It's done

The gas range w/ convection oven and warming drawer and the range hood (the item that started this whole project in the first place.)



Kitchen sink with the oh, so quiet dishwasher.















The refrigerator with the cabinet reserved for wine glasses. (Glass shelving coming this weekend).


Finally, a place for the cookbooks. This was my idea.

Several weeks ago, I bid farewell to an old friend. Today, O want to introduce you to a new one.
The new kitchen is complete. Judy painted the walls last weekend. I’ve cooked several meals in it, and despite my early trepidation, I have come to embrace it.
Before the project started in early February, I dreaded the ordeal. I didn’t want to be without a kitchen. I didn’t want the mess. I really didn’t want the change. The old kitchen suited me just fine.
My main problem was that I couldn’t “see” the design. I feared we were putting a mini McMansion-style kitchen into a very small space. I could only imagine a wall of wood cupboards closing in on me. Once it was constructed, I saw that my worries were a waste of time.
We decided on KitchenAid appliances. Viking or Wolf would have been great, but real budget busters. We upgraded the oven to gas with a convection oven and warming drawer. Now that it’s all up and running, I’ll share a few things I learned about remodeling a kitchen.
• Use a reputable design firm. Let a pro redesign the kitchen. They have the computer tools to show what the kitchen will look like (honest, this works for most customers). They’ve also done this many times before. They can tell you if an idea will work or not.
• Be prepared to make a ton of decisions. Many of them will be on the fly. We had a general idea where we wanted the ceiling lights but gave no thought to switches. The decision to take out the ugly phone jack just popped in my head, much to my wife’s surprise.
• The sink and faucet will be surprisingly expensive.
• If offered a cupboard door sample, take it. We didn’t, and for three weeks before the job began, I thought the cabinets we chose were too dark. If I had had the sample, it would have reassured me that the color was right.
• Be diligent and persistent when putting in gas. Don’t procrastinate about calling and setting up appointments. This was the most frustrating part of the whole job. One company said it would be out for an estimate and never showed up. The company we went with did the job, but I had to make several phone calls and spend all day waiting for my 9:30 a.m. appointment to show up.
• With that scenario in mind, be sure you have a flexible work schedule or are willing to burn some vacation time. There will be times that you’ll want to be home.
• Unless you are blowing out walls, expect to throw out a bunch of stuff from the old kitchen. We lost space because we put the garbage can where a cabinet was, and a space where we kept a lot of glasses is now a fancy cabinet reserved for wine glasses. But we haven’t used a lot of those drinking glasses or oodles of coffee cups in years. The triage was more than overdue.
• Save the old refrigerator. This may be one of the favorite parts of the whole remodelling. I now have a fridge in the garage. I no longer have to go in the house to grab a beer when working in the yard.
• Also keep some of the old cabinets. Make a deal with the guy installing the new stuff, and he’ll put up the old ones in the garage or laundry room.
• Most importantly — know your role. Judy’s the decorator. I’m the cook. She knows what she’s doing.

There's always something

Note from Dan: You may have noticed there haven't been any pictures lately. The home computer is on the fritz. Hopefully we'll be up and running again after the weekend.

When the gas was installed, part of the gas guys' job was to change out the natural gas nozzles to lp gas. I was very excited to see the gas burners light. At least I was glad to see three out of four of them light. The main burner didn't work properly. KitchenAid calls it a Tri-Tier burner. It simmers but also can be turned on high to provide the most heat of the four burners. Of course, this is the one that did not work.

The gas guys couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I was left on my own to find someone who could figure it out. Well, the people we bought the appliances from couldn't have been better. They contacted KitchenAid and send out a guy to handle the job at no charge to us.

He arrived on time and I felt I'd have 4 burners in no time. That was until he said he had never seen my stove before. He'd have to call KitchenAid. Maybe I am a rube, but this kind of thing amazes me — the stove guy calls a KitchenAid technical assistance guy (using a super secret number not available to ordinary folk) and over the phone the KitchenAid guy walks the stove guy through the repair. It was no biggie. The Tri-Teir burner has two nozzles and they were switched.

So on Thursday, I made my first real meal (Tuesday's pasta doesn't count — that was just boiling water). I decided to go with an old favorite so that the recipe wouldn't be a problem. I roasted a chicken and served whipped potatoes and sauteed asparagus. The meal came out great.

