Here are some pics of us using our kitchen. The Miele ovens and the Caldera and the Miele deep fat fryer get a workout, and boy do we use that 1400 cfm hood:

saving the butcher block on the island:

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pork buns ready for the oven:

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ready to eat:

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You got me sjerin... this is my sink area at the very moment I read your message:
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[the dying pointsettia is not a decor element, but a poor neglected remnant of the holiday season, on its way out]

But I do like this better than having a drainer out all the time. I find I put the dishes away much faster (and sometimes even dry them by hand!) with this system, whereas before the drainer almost always had a few odds and ends hanging around.

If I get really brave I will take a picture after I am done cooking dinner one night (tonight is leftover night). It's unbelievable how messy it is! But that is what it's for, after all!

Amy

trailrunner- I really want to come to your house! Love seeing your kitchen in action, but I'd love partaking even more :) It looks like you have really convenient access to your pots and pans, too.

I've never used a dish drainer. Putting the few handwashed items on a towel works, and when you put them away a bit later, you use the towel to dry the sink and you have your countertop back- clean to boot.

i am probably the only one who does this, but i use my dishwasher as a dishdrainer! i live alone and i can't stand the idea of dirty dishes sitting in the dishwasher too long so i mostly handwash everything and then sit it in the dishwasher to dry! i did keep my old dishdrainer under the sink and it has been handy to have during the remodel. but it is in sorry shape and will get tossed.

YUM! Now I'm hungry ;-)

I was wondering about the dish drainer thing too. I hand wash all my pots and pans and there is always a couple of things that get handwashed throughout the day. I try to keep the dish drainer in the cabinet but it does seem to linger for days sometimes.

I think I'll use the towel on the counter method. Since the plates go into the dishwasher it should be easy enough and hopefully I'll be motivated toput them away faster myself.

This has been my best use so far. When you finish your kitchen, head over to the cooking forum. It's wonderful there too!

I use my dishdrainer all the time--sitting on our counter. I bought a nicer one than I used to have (all chrome) which easily folds up to be stored away. I think I've stored it away only a couple of times (not counting the times I stowed it for picture-taking.) I just don't have the same dishdrainer-adversion that many on this forum have. I got rid of the dishdrainer pan by having our counters slope into the sink. We lived many years without a dw and the dishdrainer was essential. I still handwash all plastics (I'm convinced the life spans of plastic items are shortened when put in the dw), wood, wine glasses and pots with non-ss parts. Air drying is easier than using a dish towel and it turns out that it is more sanitary. I don't like having a dishdrainer in the sink--sink space is more valuable to me than counter space and it seems that dishes that are "almost" dry often get rewetted while sitting in the sink.

It's much easier tidying up the kitchen now that we have places for everything but our messy habits did sneak back over the 2 1/2 years we've been using the kitchen. I'm sure most people consider the dishdrainer (often filled with dishes) an eyesore but since MY eyes don't see it, it doesn't matter.

Trailrunner - I have one word for you - YUMMMMEEEE! Hope my kitchen sees that kind of action

My daughter and I were making karjalan piirakka, a savory Finnish dish. We love 'em, and we make them every Christmas Eve.

vjrnts what are those and where can I find a reciept ? We cook all the time and DS1 and DIL, in pics ,are chefs at their restaurant up the road where I work with them...TheYellowHammerRestaurant...com. waverly al.

Ya'll are sweet! c

French Pear Bread:

Peanut Butter Granola:

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Challah:

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I agree with zelmar. Many years ago, I won't say how many, Bill Cosby did a comedy routine where a child asked, "Daddy, why is there air"? His answer was, as I remember, to blow up basketballs. My answer is: to dry hand washed pots and pans. I'm a great believer in the dish towel on the counter top method. Whatever doesn't dry and get put away before bedtime is certainly done by morning and gets put away while the coffee is brewing and the bagel is toasting in the morning. The towel wipes up the breakfast mess and the new day begins.

trailrunner....YUMMYYYYYY

I also found that when I used a dish drainer (in the old kitchen...not in the new one) the dishes sat there longer than they do when I use a dishtowel. I was really bad about emptying the dish drainer and clean stuff would just pile up. With a towel on the counter everything gets put away in a much more timely manner. It's just what works for me. Too tired to take a picture now but there is a dish towel currently sitting on the counter with two pizza pans and a pizza cutter on it (guess what we had for dinner!). There are also various school papers lying about that need to get put up on the bulletin board. And my DD is forever leaving little craft items or toys at "her spot" at the island. My kitchen definitely looks lived in at the moment!

trailrunner, karjalan piirakka are an old traditional Finnish dish. It's an unleavened rye dough folded around a filling and baked. The filling we like is creamed rice, but potato is another possibility. You can put meat in them, but then they're called liha piirakka.

