices, and rich peanut butter. The classic side dish for this meal — and indeed, nearly any meal throughout much of eastern Africa — is sukuma wiki, braised greens with a very apt meaning to their name! Do you know what sukuma wiki means? A meal in Kenya, with ugali, chapati, a meat stew, and sukuma wiki.
Faith Durand
Aug 23, 2012
Look! Apple and Pear Prints by Enzo Mari
I’ve become quite fond of these large fruit prints by Enzo Mari, first designed in 1963 for Danese Milano in Italy. Graphic and mod, I think they look playful and a little bit cheeky when hung in kitchens and dining rooms. See more photos below:What do you think of these prints? Would you hang them in your kitchen?For fans of the look but not the price, check out this post for alternative suggestions! Buy It!
Cambria Bold
Aug 23, 2012
Talking About Post-Move Fatigue
After a 3 day trip with 2 kids and a dog to our new home, I am wholly and unexpectedly exhausted. Post move, were you just zonked? Or are you the energizer bunny, able to make your new place homey within just days? • Post-Move Fatigue Apartment Therapy
Carrie McBride
Aug 22, 2012
Recipe: Ethiopian Spiced Clarified Butter (Niter Kibbeh)
There is only one problem with niter kibbeh: I can’t stop eating it, whether I’m melting a spoonful into a pot of lentils or sneaking a dollop straight from the jar. This spiced clarified butter is the “secret ingredient” to many Ethiopian dishes, as well as anything else you can imagine using it on, from meat to eggs to vegetables. (Psst… try it on popcorn!
Emily Han
Aug 22, 2012
Word of Mouth: Irio
Irio [eer-ee-o], noun: In the Kenyan tribal language of Kikuyu, irio just means food. But it usually refers to a simple, plain dish of mashed potatoes, maize, and peas or greens.A couple years ago I spent a week in Kenya, in the highlands of the Rift Valley about an hour away from Nairobi. I really enjoyed the good food of this agricultural region. Here’s a very typical dinner dish: bright green irio!We ate plain Kenyan food all week, prepared by wonderful cooks.
Faith Durand
Aug 22, 2012
A High-Ceiling Loft Kitchen in St. Louis
Light from the side. Light from above. Light everywhere! With its high ceilings and windowed wall leading out to a courtyard, this loft kitchen in St. Louis, Missouri is an open, airy dream.The owner, Phil Durham, is an architect. (His architectural firm, Studio Durham, is actually right downstairs!) The details include a Viking range, custom-fit cabinets, and stainless steels counter and backsplash.I love how the kitchen opens right into the courtyard!
Cambria Bold
Aug 21, 2012
Skip the Searching: 5 African Spice Blends to Make Yourself
It isn’t always easy to find premade versions of common African spice blends like Ras el Hanout at the local supermarket, but the truth is, if you have a well-stocked spice rack, you likely have almost all the components to make these mixtures on your own. With a spice grinder and the recipes below, you can easily bring the flavors of Morocco, Ethiopia, Egypt and Tunisia into your kitchen.
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 21, 2012
Word of Mouth: Ugali
Ugali [oo-gahl-ee] noun: In Kenya, ugali is the name for the most common mealtime starch: a thick, stiff porridge made from white cornmeal or red millet.In Kenya, ugali is one of the most common dishes you can find. Served with meat or mashed vegetables, it’s practically the national dish. It’s found throughout Africa, in fact; in South Africa it may be called pap, and in Zimbabwe you can find it by the name of sadza.
Faith Durand
Aug 21, 2012
A Taste of Israel: Photos From a Food Tour
What is Israeli cuisine? This was the question on everyone’s mind during my 5-day Israel food tour in late June. My co-adventurers were all food bloggers as well, and we each came to Israel with vague notions of what to expect during our time there (lots of hummus and tahini!) but without a clear sense of what we were in for.
Cambria Bold
Aug 17, 2012
Not Just for Fish and Chips: Malt Vinegar
Just one whiff of malt vinegar brings me back to my days living in England, where it’s used to season comfort foods like fish and chips and beans on toastpub fareMalt vinegar is made by malting barley, brewing it into ale, and then turning the ale into vinegar. Light to dark brown in color, it’s flavor is malty, lemony, and slightly sweet.