Thankfully I didn't need to read four pages of instructions to turn on the oven. Just "Bake" punch the numbers 4-0-0 (for 400 degrees) and "Start." Oh, the oven has all sorts of features I haven't sat down to figure out yet. (I have a month of manuals to read after this project). But as I said at the beginning, my reading will have to wait until next week. I've got a sick computer to make well this weekend.

It's a good thing I hung around

I've found out one thing about a home remodeling project. Make sure you have plenty of vacation time handy or a very flexible work schedule. I'm lucky to have a bit of both. I've been writing from home or working at night more than I expected.
Monday, knowing the gas was going to be hooked up, I took a vacation day so I would know where all of the shut off valves were. I suspected that the gas crew would be there in the morning and I could play at least 9 holes in the afternoon. No such luck. But it turns out by 2 p.m. I couldn't have swung a club if my life depended upon it.
Around 9 a.m., a lone carpenter came to install the range hood. We had a decorative range hood built. It's black and really makes the room pop. But it is a heavy sucker. I wondered how the single carpenter was going to get that on the wall. I found out I was going to help him. Hey, no problem. I was there anyways.
It took us a couple of tries to get it centered and flush with the ceiling. While I was holding the hood I thought to myself how glad I was that I'd been working out regularly for the last year. It was heavy but I didn't feel any strain. That was until about 2 minutes after it was on the wall. A ripping pain hit me in the middle of my back. It was so sharp that it hurt to cough (lucky me, I'm in the coughing stage of my current cold). I spent the rest of the day pressing my back into my chair and trying to suppress the urge to cough.
After the hood was installed the gas guy finally came. By then, I was a tad more comfortable but the back still spiked with pain if I moved too quickly or in a certain way.
I didn't know this, but gas ovens come fitted for natural gas, they have to be refitted with different valves for LP gas. The gas guy was working on this part of the job when he asked me if I had a 7 millimeter wrench. I've got plenty of kitchen tools but I'm a little short in the wrench department (although my back was wrenched pretty good by then). The gas guy said the needed wrench was on the other truck. (What kind of company doesn't have a complete set of wrenches on every service truck?) I asked a neighbor if he had one, no luck.
This news left the gas guy scratching his head. It left me knowing what I'd have to do if I wanted my stove installed. I gingerly got in my car to make a run to the hardware store to buy a 7 millimeter wrench. My aching back told me I may be getting too old to easily slip my 6-foot-2 frame into my little Honda Del Sol for very much longer.
Driving home from the store all I could wonder is this: Where would these guys be if the customer hadn't taken the day off? Maybe the gas guy could have helped the carpenter? Maybe the carpenter had a 7 millimeter wrench?
Although my neighbor didn't have a wrench, he had something more important — some pain pills to relax my back. By the next morning my back had pretty much returned to normal. I had a hood, the stove was installed (more on that next time) and I was the proud owner of a 7 millimeter wrench.

I can't hear a thing

I'm making little headway in cleaning up the house and putting somethings in the kitchen. I don't want to pile a lot of stuff in drawers if the workers need to do some stuff I don't know about. However, I did do the first load of dishes.

I loaded the dishwasher, hit the buttons (Normal/Hot Dry/On) and closed the door. I waited. Nothing seemed to happen. I shook my head in disgust. Why wasn't it working? Just as I was about to open the door I heard the faintest "click." Still I heard nothing. It was only when I put my ear close to the door did I hear water swishing around. They told me this dishwasher was going to be quiet. But I couldn't believe this thing.

Our old dishwasher - original equipment in our 15 year old house - was a monster. It roared. It clanked. I usually washed dishes by hand just to avoid having to hear it. The new machine is too cool. Also, I have never seen the glasses this clean.

We decided to go with Kitchen Aid appliances. When a Viking or Wolf oven proved too expensive for the budget, we searched for a manufacturer that made entire kitchen sets. (This is my quirk. For example, I insist on having a matched set of golf clubs. I believe the reason I can't hit my my 3-wood is because it is a Calloway rather than a Titleist like the rest of my clubs.) KitchenAid got high scores from the material we read. They also made a four-burner gas/convection oven with the warming drawer I wanted.

