Oh! How appropos - I just yesterday finished reading Tender at the Bone. Great woman and great kitchen.

There are no accidents!

Interesting read. I was salivating during her description of her meal in Crete. And totally agree with her about clams. Thanks for posting it.

I love her cabinets and counters! I have a thing for green.

I was thinking maybe she got the idea for the kitchen that's on display to all guests partly from her dinners with Danny Kaye, whom she wrote about in Comfort Me with Apples, and described how his kitchen was more like a theater, and his dinner parties more of a show to watch him cook. She seems to welcome helpers, though, and I don't think he did. Her books are so fun. What a life she's led!

I wish there were more kitchen photos, of course.

I liked this article too and now want a juice press too! I'd take those green marble counters....

OMG-My cabinets are light wood. My counters are green. We live right near Columbia County. I do like Crete and caviar, but never ever clams, oysters and other seafood that acts as a water filter. Where do the impurities they filter go?
Laura

I might have pegged her kitchen as late 80s, except for the tell tale large drawer pulls

Had That Woman stuck to writing books, Gourmet magazine would still be alive. Instead, the bible of haute cuisine that had survived the entire Depression unscathed found itself ungirdled, tarted it up, pimped out, used hard and left for dead.

Perhaps the green counters are to show off her daily breakfast of salmon caviar.

I would love to have a meal at her table. Good food, good wine and I'm quite sure good conversation. I'll have to look up her books. Thanks for posting.

LMAO @ marcolo, I heard the same sentiment from my 82 YO friend, a devoted Gourmet subscriber since she was a bride. I introduced her to Fine Cooking, but she will have none of it, Gourmet is the standard, and FC is just too new wave for her.

I also would have liked more pics accompanying the article.

sandyponder

She's terrific. I like her kitchen a lot better then the last chef kitchen posted, but then she has all the book royalties!

A significant portion of food purists do not care for Reichl. In some cases, loathe might be the appropriate term. I enjoy her, but freely admit I am not a purist.

Her hippy like persona is a little too much for me, too. I'm with your 82 year old friend Sandyponder. She is near my mother's age and she would not like to eat caviar for breakfast on green marble, blah, blah, blah, lol.

mtnrdredux, thank you for posting the article. I love getting ideas from people who have been in the business like her! I'm going to look for that lard.

Thanks!
Trudy

Glad people enjoyed it. Interesting that you dont need to be a wsj subscriber to see it, i a assuming.

There is a reason marble counters (not granite) are in the older homes and are classic and classy.

Delurking to say that green marble is actually not a true marble but serpentine. Doesn't stain ever. May chip, but I've had my counters for 6 years and can attest they can withstand quite a beating.(No chips yet and they've really been subject to all manner of things:)) Honestly, I would never have anything but green marble in my kitchen again.

Well, then, we have learned something! I don't think I recall anyone talking about using green marble in their kitchen here. I think it looks great.

Vermont Verde is a beautiful marble (serpentine) that is quarried in Vermont. A few houses ago I had a fireplace surround made of it, it stood up to well to daily use of the woodstove insert.

sandyponder

I'm a bit of an old timer(not like the real, real gardenweb old timers...but it's been about 6 years since I've done my kitchen) Back then there were maybe a few of us that were using green marble for counters. I went with it because it's somewhat dressy, yet neutral. It's not fussy. Researching it I found it compares quite nicely to granite. And it fit my 1840's greek revival home quite well.

i love greek revival ! Post some pics!

Love the green marble. Saw Ruth at a local bookstore a few years back. She read from one of her books and was charming! So down to earth!

Oooh, Ramses, we'd give you our first-born children for a few photos of green serpentine in action ... Happy you delurked!

Marcolo, forgive me, I am a culinary aetheist and had no idea about the Butter Schism and Reichl's role in the demise of Gourmet. That's a real loss. I just rather enjoyed the stories about growing up with her insane mother, the Queen of Mold.

I have Vermont Verde in my kitchen and I love it. No stains or etching like marble.

Kala that looks lovely!

mtnrdredux thank you very much for posting..interesting thread Had just finished reading the article when I found the discussion here... Have enjoyed her books very much but not the demise of Gourmet... They tried to change a classic and failed...Sort of what almost happened to The New Yorker awhile back...

I never subscribed to Gourmet and I am not particularly enthralled by Reichl's kitchen.

On the other hand, she reports that her mother was literally [i.e., physiologically] tasteless and had to consult her children about whether any bit of cooking was palatable. The best -- and I hope not apocryphal -- story is of Reichl's mother throwing a bunch of meat and vegetable leftovers together to make a casserole. Ruth was alarmed when her mother threw in half of an apple pie, but her mother assured her it would turn out fine.

How cool is that?

I did once and let it go some time ago, even though renewal was offered for almost free. I just didn't look forward to it any more. I do like her personal kitchen and would be very happy to stand around chopping clams with her. I also worry about finding onions with good flavor that don't make all my dishes too sweet, at least when I can't turn to friends for good homegrown ones. Nice to see her complain!

