The Kitchn Archive
2013
December

The Kitchn Archive: Dec 2013

Help! What Happened? 10 Reader Questions About Cooking Disasters
Exploding potatoes, curdled soymilk, bitter chicken stock, uncooperative bread dough — we all experience the occasional disaster in the kitchen, and it is always followed by the same thought: how can I make sure that doesn’t happen again? That’s when our readers step in, offering knowledgeable advice about what might have gone wrong and how to avoid the same problem next time.
Anjali Prasertong
Dec 31, 2013
10 Things You Loved in August
What did you want to cook, eat, and read about through the months of 2013? We always find it instructive and entertaining to look back over the past year and see what you loved.
Faith Durand
Dec 29, 2013
15 Reasons Why We Do Things a Certain Way (And Why You Should, Too)
Years of cooking, writing, reading, and being a part of the food community have taught us a thing or two about what works best, and why we now do something this way instead of that way. Part of the joy of writing for The Kitchn is being able to share what we’ve learned —our personal experiences, tips, techniques, likes and dislikes.
Cambria Bold
Dec 29, 2013
Things That Make You Go Hmm… 10 Most Surprising Reader Questions of 2013
We get a lot of questions from readers asking for advice about what to serve at a party, how to use an unusual ingredient, or how to master a new cooking technique. And then there are the questions that make us stop and say, “Hmm…that is a really good question.” Should you tell your host she is making a cooking mistake? What are some meals you can cook one-handed? Are there any non-alcoholic alternatives to bourbon?
Anjali Prasertong
Dec 29, 2013
10 Tips from the Resourceful Kitchen
In August we focused on Planning & Preserving — making meals ahead, putting up tomato sauce, being resourceful and clever in the kitchen. Because what’s more fun than having a pantry and freezer full of good things and easy dinners? * * * From December 21 through January 3 we are rounding up our favorite (and your favorite) posts from the past year.
Faith Durand
Dec 29, 2013
10 Things You Loved in June
What did you want to cook, eat, and read about through the months of 2013? We always find it instructive and entertaining to look back over the past year and see what you loved. 10 Things You Loved in June What’s the Deal with Butter in Coffee?
Faith Durand
Dec 27, 2013
Party Appetizer Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Almonds
They may not be the prettiest things to look at, but these bacon-wrapped dates more than make up for it in flavor. They’re super easy to make, require very few ingredients, and we’ve never had a single one left over after the party. As for the “stuffed” part, each date is stuffed with an almond before being wrapped in bacon and roasted. When you bite into one, it’s salty at first, but then reveals an inner sweetness and — oh! — another salty crunch.
Cambria Bold
Dec 27, 2013
10 Tips to Take Your Cooking to the Next Level
Ready to take your cooking from good to great in 2014? Then get familiar with these ten tips, our favorite smart and simple ways to take your cooking to the next level. This year we shared a no-fail method for juicy pork chops and chicken breasts, the best way to separate eggs, a proven trick for awesome cookies every time, and seven more tips you’ll be itching to try.
Anjali Prasertong
Dec 27, 2013
An Irish Christmas
I grew up in Dublin, Ireland and come from a big family, and although it was only myself and my brother, there are five siblings on my dad’s side and six on my mom’s, which meant the house was always filled with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents around Christmas time. For an Irish family Christmas, the traditional dinner is key and getting it right is a real art.
Donal Skehan
Dec 24, 2013
How We Celebrate Christmas in Lebanon
As one of the most celebrated holidays of the year, Christmas in Lebanon is a very special time. Especially so as it’s common to witness religious and political divisions set aside whilst everyone embraces the Christmas spirit.
Bethany Kehdy
Dec 23, 2013
10 Tips That Blew Our Minds This Year
We’re always on the lookout for small tips that make a big impact in the kitchen, the ones that save us time and money, solve a common cooking problem, or — let’s be honest — are just really really awesome. The ingenious tips we couldn’t wait to share this year include a simple method for keeping guacamole green, a surprising way to cook perfect bacon on the stove, and a you-won’t-believe-it-until-you-try-it hack for using a mason jar on your blender.
Anjali Prasertong
Dec 21, 2013
Take a Holiday Break with DIY Spiced Tea
The shopping, the baking, the decorating, the caroling, the traveling — the holidays are never stressful, right? It’s just joy and peace and jolly and festive! Well, just in case the stress does happen to creep in, here’s an idea: make a cup of spiced tea, snag some quiet space in the kitchen and nosh on one of those gorgeous cookies sure to be within reach.