People asked me why I went with a four-burner rather than a six-burner oven. Two reasons. First — it would have been too large. We would have lost cabinet space to make room for it. Secondly, this is a home kitchen. I'm not opening a restaurant here. It's just Judy and I. Rarely have I ever had all four burners going at once. If I got into a pinch, there is always the gas grill just outside on the patio. That's also why we didn't get a second oven — we already have one. The gas grill can be used as an oven in a pinch and it's side burner offers me a fifth burner if I needed one.

Speaking of the oven, that should be ready to use tomorrow. Fingers are crossed.

I've got some work to do

I'm a slob by nature.
I've always been able to co-exist with clutter. One day I'll take a picture of my cage, I mean stall, I mean cubicle at work and show you what I mean. I'll work with papers, faxes, cookbooks and product samples all around me until one piece of paper becomes one too many and I'll clean the pen, I mean cubicle.
That's the state of the house now. As we enter the last days of the project, the clutter is getting to be too much.
But now that we have a dishwasher, I have taken the dirty coffee cups and wine glasses from the guest bath and stowed them in the new dishwasher. I can't wait to get a full load to listen to how quiet it is supposed to run.
The stuff from the old pantry and cupboards is scattered all over the living room. Judy will kill me when she sees that I photographed the mess. But, she's spending the weekend in Vegas with her sister, so I'm buying a few days for her to get over it. (I told her winning enough at the Blackjack table to pay for the kitchen wouldn't be a bad idea.) While I've got the house to myself, I plan on attacking some of the clutter.
It won't be any major stuff. Even though I use the kitchen the most, I want her to be on hand to help decide where stuff goes. Nothing drives me more crazy than not being able to find something in our house. I'm also waiting because I really think Judy will enjoy this "couple's project."
But I will place the pots in the cupboards and maybe get the pantry re-stocked. Although I may hold off as they have one more door to put on the pantry where the food goes.
As for the project progress — today the back splash tile should be installed and hopefully the floor tile will be fixed. We have a few tiles that need to be replaced.
Monday the gas guy hooks up the stove. Tuesday the range hood should be completed.
By then we should be pretty much finished, I think. (Hope. Wish. Pray.)
It's obvious that we are seeing the end as Judy and I are contemplating what will be on the menu for that first special "Make It For Me" dinner to celebrate the new kitchen. Got any suggestions?

Major changes

The kitchen isn't completed, but it is usable.
This is so big.
The lapse between posts was basically because nothing was going on for about 10 days while the counter tops were being prepared. But on Monday, stuff started happening. The appliances were delivered. An the new refrigerator was installed. Ice is being made (and will be dumped out, per manufacturer's suggestion). Soon, though we'll be able to use that ice.

Dan, if you have ice, doesn't that mean you have water? Yes. This is why the kitchen is now usable. The plumber came yesterday to install the sink, faucet, garbage disposal and the dishwasher. If it's not too late (meaning dark) I may actually cook something out on the grill. The gas stove gets installed on March 5. I could have grilled all along, but clean up would have been a hassle. I guess I am just too lazy to clean dishes in the bath tub. As it is, the guest bath is overrun with coffee cups and wine glasses. Those will all get cleaned tonight.

This morning I watched the instructional DVD that came with the dishwasher. It is smarter than I am. we went with KitchenAid appliances. This model can tell if it needs to wash the dishes longer or on a more powerful cycle by testing the water. Pretty cool. I can't wait to start it and then not hear it. Our old one roared and clanked. it made sure to let us know when it was on. With the kitchen being just off the family room, washing dishes right after dinner made watching TV and loud experience.

As you can see from the pictures, the counter tops are in and it really makes the kitchen look like a kitchen. Of course all my worries about the kitchen being too dark were a waste of time and energy. When will I learn to trust Judy's eye on these things? Dan cooks. Judy decorates. Learn your role, Macdonald!

I'll post again tomorrow as workers will be here today to do some more stuff.

I could use my old pal R.P. about now

Beach folk may remember R.P. McMurphy's on Third Street. It was located where the recently defunct Bob Marlin's now resides. Now that I am without a kitchen, I miss R.P.'s more than you can imagine.

