Q: I was in Barcelona, Spain a few months ago and ate at a number of tapas bars. It seemed common to have a sprinkling of finishing salt on the dishes. The salt was white, coarse, light, and crunchy. It tasted of the ocean without being overly salty. It was AMAZING.
I have been on a search ever since, and haven’t been able to find a similar salt stateside. Any help in locating something would make my year.
Sent by Jen
Q: My best friend’s infant daughter is in the hospital. They live about 400 miles away. I’d like to send her something helpful like food so they can just grab a healthy snack while they’re in the hospital with her.
Any thoughts for healthy snacky foods that ship well?
Sent by Dana
French-door refrigerators and French onion soup, crack pie and compost cookies, and Mario Batali’s prep bowls — these are a few of the most popular posts from this past week. Read on to see the top ten!
15. How To Braid Puff Pastry
14. Shopping for Kitchen Basics
13. Cooking to Impress: Dishes to Make an Impression
12. Can You Help Me Find a Good-Looking Water Pitcher?
11. Kitchen Cure Week #1: Clean Out the Fridge and Pantry
It’s Kitchen & Bath Month across our network of sites, and this week The Kitchn zoomed in on refrigerators. Here’s a look back at this week’s discussion of refrigeration.
• What kind of refrigerator do you have?
• Americans are slobs – new fridge designs compensate
• Fridge-cleaning resources
• High to low product roundup: Small, apartment-sized fridges
• High to low product roundup: French-door refrigerators
• Funny video: Brian Regan on fridge shopping
This week we have been talking about refrigerators! Earlier this week we rounded up some models of the very popular French-door style of refrigerator. But a lot of you aren’t looking for a 28 cubic foot refrigerator: You need something small and slim for a city kitchen. Some of you may even want an ultra-compact under-counter fridge. Here’s a look at some of the most widely available and popular options for small refrigerators. Do you have a recommendation for another model? Jump in and add it!
So, we just encouraged you to get rid of unnecessary kitchen paraphernalia, and any product reviews we do here at The Kitchn are done with the Cure in mind! We examine products in our own kitchens, asking, is this helpful, wellmade, and beautiful? That was the question we approached this WellnessMat with. We have reviewed several gel mats now, and this time our question was really: Are gel mats worth the high price tag?
Q: We often get different types of cheeses to have with wine, but we always seem to end up throwing away leftover cheese because it becomes hard in the refrigerator. It feels awful to keep throwing out these expensive and yummy cheeses.
Any tips on how to store these, especially the ones that are packed in cellophane kind of plastic?
Sent by Archana
Good Friday evening! What are your cooking plans this weekend? We just saw the sun for the first time in days, and suddenly spring feels very close. We are dreaming about fresh greens, tiny peas, and all the other good things of early spring. Meanwhile, we are decluttering the kitchen, getting it ready for spring bounty, and planning a pasta casserole. What about you? What are you cooking this weekend?
Q: Every year I host a dinner for the Oscars, with themed dishes to correspond with the best picture nominees. With 10 movies this year, it’s proving more challenging than before. Do you have any bright ideas?
Here’s the list of best picture nominees (below the jump). Two years ago we did molten chocolate cake (like oil wells) for “There Will Be Blood” and blue slushie margaritas for “Juno”, to give you an idea of what I’m going for.
Sent by Jess
We have been seeing this seafoam green color in more and more kitchens lately. It feels warmer than hospital green, and more sophisticated than mint. What do you think of it? We are inclined to like it — especially in this updated galley kitchen from a Craftsman home in Seattle.
I have a serious love for dosa, especially those lacy, crispy rava dosa filled with spicy potatoes and tiny, crunchy mustard seeds. But I have yet to master making dosa — they never turn out even approximately okay! And here in the Midwest, dosa shops are nearly nonexistent. What to do? Do you have dosa-making tips to offer?
I made this recipe for citrus bitters a few years ago and liked it a lot. …it really gives my drinks that extra bit of depth and character that a shot of traditional bitters would. Plus, the whole concocting/taking notes/agitating jars process is very Mad Scientisty, if you’re into that sort of thing.
stefstein, How Do I Make Bitters from a Starter?
Are you ready for an amazing transformation and modernization? Check out Shevon’s recent kitchen renovation! She wrote and told us a little bit about the project: “My boyfriend and I moved into our little home 6 months ago…
• Read the full post at Apartment Therapy
This beautiful home in Melbourne has a kitchen designed around reclaimed science benches! The rest of the house is a tribute to sustainable building methods and the use of mainly reclaimed materials. (See Photo 4, where the double doors are made recycled floorboards!)
• Read the full post at Re-Nest
Some of us don’t have a lot of space to store wine, and so we leave it out in the open on the floor or a sideboard all the time. This bottle carrier, a classic old French design, would be a great holder for casual bottles of wine, soda water, or even extra olive oil.
It can be tipped over, if you prefer to store your wine on its side. Our bottles of wine usually get used up within a month, so their storage position isn’t too important!
We can also see one more use for this bottle carrier in the kitchen itself.
Q: I was just diagnosed with anemia, and I’ve been tasked with getting a lot more iron into my diet. I’m wondering if Kitchn readers have yummy iron-packed recipes to share.
Fortunately, I totally dig red meat — I just don’t cook it that often, because I’m more familiar with poultry, pasta, and veggies. Offal sounds great in theory, but I haven’t the faintest idea what to do with it. Any suggestions? Spinach salad is getting old.
Sent by Jonelle
A great dip, colorful nesting bakers, and a super congratulations card in today’s Delicious Links.
Hello Kitchen Curees! How’s it going? How does your fridge and pantry purge feel? I did an impromptu and much-needed clean-out of my own freezer last night, and it feels great to be able to see the back wall of the freezer again. Now, as we gear up for tomorrow’s Week 2 assignment, we would love to hear directly from you on what still needs special help in your kitchen.
A 1970s kitchen is transformed into something more modern. Since the budget was limited, the resources used were from Lowe’s, Home Depot, and a discount flooring showroom. The challenge was to create a designer aesthetic using moderate-cost materials.
• Read the full post at Apartment Therapy
