I must have printed out the wrong directions from mapquest. I knew we should have got the GPS!

I'm ready to party. I have a teen who had four wisdom teeth out today. I could use a party tight about now!

Where are the hors d'oerves? :(

Raehelen, very cool...first entertaining in new kitchen! What are you serving?

Well we just had creme brulee (made by my 18 yr old ds who says he can't cook - go figure) so I'm ready to party and burn some calories.

Alexamd,

Funny that you should say that! My Mom sent a cryptic email to all us girls (I have 5 sisters), saying- What do you think of this GPS system from Costco? I assumed she meant to buy us all one for Xmas, but as I didn't want one, I played dumb, and said, Yes Mom, I think you should get one for yourself, but I just use Mapquest..." :>)

rnmomof2-

you could use a party 'tight' about now! I'll have to go pour a rum and coke (ZERO) and catch up to you!
(Actually made it a rum and eggnog!)

linda-z

Steak (from Costco- they have the BEST steak), and crab legs (our house speciality), LOTS and LOTS of crab legs! Broccoli and mushroom (prob with cheese sauce), baked potatoes, and DH just vetoed my special Parmesan garlic bread, so I'll just serve fresh buns, so we can pig out on the garlic butter for the crab... LOL

As long as weather holds, it's going to be a hot tub party after dinner, so we have champagne and hand made chocolates (they're made right in town) to enjoy in there. I'll have to put down extra towels to wipe off feet so my new Tigerwood floor doesn't get wet! :>) Guess I should take closet doors and extra pieces of flooring out of Bathroom before tomorrow?

Well, I just came barging through the door with my dancing shoes and party hat on! Don't even have to worry about driving home after. Woo hoo! But, is anyone still here? :)

I'm here! Just got home and immediately logged on to find out what I was missing!

So....what's up with everyone? We must have lost Raehelen to tomorrow night's party!

Sorry loves2cook46,

We must have cross-posted. Guess he got the cooking genes from his Mom? My DS also likes to cook- when he was in California at a swimming training camp he phoned home to get his Dad's lasagna recipie! He's also phoned home from Military College to get recipies for special dinners when he's cooking to impress that 'special someone'. My garlic bread is one of them.

I'm still here. Brought the most divine English Toffee with as well and I don't mind sharing the recipe, everyone always wants it and why should it be any different over here LOL

English Toffee

1 lb unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup slivered almonds (do not use sliced almonds)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (chips are fine)
1ý -2 cups lightly toasted pecans (or walnuts), finely chopped

Melt þ of chocolate over hot water or in a microwave oven at half power for 2-3 minutes. When melted, stir in remaining chocolate and set aside. Line a large jelly roll or half-sheet pan with heavy-duty foil and butter the foil.

Melt the butter in a heavy 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

After all the sugar is added, begin testing the mixture to see if the sugar is dissolved. Place a drop of mixture on wax paper; allow it to cool and rub it between your fingers to make sure it doesnâÂÂt feel grainy. If it does, continue to cook and test again. The mixture will probably be boiling at this point.

When sugar is dissolved, add the almonds, and increase the heat to medium high. Cook to the hard-crack stage, or about 310-320 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring often to keep the candy from burning on the bottom. When itâÂÂs done, it should be a medium-dark amber color and have a caramel aroma. The almonds should have a toasted color but they should not burn. This is the tricky part, as thereâÂÂs a thin line between perfect and overdone, and to some extent itâÂÂs a matter of taste.

Remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible with an offset spatula. Be careful, this stuff is hot! Set the pan on a cooling rack. After 2-3 minutes, when toffee is just set, pour reserved chocolate on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, and press them in gently with a spatula or bottom of a glass to anchor them in the chocolate.

Allow the toffee to harden at least 6-8 hours - overnight is better. Break into pieces using a sharp pointed knife with a rigid blade, or you can use your hands. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Makes about 3 pounds.

Hey Raehelen

He "claims" he doesn't like to cook but I think that's just an excuse 'cause he's lazy LOL and doesn't like to clean up. He's a messy cook but loves to eat good food.

Raehelen, you must not have any weight issues! What a menu you've got going there. At the start of this new year, and with my bod, I'm definitely NOT supposed to be thinking about food and drink of that nature (she says as she stuffs her Whirly Pop popcorn in her mouth)!

So,

Just to keep the conversation going...

Where is everyone from?

I'm in Canada, a small town called Fort Langley, about a 30 minute drive from the Pacific coast and from the US border, close to Vancouver, BC and Bellingham, WA.

We have nearly finished the kitchen (started June, 2007) and are nearing completion on the Living Room (I should be painting right now- but will when DH gets home). LR has plywood floors, carpet and subfloor have been ripped up, new plywood subfloor has been glued and screwed on, and Tigerwood flooring will go on when Master Bedroom has been done- next room on the list.

I'm in Brooklyn, New York. I have the kitchen reno that will never end. Must be my karma. (Terrible contractor in my past life, maybe?) Started in December '07 and hoping like heck to to begin a complete revision this month and to be done by May '08. Sigh

Marthavila,

Moi, weight issues- of course- that's why DH vetoed the garlic bread!!! He's also said we're limiting the steak to 8-9 oz portions (cuz that's a healthy size), but we can go hog-wild (no pun intended) with the crab!

