Kitchen Challenge Part 3: Rangefinder
The stove is the workhorse of the kitchen and one of the toughest choices to be made during renovation. I had my heart set on a semi-professional range for the reliability and high btus, so checked out both Wolf and Viking. Wolf and Viking offered similar styling and functionality with ranges from 30-60 inches, gas or duel-fuel, self-cleaning ovens, similar burner configurations and oven functionality, so I thought the decision would come down to aesthetics. And that's when I
Kitchen Challenge Part 2: Demolition!
About a week ago, I woke up to a call from the back gate. After hastily throwing on some clothes, I went out to let in our construction team. Jesus, our contractor, arrived with with a co-worker and immediately got to work tearing out the countertops, sink and walls. By the time I popped my head back into the kitchen, the ceiling was gone as well! To say I wasn't quite prepared for a full-on demolition is an understatement. Dust managed to infiltrated every corner of the hous
Get Stuffed: Home Sausage-Making
My husband and I both love sausages! German landjager and weisswirst and leberkase, North African Merguez, Croatian Cevapcici, Spanish morcilla, Cajun Andouille, Thai sai oua and good old Vienna Beef hotdogs! But one of our favorites is a juicy and flavorful hot Italian Sausage. Nothing beats the snappy casing or the scalding hot juices shooting out of this tasty encased meat. THE PROBLEM: commercial hot Italian Sausages never seem to be spicy enough and we both like it HOT!
Kitchen Challenge Part 1: Rehabbing an Insufferable Kitchen for an Inspired Chef!
I'm coming up on the year anniversary of the move to my new house. This time last year, my husband and I were frantically packing in preparation to move a few blocks away to our hundred-year-old Chicago brick two-flat. The first year has been a flurry of renovations, reworking and revitalizing of this gorgeous, historically intact property. Roof work, tuck-pointing, acid-washing, painting, polishing, staining and stripping have left the house in fantastic condition except for
