Turntable Kitchen Pairings Box is both a recipe of the month club and a vinyl record subscription service. Each delivery includes an exclusive 7" record, 1-2 premium ingredients, 3 seasonal recipes, plus tasting notes.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Turntable Kitchen
The Subscription Box: Turntable Kitchen Coffee Pairings Box
The Cost: $25 per month + shipping (it was $2.12 to Pittsburgh)
The Products: An exclusive 7" record, 1-2 premium ingredients, 3 seasonal recipes, plus tasting notes.
Ships to: Worldwide
Turntable Kitchen Pairings Box December 2017 Review
Before committing to a subscription, I decided to try the coffee & vinyl pairing box as well as the regular pairings box (this one) by buying a one-time "gift" for myself. Note that the digital mixtape included can't be accessed unless you are a subscriber.
Let's get to it!
First, I was met with a welcome message that includes a thank you and where to find them on social media.
Next is the info sheet.
On the left, there are tasting notes for the Red Kuri Squash Chili which is the featured recipe that you use the included ingredient to make.
On the right, you'll find a description of the band who is featured on the exclusive 7". This month it's the debut of LA-based duo Smoke Season.
The next thing I encountered was lovely wrapped package below all of the cards.
Opening it up presented the featured 7" record and ingredient for this month!
Smoke Season-Perspective Fresh Mixtape 7" on Red Vinyl
I couldn't get a good sense of the value of this since it's exclusive and not for sale anywhere online. Most new 7"s go for about $5-7 dollars though, depending. If you want a little taste of Smoke Season's sound, you can check out their Soundcloud for the first song on side A of this record. I can take or leave a lot of female-fronted indie bands, but it's clear that Gabrielle Wortman has a great set of pipes and together, she and Jason Rosen make undeniably catchy tunes. I especially like the weird high-pitched hook in the first song, "Good Days". "Low", the second song on side A is an upbeat pop jam that features Mix Master Mike from the Beastie Boys on the 1s and 2s so, uh, they seem legit.
Flipping the record to side B reveals two more songs, "Wolves" and "You". The first track really highlights Gabrielle's vocals and has male backing vocals that I assume are coming from her bandmate. "You" brings us a ballad that has soft basslines coupled with warbly electronic beats and layered vocals in the chorus.
Though many record nerds will contest the sound quality of some colored vinyl, it's also what makes a lot of releases so darn sought after. Many times labels will release limited numbers of any hues of the rainbow in addition to the normal black and let collectors scramble to grab them or even buy multiple colors of the same release if available. What I'm saying is that it's always fun to get a color that's not plain black, and this translucent red is super cool.
The featured ingredient came in this cloth Turntable Kitchen-branded bag.
Madras Curry
Here we have this month's ingredient! I love love love all sorts of curries, but especially Indian curry. This one is a blend of cumin, chili, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, black mustard, fenugreek, coriander, turmeric, and ginger. Phew! There's a lot in there, and I am into ALL of it.
Here's a closer look so you can see the beautiful dusty yellow color and pick out many of the spices.
My roommate loves using new spices to cook with, so he decided to use this to rub all over a whole chicken he had. Once cooked, he cut it up and added it to rice for a nice little Indian-inspired meal for us. It wasn't overpowering at all but delivered a great flavor that reminded me of my favorite local restaurant, Sree's. Sree's isn't like the typical Indian restaurant. They started as a food truck YEARS ago on Carnegie Mellon University's campus and is famous for giving you an insane amount of food in a styrofoam container stuffed full for about 5 or 6 dollars. Everything was cooked that morning and would be spooned into the container that would last the average person two or three meals. But I digress... this was tasty!
Turntable Kitchen also provides three recipes that use or compliment the featured ingredient. Here we have the main recipe for Red Kuri Squash Chili which utilizes the Madras Curry. I was a bit intimidated by the Red Kuri Squash and wasn't sure I could find something similar. Sweet potatoes and coconut milk are also main ingredients in this one, along with ginger, chicken broth, black beans, and others. I haven't been feeling super culinary lately but will keep this in the kitchen for when I am.
Next is one for lemon-roasted cauliflower which just sounds heavenly to me. My roommate eats a ton of cauliflower, so I had to show this to him to put a spin on his normal routine.
Finally, they've included a recipe for pear-thyme shrub. I have never had shrub before but heard it was all the rage a while back, so I'm going to have to make this. Pear and thyme sound like a winning combination in my book and I'm a sucker for any beverage that is infused with herbs. The recipe has you finish as a non-alcoholic version, but I'm definitely into figuring out which alcohol this pairs best with.
Each delivery also comes with a code for a digital mixtape they've put together. Unfortunately, this is for the premium subscribers only, so since I just purchased the one-time gift sub, I can't access it. 🙁
Verdict: Turntable Kitchen Pairings Box is a really cool way to explore new recipes and music. I think I've been spoiled with meal kits though, so my lazy-self procrastinated with actually buying all of the ingredients to make the awesome recipes they've included. I could see a couple (or even a singleton) who loves diving into new recipes taking off with this though! The 7" came on slick red vinyl and exposed me to a band I otherwise would probably never have heard. Although they're not really my taste, I'll be holding on to this one to see if it becomes worth some moolah in the future! For me, I think I'll stick with Turntable Kitchen's Coffee + Vinyl Pairing since it's a no-brainer combination of my two loves.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since this is from December, it's a goner, but sign up now and to receive February.
Value Breakdown: At $27.12 ($25 + $2.12 shipping) for this box, I paid $13.56 for each of the two items, plus three exclusive recipes from the Turntable Kitchen family.
Check out all of our Turntable Kitchen reviews or more Vinyl Subscription Boxes and Coffee Subscription Boxes in our Subscription Box List!
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