Actually, everyone else except me is in Karate, and they are ALL in excellent shape! I am a swimmer, I coach synchronized swimming, and unfortunately I have the swimmer's layer of body fat ( and then some...) So the girls are going to have me join them in the water for part of Tuesday's 2 1/2 hour practice... and I figure that about 3 or 4 workouts next week should just about get me even...

I'm from the South - deep deep deep south - South Africa to be exact, but have lived in Chicago for the last almost 20 years and I still can't get used to the freezing weather we get here.

I have 4 kids, oldest ds is turning 18 this year and can't wait to vote, 14 yr old dd who informed me yesterday that she will be getting her learners permit to DRIVE in less than a year - where did my baby go? - and 8 year old twins which were a surprise but a blessing, too.

We started our kitchen in July and have a few more little things to finish and we also want to go back and see if we can change the lighting. I adore my cabinets and my kitchen makes me smile whenever I step into it.

Wow, Loves! I'm taking a trip to South Africa in March!!!

Cool Marthavila. Where are you going? I grew up in Joeys (Johannesburg) but my parents had a holiday home in Plett (Plettenberg Bay) and when we were older we went to Cape Town.

My sister was a game ranger in a private park near Botswana. Oh, the stories she tells.

Well, Joeys (thanks for the insider nickname!) and Cape Town as a matter of fact!

Ooh,, where are you staying? The Mount Nelson in Cape Town is the BEST!! Take the Blue Train from Jhb to CT if you can and have the time. It's a lifetime experience - or used to be - haven't done it in 30+ years LOL. My BIL did it last year with his kids and they loved it.

I just looked at it online. It certainly looks like the best! However, it is booked for the time I will be there. I'm going with a tour that will be staying at a less grand hotel. I do plan to stay on for a few more days, after the tour finishes, but the Mount Nelson is not available. Do you have your email address option checked on the GW site? I'd love to continue this conversation with you offline.

Meanwhile, what happened to the rest of the party? Raehelen? Buehl? Anyone else? Seems to me that, before Loves and I took off to SA, we were starting to share about where we are all from and the stages of our renos. (BTW, Loves. I did not even have to go back and look at your kitchen. It is so fab that I can picture it from memory).

Hey Martha, of course I have my email checked. Would love to chat. I have yahoo IM as well but not AOL - refuse to use it LOL. If the Mount Nelson is booked, try the Victoria and Alfred (right on the Waterfront) or the Cape Grace (wonderfully elegant on it's own wharf and at the end of the Waterfront so quieter). For something more out of the way, check out Alta Bay hotel on the slopes of Table Mountain. Very small but wonderful.

Or better yet, if you have a few extra days go to Franschoek, Stellenbosch or one of the other Winelands towns. If you can take a tour that would be best and you will find fantastic food and wine. Some of the wineries will even ship back cases of wine to the USA. Go, go,go, then you can send me a bottle or two as a TY for sending you on a trip of a lifetime. LOL

But for now... I must leave the party for tonight though as it's story time (very late, I know) for the little ones. May be back later.

Thanks, much Loves! I'll email you. Guess I'll hang here for a few minutes to see if anyone else shows up. Otherwise, I'm out of here myself!

Sorry I'm late!
But down here (Houston) we have our GardenWeb parties in person! Our 5th (that's right - five of 'em) since I started here will be next week. But we still party on line too.

Like a good Texan (even though I'm a California girl originally) I brought Guacamole, Queso and chips.

Sorry...I dropped off for awhile to get (nag) the kids ready for and in bed.

Anyway, to continue where we all are, I'm from Maryland....Woodbine, MD, to be exact. Small town, but we love it. It's not too far from DC and Baltimore so we have the advantages of country living w/2 big cities nearby.

Should have said I'm "in" Maryland....been here since '85...I grew up outside of Buffalo, NY, lived in Dallas (Richardson), TX, for a couple of years but ended up in MD...

Met DH here...at Rehoboth Beaach, DE. He's originally from Philly. My kids are "native born Marylanders" & if they stay here as adults they'll be a rarity in this area with all the [political & international] transients we have.

I had to go paint.

AND, as I was cutting in beside front entry doors, DH was painting above me on the ladder and with an extension on the roller- can't remember why we started painting the front entry instead of priming the living room wall... but anyhow, I was thinking Richard, really can you wait to start painting above me until AFTER I'm finished, and BONK, the roller holder broke and the paint roller fell on my head and back and arm!

He SAYS no paint got in my hair, but as I'm blond, and the walls are BM Lennox Tan, I'm not so sure! LOL!

Well, he's gone off to HD to buy some more roller holders, he broke the other one the other night trying to take the old roller off... GG he's hard on MY paint equipment. Must be all that Karate!

So, a short reprieve, unfortunately BM is already closed, cuz coulda killed 2 birds with one stone and bought more paint. Oh well, tomorrow morning, with fan going, hopefully, won't be too bad a paint smell for company...

Anyone have good getting rid of smell tips?