When I was single, I pretty much lived at R.P.'s. It had everything a guy needed. Good food, cold beer, all the games but most of all a collection of fun people. During those days, when I was the paper's music critic, I didn't cook much at all. No need, I had R.P.'s. Granted most of my meals there were either wings or a burger — but unlike most sports bars it had a menu of fresh food that could rival most any other locally owned restaurant. There was a time, that locals would form a line outside the place on a Friday night.

Before I go too far, allow me to throw in the disclaimer that I worked there part-time for a few football and basketball seasons. (Without that job, I doubt I could have scraped together the money for Judy's engagement ring. Besides, why spend money watching football when I could tend bar and make money while watching the games?)

Now that I am without a kitchen, I have come to appreciate R.P.'s even more than before. I had a place where I could sit at the bar, drink a few beers and eat a pretty good meal. This week, Judy is out of town on business. I wish I had such a place today.

I'm a tavern guy. I love the fact that in most restaurants today, dining at the bar is an option. I like to believe that guys like me helped established this practice. A steak or broiled fish dinner tastes better to me when at the bar, enjoying a draft beer, watching a game or chatting with some person I've just met who happens to be sitting next to me.

Sure, we have sports bars all over this town. Unfortunately few show any imagination or skill in the kitchen. It's the same wings and pub grub. Can I get a fresh salad or a choice of vegetables (or any vegetable for that matter)? These days, I'm a regular at the downtown Mudville Grille. Good place. Good people. But the menu doesn't offer many surprises. But it's as close to R.P's as I've found.

The best bar food I've found is Ker's WingHouse in Tinseltown. Yeah, yeah the waitresses are pretty and that's part of the attraction. But for a sports bar, the food is good. While the menu is limited, I've found the mahi mahi sandwich and the blackened chicken sandwich both perfectly portioned and wonderfully prepared. The sandwiches are so good, I have only had the wings there once (just to see if they were any good — they are).

But I'm looking for a neighborhood place. Maybe it says something for the size of the Beach or my demented personality but I haven't lived more than five miles from the old R.P.'s since moving to the Beach.

R.P.'s was a special place and a special time. I guess now I'm looking for a local sports bar that just offers some interesting dinner specials.

Now it's starting to look like a kitchen

It's hard for me to explain the relief I am feeling today. The cabinets are in. It was a two-day job but the installer put them in and did a nice job.

I'll tell you when they delivered all the stuff I was wondering if they had made a mistake. Where were they going to put it all? This is a small kitchen and there looked to be enough wood and boxes to put on an addition to the house.

Besides the fact that it is now beginning to look like a kitchen, now that the wood is installed it has relieved my concern about the opening between the bar and the second pantry. I can walk thought there like a normal person. I won't have to turn sideways to avoid ramming my hip into the bar. A hip replacement won't be in my future after all. I can still count on getting my wrecked knees repaired first. (For some reason, basketball seemed very important to me in my youth.)

Now that we have some stuff in, I can explain the redesign a bit. The first picture are the book shelves that will wrap around the front of the bar. I'm proud to say that was my idea. Now I have a place in the kitchen for the cookbooks. It will also add some color to the family room that shares that same space. Judy has told me that only the "pretty" cookbooks can go there.

On the wall, there are the "twin towers" (hmmm, a basketball reference I hadn't thought about until now). Those are two pantries with sliding drawers (see second picture) I'll have no excuse for not finding anything in there now. The microwave will go inside the one closest to the bookshelves.

The oven will go in that blank space in the middle. Above it will be a exhaust fan and a decorative hood.

This morning, they'll template the counter tops for the sink and then we won't have anything going on for about 10 days. While there won't be any construction going on, there is plenty for us to do. More about that next time.

Lack of kitchen leaves a hole in my day

I've been in a fog all this week. I really think it is because I haven't got a kitchen. Why rush home after work? To do what — watch TV? Before, I'd need to get home to cook. Sure some nights I'd blow it off and get take out. Or, I'd just go through the motions. But many times, I found cooking was the best way to unwind from the work day. Now, I'm out of my rhythm.

