FauxPas

@gfweb, do you watch Last Chance Kitchen? Can you give @Shelbyany advice on how to watch it in the US?

Yes, many of them are. What alumni will be involved in Top Chef season 19? According to Bravo, the rotating guest judges for Top Chef 19 include: —Nyesha Arrington (season 9) —Dawn Burrell (season 18 runner-up) —Kelsey Barnard Clark (season 16 winner) —Adrienne Cheatham (season 15 runner-up) —Tiffany Derry (season 7, season 8 finalist) —Joe Flamm (season 15 winner) —Gregory Gourdet (season 12 runner-up, season 17 finalist) —Hung Huynh (season 3 winner) —Stephanie Izard (season 4 winner) —Melissa King (season 12 finalist, season 17 winner) —Kristen Kish (season 10 winner) —Edward Lee (season 9) —Maria Mazon (season 18) —Shota Nakajima (season 18 runner-up) —Nini Nguyen (seasons 15 and 16) —Kwame Onwuachi (season 13, season 15 Last Chance Kitchen competitor) —Sheldon Simeon (season 10 finalist, season 14 finalist) —Brooke Williamson (season 10 runner-up, season 14 winner) —Claudette Zepeda (season 15) What famous chefs will make appearances in Top Chef season 19? In addition to the alumni panel, Top Chef: Houston will feature a variety of pop-in appearances from famous chefs. That includes Daniel Boulud, Wylie Dufresne, Carlotta Flores, Bricia Lopez, Eric Ripert, Marcus Samuelsson and Alexander Smalls. Hunter Lewis, Editor-in-Chief of Food and Wine Magazine, joins the judges for the final challenge.

Not on here yet, but looking forward to it in an hour or so! Sounds interesting. 🙂

Mostly previous contestants but also joined by some other chefs from time to time, it seems. https://parade.com/1326230/mikebloom/top-chef-season-19/ or here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef:_Houston

I don't think I have to log in or anything, but maybe it knows that Bravo is part of my cable package? Not sure. Try clicking on an episode and see if you can watch it. 🙂 Since I'm in Canada, things are a bit different for me. Maybe someone else in the US can add to the info.

I watch it online. https://www.bravotv.com/last-chance-kitchen

I was a bit surprised by that also! Though I don't think Sam ever admitted to the judges that he forgot his boiled potatoes and left them behind, did he? Do you watch Last Chance Kitchen as well, @Shelby? I enjoy it as much (sometimes more) than the regular show.

I looked after a cat once (for a few months) and he was MAD for nori. Just adored the stuff. 🙂

I'm going to take another look at the fabrication layout and see how much leftover quartz we have to play with. I'm still thinking about how best to do the space behind the range and we don't finalize this detail until the final measure, so I have a bit of time and leeway. Thanks! And thanks to @weinoo, also! 🙂

I really like seeing how your space has evolved over time! That pantry and extra counter space looks like a smart addition. 🙂

Was this the pantry area shown in these photos, @lindag? I remember admiring your storage! 🙂

OK, I have another back-up on the way from Costco now. 🙂 I bought my last one with Costco Canada also, but they didn't seem to have any availability for awhile. Thanks @Kerry Beal! I use this little oven so much, can't stand the idea of being without one. But I hope @weinooeither can fix his or find a new one. 😞

Damn, maybe I should get another one. I only have one backup unit left. 🙀

Good point, but I don't own one of those mixers and probably won't acquire one, though I won't say "definitely won't". 🙂 I think I'll have enough space to spread things out a bit, if necessary. I admire @weinoo's kitchen a lot, but I'm not really at at his level of cooking and I don't have nearly as many toys. It's always great to have stronger shelves, but I don't know if I need more than what I'm considering. Maybe I'll regret that statement, though. Hahahahaha From the US IKEA site:

I love your kitchen! And you made such great choices. I've been told these drawers/shelves will support at least 25 kg so that's 55 lbs.