Emily Han
Aug 17, 2012
Recipe: Chicken & Artichokes in Wine Sauce
When I was a kid, my mother took a cooking class with Giuliano Bugialli and learned how to make this dish. It tastes so rich and divine that you’d never suspect it’s so economical and quick to make! She’d let me request a special meal for my birthday, and I often requested this dish. Tester’s Notes: Kathryn published this recipe way back in 2009, and I’ve had it on my to-make list since then. I finally got around to it and wow was that overdue.
Kathryn Hill
Aug 17, 2012
Baking With Dates: Which Variety Reigns Supreme?
Dates have been on my mind. I’m in the process of developing a recipe for raw energy bars and have been experimenting with many different types of dates for flavor, texture and consistency. I found my very favorite for this particular recipe, but when I tried using them in other baking recipes, they fell short. I came to the quick conclusion that all dates are not, in fact, created equal.
Megan Gordon
Aug 16, 2012
A Brief History of Smorgasbord: It’s Not Just a Buffet!
While smorgasbord has come to mean any old buffet offering a choice of foods here in the United States, the term originated in Sweden. Its roots are found in the upper class of 14th century Sweden where a small spread of bread, butter, and cheese was offered before mealtime.The smorgasbord grew to include meats, both hot and cold, and at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm it officially became the main meal instead of an appetizer.
Regina Yunghans
Aug 16, 2012
Kompot: The Fruit Punch of Eastern Europe
If you ask a Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, or other Eastern European kompot maker what goes into his or her recipe, the answer might vary by region, time of year, and cook. Whether made from fresh cherries or dried apricots, what these fruit punches do have in common is that they’re delightfully refreshing and sweet. Not to be confused with the dessert called compote, kompot is a non-alcoholic drink made from fruit simmered with water and sugar.
Emily Han
Aug 15, 2012
Why You Should Stop Worrying About Your Oven Temperature
“Preheat oven to 350 degrees.” This may be one of the most common phrases in the cooking universe…and also one of the most misleading. If you fret over the accuracy of your oven’s internal temperature reading, you’re working too hard. Here’s why:In a nutshell, it’s impossible to control your oven temperature, so you should stop worrying about it altogether—or so writes Slate writer Brian Palmer.
Cambria Bold
Aug 14, 2012
To Soak or Not to Soak: How Do You Enjoy Your Muesli?
In my mind, summertime is prime museli time. It’s a cool breakfast that gives me loads of energy without feeling sluggish or overly full. And it’s so simple to throw together at home. Some folks treat it much like cereal or granola, adding a splash of milk or a dollop of yogurt right before serving. Others soak it overnight. There are, indeed, benefits to both.So first, and I’d argue most importantly, there’s the issue of taste. Either you like soaked muesli or not.
Megan Gordon
Aug 13, 2012
Tip: Use Chopsticks as a Cooking Tool
Leela’s artful chopstick collection/wall art!Most non-Asian cooks aren’t aware that chopsticks are more than just an eating utensil. They also make great cooking tools. In fact, there are special cooking chopsticks (saibashi in Japanese) that are a little longer and sometimes joined at the end with a string for just that purpose.
Dana Velden
Aug 9, 2012
Recipe: Master Cleanse Chicken
Once upon a time long ago, a friend of mine told me she was doing a crazy thing called the Master Cleanse; for something like thirty days she consumed only a tonic made from water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. This, of course, went down in California. Since then I’ve tried the Master Cleanse once, for three miserable days, and bombed.
Sara Kate Gillingham
Aug 9, 2012
Xiao Long Bao: Tracing the History of Chinese Soup Dumplings
A person’s first taste of the Chinese soup dumplings called xiao long bao is a magical one. I’ve seen it again and again on the faces of friends and family eating the dumplings for the first time at Din Tai Fung in Arcadia, a nearby outpost of the Taiwan-based soup dumpling chain: there is wonder, followed by bliss, and finally greed, as they mentally calculate the remaining dumplings divided by the number of people at the table.
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 9, 2012
Cooking for One? The Rice Bowl
The rice bowl is perhaps the perfect Cooking for One dish. Besides the fact that it is assembled in individual portions, it offers variety and versatility and a fantastic opportunity to clean out the refrigerator. Read on for a roundup of rice bowl recipes.Rice bowls are different than fried rice in that the flavor components are arranged on a bed of rice rather than mixed or stir-fried in.