Kate Gagnon
Dec 20, 2013
Partner
Wake Up in Style! 3 Fabulous Coffee & Tea Appliances from BELLA
You know the routine: every morning you wake up, shower, put on some clothes, then turn on your kettle or coffee maker to help you get going. These small actions might be necessary and even second nature at this point, but they should never be boring or hectic. These three coffee and tea appliances from BELLA make things a little easier, less crazy, and definitely more stylish. Add some style to your kitchen with this seriously chic ceramic kettle.
Sponsored Post
Dec 20, 2013
9 Cheap, Chic Classics from IKEA
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → 9 Cheap, Chic Classics from IKEA
Cambria Bold
Dec 20, 2013
Do You Eat an Apple Side-to-Side or Top-to-Bottom?
This just in: did you know there is an orientation to eat an apple that virtually eliminates the core? I’ve always eaten apples by holding them in their top and bottom indentations with my thumb and forefinger, biting around the circumference, leaving a core that’s then composted. But there’s a more efficient way to eat the fruit (100% of it minus the seeds): By eating the apple from the top down (or bottom up), the core is barely discernable.
Regina Yunghans
Dec 19, 2013
One Memorable Christmas in India
As I cuddle up with my chai on this chilly December morning, I’m transported through time via photographs of a very memorable Christmas: one spent with my husband and his brother and our sister-in-law in Southern India a few years ago. Christmas in India is as colorful, unexpected, boisterous, fun and totally unapologetic as any other holiday in this wondrous land! Subtlety is simply not on the menu here.
Leela Cyd
Dec 19, 2013
A Q&A with Sarah Lonsdale of Remodelista on Her Rental Kitchen Makeover
We have a special treat today: a sneak peek of Remodelista editor Sarah Lonsdale’s rental kitchen, featured in the just-released book Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home. Sarah’s rental kitchen is absolutely lovely, the result of a few smart updates. Jump below to see another photo and to hear more from Sarah on what changed in her kitchen, what she loves, and her advice to people who live and cook in rental kitchens: 1.
Cambria Bold
Dec 19, 2013
Style Supermarket Flowers On Any Budget
Cambria Bold
Dec 19, 2013
Kitchen Colors: Dark Teal Walls
I’ve always found dark teal to be a deeply rich, romantic color. (I recently painted my hallway this color, and I love it.) But it’s not a color you often see in the kitchen; it’s usually reserved for small bedrooms or libraries. And yet this photo makes a compelling case, in my view, that dark teal is a dramatic yet workable choice for a kitchen.
Cambria Bold
Dec 18, 2013
Beautiful Kitchens with Colorful Cabinets
(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux) From Apartment Therapy → Beautiful Kitchens with Colorful Cabinets
Cambria Bold
Dec 18, 2013
How I Assemble a Simple Cheese Board
At least once-a-week we skip cooking a full dinner and pull out our wooden cutting board along with whatever cheeses, spreads, and other accoutrements we have on hand and we opt to dine on some variation of the cheese board above. It’s quite fun! So, whether you’re throwing a holiday bash or dining on cheese and other nibbles, here is the breakdown of an easy-to-assemble cheese board.
Landis Carey
Dec 17, 2013
Finding the Christmas Spirit in Thailand
While Thais might not spend the winter holidays sledding in snow or kissing whiskies by the fire, they are generally a fun-loving nation of people who welcome any excuse for a party and Christmas is no exception. Thai people happily take up any opportunity to indulge in more festive, twinkling lights. Despite the tropical climes, Christmas trees abound — the plastic kind, of course— and the bigger and brighter, the better. Surprisingly, Old St.
Jade Keller
Dec 17, 2013
The Temperatures Rubbed Off My Oven Knob! Any Baking Advice?
Q: I’m supposed to bake cookies for work tomorrow night and just noticed that the temperatures have rubbed off the oven knob at my new rental! There is an oven thermometer in the oven, which could potentially be used in a guess and check method for the cookies, but it won’t work for recipes where the temperature changes mid-bake. Any ideas for a quick fix for the problem? Are temperature knobs standard (for example, is a 90 degree clockwise turn always a specific temp)?
Anjali Prasertong
Dec 17, 2013
Wine Words: Crémant
Crémant is a wine word that you see on some sparkling wine labels. Do you know its origin? And, what Crémant means? Crémant is a word that describes a certain type of French sparkling wine. Crémant wines are not made all over France but only made in certain officially designated areas. The word Crémant actually originated in the Champagne region.
Mary Gorman-McAdams
Dec 16, 2013
How We Celebrate Christmas in Rwanda
This week and next we’re inviting chefs, writers, and friends to share what Christmas and the winter holidays look like in their corner of the world. First up: Josh Ruxin, an entrepreneur, restaurateur, and author of A Thousand Hills to Heaven: Love, Hope and a Restaurant in Rwanda. Little Rwanda, a nation of 12 million people, located smack in the middle of Africa, is one of the last places I know of where the holidays still are as they should be.
