Kitchn Archive - 2025
Page 1091
DIY Fall Appetizer: Fig Salami
Inside these cheesecloth packages are homemade salami, flavored with red wine, herbs and spices. But the main ingredient isn’t meat – it’s figs! These have some aging to do and won’t be ready for another three weeks, but let’s take a peek, shall we?Our fig salami are still in the early stages of the aging process – in another three weeks or so, they will have lost a lot of their moisture and have a nice firm texture. That’s the plan, anyway!
Oct 6, 2009
Harvest Recipe: Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Pomegranate Molasses and Basil
We’re still getting fresh local tomatoes in in the Bay Area and will continue to do so into October. Such glorious abundance! So far this season, I have canned whole San Marzano’s, tomato jam and am about to make and can up some ketchup. Still, I have a large bowl of dry-farmed Early Girls sitting on my counter, perfect for slow roasting.This recipe works pretty well with out-of-season supermarket tomatoes, too.
Oct 5, 2009
AT on… The Continuing Coffee Debate
Each morning as the trip to the office nears, we turmoil about stopping at a coffeeshop on the way in. For months, we brewed our joe at home, but over the hot summer that fell out of favor and the coffee maker currently resides on a high shelf. So until we pull that bad boy
Oct 5, 2009
Minestrone Soup, Full of Leafy Greens Recipe Review
We’re not sure we’ve ever had two minestrones that tasted the same—which makes sense, because minestrone is really meant to be a hodgepodge. This Italian vegetable soup usually has tomatoes, white beans, and greens, but recipes vary wildly. This one is a keeper. Hearty, rich, and packed with huge bunches (three kinds!) of greens.There is one big caveat, something we didn’t read carefully before starting on dinner last night.
Oct 1, 2009
How To Fry-Poach an Egg
Have you ever fry-poached an egg? We think that this intriguing mash-up of egg terminology holds out potential for the ultimate breakfast egg.Reader Jennifer sent us her scrumptious-looking Croque Jardin, pictured above. The sandwich looks lovely and delicious, but we were arrested by her description of the “fry-poached” egg on top.Basically, a fry-poached egg avoids the rubbery white of a regular fried egg by combining two favorite techniques.
Sep 29, 2009
A Better Frittata: Tips from Alice Waters
There are a handful of cookbooks we turn to when we’re looking to perfect a classic recipe. Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food has become one of those books. In it, we found three great tips for making the perfect frittata.We love books like this one because they offer great information about the basics of a recipe. Once you’ve got those down, you can get creative with flavors and ingredients. Here’s what we learned about making a frittata: Cook the vegetables first.
Sep 29, 2009
Before & After: Lauren and John’s First Kitchen
Lauren and John moved into their first home in August with big plans for a DIY renovation. For some of us that might mean several prolonged months of planning, but not for this couple; most of their projects are already done! In the kitchen they wanted to brighten things up and make the space feel
Sep 29, 2009
Tell Us: Where Do You Eat Dinner?
Our post in defense of eating in front of the TV stirred up quite a bit of controversy! It got us curious about our various eating habits: where do you sit down (or stand up!) to eat your dinner?Most nights my sweetie and I actually do sit down to eat at the dining room table. It’s not usually a formal thing. We’ll be in the middle of a conversation when dinner is ready, so we just fill our plates from the pan and continue on talking in the dining room.
Sep 28, 2009
DIY Idea: Marble Patchwork Floor in a Shaker Kitchen
In the Shaker kitchen (on the ground floor of the house), they used pieces of stone and marble to create a burn proof, cool and super tough floor that could withstand cooking for dozens and dozens of people a day. It’s beautiful. • Read the full post at Apartment Therapy
Sep 28, 2009
Dessert Recipe du Jour: Plum Crumble
Have you seen the latest irresistible recipe making the blog rounds? We’re speaking about plum crumble, a dish that Molly of Orangette just put on the menu at Delancey, and a dish that has a quite impressive lineage going back through Luisa Weiss and Marian Burros. But sources aside, this dish speaks for itself. It’s freaking fantastic.We love plums; they are one of our favorite fruits in late summer and early fall.
Sep 25, 2009
A Home-Cooked Weeknight Dinner (But Not By Me)
It pays to leave cookbooks lying about when my mother comes to town. This week she surprised us with two great mid-week home-cooked meals. All I had to do was take the picture.Last night’s spread was from Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren’s A16: Food & Wine (Ten Speed Press), a book from the acclaimed A16 restaurant in San Francisco that, despite it having come out a year ago, I hadn’t yet explored.
Sep 25, 2009
What is Ponzu?
If you like cooking Asian food at home, then you should have a bottle of ponzu in your cupboard. It is an essential condiment and marinade with a wonderful, zingy flavor that pairs well with vegetables, seafood, and meats. Sadly, it’s very little-known outside of Japan and it deserves more widespread knowledge.Ponzu is a citrus-based sauce used in Japanese cuisine as a marinade or an addition to soy sauce. It is made with rice wine, rice vinegar, bonito fish flakes, and seaweed.
