The Kitchn Archive
2014
March

The Kitchn Archive: Mar 2014

How Do I Keep Shaped Bread Dough from Sticking to the Countertop?
Q: Thank you so much for posting the recipe for you Beginner Sourdough Loaf. I have tried twice to make the recipe — both times attempting to make it as a round artisan loaf using my (pre-heated) cast iron enamelware, but Houston, I have a big problem. After the bread has risen the second time, I cannot seem to get it off of the cutting board! The first time I used a wooden cutting board and the second time I used a plastic cutting board.
Emma Christensen
Mar 31, 2014
DIY Easter Ideas, Projects & Decorations
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → DIY Easter Ideas, Projects & Decorations
The Kitchn
Mar 31, 2014
Weekend Meditation: It Doesn’t Always Have to be Fabulous
Blogging about food is a tricky thing. In order for something to be post-worthy, it usually needs to be a pretty wonderful and delicious thing to eat. If it’s not, then there has to be some kind of story about that. Or it should be a new discovery. Or have some meaning in our lives and culture. But we seldom write about ordinary, everyday food or eating.
Dana Velden
Mar 30, 2014
The 5 Things I’m Taking Away From The Cooking Cure
Day 20: Make your Cooking Cure a cooking habit! Sound the trumpet! You made it through The Kitchn’s 4-week Cooking Cure! Due to unforeseen circumstances, I missed Dinner Week, but I still feel I’ve come away from this experience with new plans and habits to hone. Here are five things I’ll continue to focus on in the weeks and months to come: Clean the kitchen every night. As I discovered back in Breakfast Week, a messy kitchen is the enemy of cooking.
Cambria Bold
Mar 28, 2014
Well-Styled Coffee Stations
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → Well-Styled Coffee Stations
Cambria Bold
Mar 28, 2014
Help Me Find My Favorite Ice Cream Treat from the 1970s!
Q: I’m looking for information or a photo of my favorite ice cream treat of all time. It was an orange sherbet bar coated with chocolate on a popsicle stick and it was around in the 70s. The packaging was orange with dark brown writing, and it was known as a Brownie Bar or perhaps an H Bar. I knew it as a Brownie Bar. Do you know if this product still exists? I owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store in Vermont for 45 years and sold these bars.
Anjali Prasertong
Mar 27, 2014
Leftovers & a Throw-It-All-Together Salad
Day 19: Make a plan for your leftovers. This morning I had a moment of confusion when, despite having just unloaded the dishwasher, I saw that my storage container drawer remained all but empty. Then I remembered the dozen or so containers of leftovers in the fridge. Ah.
Cambria Bold
Mar 27, 2014
Healthy Fruits & Vegetable Pet Treats
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 27, 2014
There’s a Hidden Top-Loading Washing Machine In this Kitchen!
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → There’s a Hidden Top-Loading Washing Machine In this Kitchen!
Cambria Bold
Mar 27, 2014
Yes, There Is a Difference Between a Buffet, Sideboard, Server, and Credenza
Buffet, sideboard, server, credenza: Do you find yourself using these terms interchangeably? I sure do! After all, there’s so much overlap between these furniture types that a piece’s classification is often determined solely by its location in your home. Confusing, right? Oh, and have you heard of a huntboard? I hadn’t either, at least until reading this helpful Houzz design article that breaks down the details of these terms.
Landis Carey
Mar 26, 2014
The Unusual Way I Make Tortillas (And Why Weeknight Tacos Always Win)
Day 18: Make a “stuff I like to eat” list. My family moved to Europe when I was just six weeks old and we lived there, mostly in Vienna, Austria, until I was 14. My husband likes to joke that my bread obsession comes from growing up in a city where no weekend morning was complete without riding the city bus to pick up fresh-baked Semmeln and Schwarzbrot from the bakery down the street!
Cambria Bold
Mar 26, 2014
How I Save Time and Space in My Kitchen with Souper Mix
This week I spent a little time replenishing my supply of souper mix. What is souper mix, you ask? Well, it’s the reason I no longer make or buy containers of vegetable broth or stock — and have a lot more room in my pantry and freezer as a result. For many years I made my own stock from vegetable scraps that I’d save in the freezer. Once I amassed enough scraps I’d simmer them in water to make a stock, which I would also store in the freezer.
