marie-louise

Buy a Le Creuset, round or oval. Go to the outlet store and take a look to see what appeals. Every month they have one color on sale (they have a calendar and can tell you what color will be on sale when). The real bargains are towards the back of the store; they have seconds and discontinued colors. At least in California, they have really chatty help-they will hang out with you and answer questions whether you want them to or not. They've always given me good advice. PS I've been putting mine in the dishwasher for 20 years too-even ones without an enameled bottom.

You want me to put in a good word for you when I stay there??? BTW, they asked how we heard about the place: Husband (on phone making reservations): Marie, how did you hear about the place? Me: eGullet... Uh, tell them a friend recomended it. (How could I say, well, there's this web site and ....) But I could tell them that in person and tell them the truth, which is that the first page of their website is so ugly I never would have looked further to realize their rooms were beautiful if someone I trusted hadn't recommended the place. Then mention I "know" someone locally who could help fix their website...

We've booked a nice room at the Martine Inn it-thanks for the tip! (The others looked nice, too-it was hard to pick.) There are a lot of good deals at all the hotels this time of year.

What I dislike about my floor is that it shows every speck of dirt-plus the grout WAS off-white-and unsealed-when we moved in. My favorite quote from one of my books is, "Have a kitchen counter that shows the dirt and a floor that hides it." I can live w/ the counters hiding dirt, as they do match the fireplaces in two adjoining rooms. I'm sick of the floors always looking dirty. This is my first tile floor; it is harder on my back to stand on than I could have ever imagined. I was thinking of one of those bone or vanilla Corians, but besides showing the dirt, I wanted them because they I thought they were no maintenence. Who needs the grief if they're not? My concrete has developed a nice "patina" of age, so I never worry about hot pots or spills of any kind. To upload images, go to ImageGullet (top left hand corner of the screen), upload your pictures onto this site & cut and paste the IMG link into your post. If you have trouble, go to site talk-there's a whole discussion or two on it.

As promised, the picture of my kitchen and a reminder quote of why I want to replace it. I was thinking of Corian, but now I'm not so sure. I am planning to replace the floor w/ some sort of Marmoleum. If I went w/ plain off-white Corian, I was thinking of black & white tiles, but if I leave the counters alone I could use one of their more colorful sheet floorings. Last but not least, a close up of the counters. They are almost 10 years old and I'm sure many of the cracks are due to the fact that I live less than a mile from the Hayward fault. I haven't sealed them in years...

Thanks for all the great ideas! The boat ride sounds fun-I saw the word "safari" in the title and just assumed it was some sort of schlocky theme park-glad you pointed it out to me. I have been to the aquarium, but not since it first opened; there are more exhibits now and I want to go again. Tana, a drink or two on Cannery Row sounds nice. Perhaps staying in Pacific Grove or Monterey is a better idea. Has anyone stayed at Mission Ranch-that looks nice as well? I am trying to visit all the California Missions before they fall down from neglect due to lack of funds, so will stop in at Carmel's as well. I've stayed at the Post Ranch Inn, during their "mid-winter, mid-week bargain special," which they are having again. It is a beautiful spot, but I think this time we want to be somewhere where's there's more to do (and a little cheaper wouldn't be bad either!) As for the food, wow, lots of great choices! The photography on the Passionfish website makes that a must try. I like to stop in at that cheese store at the top of Ocean Ave whenever I get in the area, just for nostalgia reasons. I first went there as a 15-year old and was just amazed at the selection.

We're thinking of heading down the coast the week after President's Day-haven't picked out a place to stay yet-and am wondering if there are any great restaurants in any of these towns? I haven't stayed in Carmel in about 25 years, I usually just pass through, OD on cute in about an hour, and keep on driving... PS Recommendations on things to do / places to stay also accepted.

We had an absolutely fabulous meal last night, with a friendly, professional waiter. I requested one of those tables on the balcony that overlooks the kitchen-at one point another party walked by and one guy remarked-those are the best seats in the house! Agraparte (?sp) champagne A dozen oysters split a Caesar-it was good, perfectly balanced dressing with no one taste predominating, but it was still a Caesar. I wish I'd tried something else. THAT CHICKEN The hour wait just flew by as we ate oysters, drank champagne, chatted with our waiter about this and that, and watched the buzz of the restaurant from the balcony. We took home 3 of the 8 pieces of chicken but scarfed up every morsel of that bread salad. That salad is one of the best things I've eaten in a long time, I'm definitely trying it out of the cookbook soon. It was hard to not moan out loud and/or scrape the serving platter, it was so good. The chicken was very good, and both the chicken and the salad have a slight smokiness from the wood-burning oven that just can't quite be replicated at home. split a Creme Brulee. I wasn't going to have but a bite, I was so full, but this was the best creme brulee I've had in twenty years, since I used to order it at a place called the Union Hotel in Benica, which was owned by Marion Cunningham and Judy Rogers (of Zuni) was the chef. It is served in a deep cup, deeper than a ramekin, and the custard is creamier than usual.

