The Kitchn Archive
2017
April

The Kitchn Archive: Apr 2017

10 Surprising Things You Can Clean in the Dishwasher
We spend a lot of time talking about the things that you shouldn't put in the dishwasher. But there are tons of random things that can go in!
Lisa Freedman
Apr 30, 2017
Food Rituals Will Help You Bring Your Best Self to the Table
This past winter I began lighting candles each night just before our small family of three sat down to dinner. It changed the way we eat. Even now in the long-lit days of a northern spring, a reminder to take a deep breath and lower our voices before lifting our forks does the same as the candles that once lit our table. For years we slid into our chairs, fresh from email, homework, or feeding the dogs.
Anne Bramley
Apr 29, 2017
You Should Really Make Pasta from Scratch with Your Kids
I cook and bake with my two kids regularly, everything from weeknight dinners to the more advanced sugar cookies during the holidays and cakes for their birthdays, but I recently had a cooking-with-my-kids experience that was so revolutionary, so satisfying, and just plain fun that I have to tell you about it. Five years into this parenthood thing, and way longer in the cooking and eating business, you’d think I would have thought to make pasta from scratch with my kids sooner.
Meghan Splawn
Apr 29, 2017
Here’s What You Need to Eat Every Meal Outside This Spring
(Image credit: Emily Billings) From Apartment Therapy → Best Outdoor Furniture: Dining Tables & Chairs null
Apartment Therapy
Apr 29, 2017
3 Key Steps for Throwing the Best Surprise Party Ever
There’s more to throwing a surprise party than hiding behind a couch and throwing confetti at someone. (Although, those are fun aspects of it!) Not to freak you out or anything, but if you’re the one throwing the bash, the birthday girl’s happiness rests entirely in your hands. It’s a lot a pressure, we know! Don’t panic just yet. There are just three small things you need to do in order to throw the best surprise party ever.
Lisa Freedman
Apr 28, 2017
How Drinking with My Family Has Made Me a Responsible Drinker
I’d be lying if I said I’ve never gotten drunk or that I’ve never been hungover. I’ve done my fair share of partying — hey, everything in moderation, right? — but I’ve always seen my relationship with alcohol as a healthy one, and that’s because of one simple thing: my family. Every family has their own dynamic, but if I could describe mine in one word it would be, simply, close.
Sadie Trombetta
Apr 28, 2017
A Trick for Perfectly Cooked Sunny-Side Eggs
This tip on how to cook perfect sunny-side eggs comes from John Besh, the Louisiana-based chef known for his celebration of the food of New Orleans. It’s a slow method and very much about creating the creamiest egg whites possible. No caramelization, no super crispy lacy edges — this is about a custardy set white around a shimmering, gooey yolk. What this method requires in patience it makes up for in results because it will give you the silkiest, creamiest sunny-side-up egg.
Hali Bey Ramdene
Apr 28, 2017
This New Starbucks Roastery Is Basically the Disney World of Coffee
Starbucks has plans to go from “grande” to “trenta” for their new upscale location on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The Seattle-based coffee company announced their plan to open an interactive 43,000-square-foot, four-story Roastery in the windy city. The location should be up and running by 2019.
Susmita Baral
Apr 27, 2017
Can We Stop with the Awkward Adult Peer Pressuring?
Let me make one thing clear from the start: I do drink. I have no opposition to alcohol, moral or otherwise. I like being in control, but not so much that I can’t enjoy the feeling of letting loose after a cocktail. I love a glass of rosé over an al fresco dinner, a Champagne toast at a wedding, or a frosty blended drink (or three) by the pool at a resort. And don’t even get me started about the wonders of a margarita on Taco Tuesday. I totally drink.
Alli Hoff Kosik
Apr 27, 2017
This Mainstream Supermarket Wants to Buy Whole Foods
If grocery chain Albertsons has its way, it’ll be adding a fancier supermarket to its roster: Whole Foods. According to the Financial Times, the private equity firm that owns Albertsons is looking to acquire the Austin-based upscale grocer, known for retailing organic and natural products. The Financial Times reports, citing anonymous sources, that Cerberus Capital Management is in discussions with bankers to place an offer on Whole Foods.