Crust
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1.5 cups white flour
1.5 cups rye flour

Filling
I use a quart of whole milk and a cup of rice and a couple tablespoons of butter. Put the milk and rice in a pot and bring it to a simmer. Add the butter and cover. Simmer until the rice is thick and creamy, stirring often. I usually make this the day before we make the piirakka.

Mix the water, salt and butter in a large bowl and stir in the white flour until smooth. Add the rye flour and blend well. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Roll some of the dough out as thin as you can; we aim for 1/16 inch or so. Cut out rounds; we usually use about 6-inch rounds, but those are small. Traditional piirakka would have about 8-inch rounds.

Spread 3 or 4 tablespoons of the filling on a round, leaving a margin of dough uncovered. Then you fold the edges up and pinch them into the traditional piirakka shape. I can't possibly describe this, so here's a youtube movie to show you.

Bake them in a very hot oven (450oF), basting with hot milk mixed with butter until lightly browned.

Finns eat these for breakfast and lunch, and you often find them on the "coffee table" with other savory and sweet breads. My favorite way to eat them is to warm them and layer with ham or smoked fish, maybe a little cheese, maybe slices of cucumber or tomato in a weak vinaigrette. There is no wrong way to eat them, though; be creative. One of the "related videos" on the Youtube site below shows piirakka with a hard-boiled egg sliced on top. That sounds good too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Folding the edges of piirakka

YUM!!! It all looks so good!

We are still underconstruction, but I purchased a double bowl sink (to the disappointment of many of my friends) as I use one side of the sink for draining. I cook in VERY large pots etc and realize that a single bowl would be easier for them to be washed, however it was more important that I would have a space for them to drain. I was afraid using a dish towel on the counter would be too much clutter.

Thanks for starting this thread! There are so many BEAUTIFUL kitchens that are even more gorgeous and interesting when in full use!

vjrnts:thank you I have cut/pasted. That is a great video. It is always interesting to me how every culture has a similar dish...so peroshki, and the chinese buns and your Finnish dish...we are all so close !! c

vjrnts--those must be the Finnish version of pierogi! They sound yummy!

trailrunner--as always, your breads (and other dishes) have me drooling!

It all looks yummy!

Brave enough???
Of course, I'm rather proud to show my kitchen being the work horse it was designed to be

Function first here - It all works rather well!

jejvtr: you got it ...I love your space ! I hope more folks will post the "active" pics. That is what it is all for afterall.

Thank you cat mom...I love to bake and share with others. c

Wow-- thank you everyone for the great response! I don't know why, but somehow it's easier to see what might work for me if I see a kitchen in working order. Case in point, trailrunner, I am able to see how one person works at the sink while another cooks in a plan very similar to my own. I've been sliding the cooktop (on the plan) one way and another trying to figure out just how much space two people at the corner need to work. Perfect! I know you've said your son is a chef, but are you sure you and your dh aren't chefs too? Can I come for dinner??

Great discussion about the ubiquitous dishdrainer (dd). I guess it's a personal decision that only each family (or chief bottle-washer) can make for itself. I'm wondering if the reason I don't put my pots and pans in the dw is because my current one can't wash them properly; that would free up a lot of space in the dd, making it not as necessary.
glad-- my mom and her sister also use the dw as a drying rack and it works well for them because they don't really have enough dishes to make running a dw worthwhile.

chmpgntst(off topic, what does your screen name mean? That's a lot of consonents!) That's a great-looking sink area and it looks like the paper towels are in an ideal spot--does it work well for you? I would never have realized that if I hadn't seen this picture! I'm going to print that picture out so I remember the placement. That sounds like such a tiny and unimportant detail but in daily life, for those of us who spend lots of time in the kitchen, it makes a difference.

natesgramma-- this shows me how well setting out a buffet works on an island. Also, I can see how wide aisles need to be to make this situation doable (if I knew the dimensions--do you remember them?)

I'm with you, zelmar. Just can't see myself living without a dd because you reminded me that I do toss plastic in there that needs to finish drying as well as hand-wash items such as the good wine glasses. I do like the idea of runnels and a slope so that the tray doesn't need to be used. Since I grew up with the idea, I guess it feels homey to me to see a dd sitting next to the sink, and I don't find them ugly. I just keep playing with the idea of a completely uncluttered kitchen which is probably not my style anyway! The towel idea sounds good, but knowing what I do about myself, I don't think I'd put dishes away any quicker.

vjrnts-- a perfect picture for me to see how it is to do some rolling out of dough next to the cooktop. We ocassionally make some Indian breads and you have to roll out right next to the stove to make it work. Wonderful pic, vjrnts! Love the mitt and the plastic bags on the floor. You mean I'm not the only one who ends up with stuff on the floor which everyone else walks right past???