Josh Ruxin
Dec 16, 2013
Drinking the Landscape
Last June my neighbors and I gathered buckets of green walnuts from the enormous old walnut tree that anchors the far southeast corner of our property. Armed with sharp sturdy knives and 3-liter cardboard boxes of Syrah and bottles of cheap vodka, we set out on a mission for the future: to bring warmth and cheer to our winter’s hibernation by shoring up our supplies of homemade vin de noix and nocino.
Dana Velden
Dec 15, 2013
5 Tips for Setting Up a Better Holiday Buffet
Setting up a buffet table like the one for our Cozy Holiday Potluck Make things easy on yourself and on your guests: have a post-it note with their name or the name of their dish already on the buffet table. This way, no one has to finagle for space between the macaroni salad and the dinner rolls, or wonder if the host wants their dish in a particular spot on the table.
Emma Christensen
Dec 13, 2013
My Family’s New Tradition: Small Plates on Christmas Eve
Every family celebrates Christmas differently. Some hold a big Christmas Eve dinner, others do a brunch with family on Christmas Day, and some (enviably) order Chinese food. Historically, my family has fallen in the first camp, with a more intimate dinner as we hang around the tree and open small presents. Last year, however we tried something different: small plates.
Kate Gagnon
Dec 13, 2013
After the Party: 6 Ways to Use Leftover Wine
I know, I know. Leftover wine? What’s that? But if there is one time of year where you’re likely to find yourself with a bottle or two of unfinished wine it is now, during the holiday hustle of parties and celebratory dinners. Beyond guzzling it on the couch in a post-holiday-shopping stupor — another perfectly legitimate use — we have six more ways to make the most of those half-finished bottles of wine on the counter. 1 Freeze it.
Anjali Prasertong
Dec 13, 2013
What’s Your Big Kitchen Design Mistake?
(Image credit: Shutterstock) From Apartment Therapy → What’s Your Biggest Kitchen Design Mistake?
Cambria Bold
Dec 13, 2013
Rediscover the Patty Melt
With all of the work and time put into preparing holiday meals, family feasts and friendly gatherings, sometimes you just need a break — something simple to prepare, something that satisfies your most basic cravings, something that makes use of all that fresh baked bread that has found its way to your kitchen table. As far as American cravings go, there’s just something about a simple hamburger.
Chris Perez
Dec 12, 2013
Your Dinner Plan for Tonight: Shrimp Tacos with Guacamole & Sprout Slaw
Want to eat something fresher and lighter than prime rib and holiday cookies this week? Here’s a menu for you — a fast yet deliciously fresh assembly of Mexican sprout slaw, the perfect guacamole, and colorful shrimp tacos. Roasted Shrimp Tacos The Perfect Guacamole Mexican Sprout Slaw This looks almost too summery for winter, doesn’t it? But shrimp is widely available, and if you get the smaller sizes of frozen shrimp it can be fairly economical.
Faith Durand
Dec 12, 2013
A Black and White Galley Kitchen
Bryan and Sarah’s Brooklyn galley kitchen is a mix of gray, black, and white — a minimal color scheme that suits the couple who cooks there! It’s also home to “many dinner parties, espressos, and a playful dartboard with scoreboard,” so in our view it also sounds like a lovely place to be. “Our inspiration draws heavily from time spent in NYC, Norway and our childhoods in western Canada,” say Bryan and Sarah in their recent tour on Apartment Therapy.
Cambria Bold
Dec 11, 2013
Ben Corey-Moran’s 5 Essentials for Making the Best Cup of Coffee Possible
Ben Corey-Moran is the Director of Coffee Supply at Fair Trade USA where it’s his job to develop and strengthen the supply chain between the small coffee farmers of Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America and coffee buyers from all over the world, some of them as large as Walmart. He’s been in the coffee business since 2003 and has an intimate understanding of the whole picture, from the harvest of the fruit to how to create the perfect cup at home.
Dana Velden
Dec 11, 2013
Maxwell’s High & Low Dinnerware Picks
(Image credit: Maxwell Ryan) From Apartment Therapy → Maxwell’s High & Low Dinnerware Picks
Cambria Bold
Dec 11, 2013
For Your Holiday Table This Year: Rosemary Sprig Place Cards
Do you remember these rosemary wreath place cards? Now the ladies of Spoon Fork Bacon have tweaked that idea once again, and this time it’s even easier! To make these place cards, you only need cards, a hole punch, and about five-to-six-inch long sprigs of rosemary. I love how simple and pretty this is, particularly with the way they’ve styled it above, tucked into a folded napkin. This is definitely motivation for me to get another rosemary plant.