Susmita Baral
Apr 27, 2017
Is a 50/20/30 Budget Realistic? We Asked 8 Real New Yorkers
(Image credit: The Kitchn) From Apartment Therapy → We Asked 8 Real New Yorkers: Is a 50/20/30 Budget Realistic? null
The Kitchn
Apr 27, 2017
This Is the Last Thing You Should Do When Spring Cleaning
You spring cleaned! You soaked and scrubbed your oven racks, washed the shelves in your fridge, went through your pantry, and gave everything the deepest clean ever. Yay, you! Hopefully you saved this one thing for last: the floors. “When you’re cleaning, everything gets dumped on the floors — from crumbs on the counters to dust flying around — so there’s just no point in cleaning them any earlier in the process,” says Melissa Maker, author of Clean My Space.
Ayn-Monique Klahre
Apr 27, 2017
Take a Trip to Greece with This Sheet Pan Chicken Souvlaki
The sheet pan meal strikes again with this easy, weeknight-friendly chicken souvlaki. If you’re a fan of Greek flavors like lemon and oregano, and ingredients like kalamata olives and feta, you’re going to love this dish. The secret to getting everything to cook evenly is to cut the potatoes into one-inch chunks, the peppers into thick strips, and the onions into thin slices.
Lauren Kodiak
Apr 27, 2017
7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Planning a Surprise Party
So you wanna throw a surprise party? You’re a good friend! You’ll be an even better friend if you ask yourself these key questions before you get in over your head. While you obviously have the best intentions in mind, not everyone loves a surprise. An introvert, for example, might need time to mentally prepare for a big social setting, and throwing her into one — with zero warning — might be more stressful than enjoyable.
Lisa Freedman
Apr 26, 2017
Mistakes to Avoid When Substituting Cauliflower for Rice in Any Dish
If you’re about to make the swap of cauliflower rice for real rice for the first time, I want to be honest about one thing: riced cauliflower is not going to fool you as a stand-in for grains of actual rice.
Kelli Foster
Apr 26, 2017
How to Think Like a Florist When Choosing Fresh Flowers at Home
(Image credit: Scharfsinn) shutterstock From Apartment Therapy → How to Think Like a Florist When Choosing & Caring for Fresh Flowers at Home null
The Kitchn
Apr 26, 2017
These New Meal Kits Make Sous-Vide Easier than a Slow Cooker
If you’re fluent in cooking, then chances are you’ve heard of sous-vide — which literally translates to “under vacuum” in French. It’s a cooking technique conceived in the 1970s and the process entails putting ingredients in a bag, sucking the air out, and cooking the bag in a water bath at a precise temperature. Sound fancy? It’s cause it is.
Susmita Baral
Apr 26, 2017
Why I’ll Never KonMari My Cookbook Collection
It slides in the shelf sideways, due to its tall picture-book shape, but even from this reduced position, My Learn to Cook Book holds its own among the more usual suspects. Inscribed “Maria, from Grandpa & Grandma Speidel, Merry Christmas, 1969,” this Big Golden Book (as opposed to Little Golden Books like The Pokey Puppy) was my very first cookbook.
Maria Speidel
Apr 26, 2017
5 Kitchen Safety Posters That Make Us Laugh
In some cities (including New York City), restaurants are required by law to display step-by-step instructions on how to save someone from choking. The local governments and health departments often supply free prints, which restaurant owners can order and hang. (Here’s one for NYC.) There is no law, however, that states the posters can’t be fun and a bit more creative.
Lisa Freedman
Apr 26, 2017
The Best Ways to Clean Up Broken Glass (Without Cutting Yourself!)
Broken glass can be a pain in the you-know-what — especially if it was filled with something (what a sad waste of Pinot!). To pick up the shards (without drawing blood) and any former contents, follow this advice. The first step to cleaning up broken glass is to pick up the large pieces — carefully. And you shouldn’t do it bare-handed: Protect your hands with a thick towel, a heavy rubber glove, or even an oven mitt. And please put on shoes!
Amy Roberts
Apr 26, 2017
This Berries and Cream Cake Will Brighten a Rainy Spring Day
Looking for a baking project to while away a rainy spring day? This berries and cream cake is it.
Lauren Kodiak
Apr 26, 2017
Here’s How to Make Your Own Reusable Food Wrap
(Image credit: Edith Zimmerman) From Apartment Therapy → How To Make Your Own Reusable Food Wrap null
The Kitchn
Apr 26, 2017
In the Kitchen with Cookbook Author Tami Hardeman of Running with Tweezers
Tami Hardeman is the observant eye and stylist behind the popular blog Running with Tweezers. Tami is a professional food stylist and recipes developer who has also recently added “cookbook author” to her resume. Tami spent the last year working on her debut cookbook, Pulse Revolution. An extension of Tami’s own cooking style, Pulse Revolution‘s 150 recipes are vegetarian but include both meat enhancements and vegan adaptations.
