THE NIBBLE Gourmet News & Views
Trends, Products & Items Of Note In The World Of Specialty Foods
Read all of our content on TheNibble.com, the online magazine about specialty food.
Archive for Kitchenware
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March 3, 2008 at 9:36 am
· Filed under Kitchenware, Cocktails & Spirits, Recipes, Daily Food Holidays
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| You’ve heard of mulled wine, you say, but you don’t really know what it is? You’re not alone. So we’ll take a moment on National Mulled Wine Day to give you some information to mull over, as well as recipes for mulled wine and its Scandinavian cousin, glögg (pronounced glugg—add Aquivit or vodka along with the brandy, plus almonds and raisins). For those who don’t drink alcohol (or for the kids), there’s also a recipe for mulled apple cider. The basics: Take a modest red wine and add water, brandy, spices and some sugar or honey. Simmer on the stove top (read the recipe) and serve in mugs. Glass mugs are preferable, since, as with any wine, one likes to enjoy the color of the beverage. But any mug will do. (If you’re going to buy glass mugs, we love the double-walled Bistro series from Bodum. They’re beautiful, keep the beverage hot longer and don’t require a coaster because the double wall keeps the heat and moisture raised above your tabletop.) |
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A cinnamon stick for garnish is optional. |
| The word “mull,” referring to sweetening, spicing and heating of wine or ale, has been traced back to 1610 or so. Wine and ale often went bad; by adding spices and honey (sugar was not widely available for another two centuries), it could be made drinkable again. Almost every European country has its version of mulled wine (even the French make vin chaud), and it is popular in South America as well—today as a comforting drink, not to cover up bad booze. The spicy-sweet aroma of the mulling wine will fill your home—it’s the beverage equivalent of baking cookies. You can buy premixed mulling spices in a specialty food store or spice shop (or even in some supermarkets); or you can measure out a little allspice, some dried orange rind (a.k.a. orange peel) and a few whole cloves into a muslin pouch or spice ball (add peppercorns if you’re into pepper, and star anise if you have it), and throw a few cinnamon sticks into the brew. Historical note: The holiday wassail bowl of yore was a mulled ale, flavored with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, topped with slices of toast (think croutons). The wassail served at today’s Medieval holiday reenactments is likely to be mulled cider, to accommodate modern palates. Find more drink recipes for entertaining in the Cocktails Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine. |
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January 26, 2008 at 5:38 am
· Filed under Vegetables, Kitchenware, Gourmet News
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 Save money by bringing your lunch to work. Bring it in style with this Built NY Lunch Tote.
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The Urban Vegan lists 25 money-saving kitchen tips for pure vegans. The article starts with the premise that veganism doesn’t have to be expensive, but you don’t have to be vegan to find the tips useful. Some will sound familiar: Pack your own lunch—you can save at least $2,000 after-tax dollars a year. Invest $19.99 in the chic, insulated tote at the left, and you are now cool instead of a brown-bagger. (Shown: The Built NY Lunch Tote, available in black, orange or silver, keeps food and drink separated. Made from the same material as a diver’s wetsuit, it insulates for up to 4 hours with no additional refrigeration necessary.) Some tips are earth-friendly (we do all of them at THE NIBBLE, including using cloth napkins instead of paper napkins and rinsing/reusing Ziplock-type bags). It’s a good list to review. One of our favorites: Borrow rather than buy cookbooks. |
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December 13, 2007 at 11:52 am
· Filed under Kitchenware, Gifts, Tip Of The Day
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| If you have a favorite kitchen gadget, give it as a gift. It may seem small, but if it does a big job, the recipient will be grateful to have it (our friends were thrilled to get those inexpensive garlic-peeler tubes). To make it a more important gift, package it with the food it’s meant to help—e.g., the garlic peeler with imported French garlic or a silicone barbecue brush with gourmet barbecue sauce. Click here to see some of our favorite gadgets…and some of our favorite barbecue sauces…in THE NIBBLE online magazine. For more gift ideas, see our Gift-Finder section. By the way, the Blender Bottle, shown in the photo at the right, has proven to be a godsend in making scrambled eggs, pancakes, diet shakes from powdered packages and anything else that needs to be fluffed or dissolved. It’s the best $8.99 we’ve ever spent! |
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 We couldn’t live without our Blender Bottle. Read the review. |
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October 16, 2007 at 4:40 pm
· Filed under Kitchenware, Rice/Beans/Grains
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| Many of us have been there—we’ve cooked rice to what we think is the perfect timing, only to find it burned and stuck to the bottom of the pot. To sidestep future rice crises, check out our Rice Cooking Chart. While you’re there, scroll down the page for a delicious Basmati Rice Salad recipe.A cooking tip: Make sure that the lid fits tightly on the pot. Steam that escapes will use up the heat needed to cook the rice, and potentially cause burned rice as you try to get it to the desired tenderness after all the water has evaporated. Another tip: Buy yourself a rice cooker; or if you don’t have space for a pot dedicated to rice, get a multipurpose pot that is great for rice. Kohl’s has a new line of hard-anodized aluminum cookware, developed in partnership with The Food Network, that heats evenly to avoid overcooking and burning. |
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A beautiful, effective and affordable new cookware from Kohl’s and the Food Network. |
| The pots and pans are lined with DuPont professional nonstick coating, which is metal-utensil safe and easy to clean. Tight-fitting tempered glass lids allow constant monitoring of the works-in-progress, without heat loss. Rice will never burn again! We’re clearing out our user-unfriendly pots and pans and getting a set of these. You can buy them online at Kohls.com (the 11 pieces shown in the photo are $299.99, but you can buy just the 1-quart Covered Saucepan, shown at the rear with the built-in strainer, for $39.99). While you’re there, take a look at all of the other nifty items in the new Food Network line. We want so many pieces, we needed a second page for our list. |
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October 3, 2007 at 4:54 pm
· Filed under Kitchenware, Gourmet News
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As Halloween approaches, AliveAndCookin.com is inviting people to share their own personal cooking nightmares in the site’s first “Skeletons in Your Kitchen” Contest. The website is looking for real-life kitchen catastrophes to share and laugh about with their readers. Why? According to Cherie Boldt, Brand Manager of Alive & Cookin’, “We all have a humorous cooking story in our past, and reading about someone else’s horrifying cooking experience makes us feel a little better about our own culinary skills.” There are spooktacular gifts, the first-place winner will receive a 20-piece set of premium Stainless Steel Saladmaster Cookware. |
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