nostalgia

You know the aroma. It beckons as if it were a magical cartoon hand, wafting through the air until it finds its destination: you. There is no choice but to follow the waggling smoke fingers until you find its source: popcorn. But there is something different about this enticing scent. Tinged around the edges is the distinct sense of sugar and salt. And furthermore, this is not an outdoor event; this is your own kitchen.

Bringing kettle corn to the inside, the Nostalgia Electrics KCP100 Carnival Kettle Corn Maker ($49.99) mirrors the magic of the popular treat without the … Read more

Design always has, and always will, play a big part in our purchasing decisions. Kitchen gadgets are, of course, not immune to our personal preferences. Perhaps they are even subject to a more stringent set of deliberations, seeing as additional kitchen appliances require the reduction of a valued commodity: counter space. However a device that may be frivolous or unnecessary dressed in one design sense may look the part of high fashion in another.

Depending upon personal tastes, the Nostalgia Electrics Retro Stir Popcorn Popper ($39.99) may or may not be the perfect accessory for your kitchen countertop. Those … Read more

Specialty countertop kitchen appliances have evolved at a spectacular rate. These clamshell contrivances that populate countertops everywhere have become common enough that they can produce everything from cupcakes to empanadas at a moment's notice. That's all fine and well for the humans in the family, but our four-legged friends want to get in on the action, too.

Fido can finally join in the fun with the Nostalgia Electrics DBM200 Dog Biscuit Treat Maker Kit ($29.99). The familiar shape of this appliance doesn't hide people food this time around, instead housing doggie delights sure to make our … Read more

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but that doesn't mean you have to know how to make it. For many, a bowl of cereal or some type of food in bar form does the trick. Others opt for a short wait in a fast-food line. Somewhere, between the chaos of wrestling with ingredients and the order of ordering from a drive-through, there must be a happy medium.

The Nostalgia Electrics FTW200 2-in-1 Breakfast Treats Maker is a no-nonsense, easy-to-use morning machine. The countertop clamshell-type gadget consists of two sets of cooking plates; one set is … Read more

Once upon a time, somebody somewhere discovered that jabbing a hot dog with a skewer, coating it with batter, and then deep-frying it would be a delicious alternative to a bun. As history has shown, that genius individual was certainly correct.

Corn dogs just paved the way for what lay ahead in the future. Now, at every fair across the country, it is possible to get food items of every shape and variety clinging to an easy-to-carry stick. However, no longer must we wait for summer to enjoy all that food-on-a-stick can goodness. Now, all that deliciousness can be no … Read more

Ice cream is, and always has been fun. It's hard to see that changing any time soon. With a sweet taste and an abundance of available flavors, the cold treat offers something for everybody. However, a well-stocked freezer is only a start. Ice cream may be fun, so it only seems right that it deserves being served in something other than a boring bowl.

Moving beyond the basic bowl, the Nostalgia Electrics MSM-200 Waffle Cone & Ice Cream Sandwich Maker sprinkles in a new layer of fun to the ice cream experience. Combining freshly-made goodness with endless customization, the … Read more

The most important meal of the day--as everybody knows--is breakfast. What everybody doesn't know is what they might have for breakfast.

Options abound in the early hours of the day and sometimes those choices lead to a surprise. Perhaps toast was on the menu the night before, but come morning nothing but eggs would do; it's hard to know what one wants before one wants it. All of this goes to say that while breakfast comes in many forms, one should always be prepared for eggs. And if that means via a folding toaster, then a folding toaster … Read more

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but it also happens to be the most rushed. Since the name of the game is to fuel up and get out of the house, it doesn't take much to see why not a lot of time is invested meditating on kitchen appliances in the morning. That ambivalence can extend to the design of our breakfast-makers--otherwise they would more often go beyond basic black. Yet sometimes the confluence of convenience, versatility, and design results in something that gives us what we need and looks good doing it.

Appliances that … Read more

The Nostalgia Electrics RMO-400 Microwave Oven is part of a Retro Series collection and looks like it could easily belong in a kitchen of yesteryear--except that it is a microwave. The ubiquitous appliance came to prominence in the '70s and '80s, but to be fair, commercial models were available as far back as the '40s. It is doubtful, however, that any of them resembled this unit. But really, none of that matters--the microwave does look pretty cool.

In use, the 800-watt microwave supplies all modern features that consumers have come to expect, including a turntable and 12 preprogrammed settings. The … Read more