Interesting article, thanks. I liked her original kitchen best of all. I think adding a free-standing worktable or a few base cabinets w/ a butcher block countertop & a bunch of wall cabinets or open shelves would make a much more attractive kitchen htan any of the ones the designers came up with. I especially love that sink!

Hmmm... perhaps I can live with my conrete counters hiding the dirt and never looking clean. I enjoy them in every other way except for that, it would be stupid to replace them with something that isn't low-maintenence. (Another consumer hood-winked by a good ad campaign.) I'll post some pictures of my kitchen so y'all can give me some advice about what you think would work, but won't be able to do it until the weekend. Meanwhile, perhaps I should get a copper sink with the money I "saved" by not redoing my countertops? Or, perhaps spend even more money having them make me a whole copper countertop w/ an integral sink?

Well, almost as good; if I had a wood-fired oven at home perhaps I could duplicate it completely! I am on a life-long quest to perfect roast chicken at home (in other words, I will never be stop trying to take it to the next level of perfection.) The Zuni Cafe Cookbook's version is as close as I've come to ideal. The pre-salting is essential, but is also suggested in several other cookbooks, and I've been doing that for years, so I don't think that's really her secret. I think her secret is using little chickens at high heat; typically, the ones we see around here-at least the free range ones- are close to 5 pounds. I've never made the bread salad at home, but it is TDF at the restaurant. PS I just happen to be going there for dinner tonight-I've been many times, but not in a few years.

My microwave is in my pantry, at eye level, with a countertop-high shelf directly underneath. Handy for taking things out & setting them down.

Varmit, it sounds like you've settled on your final plan, but thought I'd post a couple of excerpts from what I think is the best kitchen design book ever published, Kitchens for Cooks by Deborah Krasner in case others find them helpful at some point. Alas, the book is out of print, but REALLY worth ordering from a used bookstore. LINEAR COUNTER SPACE She makes a point of saying these are minimums, and of course can be larger. Wet You need at least 24 inches on one side of the sink (conveniently, this is the width of a dishwasher) for stacking dirty dishes, and at least 18 inches on the other side for draining dishes. (plus the width of the sink) Dry For food preparation, a minimum of 3 feet is necesary for 1 person. Add an additional 2 feet for each cook working at the same time. Hot Requires at least 30 to 36 inches on one side of the cooktop or range (for food preparation) and a minimum of 18 inches on the other (it could easily be another 30-36 inches) to allow for clearance of pot handles, parking of hot pots, and serving. Cold A refrigerator requires about 18 inches of counter space next to the opening door (if it is a side by side model, allow this clearance on both sides) as a place to set food prior to loading or after unloading the refrigerator. Traffic For one person in the kitchen allow at least 38 inches between parallel counters, or between a counter and an island, to provide enough working space. If this aisle also functions as a passage, allow 26 inches to allow another person space to walk through, making a grand total of 64 inches between counters. The whole book is filled with information like this. A must read, IMO. PS Maybe she could do a Q& A for us? As way of doing penance for posting quotes out of her book, heres' a link to her web site.

The stove placement troubles me-that sharp corner, the fact that it's a logical loitering place, yet has only a 30-inch passageway, and the fact that there's just not much room on the either side of the stove. To me, that is always going to look make-shift. That wall should have shallow shelving on it-or nothing. Maybe the bookcase should go there? Or a hanging pot rack or wall system (think Julia's kitchen w/ all her copper pots.) Or a built in seat for people to hang out in the kitchen with you? Since we are revisiting things that were off the table, what about getting rid of that closet and putting your cooktop in the spot where the oven and closet are? Maybe even have it continuous w/ the bar area and open to the LR/DR? It wouldn't be too hard to slip a big wooden beam in there and open the area up. that is sort of what you have right now-just improve it. Save money on having less cabinets. Maximize the use of your pantry.

Today, it will improve the value of your house. Ten or twenty years from now prospective buyers will be whining, "oh my God, the kitchen is SO dated, we'll have to rip it out immediately..." I am planning to redo my countertops at some point, too. I'll tell you why and what I was thinking of switching to, and hopefully someone can steer me in the right direction. I live in a new Craftsman home. It is a pretty faithful replica of one of those 1920's bungalows, although it does have a few modern touches like a good foundation and sufficent wiring. The cabinets are vertical grain Douglas fir, and they match the cabinetry, woodwork, and box beam ceilings in rest of the house. So they are staying. The counters are currently a very nice dark grey concrete w/ little flecks of colored stone in them; the same concrete was used for the fireplaces in my dining and living rooms. The sink is stainless steel overmount. Why do I want to replace them? I hate how I can never tell whether or not they are clean. I have white formica cabinets/ countertops at my beach house, and I like that the counters look CLEAN when they are. If I roll out pastry, I know I'm starting on a clean surface just by looking. The concrete is so patterned that I never feel like it looks clean. And I hate cleaning that sink seam. So... I was thinking of replacing it with one of the off white plain Corian countertops and an integrated sink that is bullnosed. I saw it in a showroom and thought the idea of having a no seam at all into the sink was amazing. I don't want anything flecked, so granite, Silestone, et al are out. The house really does look old, so Formica just wouldn't look right. Black soapstone would work, too, and even if the sink couldn't be integrated as well, it could still be undermounted. Subway tiles or nice handcrafted tiles on the backslash would also fit. Other suggestions for the look I want? You've made me think twice about Corian... PS I have to seal the concrete every year or so, but it just takes a few minutes. I pour something on, spread it around, and let it dry for a half-hour.

