This month on TheKitchn.com we’re playing with the theme of Three Square Meals and we’re starting with breakfast. Hands down my favorite breakfast is a whimsical, slightly sour baked creature that my mom used to make for me when I had sleep-overs at our house. We called it Big Pancake; others know it as a Dutch Baby.
Colored Easter eggs have wandered in many directions from their historical origins: Dyeing them red in remembrance of Christ’s blood. Just take a look at Martha Stewart Living’s current feature on whimsical Easter egg designs, or ask most kids, who will tell you they dye eggs to make them look like jelly beans.
Well, Cure-takers, if you’re not there yet, you’re pretty close. You put four weeks of hard work in and, if all went according to plan, your kitchen is clean, healthy and organized. And that means you’re ready to take on spring cooking with your kitchen in tip-top shape.
There were over 2,600 of you on this journey and you all did amazing work. I know not everyone is done, but I encourage you to stay the course. Join the leagues who are finished and cheering you on from their sparkling, organized, cheerful kitchens.
Let’s take a look at some success stories…
Last weekend I went away with a bunch of girlfriends for two days of child-free relaxation, sleeping in, and cooking. We split up the meals, each person taking on a course. We promised each other not to make a big fuss, but to make delicious food and savor it.
This Week’s Assignment: Restock Pantry & Cookware
Cure Clock: Finish line! Complete the assignments and meet back here next Friday for the party.
Cure Takers: 2,649
This week is the final week of work. Phew! We will assume you have sorted through your refrigerator, freezer, cupboards and drawers. You have gotten rid of rancid oils, spoiled condiments, and tasteless spices. All the surfaces are clean. Now you’re ready to stock your kitchen so that you can actually use it.
Now we will focus on the ingredients you need to cook the kinds of food you like to eat. You will also think about any new tools you need and can afford. Of course, you’ll also have fresh flowers in the kitchen.
Last weekend when I was home-bound in the epic rainstorm, watching the leak in our ceiling grow, it seemed only right to pop out to the butcher, buy a whole oxtail, and cook it into slow submission.
Oxtail (which is actually just the tail of either gender of cattle) is an ideal meat for braising: its flavor emerges triumphantly with a long, slow cook, with each piece’s hunk of marrow only helping things along. It used to be dirt cheap, and now it’s just kind of cheap, but it is still a great choices for a meaty sauce when you’re in the mood to try something different.
It was quite a kick to learn this week that we had been nominated for one of Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog awards. Seems they like our coverage of kitchen gear (thank you, Saveur!) so I thought I might pull out some of those categories from the blog so you can see for yourself how we have you covered in the gear department.
[Today organizing expert Stacey Platt shares a few tips on finding more space in the kitchen. Stacey is the most organized person I know, but understands with great compassion how unorganized many people can be. Here are some ideas from her new book, What’s a Disorganized Person to Do?. Welcome, Stacey!]
Now, thanks to The Kitchen Cure’s Week #2 assignment, your kitchen de-cluttered and you’ve probably freed up a lot of space. But if you still wish you had more (and who doesn’t?), then look around your kitchen. Extra space abounds.
If you’re one of the over 2,400 people participating in our Spring Kitchen Cure, you spent the better part of this past week cleaning your refrigerator and pantry. (Not signed up? There’s still time!) I hope it’s been fun and that you’ve had great music playing.
When we delve deep into the crisper and cabinets we often find forgotten ingredients. Some might be plain rotten, but others might be just a little past perfect: about-to-sprout onions or meat with a touch of freezer burn.
This week, participants in our Spring Kitchen Cure and purging their pantries and refrigerators. Here are a few tips and helpful ideas from our archives on some of the issues that come up when delving into the depths of food storage.
As February comes to a close, I want to share with you a pretty great feat that the Kitchn team accomplished this month. All month long as part of our Home Hacks theme, we have been getting down to brass tacks — to do stuff in the kitchen — and recording it meticulously with step-by-step photos and instructions.
Today I’m taking a look back at some of the best How-To tutorials from our team. From baking bread to making perfect bacon, and cleaning cast iron to carving a whole chicken, here’s a look at how do to just about anything in the kitchen. I hope you learn something new from a few of these posts; I certainly did.