Thank you so much again to everyone who posted and for all the great pictures of working, beautiful kitchens. Though we are still far from starting, I love the idea of thinking through as much as possible and I'm a visual person, so this really helps.

You are welcome anytime to dinner ! We have an island now. It is 48" x 30" and is perfect for rolling out and turning to the cook top. The ovens are over at the end of the baking center so folks can be baking and never come near the cooks and washers. The fridge is in the alcove completely away from the cook and wash areas but just around the corner from the ovens and baking and microwave. It really makes having work centers so easy. Can hardly wait to see what you decide. Caroline

Here's my dishdrainer and messy island! This is a great thread!!

I love this thread! I had a feeling my house wasn't the only one that didn't look like a magazine spread!

What a cool thread! I love seeing people's kitchens in action (or rather the cooks in action). I'm coveting those inset cabinets now darnit!

As for the drainer debate, I too use just a towel on the counter, then wipe up with it and hang it up, no muss no fuss and I don't have my counter space eaten up with the drainer.

No pictures, but I have a drainer to the right of my sink. I can't imagine doing without one. I'm not home enough to wipe dishes!

No pictures to post, but we pretty much planned a spot on the counter for our dish drainer. It's right over the dishwasher. If you came over to our house anytime you'd see dishes from the last meal drying in the dish drainer. We only empty it to make room for washing more dishes.

I HATE drying dishes. Well, we put dishes in the DW. I mean pots & pans & wood & knives & all that stuff that doesn't do well in the DW.

I thought the thread was about all the uses of the kitchen and not just washing the dishes LOL so I didn't post to the topic I guess. We wash as we go since my DH believes in "clearing the decks" after we make each item on the menu. That is also how DS1 and DIL do it so his kitchen at the restaurant is always perfect. My Momma kept a " sink of suds" and washed as she cooked too. When we sit down to eat there is nothing dirty but the plates we are using and the serving dishes, although we have gotten into the habit of plating the food in the kitchen and serving as they do at the restaurant, so there are no serving dishes most nights. I really like that best. For the rest we use a towel and by the time we are wiping the cook top and counters the dishes are dry and they get put up then. I use the dishwasher all day for small stuff but still like to wash all pots and knives etc by hand. We never go to bed with dishes etc out . Have to have the "decks clear". c

Dear November,

What's your countertop material? Do you like it? Thanks,

No pictures for me either, but I wanted to chime in. I got the Franke Orca sink specifically so I could get the grate on the right side to hold my hand washed items. I also spent an absurd amount of money on Demeyere cookware because it is dishwasher safe. I am thrilled with both choices, and the only items air drying these days are my knives.

Beth

I think chmpgntst is short for Champagne Tastes.

Our sink is adjacent to the corner, so for us, that space is kind of wasted anyway. So we have a plastic drainboard thingie, but not the rack -- I think if I had the rack, it would be full all the time, but having just the board makes it a little precarious if it gets too full. So there are usually just a few things drying there -- big pans won't fit, so I towel dry them right away. For some reason, I hate putting away those few little things on the drainboard, so some of them stay for days! Silly, I know.

I love the idea of runnels, though...can they be made with solid surface or engineered quartz counters? I've only seen them in soapstone.

Here are my hand washed items drying on the Orca sink grate. We have a bar-height counter where we sit to read the morning paper.

Since this thread is already discussing drainers... Thanks for the picture of the Orca sink grate. We are considering a Blanco silgranit sink, which has an attached drainboard on the right side, any thoughts on this solution or how well it would work? In practice we always have a stand-alone drainer on the counter anyway, so I think one built-in as part of the sink would look better? We have plenty of counter space for the bigger sink, but not having experience with this sink configuration I'm not sure how well it would work for drying things. I don't want to end up with the built-in drainer and still have a separate one sitting there, too!

Since this thread seems to be marginally about food, and it looks like some of you like breads, here's another recipe. It's for a Finnish coffee bread, very traditional, called Pulla:

(There is an excellent Finnish cookbook available at Amazon, if you're interested in more Finnish recipes. This one and the previously-posted piirakka recipe are from this book)

Pulla

1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1 cup (or less) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7-8 whole cardamom pods, seeded and crushed (about a teaspoon)*
4 eggs, beaten
8 - 9 cups sifted white flour
1/2 cup melted butter

Glaze:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped or sliced almonds (optional)
1/2 cup crushed lump sugar (optional)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, eggs and enough flour to make a batter (about 2 cups). Beat until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add about 3 cups of flour and beat well; the dough should be quite smooth and glossy in appearance. Add the melted butter and stir in well. Beat again until the dough looks glossy. Stir in the rest of the flour until a stiff dough forms.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and cover with an inverted mixing bowl. Let the dough rest 15 minutes. Knead until smooth and satiny. Place in a lightly greased mixing bowl, turn the dough to grease the top, cover lightly and let rise in a warm place (about 85 degrees) until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). Punch down and let rise again until almost doubled (about 30 minutes).