I hate to wate food too, but it won't go to waste at a shelter. If you want to do a real mitzvah, make the ingredients into a dish and donate THAT to the shelter. This is a new job; you should start off on the right foot, with your own ingredients to make your own signature dishes. If these ingredients aren't part of them, pass them along to people who might go hungry otherwise.

Our current home has a small kitchen. When we first moved, one of my friends actually said to me, "It must be so hard for you to cook in this kitchen." But quite the opposite is true-it is my favorite kitchen ever. I was thinking of you this morning and I measured the distances between counters: 39 inches from our worktable to the stove and fridge, and 36 inches from the worktable to the sink. The pantry is only a few steps away. I cannot emphasize enough how much I like cooking in a compact space. I'm never more than a step away from my worktable/ prep area-which I also use to plate food. I think it speeds up my cooking to not be constantly walking across a big kitchen. Follow your intuition, and don't get rid of the things you like. My sink is perpendicular to my stove-I just pivot. It would drive me nuts to carry hot pans across a big kitchen to and from the sink, and I don't even have little ones underfoot. U-shaped kitchens (ours is technically a "broken U" because of the pantry doorway) and galley kitchens-these are classic designs for a reason. Their only downfall is that you can't have a lot of people hang out in the kitchen, but the L'il Varmit bar open to the living room solves that for you, and I have an elevated breakfast nook that solves it for me: people can be near but not in your way. I think the essence of the problem with this kitchen is you have a big space with too many doorways. Your FIL tried to fix that by filling in the space w/ lots of counters, which drives you nuts. If it were my kitchen, I'd make a small tight primary work triangle and use the rest of the space for a secondary area-a baking area, an area for others to use when your next pig pickin' party hqappens, whatever. Not all walls have to have counters and cabinets, especially overhead cabinets. A nice big piece of art works, too. Another thing I'd do is try to cram as much stuff into your pantry as fits (you DO have Elfa or other adjustable shelves in there, don't you?) and then and only then decide how many cabinets you need. It looks like you have a ranch-style home, or something w/ lots of windows. The more light and space you can get into the kitchen, the better. This is very fun, thanks for letting us all get to be armchair designers.

A tip I learned from Fine Cooking Magazine a while ago-after making the batter, be sure to let it rest at least 5 minutes before startingto make the pancakes. It does seem to make a difference in improving the texture. I also use buttermilk, stored in the fridge for amazingly long time after the pull date with no adverse effects. At least none yet.

Actually, I think she sends her Mom.

Try the ones at 1029 Grant- one of my husband's co-workers brings them to us because she knows we love them. She thinks the name is Golden Door, but she only knows the Chinese name, so she is not sure of the translation. Phone # is 781-2627. I think the ones at Koi Palace might be even better. I like ones w/ a a very flaky crust.

A couple of questions: 1) How important is that wet bar? If it is important, how important is it that it be right there? Could it go into the dining room, the living room, or family room? You have the makings of a nice galley kitchen here. One that is also a hallway, but still a nice functional tight space to work without a lot of steps. 2) Any doorways that could be closed up to decrease all these entryways? 3) Do you have to keep that closet in the dining room? If not, you could put your cooktop in the space that frees up (along w/ the spot for the oven.) Personally, I'd make the area that shares a wall w/ your DR into a tight, functional galley space. It has a 42 inch hallway, that's plenty wide. I cook in a kitchen where the stove, fridge, sink and worktable are all a step from each other and I LOVE IT-so easy to cook in. The thing that makes it work is a 3x5 ft. space for prep work and plating. You have a couple options for that-either next to the fridge or on the wall w / the DR. An option for that area by the big window is a baking area. (If you can find a picture of Alice Water's kitchen she has one-with a maple countertop.) You could put your mixer there and a wall oven on the short side of the L. You could also use it as a second prep area-it's handy to the pantry. I'd put shallow floor to ceiling shelving on the wall where you were talking about putting the range yesterday. It's near the eating bar, the DW, and the dining room-store all your dishes there. Make it a glass-front cabinet. Is there ANY way you could get rid of that little wall that sticks out from that wall-that would help open it up, and let more light in too.

Pavel's gets my vote as well.

Robyn said a few pages back that this kitchen probably once had a normal layout. It is amazing that there are so few options in what appears to be a very large room! Why is that-is it all the hallways / doorways that make it so hard to design?

Ah, I was wondering if that might be the case. Another question-what if the dishwasher/ main sink was where the wet bar is currently-how would that feel? You could have a small sink and a large prep area (with a butcher block countertop) where the double sink is currently drawn...

What would it feel like if you switched the range and the sink? With all those L'il Varmits to feed, I think I'd want the DW/sink/ clean glasses closer to the counter they eat at. I store a lot of my dishes in my panty. You might be able to get a wall oven/micro combo on the short side of the L next to where the sink is currently sketched to go.