Peak Into My Kitchen

In 2002, when housing prices were starting to rise, I proposed to my husband that, with our forth kid on the way, that we look for a bigger house. He agreed to LOOK. We looked at several areas but wanted to move to a part of town that was closer to the freeways and shopping. When we walked into this house, you would have said, like we said, how odd. It was a 5 bedroom, 4 bath house with over 3,300 square feet of living space. The master was downstairs with four rooms and a HUGE loft upstairs. The kitchen was average with little room for a kitchen table. The reason the house was odd was that the entire downstairs had a 12 by 12 tile floor which had not been completed. The laundry room tile butted against the hall tile but did not match. The worst part was that they attempted to make it match so it just looked off. The master had a wood floor which was elevated, probably over the tile underneath. The walls were painted with watered down primer and they painted around the pictures that were hanging on the walls. No one was living upstairs where we found unpacked boxes and stained carpet. Bottom line, the house did not show well.

But I had a dream. I knew this house was a diamond in the rough. My vision included gutting the kitchen for a gourmet kitchen I could teach out of. We got rid of the family room to make the kitchen and eating area more like a great room. We eventually put laminate flooring all over the house, upstairs and down which made cleaning up after the kids a breeze. The kids are all upstairs and my husband and I have a suite downstairs. Dan finally gave in when I told him that we could view the stairs from our room so that any female teen aged child of ours who attempted to bring a male teen aged child up the stairs would be seen and shot! Just kidding. But the house seemed just right.

This is what I did to the kitchen:

1. Had a 5 foot by 10 foot dual level-island installed. There is granite on the top, custom wood cabinets on the bottom with plenty of storage and electrical, an extra-deep double stainless sink with an instant-hot water faucet, two built in soap dispensers and a button for the garbage disposal. One side of the island has three pull out baskets where I store onions, potatoes and squash and plastic ware, set vertically and on the other side is my proud invention of a cooling rack. It is made of aluminum inside and has 5 racks. The door has mesh so that the hot items placed on the cooling rack won't steam. Finally, I have four stainless steel bar stools and an additional 8 checkerboard bars stools that I use for classes.

2. I put in two self cleaning, extra-wide electric conventional/convection ovens and a warming drawer. I use my double ovens several times a week. Sometimes I even wish I had a third! The warming drawer comes in handy during my classes or dinner parties to keep plates or extra food warm.

3. I put in deep, large storage drawers for pot lids and small appliances like a juicer and spice grinder.

4. I had butcher block cutting boards installed in two areas of my kitchen, one right above the trash and one on the other side of the kitchen. The one over the trash works well because I can toss the remains of anything I'm preparing easily. The other cutting board is nice, specifically when my kids are cooking with me because it is just out of the way that I can still watch what they are doing but they are not in my way of whatever I am preparing. Also, the second cutting board sits below my appliance garage which houses the mixer, food processor and vacuum sealer. The appliance garage has an outlet but the cutting board allows me to pull the appliances out when I am using them.

5. My favorite toy is my pot filler. I think now pot fillers are standard in custom kitchens, but when I installed mine five years ago, the contractor looked at me funny. The pot filler is a cold water spout on a pivoting arm that extends the area of my six burner Viking range top. I can put a stock pot on any of the burners and fill them with water. I use the pot filler all the time. It protects my back because I don't have to fill and left the filled pots from my sink to the burners.

6. I added a wine glass and bottle holder above, a plate rack setting ten dinner plates within reach, some book shelves to show off some of my favorite cookbooks, and a shelf for alcohol where I keep my Sherries, Madeira's, and cognacs.

7. I choose all stainless steel appliances. My close friend, who is a CIA trained chef and married to another CIA trained chef says that she hates stainless appliances because it reminds her too much of industrial kitchens. Well, I never tire of the look. I do not care that there are handprints on it. This just lets visitors know that my kids are around. I do not mind that they are not magnetic because all the magnetic stuff just clutters the kitchen. I don't even mind the water stains in the sink. That just proves how much I use it. I do not have time to wipe it down because it is constantly in use.

When I prepared to have the kitchen redone, I acted as my own general contractor. I read up on all my sub contractors to make sure that none were in bad standing. I took the proper insurance precautions to make sure that I was covered in case of an accident. I kept on top of all the subs that they were sticking to my time frames and incentivized them financial to finish on time. Being 7 months pregnant was my incentive to have the job done in 3 months. I cleaned out my dining room and living room and converted them into a kitchen during the construction. I had my fridge, microwave, gas camping burners, shelves for food and plastic ware, and my laundry room sink for washing dishes. It worked out nicely.

I love my kitchen. There are a few things I would do differently, but that is for another article.

Dawn Walker, Chef and Mom of Four Delicious Girlies. To see pictures, please visit my website at http://www.chefdawn.com Your Personal E-Chef Live: Everything about Cooking, Food, and Family. Bring back dinner parties!