Wiring switched receptacles

This is what your circuit looks like now.

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Start by turning the power off at the breaker, and verify power is off using a non-contact voltage tester.

When you look at the side of the receptacles, you'll see a small tab between the screw terminals.

Using a pair of pliers, break the tab off of the ungrounded (hot) side of the receptacles (the brass screw terminals side).

So your circuit will now look like this.

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If you left it like this the top half of the first receptacle would work with the switch, but the bottom half and the second switch would never have power. Using a small bit of black wire and a twist-on wire connector, remove the red wire from the screw terminal and connect it to the black wire and the top screw terminal. So your circuit looks like this.

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With the circuit like this the top half of both receptacles will be controlled by the switch, but the bottom will never be powered. To make the bottom half of the receptacles work, you'll have to use a bit of black wire to connect constant power to the lower screw terminal of each receptacle. When you're done, your circuit will look like this.

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Finish up by remounting all devices, installing trim plates, and turning the circuit breaker back on. At this point the bottom half of the receptacles should always have power, and the top should be controlled by the switches.

_{If at any time during this project you feel uncomfortable, do not hesitate to contact a local licensed Electrician.}

_{I'm just a guy on the internet, not a licensed Electrician. Assumptions may have been made on the current wiring, based on your descriptions. Without being there, there is no way to be sure these assumptions are correct. Please proceed with caution, and at your own risk.}

"The bridge between the screws was not broken" Are you 100% sure of that? Because the common use for black and red wires and a two-pole breaker in a kitchen outlet circuit is for a common neutral circuit (multiwire branch circuit), and shorting the two phases together with the new outlet would produce exactly the symptoms you have seen. So I'm going to suggest that the two sides of the old outlet are not actually connected, and if you don't have a meter you can check that with, I'll provide you an alternate test that does not involve looking at the connection, which you've already done and come to (I suspect) the wrong conclusion about:

Cap the red (or black) wire and connect only the black (or red) wire to the old outlet. Plug something into one receptacle, and see if has power. Then plug it into the other side. Repeat with the other wire (only) connected to the other side (only.) If I'm right, in each case, only half the outlet will have power, and which half will change with which screw you connect to.

It appears that the device you have probably only has one hot screw, so it cannot be connected the same way as the old outlet with two separate hots; so leave one wire capped off, or install it somewhere other than your kitchen (the reason for using this type of circuit in the kitchen is to provide more circuits to the countertop outlets - this device defeats that if it cannot have two separate hot feeds.)