So I have a solution to those awkward closets with the bifold doors by the kitchen. We're going to treat them as a continuation of the kitchen cabinets. I got a couple of opinions on removing the centre wall and although it may be possible, it would create a lot of work. Instead, the cabinet guy drew up a plan to treat them as pantry space, just like the existing space beside the fridge. So, I'll end up with a mix of drawers and adjustable shelves and the doors will match exactly with the kitchen cabinets. It's not inexpensive but it's a clean and fairly easy solution and avoids the mess and uncertainty of removing that dividing wall. And I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with the results. The installers can do the work at the same time as the rest of the kitchen. They'll also add some storage and a countertop area in the laundry room. Here's the diagram. The pantries are on the left, the right side shows the little storage area that will be added to the laundry room. The bottom of that area has to be left free as that's the only place in the house that works for our kitty's litter box. 🙂

I do envy it in many ways though - it's so warm and inviting and so well organized for the way you live. And I really love that you have those custom touches from your husband. I think it's a lovely space and thank you so much for sharing! 🙂

it sounds like you customized your space really well to meet your needs!

I have someone coming over this morning, we'll chat about the possibilities. 🙂 There are a couple of other hall closets that store linen and vacuum and the mop and broom hang on hooks in the laundry room. That seems to be working ok so far. 🙂 Exactly! It could be better storage with a different door style. Do you have any plans to change yours?

Forgot to mention that we also have two more cupboards off the hallway in behind which are currently housing general cleaning and household supplies (along with masks and rapid test kits 😞 ), but which could be used for pantry-type storage once we add some storage to our laundry room and move some of this stuff over. The laundry room is one of those small walk-through rooms between the garage and the other hallway and the previous owners had a side-by-side W/D pair with a single tiny shelf. They were older appliances and I opted to replace them with a stacking set, so now we have room for some shelves beside them. This house isn't large, it's only 1500 sq ft plus an approx 400 sq ft garage. I do wish the laundry room were bigger.

Yes, thank you @heidih. Lighting would be a good addition. I will ask electrician and storage guy. 🙂

Kitchen pantry/storage. Some of the existing pantry storage is a tall cabinet next to the fridge with adjustable deep shelves on the top and pull-outs below. It's not a bad size but the pull-outs aren't working very well anymore, so looking forward to the new cabinet, which will be configured slightly differently. And, if you look at the left background in the first picture, you'll see there are two bifold doors. One of these is already configured as pantry storage (though the shelves are not great, they start to sag under too many canned/jarred goods, for example). Here are the interiors. The one on the left used to house the gas hot-water tank. It was the original and time to consider replacement anyway, so we opted for an on-demand tankless system installed in the garage, which frees up more kitchen storage options. The cabinet guy also does other storage and is coming over tomorrow and we'll see if he has any suggestions. I'm interested in a good solution for these two spaces, not sure if I will find a temporary solution for the left side and leave the right for now, or what. And I'm thinking I'd like to continue working with the existing space - no wall removal, etc. 🙂 But then again, I look at them and think if they were joined as one large space, get rid of that centre dividing wall, that might have some real benefits.... Arggghhh. What to do? 🙁

