Sur La Table Archives - InspiringKitchen.com

The Best Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Posted by | Recipes | 6 Comments

Fall is my favorite time of year. Cool temperatures make for the perfect climate to make soup. Who ever said preparing soup has to be complicated and time consuming hasn’t cooked with me.  First of all, I don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen. Honestly, I wish I did have the time because the opportunity to invent recipes for fun is just my ideal way of relaxing. But, I digress because that is not my world. 

the best roasted butternut squash soup recipe inspiring kitchen

Having gone to the market, the fall vegetables were calling my name. So, I bought a large butternut squash. The ability to use fresh ingredients whenever possible is always a plus.… Read more

Create Your Wedding Registry Part Two

Posted by | Wedding | 32 Comments

Congratulations on your wedding and engagement! Such an exciting time in your lives! Last week, we started our discussion on what items you should consider adding to your wedding registry. It is very easy to get carried away when you walk into your favorite stores and are given a scanner or are using your cell phone along with the store’s app to zap away at anything and everything. A registry is your wish list after all. However, it is important to be strategic when doing your registry.

Inspiring Kitchen wedding registry continues

There are a number of important points to keep in mind when registering as are mentioned on Inspiring Kitchen’s wedding menu as well as throughout my previous post on registering.… Read more

How To Create Your Wedding Registry

Posted by | Wedding | 15 Comments

This next post may seem like a departure from what Inspiring Kitchen typically shares with you. But, it isn’t! I actually created Inspiring Kitchen at the insistence of wedding registry couples I was working with who appreciated the kitchen knowledge I was sharing with them. No matter where you are in life, having a kitchen appointed with all that you need makes cooking that much more fun. That’s why in the next two posts, you will find all that you need to create a wedding registry that is designed just for you.

Inspiring Kitchen Wedding Registry

You said, “Yes”! How exciting! So many details to be taken care of in preparation for “The Big Day”.… Read more

Expert Tips Wood Cutting Board Maintenance

Posted by | Cutlery, Cutting Boards, Education | 5 Comments

As someone who sells high quality kitchen knives, there are a handful of questions I get asked on a regular basis. This post is going to answer one for you that is critical in the maintenance of your knives.

When you make an investment in kitchen cutlery, it is so important to do your part in taking caring of your knives. And by that I am referring to the cutting surface you are using. I cringe every time a customer or client tells me they are cutting on plastic, glass, granite or any other type of stone. They are causing such damage to their blades by using these materials.… Read more

How to Choose the Best Pepper Mill

Posted by | Housewares, Kitchen Design, Kitchen Tools, Pepper, Recipes, Seasonings | 5 Comments

Salt and pepper. The two ingredients in just about every recipe. The key to using pepper in a recipe is having a pepper mill with strong grinding capabilities. Have you ever bitten down on a chunk of peppercorn that hasn’t successfully been ground down enough and your whole mouth is now on fire – let alone how your tooth is feeling? Ouch.

When it comes to certain kitchen tools, sometimes you need to spend a bit more to have quality materials so the equipment or gadget will do a great job on the task it is assigned. In this case, we are talking about the grinders used in pepper mills.… Read more

Best Dessert: Espresso Ice Cream

Posted by | Dessert, Ice Cream Maker, ZoKu | 26 Comments

Summertime, sunshine, warmth, ice cream. They just go together so naturally. Ice cream any time of year, no matter what your age, is just one of those happy desserts that you simply look forward to enjoying. Making it from scratch is an added bonus.

Having already purchased the ZoKu Slush Maker and shared my thoughts with you in a previous post (http://bit.ly/VRrutC), I was curious about their new Ice Cream Maker. If you read the interview I just did (http://bit.ly/1pO9z37), you know that I love two kinds of ice cream: Vanilla and Coffee. As I paged through the ZoKu cookbook, I found a simple espresso ice cream recipe that sounded delicious.… Read more

Marinated Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Pesto and Mozzarella

Posted by | All-Clad, Grilling, healthy eating, Housewares, Le Creuset, Lodge, Recipes, Sandwich, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weber Grill | 19 Comments

I love to grill. Vegetables. Yes, there it is. Not gourmet but so delicious! One of my favorite sandwiches is super easy and very customizable as you can see from comments on Inspiring Kitchen’s Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/inspiringkitchen). What works so well with this dish is being able to have friends over and everyone gets to make their own personalized sandwich varying with the choice of filling. What I will typically do is have a platter of all different kinds of vegetables (colored peppers, onions, zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, fennel,  etc), sauces, spreads (salsa, pesto, sun dried garlic paste – yum!), cheeses and even meat for those who want it.… Read more

Father’s Day Gift ideas

Posted by | BBQ, Coffee, Cookbook, Cookware, Foods, Gift Guide, Grilling, Housewares, Knives, Spices | 10 Comments

Sunday, June 15, 2014 is Father’s Day. The list of Father’s Day gifts for Dad can literally go in all directions: sporting goods, clothing, electronics…..

Since Inspiring Kitchen is all about finding and recommending items for your kitchen, we thought we would offer our favorites.

1) Nespresso VertuoLine

vertuo_experience_main_media

 

 

Start his day off right….coffee! Whether your Dad’s preference is espresso or a traditional cup of coffee, this machine covers both bases. You may already be familiar with the Nespresso machines and know how good their coffee/espresso varieties are. What’s unique with this dual capability machine is each pod has a bar code on it identifying the brew style for the contents so each cup turns out rich and delicious.… Read more

Top 5 Knives for your Kitchen

Posted by | Cutlery, Knives | 36 Comments

This is the most asked question when I begin working with clients and the subject of cutlery comes up. They quickly say that they don’t want to buy a set because they won’t use all 20  knives included in the block. I totally agree with them!

There are three basic knives that most homeowners need in their kitchens:

Paring knife: 

paring

Serrated knife:

 

bread

Chef’s knife:

 

 premier chef

 

 

The paring knife does your detail work like peeling or slicing strawberries and mushrooms, the serrated knife helps you to easily slice anything with tough skins like peppers, tomatoes and breads, and the final knife is your chef’s knife.… Read more