Turn out again onto a slightly floured board. Divide into three parts, then divide each of these parts into three. Shape each into a strip about 16 inches long by rolling the dough between the palms and the board. Braid the three strips together into a straight loaf, pinch the ends together, and tuck under. Repeat for second and third loaves. Lift the braids onto lightly greased baking sheets. Let rise for about 20 minutes. The braids should be puffy, but not doubled in size.

Glaze the loaves by brushing with beaten egg. If you wish, sprinkle with almonds and sugar.

Bake in a hot oven (400 degrees) 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overbake or the loaves will be too dry. Remove from the oven when a light golden-brown. Makes three braids. Slice to serve.

*Cardamom pods can be bought at Indian groceries. You can buy cardamom seeds at most large groceries; I used to crush a half teaspoon of these instead of using pods.

We are crazy about Cardamom. Thanks again for your recipes. We have started a recipe collection on the Cottage Garden Forum. There are some very good ones on it contributed by the great CG folks. c

Now jejvtr, I like your style. While the colors/appliances are a little different, you have some other similarities that remind me so much of home ;)

cltractor - my counters are the dreaded honed absolute black, which I adore. I think they're beautiful, and I don't find them to be high maintenance (I have three little kids, so I can't do high maintenance!)

jejvtr , what are those cabinets they look like mine.. mine are marsh, madison siena.

I would be brave enough to show you, but like another room in my house, my kitchen doesn't see much action :-o

kk-rotflmao!!!! Damn--I'll bet it would be fun to go out for drinks with you!

Thanks for the compliment pugger

Dirt - they are mahogany custom cabs - fr. Cabinet maker in Maine

Here ya go! Snow day, and DD demanded that we do some baking. There is currently some Valentine's Pink icing setting in the fridge to go on top of the black-bottomed cupcakes that she asked to make...

Diva you are a "sweetheart" to make cupcakes with DD. Mine is in SLC and so we can't do those together....but we used to. Happy V Day to you ! c

Here is my before kitchen and then kitchen in action:

And now in action:

ohhh ray you have some stunning folks in your family! Great pics...and that turkey has me drooling ! c

Sjerin, the paper towels do work pretty well in that spot -- and looking through the photos in this thread, november and rayminkle have them in the same spot! How funny is that?!? The only time they are not convenient is when my kids spill something at the table (happens about 7x/day) -- it's about 6 paces away and not quite a straight shot. However, if I put the paper towels closer to the table, I think my two-year-old might "notice" them and start raiding the roll...

There was a huge thread once about where people put the paper towels. Very entertaining. If I had a huge kitchen and no kids or dogs, I would have a little custom nook right under the counter, hidden from view behind an island or peninsula but without a door, so I could grab them quickly and easily but they'd be hidden. Doubt it will ever happen -- the kids will grow up and go, but there will always be dogs. :-)

As for living without a dish drainer, when I was trying to figure out where everything would go in the new kitchen, I couldn't fit both the coffee maker and the dish drainer in the one logical spot for both. So I decided to try living without the DD (living w/out coffee is not an option) and not only could I live without it, but I was surprised by the difference in "cluttered-ness." Removing just the DD (and my old one was small, probably 14"x6") made a huge difference.

And scootermom wins a prize -- my screen name means Champagne Tastes, as in "Champagne Tastes and a Beer Budget." I chose that b/c I found the kitchen forum when I was confused and disappointed after getting two quotes for our kitchen project -- both more than 50% over our budget. So when it asked me to choose a screen name, that phrase came right to mind. (see above about huge kitchen with custom paper towel nook) ;-)

I did find another pic of the kitchen in action:

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chmpgntst--that pic is priceless! Your girls are adorable!

This is my first attempt at posting a photo...Hope it works!
We moved into our new home in October and really initiated the kitchen before Christmas with a Gingerbread House making party for my daughters and their friends.

Pristine Kitchen

The Kitchen before the party

During the party

May I add that we are thrilled with our new kitchen! Its success is due largely because of the wealth of information I was able to gather on this amazing forum! Thank you all!

topiary--how cool is that?!? Wow, you picked some awesome shots for your first posted pics!