Cambria Bold
Dec 10, 2013
How To Make a Wood Veneer Pendant Lamp
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → Make this Homemade Holiday Gift: Wood Veneer Pendant Lamp
Cambria Bold
Dec 10, 2013
Wine Words: Canopy Management
Canopy management is a viticultural wine word. Do you know what it means? And the different processes involved? Canopy management may not be the most exciting wine word out there but, it is a very important one. Canopy management can be defined as a portfolio of vineyard management techniques, which manage a grapevine’s canopy from the time of winter pruning until harvest time. For the less geeky readers ‘canopy’ is a collective word for the all the foliage (i.e.
Mary Gorman-McAdams
Dec 9, 2013
Your Dinner Plan for Tonight: Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Biscuits & Salad
Christmas cookies, holiday brunch, and all the toffee you can eat: if you read food magazines and blogs in December you could be excused for thinking that this is all that’s on the menu. I don’t know about you, but I actually need to eat some dinner in between the treats, so let’s talk about the food we eat when we’re not cooking a holiday dinner or baking Christmas cookies.
Faith Durand
Dec 9, 2013
What Is Your Traditional Christmas Morning Breakfast?
Christmas morning is often a time of family ritual and tradition. It usually involves opening gifts or stockings, but it can also be a trip to church or a hike in the hills or a visit to a friend or relative’s house. And, of course, there’s also the food. Many families have a special Christmas morning breakfast, something only consumed on that particular morning. It can be anything from a fancy buffet to an overnight casserole that bakes while the presents are opened.
Dana Velden
Dec 9, 2013
Holiday Table DIY: David Stark Luminaries
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From Apartment Therapy → Holiday Centerpiece: David Stark Luminaries
Cambria Bold
Dec 9, 2013
How to Sew a Table Runner
(Image credit: Claire Bock) From Apartment Therapy → How to Sew a Table Runner
Cambria Bold
Dec 6, 2013
Homemade Gift Recipe: Skillet Toffee
When I was a child, there weren’t a lot of sweets in our house, but come Christmastime, little teasing bits of my mom’s holiday toffee would show up in my normally sugar-starved lunch bag during the week before school let out. Then, during our annual Christmas Eve tamale party, huge platters would appear, with piles of the stuff stacked high like poker chips Though I moved across the country almost twenty years ago, she hasn’t missed a single season of toffee.
Sara Kate Gillingham
Dec 5, 2013
A Glamorous DIY Gilded Mug
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → A Glamorous DIY Gilded Mug
Cambria Bold
Dec 5, 2013
A Wonderfully Cozy Kitchen in Scotland
We bet this lovely eclectic kitchen is just spectacular around the holidays. It already looks so cozy and welcoming! This kitchen belongs to the Mackay family, who live in Glasgow, Scotland. The home it’s in was built in the 1840s, and it was originally the billiard room of a large mansion, but was converted to a home in the 1940s. Now Claire and Marcus Mackay keep it full of reclaimed furniture, hand-me-downs, and homemade pieces given to them by friends and family. So lovely!
Cambria Bold
Dec 4, 2013
Gigondas: Southern Rhône Wines to Enjoy Right Now (Or Much Later)
I have always loved the wines from the Gigondas region in France’s Southern Rhone Valley. They are full-bodied, energetic red wines, packed with vibrant red and black fruit flavors. At a recent dinner in New York City, hosted by the Gigondas Winemakers Union, I was reminded just how well Gigondas wines age, too – ten, twenty, even thirty years. We tasted back as far as 1972 that particular evening. But you don’t have to wait — they’re delicious now as well.
Mary Gorman-McAdams
Dec 4, 2013
David Tanis’ 5 Uncomplicated Essentials for the Home Cook
We’re big fans of Davis Tanis here at The Kitchn. We love his new book One Good Dish, previous books (A Platter of Figs and Heart of the Artichoke), and his NYT column City KitchenThanksgivukkah David Tanis’ authority on cooking may have originated in the august Chez Panisse kitchens, where he was chef of both the upstairs and downstairs kitchens for several years. But he also passionately believes in home cooking, as his three cookbooks and dozens of NYT articles can attest.
Dana Velden
Dec 4, 2013
10 Party Games for a Lively Seasonal Soirée
(Image credit: Guerrin Gardner & Mat Sanders) From Apartment Therapy → 10 Party Games for Lively Seasonal Soirees
Cambria Bold
Dec 4, 2013