Sep 24, 2009
How Color Affects Your Perception Of Food
Did you know that the color of your food, dishes, table linens and wall color can all have an affect on your appetite? Some colors can excite your senses and entice you to eat more, while others can actually help curb mindless snacking. We made a chart to put it all in perspective… In our household there has been an ongoing war between using pretty and printed colored plates and straight white dishware. So we did a little research to see what others had to say on the issue.
Sep 23, 2009
Copycat Recipe: DIY Nutri-Grain Fruit and Nut Bars
Of all the pre-made and pre-packaged foods that we’ve been trying to move away from, we’ve found it hardest to let go of snack bars – particularly Nutri-Grain’s Fruit and Nut Bars. We were devastated when they disappeared from store shelves! Then again, now we’ve figured out how to make them ourselves!The beauty of making these ourselves is that we can add whatever fruits or nuts to the cereal base that we feel like.
Sep 23, 2009
Create Counter Space: Over-the-Sink Cutting Boards
In our kitchen tour last week, we highlighted one of our favorite small space solutions: an over-the-sink cutting board. Use it any time you need extra counter space, whether it’s for chopping vegetables, mixing a cake, or holding a cookbook (just don’t turn on the faucet!).While it is not necessary to use a cutting board specifically designed for over-the-sink use, we like the built-in colanders offered in many models.
Sep 22, 2009
Dinner Parties: Is it Rude to Ask Who Else is Coming?
For etiquette advice, the last person we’d turn to is Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David, or at least his on-screen persona. But an issue he raised in Sunday’s season premiere got us thinking: Is it bad form to ask a host who else is coming to dinner?In typical fashion, Larry offended his friends with the question, particularly because he posed it before agreeing to attend the party and made it clear he didn’t really want to be there.
Sep 22, 2009
Ingredient Spotlight: Oca
Every so often in a specialty shop or farmer’s market, I see this strange tuber. It’s smallish, waxy, and brightly-colored. It’s called oca, and it’s one of the lost crops of the Incas.Originally from the Andes, oca was introduced to Europe and the South Pacific in the late 1800’s as a potato competitior. It’s become so prolific in New Zealand that some people call it “New Zealand Yam.
Sep 18, 2009
Underappreciated Home Tech: An Ode to the Kegerator
We spend a lot of time talking about the best televisions and grills and the other great home tech that can make a game-watching get-together into a serious party, but there’s one great invention that gets less attention even though it does just as much to ensure a good time. • Read the full post
Sep 18, 2009
Stainless Steel Food Container by Born Free
We came across this stainless steel food container while searching for lunchbox options. • Read the full post at Ohdeedoh
Sep 17, 2009
Quick Southern-Style Baked Beans from Pioneer Woman Recipe Review
“Woah, Nelly.” That’s how Ree Drummond begins this recipe, and we have to agree! We took one look at this bacon-topped casserole of smoky beans and knew we’d be making it soon. Fortunately, with lots of weekend cookouts and football parties to attend, we didn’t have to look far for an excuse!
Sep 16, 2009
How to Host an Iron Chef Dinner Party
Five skilled home cooks. One featured ingredient. A few hours of kitchen competition. One really good dinner. These were the makings of a recent “Iron Chef” party we hosted for a small group of friends. Our friends hold a mid-month cooking competition that they call “the Ides,” which takes place at a different home with a different panel of judges each month. When they asked us if we would host one of the dinners, we were more than happy to oblige.
Sep 15, 2009
Quick Tip: Use a Bottle Opener on a Stubborn Jar Lid
Sometimes what should be the easiest part of a meal – opening a jar – turns out to be the most difficult. If you’ve got a lid that won’t budge, try this handy little trick, and save yourself a lot of aggravation.We recently had quite a battle with a jar of olives. We wrapped it in a towel, ran under hot water – nothing worked. But we HAD to get those olives out.
Sep 15, 2009
7 Ways to Reuse a Banana Peel
To be honest, the only things we’ve ever thought banana peels were good for were to fill the compost and to make people fall. Then we came across these genius ways to reuse the slippery guys. • Read the full post at Re-Nest
Sep 15, 2009
Weekend Meditation: On Not Resisting Nigel Slater
Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable PatchI’ve written about cookbook lustnotIt isn’t always the objects or situations or people themselves that are problematic, it’s how we are relating to them. One person’s pile of cookbooks could be a symptom of something difficult, while for another it could be an expression of a passionate engagement, a source of inspiration. Of course, I like to think that I fall in to the later category and here’s why.