Meghan Splawn
Apr 25, 2017
10 of My Favorite Meals to Bring to a Friend in Need
Recently I’ve had quite a few friends who are going through tough times. Whether it’s a joyful transition, like a new baby; or a rough patch, like chemotherapy, I’ve found that the best thing I can do is to bring them food. After all, feeding someone in their time of need is one of the oldest, purest acts of love. I look for recipes that are relatively easy, as well as nutritious and delicious — a win-win for you and your friend.
Claire Swinarski
Apr 25, 2017
10 of the Best Vegetarian Groceries at Trader Joe’s
Apartment Therapy
Apr 25, 2017
These Everything Bagel Brussels Sprouts Are Everything
For some, Brussels sprouts can be a hard sell. Although the cruciferous veggie has gone mainstream over the years (we probably have bacon to thank for that), it’s always helpful to jazz them up a bit if you’re trying to incite enthusiasm. Enter: these roasted Brussels sprouts with everything bagel spice. The same spice blend on your favorite everything bagel is what takes basic roasted Brussels sprouts from meh to yay! The idea is so ingenious, I wish I’d thought of it.
Lauren Kodiak
Apr 25, 2017
Before & After: How I Completely Transformed My Junk Drawer Without Buying a Single Organizer
Apartment Therapy
Apr 24, 2017
10 Cooks Share Their Favorite Things to Make in the Instant Pot
So you heard the rumors, bought an Instant Pot, and now it’s been sitting in your basement the last couple months and you just don’t know where to start. Sure, it was inexpensive and promised delicious, quick meals, but you’re feeling uninspired. Or maybe you’ve tried it a couple times and still don’t understand the fuss. Whatever your reason is, you need some help.
Ariel Knutson
Apr 24, 2017
10 Weird Items You Should Definitely Put in Your Fridge
(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From Apartment Therapy → 10 Weird Items You Should Put in Your Fridge null
The Kitchn
Apr 24, 2017
An Introvert’s Guide to Entertaining
(Image credit: Anita Jeerage) From Apartment Therapy → The Introvert’s Guide to Entertaining null
The Kitchn
Apr 23, 2017
Who Needs Yoga When Making Soup Is a Form of Meditation?
The world is changing. This isn’t just an understatement about politics. It’s a truism about the equinox, that sliver of time when one season becomes another, when we exhale the old life and breathe in the new. Some of us free our houses from every last crumb for Passover. Some fill it with Peeps for Easter. Plenty use spring to make a fresh start, and for others still it’s a whole new (Persian) year. I am cleaning the winter out of my freezer. I have bones to pick.
Anne Bramley
Apr 22, 2017
Partner
Recipe: Tangy Balsamic Peach Gouda Grilled Cheese
There’s nothing wrong with a classic grilled cheese — the formula’s been around forever for good reason. On the other hand, it’s a formula that lends itself to new flavors so well. Take, for example, this Tangy Balsamic Peach Gouda Grilled Cheese. Alexandra made one for her longtime friend Katherine, who recently moved to her neighborhood after years spent living abroad.
Sarah E Crowder
Apr 22, 2017
Need Houseplant Help? How to Save a Plant Whose Leaves are Turning Yellow
(Image credit: Nancy Mitchell) From Apartment Therapy → Houseplant Help: How to Save a Plant Whose Leaves are Turning Yellow null
The Kitchn
Apr 22, 2017
Don’t Have Time to Clean Your Kitchen Windows? Do This One Thing Instead.
You’re not going to like this, but the air in your kitchen is full of gunk. “Anytime you’re cooking and the food creates steam or smoke, that can carry grease that will stick onto your backsplash, countertop, stovetop, and more,” says to Melissa Maker, star of the Clean My Space YouTube Channel and author of Clean My Space. “It’s sticky, it’s gross, and it’s hard to clean — and breathing that air isn’t great, either!
Ayn-Monique Klahre
Apr 21, 2017
This May Be the Oldest Food Trivia Question of All Time
Oh, the chicken-and-egg dilemma: Start thinking about it too much, and it’s mind-bendingly philosophical. It’s little surprise, then, that the “chicken or the egg” question’s roots actually stretch as far back as Aristotle. As an idiom, though, we know “chicken or the egg?” was in regular use by the mid-1800s, says Jane Solomon, lexicographer at Dictionary.com, who dug through loads of history to help answer this question for us.