Emily Han
Mar 26, 2014
The Best Cheap Trader Joe’s Wines to Drink With Italian Food
Ariel asked me to pick out a few budget-friendly wines from Trader Joe’s for her Friday Board Game Night Gathering, where she planned on serving easy, make-ahead Italian food. I was excited for an excuse to visit Denver’s newly opened Trader Joe’s for the first time. Rumors of lines that wrapped around the building and parking up to three blocks away had kept me from venturing into the new store. Turns out, the rumors were true.
Jayme Henderson
Mar 26, 2014
5 Delightful Ways to Use Coconut Sugar
Spring is officially here, and for me that always means cleaning out the cupboards and thinking of new ways to lighten up my cooking and baking — with as much color and flavor as possible. This season, coconut sugar will play a big role in my kitchen. If you’re not familiar with coconut sugar, it’s a delightful unrefined sugar made from the sap of the cut flower buds of the coconut palm.
Megan Gordon
Mar 26, 2014
Kitchen Cleaning Tip: Use Your Bathtub to Clean Oven Racks
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 26, 2014
A DIY Door Organizer for a Tiny Kitchen
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → A DIY Door Organizer for a Tiny Kitchen
Cambria Bold
Mar 26, 2014
Should I Refurbish My Vintage Steel Kitchen Cabinets or Buy New Ones?
Q: I’m living in a 50s era home with a 70s era kitchen. The current kitchen cabinets are falling apart around me, and intriguingly, the original steel Youngstown cabinets are in the basement and are in solid condition. They just need new powder-coating, which would end up being about 10% the cost of new big-box cabinets. Before I plunge ahead with the switch though, I want to make sure I know what I’m getting into.
Anjali Prasertong
Mar 25, 2014
4 Rye Whiskeys to Fit Your Budget
As we learned last week, rye whiskey can really carry a cocktail. It’s bold, spicy and dry, and those characteristics provide a firm foundation on which to build a complex flavor profile. Sweet and citrus fruits nicely soften its sharp edges, while bitter and herbal ingredients can help pick out and amplify many of rye’s deeper-seated elements, like notes of pepper and baking spice.
Roger Kamholz
Mar 25, 2014
Why You Shouldn’t Force Your Partner to Go to the Farmers Market Anymore
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 25, 2014
The Best Kitchen Storage: Mismatched Jars or Brand New Containers?
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → The Best Kitchen Storage: Mismatched Jars or Brand New Containers?
Cambria Bold
Mar 25, 2014
Dark Walls May Solve Your Honey Oak Rental Kitchen Blues
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 24, 2014
How To Remove and Install a Kitchen Sink
(Image credit: Andie Powers) From Apartment Therapy → How To Remove and Install a Kitchen Sink
Cambria Bold
Mar 24, 2014
Confidence
Confidence is a funny thing. A hairsbreadth too much and it tumbles into arrogance and posturing. A touch too little and it’s impossible to reach for the magic. In the kitchen, as with most of life, confidence is a very helpful, and also potentially dangerous, ingredient. When we’re confident, we trust in our abilities and decisions. We don’t hesitate, we act and, often, we act boldly. This can lead to some very delicious and interesting results.
Dana Velden
Mar 23, 2014
Day 15: Make Dinner Tonight & Plan Next Week’s Breakfasts, Lunches & Dinners
Day 15: Friday, March 21 Today’s Assignment: Make dinner! Weekend Assignment: Plan all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for next week The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here We’re heading into the home stretch of our Cooking Cure, and this weekend is a big one! The goal this weekend is to plan, and to prep, for all your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners next week. That’s 21 meals, including the weekend. Feeling pumped? Nervous?
Emma Christensen
Mar 21, 2014
Recipe: Baked Red Lentil Falafel Salad
The vibrant and hustling streets of Tel Aviv are flooded with falafel stands. They usually open up shop around noon for the on-the-go lunch crowd and stay open late, catering to the energetic night owls looking for cheap grub. My father was born and raised in Tel Aviv and remembers going to the neighborhood cart and ordering the only thing they had: basic fried chickpea fritters, served in a white flour pita and topped with tahini, and maybe some chopped salad — if you were lucky.