Sep 13, 2009
How Can I Safely Preserve Homemade Soups? Ask the Guest Expert: Canning Questions for Marisa McClellan
Q: I have been told that its fine to use sterilized jars and put HOT soup in them — then turn them upside down and let them seal themselves.Is this a good method for low risk foods?— Question asked by TaraMarisa: Tara, whoever told you that that was an appropriate way to can hot soup greatly misled you. Soup is a low-acid food, which means that it’s a fabulous environment for botulism to grow.
Sep 11, 2009
Cooking with Leftovers: Making Pot Roast Last All Week
When we shared our favorite pot roast recipe yesterday, we also mentioned how much we love having the leftovers in the fridge to use for meals during the week. Our families inevitably get tired of straight pot roast for every meal (even if we don’t), so we have sneaky ways for transforming it into new dishes!We really like to stretch out the leftovers and make this ready-made food last through the week.
Sep 10, 2009
How Do I Keep Food From Sticking To My All-Clad Skillet? Good Questions
Q: I recently decided to upgrade from an ailing frying pan to a 9″ All-Clad French skillet, and felt really excited about making a purchase that made me feel both grown-up and self-indulgent at the same time. As someone who has never been fond of “no-stick” pans I opted for the regular finish.
Sep 10, 2009
Pantry Essentials: Roasted Red Peppers from Trader Joe’s
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been caught on a weeknight with no fresh veggies in the fridge. Or if the veggies you thought were fresh turn out to be…not so fresh. Meet your new best friend: jarred roasted red peppers from Trader Joe’s.Each 12-ounce jar usually contains one very large or two smaller red peppers and costs about $1.99, which is really no more than how much fresh peppers often cost at our market!
Sep 10, 2009
Peas Popsicles
Huh?? That’s what we said when we first read about these peas popsicles at Weelicious. • Read the full post at Ohdeedoh
Sep 10, 2009
Go Vertical! Vertical Pot Rack Built with IKEA Parts
It seems like everyone is going vertical in the kitchen! We just showed you this vertical pot rack built with inexpensive materials from the hardware store. Now here’s another version of a similar idea — but this one is built with hardware and hooks from IKEA. • Read the full post at The Kitchn
Sep 9, 2009
My Strawberry Jam Went Bad! Why Did That Happen? Ask the Guest Expert: Canning Questions for Marisa McClellan
Q: Several months after canning strawberry jam, I looked at the jars and the top layer of the jam was brown and smelled and tasted bad. Any idea what I may have done? It was so disappointing!I do this every year and the brown stuff has never happened before. I did not waterbath them (never have). I did the upside-down method due to the acid in the berries.— Question asked by specialMarisa: I am so sorry to hear that your jam spoiled; that’s so disappointing!
Sep 9, 2009
Recipe: Pancetta-Wrapped Brussel Sprouts with Almonds
Brussels sprouts haters and lovers alike: we have got a recipe for you both. Here’s a treat of a recipe to kick off fall flavors — an easy, quick party hors d’oeuvre, a finger food featuring everyone’s favorite little cabbage: the Brussels sprout.Of course, if you wrap anything in pancetta, it’s better, right? These look downright delicious. The recipe comes from a collaboration between two brands in Croatia — a small, lovely country in Eastern Europe.
Sep 8, 2009
Recipe: Fattoush, A Delicious Middle Eastern Salad
Often a part of meze spreadssumacThe dish is originally from the Levantine region of the Middle East, which includes Lebanon and Syria, but has spread throughout the Middle East region as a popular mezedhe (meze dishes.) The recipe is very simple, but versatile as you can omit or add various ingredients.Fattoush RecipeMakes 6 servings.
Sep 4, 2009
Quick Tip: Separate Your Measuring Spoons!
Removing the measuring spoonsrightThis is one of those simple and rather obvious tips that really makes such a difference. Single measuring spoons are a lot easier to maneuver into small jars of ingredients, and we’re not constantly trying to keep used measuring spoons from touching the clean ones. We also use the tablespoon and teaspoon measure the most, so there’s really no need to mess with the entire set every time we cook.
Sep 4, 2009
Napa Pantry: 7 Picks From Michael Chiarello
We’ve spent more time than we care to admit gushing over the lighting and copper pans in Michael Chiarello’s Napa Pantry store. Although beautiful, they’re not exactly in our budget, so instead we’ve rounded up 7 colorful picks from Michael himself, that are a little more in reach for home cooks! He loves them and so do we!These picks are a great way to bring in a little color in some unexpected places (who would have thought a griddle could have been colorful?!).
