The Kitchn Archive: Apr 2018

Here at Kitchn we’re big fans of what Editor-in-Chief Faith Durand calls “salad swag.” When you’re making a salad for lunch, you typically always have greens and maybe a dressing — but the fun stuff, the “swag,” is where things actually get interesting. Maybe you add some shrimp, avocado, and corn (like here). Or maybe it’s chicken, cherry tomatoes, and avocado slices (like here).

Everyone has that playlist or soundtrack that gets them psyched. Whether you’re planning a night out, or need some extra energy for a morning run, music and podcasts have a way of making things way more entertaining. While normally you might not think listening to someone talk about grocery shopping would be considered a pump-up jam, you need to reconsider. Trader Joe’s is coming out with its own podcast, and it sounds more exciting than any grocery store podcast has a right to be.

I’m obsessed with KIND bars. I’d rather have a Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt KIND bar than any other candy bar in the check-out aisle. They’re crunchy, salty, sweet, chocolatey, and savory, but they’re not too sticky-sweet or full of sugar. I’d even rather have them than the big boxes of fancy chocolates that tend to show up at candy-giving holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

Anthony Bourdain might not be a fan of these new “bleeding” vegan burgers, but the patrons of Costco can’t seem to get enough of them. In February, Costco quietly started selling a new, meat-like vegan burger that “bleeds” beet juice and sizzles on the grill just like beef, thanks to vegetable fats. And the test exceeded everyone’s expectations: Costco sold more than a million of them in just 60 days.

Costco’s food court might be the perfect place, if it were not for two things. First, no one seems to be able to figure out how to stand in line at a Costco food court. And second, once you do get to the front of the line, you have to decide between the giant pizza slices and the $1.50 hot dog and soda deal. How can anyone choose? That’d be like having to pick a favorite child, or at least a favorite Kardashian. The $1.50 hot dog is tempting. It’s an icon. It’s been $1.

If only buying chicken were as simple as picking out a pack, paying for it, and heading on your merry way. That’s not to say it’s super complicated (it’s really not!) — it’s just there are a few things you should know before you head to the store. These insider-y tips will make sure your shopping trip, meal prep, and dinner are the clucking best. More often than not, your grocery store butcher will be more than happy to help you.

I must admit that I am a latecomer to the whole “loving cauliflower” thing. When I was a child, my first taste of cauliflower was a watery, steamed, poorly prepared version of it, so I just assumed I hated it for the rest of my life. There never seemed to be a reason to try it again, either. Brightly colored vegetables seem vibrant, healthful, and flavorful, but cauliflower just looked like dead broccoli.

There are few things in life more jarring than accidentally getting the wrong milk. “Wrong” is subjective, of course, but if you’re used to a low-fat milk and accidentally wind up with whole, it’s basically like taking a big glug of heavy cream. And if you’re used to the comparatively thick, creamy mouthfeel of whole milk, having to put skim in your morning coffee will ruin your entire day.

It’s a running joke that Costco’s stuff is always good, from the copycat Nutella to the plastic wrap to the $7.99 bottles of Prosecco. If Costco made a Kirkland Signature car, I would buy it, and I am genuinely thinking about refinancing a mortgage through Costco. Now one couple has taken that even further and decided that if everything that comes out of Costco is good, then there’d be no better place to start their married life together.

The most memorable scene in Pulp Fiction is still the exchange between Vincent and Jules, when they’re talking about the little differences between the United States and Europe. Vincent is floored that he can get a beer at an Amsterdam movie theater, order a Royale with Cheese at a McDonald’s in Paris, and watch the Dutch dip their fries in mayonnaise. “I seen ’em do it, man,” he said. “They [freakin’] drown ’em in [it].

Buying pre-sliced cheese means you’ll shave off a few seconds from the time it takes to make your lunch. But that’s seconds, not minutes. And in return you’ll pay several dollars more per pound. That’s dollars, not cents.