Karen Biton-Cohen
Mar 21, 2014
Cure My Cooking Problem! Dirty Dishes Get in the Way of Weeknight Cooking
How’s your Cooking Cure going this week? Are you cooking dinner each night? Is there any way we can help you or answer a question? Here’s a challenge from Melabell — it can be hard to keep up with the nightly routine of cooking when there are still dirty dishes from yesterday. Sure, it’s easy to say: “Just clean them as you go!” but sometimes this is just one thing too many, when you’ve already devoted the time to making a home-cooked dinner.
Faith Durand
Mar 21, 2014
What Should I Make for Dinner Tonight?
From The Kitchn → What Should You Have for Dinner Tonight?
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 21, 2014
This Is How to Deal with Honey Oak Cabinets: Paint the Walls Midnight Blue
We’ve seen and heard our share of rental kitchen woes lately, particularly when it comes to those ubiquitous contractor-grade honey oak cabinets.
Cambria Bold
Mar 21, 2014
Beautiful Balcony, Rooftop & Patio Gardens
(Image credit: Alexis Buryk) From Apartment Therapy → Beautiful Balcony, Rooftop & Patio Gardens
Cambria Bold
Mar 21, 2014
What Should You Have for Dinner Tonight? Take This Old-School Quiz.
We’ve all been there: it’s 5pm and you have no idea what you’re going to do for dinner. You might wander around the grocery store after work or school without a real recipe in mind and choose a whole bunch of stuff for a “salad”. You might even skip the grocery store altogether and just order take-out or eat cereal straight from the box. Well, this doesn’t need to be you any longer!
Ariel Knutson
Mar 20, 2014
The 4 Best Things to Eat with Pinot Noir: A Winemaker’s Pairing Picks
Over the past couple of days, Jay McDonald of EIEIO & Co. Winery has led us through the vineyards of the Willamette Valley in Oregon and shown us the ropes on crafting Pinot Noir. A consummate entertainer, Jay now shares his culinary expertise on pairing food with the ever-versatile Pinot Noir. (Of course, he’s slightly biased toward Pinot from Oregon!
Jayme Henderson
Mar 20, 2014
Day 14: Stock Your Kitchen For One New Dinner
Day 14: Thursday, March 20 Assignment: Pick 1 new dinner recipe and shop for ingredients The Cooking Cure: See all assignments so far here New dinner goals? Check! New dinner recipes? Check! Now it’s time to spring into action. Tomorrow, we’ll be in the kitchen making a new recipes so that means that today we need to shop for ingredients. Think you can spare a few minutes to run to the store this afternoon?
Emma Christensen
Mar 20, 2014
Cure My Cooking Problem! I Forget to Take Meat Out of the Freezer to Thaw!
Today’s Cooking Cure Challenge comes from me! I have the hardest time remembering to take meat out of the freezer to thaw ahead of time. Can you relate? I’ve seen the same woes in many comments during the Cure. Do you have any good tips for remembering or thawing meat quickly? Here are a few from our archives. In a Hurry: 3 Defrosting Tips for Super Fast Results Freeze Individual Portions For Expedited Defrosting Any other tips or smart ways to remember to take the meat out?
Faith Durand
Mar 20, 2014
8 New Ways to Freshen Up Budget Staple Beans and Rice
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 20, 2014
A Risk-Free Way to Experiment in the Kitchen: Use Your Nose!
I encourage my children to shower before we eat, because I enjoy dinner, and nothing ruins the taste of a good meal like an unwashed soccer, tennis or basketball player. If I can smell them from ten feet away, the meal I’ve prepared loses its appeal. But before they get home, when I’m cooking that meal, I use my sense of smell to decide what the dish needs, without the risk of ruining the dish with a seasoning that just doesn’t work. How?
Anne Wolfe Postic
Mar 20, 2014
10 Ways to Make Chicken Thighs Your Dinner BFF
Last year Emma declared 2013 the year of the chicken thigh, but I think this sentiment still holds strong for 2014. Yes, chicken thighs have more fat in them than chicken breasts, but that’s what makes them so easy and wonderful to use in recipes. Chicken thighs also tend to be a little cheaper at the grocery store, so they’re perfect for delicious yet affordable weeknight meals. What’s not to love? What are your favorite recipes that use chicken thighs?