Sep 3, 2009
How To Open Up a Kitchen
Tiny kitchens are the plight of many city dwellers, but a lower square footage doesn’t necessarily equal a claustrophobic room. Borrow a few ideas from the kitchen shown here to open yours up and create the perception of a larger space… • Read the full post at Apartment Therapy
Sep 3, 2009
Ingredient Spotlight: Lotus Root
Lotus root is popular as a vegetable throughout South and East Asia, where it is cheap and plentiful. Its texture is crisp and crunchy like a jicama. Unlike a jicama, lotus root can’t be eaten raw, and must be steamed or cooked first. Lotus root is available in Asian markets, and depending on location, I’ve seen them available at farmer’s markets and in the exotic fruit and vegetable section of most supermarket produce departments.
Sep 2, 2009
Lamps and Wing Chairs: Living Room Details in the Kitchen
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) We’ve all uttered some variation of the phrase, “I practically live in my kitchen,” or, “When guests are over, everyone ends up in the kitchen.” Which is why we love seeing accents that you’d usually find in a living room — unique things that have more personality than our normal accessories
Sep 2, 2009
Ingredient Spotlight: Cucuzza (“Googootz”)
In the last episode of The Sopranos, Tony asks Carmela, “Where’s googootz?” “Googootz” is an Italian term of endearment; Tony was referring to his son, AJ. “Googootz” is also the Italian slang for “zucchini,” and refers to a squash-like vegetable that Italians and Italian-Americans grow called cucuzza. Cucuzza is an Italian summer vegetable that is eaten and prepared like a zucchini.
Sep 1, 2009
Repurposed Play Kitchen
We’ve seen play kitchens made from many different components – lots of Ikea, thrifted and found items, but we hadn’t seen this idea yet. Take a close look – can you tell what common, not particularly attractive, piece of furniture Erin used to create this nifty, blue kitchen for her daughter? • Read the full
Sep 1, 2009
Farmers’ Market Find: New Zealand Spinach
We encountered a new (to us) green at the Echo Park farmers’ market last week: New Zealand spinach. Have you tried this?Like Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) is not actually a true spinach, but it is similar when cooked and is considered a “summer spinach” because it thrives in hot, dry weather.As the common name implies, the plant is native to New Zealand and Australia, where it grows on coastal dunes and bluffs.
Aug 31, 2009
Ingredient Spotlight: Lyle’s Golden Syrup
I first heard of Lyle’s Golden Syrup, a British pantry staple, back in the 80’s. I was reading John Thorne as well as Laurie Colwin, so I’m not sure which one introduced me but I’ve enjoyed keeping a tin on my shelf ever since. But what exactly is Lyle’s Golden Syrup and even more importantly, what’s up with the dead lion and the honey bees on the label?Lyle’s Golden Syrup was invented in 1885 by a Scottish businessman by the name of Abram Lyle.
Aug 31, 2009
Before & After: Setting Up the Kitchen
(Image credit: The Kitchn) A new home just doesn’t feel relaxed until we’re able to cook and eat comfortably in it. But setting up the kitchen is also one of the most exacting and potentially annoying steps of the unpacking process. Here’s a little inspiration from Cassie Lynne, who got her new kitchen up and
Aug 31, 2009
Classic Design: A Gallery of Subway Tiles in the Kitchen
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) Subway tiles are a common element in bathrooms, but we also love the way they look in a kitchen. There’s something about the shape and brick-like pattern that makes them look more modern than square tiles, but they’re still classic and clean. We’ve rounded up lots of crisp white, plus colors
Aug 31, 2009
Classic Recipe: Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies
Here’s a recipe that has been on our radar for a long time: Katherine Hepburn’s brownies. Yes, apparently Katharine Hepburn baked, and this recipe for fudgy brownies has been passed down in her name. We first heard about it from Laurie Colwin, and we bookmarked it then. But brownies are not our go-to dessert, and we took a long time to get around to trying these. That’s a shame.It’s a shame, because these, folks, are the perfect brownies. Well, at least we think so.
Aug 28, 2009
Sweet Wines That Are Cool With Ice Cream
August is Stay Cool! month at the Kitchn. As the temperatures have been rising, so has our frequency of serving ice cream for dessert. This always brings up the question of what are the best wines to serve with ice cream. Of course, you don’t have to serve wine with ice cream, but if you do here are some of my favorites.First, a handy rule of thumb is to remember that for desserts the wine should be sweeter than the dessert. As ice cream is very sweet you need an extremely sweet wine.
Aug 27, 2009
10 Things You Can Recycle You Didn’t Know You Could
If you’re like us you hate throwing anything in the regular garbage. It seems like such a, pardon the pun, waste. But there’s some stuff you just don’t know what to do with. Check out our list plus a refresher on what can go in your city’s recycle bin. • Read the full post at
Aug 26, 2009
Kitchen Gallery: 10 Recently Inspiring Rental Kitchens
Rental kitchens! The most difficult part of a rental apartment. We are mostly stuck with the kitchens that come with our rented dwellings, and yet there are ways to add pops of color and small functional improvements to even the dreariest rental kitchen. Here are a few examples from ten recent Apartment Therapy house tours
Aug 25, 2009