Dana Velden
Aug 8, 2012
More Knife Sharpening Tips From Bob Kramer: How To Hone & Stone
Last week we shared Master Bladesmith Bob Kramer’s helpful advice on how to tell if your knife is sharp enough — but how do you sharpen your knife in the first place? Here are two more videos from Kramer demonstrating how to correctly hone and stone your knives, processes which take just a few minutes, but make such a difference in cooking. Honing, done with a steel, straightens the edge of your knife after use.
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 7, 2012
The Best Ways to Store Leftover Tofu
The trickiest thing about recipes that don’t call for a whole block of tofu is using up the leftovers before they go bad. The key to making it last, however, is the way it’s stored. There are two methods that work with all varieties of tofu. Here’s what you need to know. The best place the store tofu all depends on when you plan to use it. If you plan to use it within a week or so, go ahead and stash it in the refrigerator.
Emily Han
Aug 6, 2012
Wine Words: Non-Vintage
Last week I described the word vintageIf a wine does not carry a vintage year, it is generally described as non-vintage, in that the grapes used did not come from a single vintage. The tradition of non-vintage is especially strong in Champagne, where a certain percentage of reserve wine (i.e older wines) is added to achieve the desired house style and taste consistency as well as complexity.
Mary Gorman-McAdams
Aug 6, 2012
Where’s My Milk From? New Site Tracks Dairy Back To Its Farm Source
Trying to eat and buy local is all well and good until I can purchase a giant tub of cottage cheese from my local Costco for $5. Writing for a food blog leaves me with a little guilt about that, but this new website helped me discover that my tasty breakfast snack comes from a dairy farm right here in Illinois! Want to see where your dairy comes from?
Sarah Rae Smith
Aug 6, 2012
Smart Tip: For Sweeter Cucumbers, Try a Japanese Salt Rub
With their thin, edible skins and tiny seeds, Japanese and Persian cucumbers are easy to prep and a joy to eat. But for even sweeter and tastier cucumbers, try this Japanese trick: give them a salt rub!It sounds like a high-end spa treatment, but the technique is simple. Place about one teaspoon of salt in the palm of your hand and rub it firmly over the skin of the cucumber until a green foamy substance appears and you detect a slight “green” chlorophyll smell.
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 6, 2012
Lime Jell-O Salad Recipe for Grown-Ups! Fresh Lime & Pineapple Fluff
We have been talking about family recipes all week — and not just family recipes, but classic, old-school, full-blast nostalgic recipes too. So, to cap things off, I thought I would tackle that archetype of family picnics and church cookbooks: Lime Jell-O Salad. It’s a recipe that most of us have given up as grown-ups, but do you ever have just the faintest wisp of nostalgic craving for it? So sweet and marshmallowy?
Faith Durand
Aug 3, 2012
Family Recipe: Baked Beans with Pineapple and Bacon
A family recipe is important, even if we don’t remember all the parts, because each attempt at its re-creation keeps us connected to the people who helped shape us. It happens each time we do that intimate, life-sustaining cooking and eating thing, especially when we do it from a place of memory.
Sara Kate Gillingham
Aug 2, 2012
What Is Sharp? Bob Kramer Has 5 Ways to Tell If Your Knife Is Sharp Enough
Sharp knives make cutting and prepping ingredients faster, easier and safer, we know this. But what does a truly sharp knife look like? In this short but very illuminating video, Master Bladesmith Bob Kramer demonstrates five simple tests to tell if your knife is sharp enough. (Spoiler alert: it probably isn’t.
Anjali Prasertong
Aug 2, 2012
Garden Tip: Use Baking Soda to Help Grow Sweeter Tomatoes
This season I went a little gung ho with the tomato plants, but I’ve been loving every tasty moment. One reason I love them so much this year is that I’ve been altering their acidity levels to make sweet tasty treats. If MacGyver had a garden…… he would have done the same thing!This season I’ve been following a simple routine.
Sarah Rae Smith
Aug 1, 2012
Time-Saving Tip: Freeze Smoothie Ingredients in Muffin Tins
Whether you enjoy drinking smoothies for breakfast, lunch, or snack, you can always have a delicious one ready to go with this time-saving tip from Muffin Tin Mania.Instead of rounding up smoothie ingredients such as bananas, greens, and protein powder on the spot, Muffin Tin Mania’s Matt Kadey recommends blending a batch ahead of time. Freeze the mixture in muffin tins and then store in a zip-top bag for later.
Emily Han
Aug 1, 2012