I was also going to say something about all the talk about I and Me in this story. I guess it's clear that I'm basically the "general contractor" on these jobs. Initially we tried to find someone to manage all our jobs, but it's a crazy time and people are busy. We do know a couple of good contractors but they are in-demand and working on much bigger jobs than this! They did throw us some bones of advice here and there, a couple of recommendations, etc. We installed a whole-house heat pump, which meant removing the electric baseboard heaters, getting sheet metal guys to create ductwork in our crawl-space and electrican to clean up the panel and wire the compressor/air handler units. That was completed two weeks ago. We also had a multi-zone irrigation system installed which also required a bit of electric work and a bit of plumbing above and beyond all the trenching and pipe-laying. And we had a landscaper do a major clean-up on our garden beds and create some new ones and add some new plants. Plus, we have a lawn maintenance guy liming and punching the lawn and he'll be doing some top-dressing/seeding when appropriate. All of that also happened within the last couple of weeks because our landscaper had a gap in her schedule and wanted to fill it, our irrigation guy decided we fit in better than a bigger job he had to do, etc. We had a traffic jam in our crawl space some days, almost. Ha. Someone discovered we had some carpenter ants, so we had to get the pest guy here to deal with that (fortunately, not advanced and easily dealt with at this stage). And so many decisions. How should the garden beds be shaped, how many, which plants and trees and where, are they deer-resistant? Which mulch? Back and forth questions about irrigation vs landscaping. And then the kitchen cabinets, countertops, backsplash, etc. And flooring. And painting, because the whole house needs painting. Plus, I made the decision to paint the garage interior at the same time, because we get a break on the price, if we do it at the same time. But of course, we have a ton of stuff stored in our garage right now, because we didn't want to bring it inside while other stuff is going on. Also, storage in extra pantry/laundry cabinets, which is still a goal I am working on. Meeting with someone Monday morning to optimize those spaces. Pics to come. My husband has an amazing amount of confidence in my ability to manage some of this stuff. He does help, but he wants me to take the lead because, as he says, he never wants to move again and so he bloody well wants me to happy. Hahahahaha 🙂 Early next month, I have hired someone to remove and transport the old kitchen cabinets. He's also going to help remove the backsplash and flooring. Everything else should follow soon after. One of my biggest things now is running around to lumber yards to try and match some of our existing baseboard and moulding trim. And then I have to talk to flooring people and painter about how best to organize stuff. Right now I am estimating for the flooring people to remove and replace the trim and the painter to finish. But, if we can't match the trims, that opens up a can of worms. We have gaps where the electric baseboard heaters were located, plus some of the kitchen trim will need to be replaced after the cabinet guys are done. Some of you may have done this work yourself, some may feel it's not that bad to organize. But I have to say that it's been quite a lot to take on and I'm still feeling a bit stressed. Though I have to say we have connected with some amazing tradespeople over the 10 years we have lived here in the Valley and they have all come through for us when we have needed them. They have been patient with me and willing to explain and flexible in their scheduling, trying to find some time for when we need something done. My husband, bless his heart, will be the first to say he's not good with some of this stuff. How many people know the Red Green show? "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." 🙂

We had an induction range in the last house here as well, which was purchased back in 2014 or so (the range). It was pretty amazing, actually. Great temp control on the stovetop and the oven racks were porcelain-coated so you could leave them in during a high-heat oven clean. I already have mostly induction-friendly cookware. I wanted an induction range in the Arizona house also when we bought new appliances in 2010 and I don't know why I let a salesperson talk me out of it. She thought they were too pricey, but some models would have fit into our budget. I ended up using portable ones quite a bit because I hate those ceramic-top electric models that burn every spill on to the surface.

Yes! I actually quite like the existing layout. It will be new kitchen materials but the same basic footprint. Did I say the cabinets are white IKEA ones, actually the same ones we put into our last place. And the same pulls and handles, because I never got tired of them. 🙂 I can't reach the upper cabinets even in the existing kitchen without a step-stool, so I'm ok with high 3rd shelves. My (tall) husband uses them to hide things from me, hahahaaha. The new MW has 500 CFM venting, compared to 300 or 400 in other OTR MWs and some hood vents, so I hope it handles things ok. It should be ok for my style of cooking. Maybe that time, but he still chose it to sit on several other times. 😺 I can still talk to the quartz people and see about extending it up to the MW, but if it meant another slab purchase, that would only make sense if we wanted it up to the cabinets all the way around. And that would be a signifcant jump in cost and would depend on availablility as stock was getting low. The owner is the main fabricator and likes doing custom work so they seem very happy to work with me on this and they made it clear they are happy to modify if changes fit the existing slabs. When they come to do the final measure after the cabinets are in, we can still make changes. So I can shape that section behind the range however I want, within reason. I liked the idea of a curve there, because the kitchen itself is going to be very white and grey and I thought a bit of a curve would give some kind of design element that was perhaps lacking in other ways. But I could take it up higher, I think, looking at the fabrication layout. Looks like another 2 to 4", maybe. Would you start the curve outside the width of the range or stay within the 30" range width? Or would you do a curve at all? It really is annoying. If we donated it, we would check with either the food bank or the wildlife rescue people. We have donated appliances to both before and they really appreciate them. But in this case, we also have friends who keep eyeing the fridge when they come over. They recently bought a 45 year old home with some gorgeous views, but the kitchen really needs work. They are buying our old cabinets from us, because they are a big step up from the ones they currrently have and will mostly work in their space. They might want the fridge as well. Edited to add: We would also offer our cabinets to Habitat for Humanity's Restore shop, if we didn't have friends who really wanted them. They will often offer to remove them for you, if they have the necessary labour available to do it. We offered old cabinets in our last house to them.