I've got a theory that one of the reasons that New York has so many restaurants is because cooking at home is a hassle for most New Yorkers. The kitchens are small. Grocery shopping is a chore. Instead of rushing back to the over-priced and under-sized apartment, New Yorkers are more willing to extend the work day with a happy hour that spills over into a dinner out.

Without a kitchen, that's how I am feeling. Unfortunately, I'm in Jacksonville, not Manhattan, so my downtown dining options are much more limited.

I think that the real reason I'm in no hurry to go home is that I hate looking at that hole where my kitchen once was. Hopefully, when the cabinets are installed early next week and I can see what the new ones will actually look like, I'll feel better about this whole project. As it is now, I still have serious doubts about the design. While it will give us more storage room, I fear that the design will make a smallish kitchen even smaller. It will look pretty, but will it be practical? The space between the bar/bookshelves and the new pantry has me very concerned. I'm afraid the space it going to be too narrow. I just envision me bumping my hip into either structure every time I pass by. A hip replacement 10 years down the line wasn't mentioned as part of the bargain when I signed on to this deal.

This is the angst part I warned you about. Happier posts are to follow. I promise.

Oh, that's why the light was out

After the demolition was finished, we were happy to learn that we could keep the refrigerator in the kitchen for a while longer. But after the crew left, Judy wondered why the refrigerator light wouldn't come on. I told her it the light is finicky and not to worry.

Well, the light was out for a reason. Around 3:30 this morning I got up to get a drink of water and felt water on the floor in front of the refrigerator. The crew didn't turn the refrigerator back on at the circuit breaker when they finished. No biggie. The ice in the freezer was just melting. However, by the time I cleaned up the mess and dumped what was left of the ice bin out the back door, I was wide awake.

I knew I was going to lose sleep over this project.

Na-na-na-na. Na-na-na-na, Hey, hey, hey — Good-bye

Well, it's gone.

I'm officially a food editor without a kitchen. The demolition team arrived at 8 a.m. and by noon the kitchen I loved was dead, gone and toted out the door. All that remains is dry wall with a lot of pencil marks noting where cabinets go, where lights should align and how much my life will change in a about five weeks.

The crew arrived on time and were good guys. They worked efficiently and with little noise. They took appart cabinets (saving the ones were are going to install later in the laundry room) and even moving out the dishwasher and oven without me even knowing what was going on. I had sequestered myself in the home office to work on Am Stir and linger over the web.

Once the cabinets were removed the biggest part of the job left was to demolish the pantry. Judy couldn't resist. She asked the guys is she could have some whacks at the dry wall. She loved slamming the hammer into the wall. To me, the kitchen was a special place. For Judy it seemed like it was an obstacle to her inner-design desires.(Note to self: Don't make this woman mad. She wields a mean hammer.) She really let some aggression go.

Once the kitchen was demolished, we waited for the electrician to come by and plot out the lights. This is why I don't do home projects — too much measuring. I can handle cups and tablespoons. But ask me to add and subtract inches — especially when we are dealing with eighth-of-inches — and I am totally confused. Decisions had to be made. How may lights, where would they be put, would they be on one switch or three. We talked out the options and decided that half the lights would be on one switch and the others on another. Even though they are all on dimmers, I just didn't want the kitchen to be too hot if all the pot lights were on at once. (Just in case that was to become a problem).

A development that stunned Judy, after we had finished talking about everything, I asked the contractor if the telephone on the wall could be removed. Judy looked at me like I had burped in church. I explained that if we were doing this in part for "re-sale value" (although I have no intentions of moving) why leave a relic of the 1970's — a kitchen telephone socket — in the middle of the wall? In 10 years, land lines will be obsolete. Why redesign a kitchen and leave that large boil in the middle of a wall? We have two cell phones as well as a wireless phone that we can place near the kitchen. Do we need a phone on the wall? At first Judy protested but quickly yielded to my idea. It was as if she saw a twinkle of "acceptance of change" in my eye.

By 3:30 p.m. the kitchen had been removed and all the decisions had been made. I felt like a sailor on liberty. The tattoo was on, it was permanent, I might as well enjoy it.

Tomorrow the electrician puts in the lights and does some re-wiring.

Hey, hey good bye old kitchen. Hello new one.

