Kitchen trends this summer!

There are kitchens and then there are temples to cooking. The latter sometimes take up the same amount of space as a one or two-bedroom apartment
Spacious luxury kitchens can offer everything that can make cooking nice: a kitchen island, compartments for keeping food warm, one or two ovens, an enormous refrigerator, an induction stove and all kinds of storage space behind softly gliding drawers and cabinets that open with just a light tap.

As luxury kitchens can cost quite a lot of money, they should be timeless. Kitchen makers are going for simple elegance.

There is a reason kitchens are not supposed to look like kitchens any more: Cooking has become a popular pastime and the kitchen now belongs to the part of the house reserved for living. These days cooking is meant to be a group experience.

"There is hardly a kitchen in which you can't see the cook at work," said Ursula Geismann of the furniture industry association of Germany in Bad Honnef. "Most kitchens have a counter at which you can sit and the kitchen and dining room are no longer separated by a wall."

Guests are automatically drawn into the kitchen to help prepare the meal. "When they come, they might be asked to wash the lettuce for the salad," said Geismann.

The organisers of the Cologne annual international furniture trade show also see kitchen living space as a current focus. The new kitchen style is regal with a distinctive design.

One example is the Waldstetten, Germany-based company Leicht, which has said goodbye to the conventional kitchen looks for floor cabinets, wall cabinets and niches.

The idea is called Concept 40 and it involves closed cover panels with rectangular-shaped grates that are used to hide storage space and things like the stove ventilator.

"We wanted to get away from the kitchen's visual appearance and put the focus more on living," said Ulrike Kolb of Leicht.

Other makers use clear lines and surfaces to go toward the same effect. Eggersmann of Hiddenhausen, Germany, for example, creates cabinet fronts that are cubical and minimalist. Lacquered surfaces look elegant, however, every time it's touched a fingerprint is left behind.

"The trend is simplicity and timelessness," said Herbert Rueckert of the maker allmilmo in Zeil am Main. Its Design Art line hides all appliances behind white cabinet doors. A kitchen island with a granite top offers workspace.

The top-of-the-line kitchen by Poggenpohl includes a kitchen island featuring an aluminium frame that creates storage space and allows light through.

The cabinet door choices include dark oak and so-called driftwood, which "looks like dried wood", said Manfred Amrhein of Poggenpohl in Herford.

With all their elegance, these kitchens also must be practical, thus the makers have built in clever features. A light tap with the hand or knee and the doors and drawers glide open.

The newest development is electric drawers that close with a light shove almost as if a ghost were inside.

"That's practical when the hands are not clean, for example," said Geismann. The disadvantage is these systems are prone to accidents and require electricity, she added.

Team 17 of Austria is attempting to combine ergonomics with optical excellence. Its k7 design includes a kitchen island with a surface that can be raised and lowered from 74 cm to 114 cm depending on the height of the cook.

This should prevent back pain and integrate the notion of living even more strongly into the kitchen.

Source: DPA

PANEER AND COCONUT LADDOOS

Ingredients

Cow’s milk 3 litres
Whey, to curdle milk 1 cup
Powdered sugar ¾ cup
Rose water 1 teaspoon
Desiccated coconut ½ cup
Pistachios, crushed ½ cup

METHOD

1. Take cow’s milk in a deep pan and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, add whey and keep stirring till the milk curdles completely.

2. Strain through a muslin cloth and immediately place the muslin potli on ice to stop the cooking process. Squeeze to remove the excess moisture.

3. Remove paneer into a plate and mash with your palm till smooth. Add powdered sugar, rose water and desiccated coconut and mix well to make a semi-soft dough.

4. Divide the above mixture into sixteen equal portions and shape them into laddoos. Roll them in crushed pistachios and arrange on a serving plate.

5. Chill in a refrigerator before serving.

Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies

READY IN 45 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 24 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Fisher® Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup Domino® or C&H® Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Domino® or C&H® Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 (16.5 ounce) package Pillsbury® Create 'n Bake® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.

Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.

Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.

Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

Herbed Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce - 4 Servings

Serve these tasty cutlets with a creamy, slightly sweet mustard sauce and pumpernickel bread for a meal inspired by Swedish gravlax, which is traditionally prepared with salmon.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
1 serving: Calories 330; Carbohydrates 23g; Cholesterol 93mg; Fat 9g; Sodium 955mg

INGREDIENTS
Mustard Sauce
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Chicken Cutlets
4 medium chicken-breast cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 slices pumpernickel bread, warmed

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare Mustard Sauce: In small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients until blended; set aside.
2. Prepare Chicken Cutlets: If necessary, pound cutlets to uniform 1/4-inch thickness. In medium bowl, stir sugar, dill, mint, vinegar, salt, oil, and pepper until mixed.
3. Put chicken in bowl with herb mixture, tossing to coat well. Place chicken on grill over medium-high heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until juices run clear when thickest part of breast is pierced with tip of knife, turning over once.
4. Serve chicken with Mustard Sauce and pumpernickel bread.