Varmint

I made it back yesterday, but the city is still paralyzed by ice. Our office is closed for the second day in a row (although I'm here, trying to catch up on some work). I sketched out the cabinetry and appliance lay out for the new long countertop/sink/work area where the new window will go. This resulted in a question I hadn't thought of: what's the typical distance between the counter and the bottom of the upper cabinets? I'm guessing it's about 18", but we may want them to be a bit higher.

Gnocchi? Sounds great, but that might push us over the top when we think of the total density of food in our stomachs! The estimated time of arrival is dependent on how much prep time you'll need to get your dish going. I can be there as early as need be! If I haven't mentioned this previously, I'll say it now (or repeat myself, as the case may be): we'll be doing this at my in-laws, where the only downside is a ridiculous lack of water pressure. I'll have one huge stock pot that we'll keep boiling, cooking the pasta in that and fishing it out as needed. We can get a second pot going as well. That'll leave 4 burners to do other work. My mother-in-law has a 36 inch Dacor range with electric oven, a good-sized Gaggenau wall oven (30"?), and a smallish tile-lined bread oven. Thus, if anyone wants to bake bread on site . . . . Edemuth, what do you have in mind for dessert? We need to finalize and sequence these dishes so we can get good wine pairings. Thus, feel free to add some more details here. We should come up with a couple of other antipasti -- light stuff. Oh, and I'm back in Raleigh. I had to spend an extra night south of Richmond, and the normal 2-1/2 hour drive from there took over 4 hours, but it wasn't too bad.

Scottie, I'd say the bitter greens may be a better approach. That's a flavor we don't currently have and would be a good contrast. We will likely have quite a few folks -- I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with 20. But remember, we're doing portions that would be about 1/4 of what we'd serve for an entree. So, even if we have 20, each person would be working as if they were making a main course for 5 or 6. Much more reasonable that way. The non-eGullet people will be responsible for wine. And I said, no pinot grigio.

I was supposed to meet with the contactor tomorrow, but I'm stranded in the middle of nowhere, south of Richmond, with 4 inches of snow on the ground. So, it'll be later this week.

Mmmm. Anchovies! Sounds great.

Any desserts and apps should be fairly light, simply because the dinner could be fairly heavy. Traditional? Nah, do what you want. Erin, you can use my kitchen (or my in-laws') all day if you need.

This is correct -- we'll be making pasta on-site. If you have particular needs for your pasta, let me know in advance. I plan to have 4 types of flour available: coarse semolina, durum, all purpose, and 00 (phlawless, can you bring some of that?). I like semolina for the longer pastas where the sauce needs to cling to it. I use the finer grade flours for sheets of pasta for fillings. I'm in Baltimore this weekend and will only have limited computer access. Dave, aren't you coming? Right now, edemuth is the only yes for Magnolia Grill. I likely can go, but it'd be better to have at least 4, y'all. Erin can only handle my bad jokes for so long.

Swine. Although I almost said, "meat"

Does anyone still want to go to Magnolia Grill? I'm going there on Jan. 31, and if we get a crew, I might be able to go on the 6th, too, but we need to go ahead and make reservations.

The drawers are an item that may have to be retro-fitted. I'm going to be pushing my budget as it is, so I probably can't spring for some of the nice hardware right now. As far as the pot rack is concerned, I may very well install one of those wire grids that attach to the wall, to which hooks attach. The pots can hang from those hooks. This will probably be on the left side of the hood.

FYI, the 7th Annual Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium held in October will focus on race and food. Should be interesting.

Here's a crude sketch of the cooktop cabinetry elevation: Doors will be there.

I’m starting to sketch out some of the cabinetry. I showed Mrs. Varmint my very nice sketch of the cooktop area. She hated the open shelves where the pots and pans would go. She said, “If you can keep your pots and pans in pristine condition, then it’s not that big of a deal. (she then opened up the cabinet beneath the current cooktop) But if your pots and pans look like THIS, then you HAVE to have doors.” I couldn’t object. I’m going back to a complete rectangle configuration for the cooktop cabinets. I need all the available space that I can.

Now that's the mood I was looking for!!!

Not heresy at all. Pork can be served with anything, and I don't mind any type of salsa. Just don't call it NC barbecue, however.

One other lighting idea to surround the I-beam: put some sort of funky lamps extending out of both sides of the new housing, sort of like this: Dave, any ideas yet?

Thanks for the link, robyn.

Just make sure you get all your design tips from your "cyber-friends."

Our building is made out of granite. The interior lobby is lined with granite. And there are 3 large slabs of the same granite that have been sitting out in our parking deck for at least 5 years. I sent an email to the building manager today, offering to take the granite off his hands, as it's such an eyesore. I'm sure he'll jump at the offer.

It's not that small -- my kitchen is about 18' long and has countertops on parts of both sides because it's a galley layout. I'm pretty sure I have 15 linear feet of countertops, 11 of which are in the ugly blue and 4 of which are wood. I only ever use about 3' of my counter space (the part adjacent to the sink), but I bought a lot of that stupid Corian. It's just that nearly every square inch of that countertop is covered with appliances and other stuff -- you don't actually see the beauty that is Corian.

phlawless +1 -- Beef Cheek Ravioli in Brodo weka +1 -- Tagliatelle with truffle and porcini Varmint +1 -- some seafood pasta (octopus, squid?) scottie +1 -- a veggie pasta? Let's nail something down. Random Alias +1 -- Duck Ragu w/ Toasted Penne Edemuth??? Al Dente??? Anyone else coming???

Of course, Fat Guy has, what, 4 linear feet of countertop in his kitchen?

Bingo! That should be fun!

Is everyone bringing/making a course? Let's see: phlawless +1 -- Beef Cheek Ravioli in Brodo weka +1 -- Tagliatelle with truffle and porcini Varmint +1 -- some seafood pasta (octopus, squid?) scottie +1 -- a veggie pasta? Let's nail something down. Random Alias +1 -- Chef Boyardee! He's working on it. Can you find something with a tube-shaped dry pasta? With lots of green bell peppers?!?! (RA despises green peppers!) Edemuth??? We're not sure if Al Dente's coming or if his back will be fixed by then. I know that we'll have at least a few others in attendance (my in-laws will likely be there, seeing we'll be cooking in their kitchen). We do need to sort out the wine. Plus some apps and dessert. Simple apps and simple desserts -- I can get my mother-in-law to make a couple of sorbets. Grapefruit? Ginger? Blood orange? Chocolate? Limoncello?

How are stainless countertops made? Does someone fabricate a piece of stainless sheet metal around a slab of plywood? Is it expensive?