Some very, very old pics:

Ramses -- gorgeous slab on the island! I like the pendants, too!

Thanks

CLAMS!

My fave meal is sharing a doz Little Necks on the half shell with my husband, then a cup of Manhattan Clam Chowder, finished off with a big 'o bowl of linguine with Red Clam Sauce!

Yum.

Thank you, Ramses - those serpentine counters are lick-a-licious, like a shiny green bon bon. I have to say that's the first stone counter outside of soapstone that has captured my fancy (but I'm a green fanatic). I will have to search for honed versions of the finish to check them out too.

as to onions. I use purple/red ones exclusively. They have a much better flavor than any yellow ones you can get now. AND a secret...when you are caramelizing them they never ever taste burned...how cool is that ??? You can get them to a darker place that no yellow onion can go and they are simply wonderful. Try and you will love them. c

Circuspeanuts, sorry the pics are so old and taken way before the kitchen was finished.(The appliances match now!) We actually loved honed green marble but the fabricator gave us a really outrageous price, so it's stayed polished:)

"never ever clams, oysters and other seafood that acts as a water filter. Where do the impurities they filter go? "

That's why I don't eat vegetables. Do you know what those things grow in? I mean, where does all that fertilizer go?

Joking, obviously...but I never got the whole "I don't eat X because it eats Y" thing. It's not oysters and clams you have to worry about - it's long lived predator seafood, like Tuna. They act as huge sinks for any toxin in the food chain (i.e., mercury).

Ramses_thank you for "delurking" ...those counters are wonderful! Thank you for sharing! I have samples of the honed and textured Vermont Verde that I am trying to talk DH into agreeing to... Have given them every test known to man...no stains, no etching, etc.!

Are you in VT? Where did you get your marble? Thank you again for posting!

Beachpea, thank you:) I believe Vermont Verde is actually harder and more resilient than granite. Totally bullet proof. I'm in PA and couldn't get Vermont Verde. We went with Empress green marble.(I would have killed for Vermont Verde:) )

Strangely enough, I was trying to find out pricing for empress green to give you an idea on cost vs Vermont Verde when I came across a website that's using my kitchen without permission. I don't understand when they do this...the kitchen was in a rough state with wires hanging everywhere....not exactly a dream advert:) Anyways, it has some decent info on green marble...I'll put a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Granite Gurus

Ramses--thank you so much for posting those pics. Your counters are just gorgeous! I think Circus's description of them looking like a shiny green bon bon is most apt.

Here are a couple of better photos of my counter. They are Vermont Verde.

I forgot to say that this is serpentine not marble. So no etching. It is from Vermont and it is very durable.

kalapointer, what is your lovely backsplash??? (Says I...not wanting to hijack thread...)

Your counters are really beautiful, Kalapointer and Ramses. How did deep green disappear from my consciousness for so long? It's always been a big favorite.

Trailrunner, thanks very much for the tip. I just told my husband to bring back red onions (not just the usual one to slice into salads).

As for clams, I'd hate to contemplate life without them, also oysters, sashimi with wasabi and soy. But "for the rest of my life," it'd definitely be a pico de gallo-type fresh salsa, terrifically healthy and absolutely perfect with...all the above and virtually everything else.

Beachpea, the backsplash is 3x6 subways by Pratt and Larson. They are in the Water color collection, but I forget the color name. I installed them, which was fairly easy to do.

ramses_2...Thank you very much for the link. I will check it out. I just looked at the back of my sample. It is Vermont Verde Antique. It is slightly textured and not shiny. Am hoping I can get DH to approve. Will show him yours and Kalapointer's lovely counters. He has passed on soapstone for this antique saltbox... too dark! But...I have to keep him...we have our 50th coming up next week!

Wow, Kalapointer...thanks for the quick response...it looks even prettier in this newer picture! Congratulations on installing them yourself! I am very impressed!

Are you in Vermont? Who was your installer for the counters- or did you do that as well?

Beachpea, No I am in Washington state and we had a local fabricator install the counters.

Beapea, congrats on your 50th! My husband was drawn to green marble before I was, he had noticed all the green marble tops on antiques and thought it would be appropriate for our greek revival. I was worried it might be too dark with the black walnut cabinets but we haven't found them to be at all....maybe the white veins play against the green?

I notice that Kalapointer's Vermont Verde has even more white shot throughout.(Again, I love Vermont Verde!)

Thank you so much Breezygirl and Rosie:)

I can't believe that so many people REALLY know about Vermont Verde Antique marble - if you want a kitchen - we are the ones to fabricate and/or install it in Vermont Verde Antique!!
Call us or email - we can quote you - it is a rare but super material - you're right, a relative of jade, and indestructible, and beautiful!
If you want to accessorize your kitchen, we sell kitchen items made from Vermont Verde Antique - we ship nationwide -
visit our websites or contact me at mhemm@vermontlifestyle.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermont Marble