Ariel Knutson
Mar 19, 2014
Kitchen Art: A Chat with Artist Ankita Kerjariwal from Textured INK Studio
Designer Ankita Kerjariwal opened her Etsy shop in 2011 with her fun collection of beautiful graphic prints for the kitchen. Many of her offerings are personalized or available in custom colors and would make a great wedding or housewarming gift. Ankita was very kind and agreed to answer a few questions for The Kitchn about her artwork, her home, and what she loves to cook. AK: “My favorite design is the colorful set with bold colors and the simple kitchen silhouettes.
Landis Carey
Mar 19, 2014
Why Rye? Inside the 9-Bottle Bar’s Whiskey of Choice
Rye whiskey is having a remarkable comeback. After many years of relative obscurity, domestic demand for rye is surging, and the reason for its somewhat sudden and unanticipated popularity is the same reason I’ve included it in The 9-Bottle Bar: a good rye whiskey mixes superbly in cocktails. After briefly introducing all nine of the bottles in our arsenal last week, we’re now taking an in-depth look at what makes rye whiskey a useful addition to any small-yet-mighty home bar.
Roger Kamholz
Mar 19, 2014
Cure My Cooking Problem! Help Me Cook Dinner for Especially Busy Nights
We all have busy nights where it’s tough to cook dinner after work, but jaudre has an even more challenging issue: she needs to come home, make dinner, and then be somewhere else quickly in the evening. Do you have any dinners that are especially good for these squeezed-in mealtimes? My “problem” with making dinner is, three nights in the week I have to be somewhere else by 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. That makes dinner preparation, cooking etc. a little challenging.
Faith Durand
Mar 19, 2014
Tips for a Perfect Pork Chop Everytime
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 19, 2014
5 Tips for the Right Way to Read a Recipe: Or How Not to Start an Overnight Recipe 30 Minutes Before the Party
I’ve been known to play things a little fast and loose in the kitchen. There is very rarely a measuring cup by my side when I’m cooking for pleasure. A dash of this, a pinch of that, a glug of wine for the sauce (and a glug for the chef); these are all acceptable measurements in my cooking language. This method totally works when you’re freestyling dinner, but it doesn’t always work out when you’re trying to bake a batch of cupcakes.
Gina Eykemans
Mar 19, 2014
Video Roundup: How to Grow Things You Can Eat
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → Video Roundup: How to Grow Things You Can Eat
Cambria Bold
Mar 19, 2014
Can I Reuse Leftover Broth from Corned Beef and Cabbage?
Q: Can I use the leftover broth from corned beef and cabbage in a soup the next day? Sent by Jane Editor: Jane, yes — you may have to add a little more water or stock if the broth is very salty, but it will make a delicious soup. Here are a few more ideas for reusing leftover corned beef braising liquid: → What Can I Do With Leftover Braising Liquid? Readers, what do you do with the leftover broth from a corned beef and cabbage dinner?
Anjali Prasertong
Mar 18, 2014
How To Clean an Oven with Baking Soda and Vinegar
Forget about that stinky self-cleaning function!
Gina Eykemans
Mar 18, 2014
One Amazing Kitchen Light Fixture
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 18, 2014
Christine & Pierre’s Big Kitchen Renovation Reveal
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → Christine & Pierre’s Big Kitchen Renovation Reveal
Cambria Bold
Mar 18, 2014
What I Cook: Abby’s Favorite Cookbooks & Her Tip For a Stress-Free Dinner Party
Last week we showed you Abby Ruettgers’ sweet South End kitchen, a gorgeous, well-edited space with rows of cookbooks, soapstone countertops, and a big chopping board. Abby loves to entertain, and her kitchen is perfectly set up for it: in colder months friends hang out at the counter or lounge around her dining table; in the summer they head out to the patio, which is in near-constant use in grilling season.
Cambria Bold
Mar 17, 2014
Dark Kitchen? Try a Mirror
From The Kitchn → No Window in Your Kitchen? No Problem.
Jennifer Hunter
Mar 17, 2014