Tracy Saelinger
Apr 21, 2017
10 Really Surprising Things You Can Clean in the Dishwasher
Apartment Therapy
Apr 21, 2017
Our Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes for Springtime
With the weather warming up, it finally feels like it’s time to come out from under that blanket on the couch and breathe in some fresh air. We’re craving less time inside the house, which means a slow cooker is more valuable than ever. Just because it’s no longer braise and stew weather doesn’t mean your slow cooker should be tucked away for the season. Here are lighter, more spring-appropriate meals that give you freedom to get outside.
Sheela Prakash
Apr 21, 2017
So, Can You Really Make Nut Milk from Nut Butter?
Just around the time I started researching making nut milk from any kind of nut at home and the pleasures of making cashew cream, Food52 shared a “genius recipe” for Instant Nut Milk. A hack they adapted from Laura Wright‘s The First Mess Cookbook promises “a better, smarter, faster, less pain-in-the-neck method” to making nut milk at home by blending raw nut butter with water.
Meghan Splawn
Apr 21, 2017
You Only Need 2 Ingredients for This Creamy Mango Pudding
As the weather warms up and outdoor entertaining season approaches, it’s good to have some easy, crowd-pleasing recipes in your back pocket. This two-ingredient mango pudding definitely fits the bill. Cool and creamy, this is the simple dessert or snack I’ll be turning to over the next few months. The pudding gets it thick consistency from chilled coconut cream, so this dessert does require a bit of forethought. My solution?
Lauren Kodiak
Apr 21, 2017
The Science Behind Your 3 p.m. Snack Slump
From Kitchn → The Science Behind the 3 p.m.
Apartment Therapy
Apr 20, 2017
Start Your Day with This Turmeric & Almond Milk
Have you tried turmeric milk? Somewhat of a complicated, controversial drink, it’s been hailed as a preventative tool and cure-all for a myriad of ailments, and also criticized for its cultural appropriation and overstated health claims. That’s why I was so happy to come across this recipe for turmeric almond milk from Chitra Agrawal’s cookbook Vibrant India (by way of Laura over at A Beautiful Plate).
Lauren Kodiak
Apr 20, 2017
6 Signs Your Friends Are Throwing You a Surprise Party
Your friends are not nearly as sneaky as they think they are. If you know what to look for, there are plenty of telltale signs that they’re throwing you a surprise party. Here are some obvious giveaways. P.S.: Happy birthday! You’re used to having total access to your boyfriend’s cell phone, but all of a sudden, he’s being cagey about it. He’s texting people more than normal and you’re pretty sure you saw him looking at bunting banners online.
Lisa Freedman
Apr 19, 2017
5 Things You Need to Know About Palmetto Bugs
Apartment Therapy
Apr 19, 2017
Partner
The Big Journey Every Little Tuna Takes to Your Table
A couple of years ago, if you wanted to know exactly where your meats and fish, fruits and vegetables came from, your shopping options were limited to local farmers’ markets or the kind of grocery store that also sells yoga mats and novelty T-shirts about kale. That’s no longer the case.
Sponsored Post
Apr 19, 2017
How to Remove Rust the Natural Way, with a Potato!
From Kitchn → Remove Rust the Natural Way, with a Potato!
Apartment Therapy
Apr 18, 2017
9 Ways to Make Sure Your Surprise Party Is Actually a Surprise
Keeping a surprise party an actual surprise is no easy task. But with some clever planning, it can be done. Here’s how. Even if you’re roommates, it’s going to be hard to plan a surprise, literally, right under her nose. Instead, consider throwing the bash at a nearby friend’s house, a bar, or a restaurant. If, all of a sudden, you’re trying to take your friend to a neighborhood that you guys never go to, she might start catching on to you.
Lisa Freedman
Apr 18, 2017
21 Modern Wedding Bands for a Minimalist Bride (on Any Budget)
(Image credit: Taryn Williford) From Apartment Therapy → 21 Modern Wedding Bands for a Minimalist Bride null
The Kitchn
Apr 18, 2017
The Cut of Chicken That Gives You the Most Meat for Your Money
When it comes to buying chicken and getting a good deal for your money, the price tag doesn’t tell the whole story. Yes, it tells us dollar-per-pound cost, but if you consider price alone you miss one important thing: the bones. While bone-in options can be particularly economical and flavorful, a smaller percentage of the package you paid for is actually edible (stock-making aside). Do you know which cut of chicken actually gives you the most meat for your money? Are you surprised?
Kelli Foster
Apr 18, 2017