“Your kitchen needs a cure.” I make it sound like your kitchen is sick; it might be. Maybe it only needs a tune up. The majority of kitchens I see, including my own sometimes, have at the very least symptoms of chaos, disarray or atrophy.
If yours is suffering in any way, consider the Kitchen Cure to be your healer. Maybe you need rehab, or just a weekly massage. The Kitchen Cure gives you as much help as you need. Admit it, we all can use a little help.
Two days and counting until Valentine’s Day. For me, cooking for someone is love and love is cooking for someone and my love certainly isn’t limited to one day a year. But I’m no grinch either. February 14th is a sweet little opportunity to make something extra lovely and so this year my Valentine gets this fancy-pants nutty chocolate tart.
Two summers ago when Melissa Clark, the cookbook author and Good Appetite columnist for the New York Times, told me she had a baby on the way and a kitchen renovation about to start, I raced over to her Brooklyn apartment to catch the calm before the storm.
Recently, I returned to watch her develop a recipe (Rustic Shrimp Bisque in today’s NY Times) and check in to see how all the improvements were serving this seasoned chef and mother.
This Week’s Assignment: Deep Clean & Beautify
Cure Clock: 2 weeks down, 2 to go. You’re halfway there…
Cure Takers: Over 2,600
It’s the third week. How are you doing? I’m so impressed with the photos Cure-takers are posting on the Cure’s Flickr page. You guys are going deep, and I know it’s not easy. Even those who are behind are keeping their eyes on the prize – a more beautiful and organized kitchen that’s ready for some serious spring cooking.
This week you’ll do a deep cleaning, start that “special project” and add one beautiful thing to your kitchen.
This Week’s Assignment: De-Clutter & Reorganize Tools
Cure Clock: Getting the hang of it! 3 weeks more!
Cure Takers: Over 2,500!
Week Two! Now that you have tackled your ingredients in the fridge and pantry, it’s time to turn our attention to your equipment. You are going to take a long honest look at the stuff in your cupboards and on your counters, from little things like flatware, to big appliances like the ice cream maker. Do you really use that George Foreman grill? Do you truly need three strainers? We’ll also be talking about picking a special project to complete during the Cure — good fun!
Haven’t joined yet? Join here. It’s easy and free. Now read on for this week’s assignment.
• This Week’s Assignment: Clean Out the Fridge and Pantry
• Cure Clock: Liftoff! 4 weeks remaining
• Cure Takers: 1,971 and counting…
Welcome, everyone! There are almost 2,000 of you signed up. It’s like we’re sitting in a giant lecture hall together. But don’t worry, it’s going to be cozy with lots of one-on-one attention. That’s the deal with the Cure: if you participate and submit, the community will help you along. I may even show up in your inbox with some advice if you ask me point blank for help. If you’re shy and want to watch from afar, that’s okay too.
This week we want to start you on the path of cleaning out your kitchen.
Haven’t joined yet? Join here. It’s easy and free.
Read on for this week’s assignments.
I’m teaching a class this evening based on the desserts in my book, The Greyston Bakery Cookbook and so this week I spent some time with the four recipes we’ll be making, just for practice (it’s been a while.) If you live under the illusion that baking is too scientific for your culinary skill set — nonsense — then this Free-Form Apple Tart is what you should make to prove to yourself that you can bake an elegant dessert.
Seafood stock is one of those things I just can’t deal with in a can; fresh is so far superior. If you happen to have some shrimp, crab or lobster shells, the process is actually pretty easy. A fish stock using whole fish heads can be a bit messier, so I’m going to recommend you go the shellfish route. This stock is a great base for soups and stews and for cooking risotto. Cook it down as a base for pasta sauces and sauces to top other seafood dishes.
Last weekend, as many of you know, it was absolutely freezing here in the Northeast. I wanted to cook something that would have me over the stove for a good stretch of time. A fish stew sounded good, but I wanted to come up with something that used only the more environmentally responsible seafood choices. I also wanted a dish with some heat and depth, without being too thick and heavy.