The Last Supper

Saturday night was the last supper in the old kitchen. Amazingly enough, I didn't make a big deal about it. Instead, I opted to make one of my favorite dishes. It's one that I have made many times. I prepared Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Sweet Potato and Peppers with Satueed Green Beens.

This dish is also a favorite of Judy's and it is also what spurred the new kitchen project. The dish starts by searing the tenderloin in a hot pan. This process seals in the meat's juices and keeps it moist. However, it creates a lot of smoke. The exhaust fan over our stove is useless. Judy hates when I have to sear anything — especially if guests are coming over. For some reason, she thinks a screeching smoke alarm is a disruptive element to a dinner party.

Once seared, the meat is removed from the pan and white wine is added to deglaze the pan. Once the alcohol is burned off (it takes a minute or two) chicken broth is added to the pan. How much? I haven't measured lately. Basically I just want enough liquid for the meat to sit in. When the pork is returned to the pan, the liquid should come about halfway up its side. Then place the pan in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven when the meat has an internal temperature of 160 degrees and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

While the meat rests, make the sauce by bringing the liquid to a boil and adding a couple tablespoons of butter. Once that is melted, add an ounce or two of heavy cream or half and half.(The amount of cream and butter really depends on how thick you like the sauce). Once combined, reduce heat to low.

The meal was like any other. Judy and I didn't even break out a good bottle of wine to mark the occasion. We had a "cheapie" (as Judy calls $8-$12 bottles of wine) and enjoyed the meal while our nephew Matthew Labrato watched some Scooby-Doo cartoons in the other room. (He opted for pizza instead of his Uncle Dan's cooking. One day the boy will come around.)

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. The day will be spent clearing out the rest of the kitchen. We'll feast on a giant Italian spread prepared by neighbors Mary and John Othmer.The Super Bowl on Hi-Def with a ton of food and friends — can't get better than that. My pick — Colts 31-10.

Goodbye old friend

A blog about a new kitchen? How absolutely riveting?

I'm hoping so.

From what I can tell, most blogs are nothing more than a person rambling on about his life. Well, this kitchen project is going to be a big part of my life for the next couple of months. So I'm jumping into the blogosphere to share it with anyone who cares to join me.

And I'm sure this blog will build some sort of an audience. Despite the fact I know it is all a hoax, I'm still checking out Lonelygirl15 on YouTube hoping that the video soap opera of teenage angst, murder, and the occult will somehow come to an end. So I know blogging can be addictive.

While my blog won't feature a pretty 19-year-old, it will be a first-hand account of something that happened to homeowners all over this country.

Remodeling is big business. This job is the second most expensive purchase we have ever made, ranking only behind the house itself. As I said in my Feb. 1 column, I'm facing this project with a great amount of trepidation.



It's not that it is the most efficient kitchen, but it is my kitchen. Soon it will be gone. In its place will come a new one with new appliances and a new look. But will I like the look? Will the expansion of cabinets along the wall make the small space even smaller? Are the cabinets too dark? Is the countertop going to over whelm the room? I've been assured by my wife, Judy and our designer that I am going to love it when it is done. I don't see it. I mean I've seen the drawings and they look nice. But I can't get on board as joyfully as Judy would like.

But this blog is going to be about more than my neurosis and construction problems. It's going to be about living without a kitchen. Cooking has become second nature for me now. Will I be able to revert back to my bachelor days and eat out every night?

One advantage is that by being forced to eat out, it gives me a chance to explore restaurants around town. I'm not going to review them per say, but I will write about the places where I eat. And because I'll be eating on my dime, I'll be venturing into the smaller, less expensive places that may not get the attention they deserve in our restaurant review and dining notes pages.

I also look forward to your input. Oh, I expect there will be plenty of the "Quit complaining, you're getting a new kitchen" posts. I'm actually looking forward to them. I need that mantra to get me excited about the project. Share your thoughts and opinions. I'm hoping that those of you who have gone through this before will offer a tip or two.

So, let's start at the very beginning with a few before pictures. Like I said, it's not a great kitchen, but it is mine. Above is the view of the kitchen sink and the garbage can that Judy hates so much. The other view is along the long wall. As you can see, there's plenty of clutter.

So, it's time to get things started as I envision Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's Ty Pennington screaming into his megaphone: "Macdonald family, let's re-build your kitchen!"