Nope...but I remember it took me days to get all the paint out of my hair when something similar happened to me....but my hair is dark brown & the paint was white....very obvious!

I wonder whatever happened to Paulines? Hi Ogoopogo! It looks like everyone else has gone home! So....what wine is it? And (since this IS the Kitchens forum), what granites are you looking at?

Hi Ogoopogo!

Longtime no see! Have you guys got snow! Just lots and lots of rain here!

Gotta go have a late supper- Turkey soup- and hopefully this is the last of it! Is it an Okanogan wine?

Wow, I posted and it is not showing up. this is a test to see if it is me - usually is..............

well shoot, I missed the party and I so wanted to be here.

I missed it too, what about tonight? Anyone game? I will bring the appetizers...

Well, something just occurred to me. . . duh. Whoever is "hosting" the party, when suggesting the getting started time, should indicate what time zone they are in. Then, everyone else can adjust their sense of time accordingly. As I'm seeing Raehelen's post about "late supper," I'm chuckling. I was long in my bed and snoring by then. LOL!

Hello all!

Thank you so much raehelen for starting this thread and I'm so glad you all made it here! I had all intentions of being home at a reasonable hour last night...didn't work out that way. Got home at 1:30 am and headed straight to bed.

I live slightly southwest of Boston in a small bedroom community. Born in VA (Alexandria) and grew up on Long Island (East Meadow).

Anyone else around tonight?

Paulines, glad you could make it! You probably don't remember, but you were a big contributor to my kitchen layout planning, and now that my kitchens 98% done, I have to say, the layout is it's best feature. Thank you.

So Buehl, can we have coffee next time I'm in your neck of the woods? I have family near there that I've been trying to get out to visit. We can talk about our kitchen addictions -I mean obsessions- and how we don't miss the snow in WNY (I grew up in Rochester).

Here's the challah recipe, I promised. It makes a sweet, eggy, almost brioche-like bread. I sometimes double the recipe for 2 large loaves.

Makes two small or one large challah.

2 1/4 t yeast
Approx. 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Approx. 1/4 cup warm water
3 large eggs & 2 yolks, plus 1 for glazing
2 t salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey

In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and 1/4 cup of the flour, then whisk in the warm water until smooth. Let the yeast slurry stand uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly.

Whisk the 3 eggs & yolks, salt, oil, and honey into the puffed yeast slurry until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt has dissolved. Stir in the remaining 3 1/4 cups flour all at once. When the mixture is a shaggy ball, scrape it out onto your work surface and knead it until smooth, no more than 5 minutes - if the dough is too firm to knead easily, add a tablespoon or two of water to it, if it seems too wet, add a couple T flour.

Place the dough in a warm clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. (for best results refrigerate the dough right after kneading, them removed from the refrigerator to finish fermenting up to 24 hours later). Let the dough ferment until it has at least doubled in bulk, about 2 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. (If the dough has been refrigerated, it may take an extra hour or so to ferment).

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or oil them. Divide the dough into two portions for small loaves, one 1 1/2 pound portion for a large loaf. Divide each portion into 3 pieces and roll each piece into a strand - braid, sealing ends well.

Cover the loaves well with plastic wrap. (I refrigerate for 24 hours, if possible). Let them proof until tripled in size, about 2 hours (or 3-4 hours if the loaves were refrigerated).

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt for glazing the breads.

When the loaves have tripled and do not push back when gently pressed with your finger but remain indented, brush them with the egg glaze (poppy seeds optional). Bake the small loaves loaves for 25 to 38 minutes, or the large loaf for 35 to 48 minutes, until very well browned. After the first 20 minutes of baking, switch the loaves from front to back so that they brown evenly; if the large loaf is browning too quickly, tent it with foil. When the loaves are done, remove them from the oven and let cool on a rack.

Paulines, sounds like a great recipe.

Raehelen, hope your dinner went well. Menu makes me hungry!

alku....really? Thank you and I'm glad you're nearing the finish line. Our kitchen has been done now for 3 1/2 years and believe it or not, I'm already itching to do another remodel (it's a sickness I tell ya, lol!)

Thanks Linda. A few folks had pm me for the recipe and I figured it's easier just posting it here.

loves2cook4six, your toffee recipe sounds scrumptious!

Sure Alku! Just give me a couple of hours warning so I can clean up the house first :-) My house cleaning has suffered the last few months b/c of this darn site! Actually, b/c of this kitchen obsession!!! I'll finally have someone to talk to about kitchens w/o their eyes glazing over!

So, you're from NY as well! Around Christmas I do miss the snow...but now that the holidays are over...I'm ready for warm weather!

I am here, but maybe too late to get anyone else talking. I am picking up the house we are living in now, getting it ready to sell. We are almost done with our new house and will move in on January 20th or so. My new kitchen is so wonderful and I can't wait until I am in it and cooking. I love to cook!

I'm still hanging out...I'm working on a layout for JayJay_Teacher...so checking in once in a while!

Jan 20...you're so lucky...we haven't even started demo yet!

We started our demo April 27th. It has been a long road, but not as long as some of the guys that hang out on the house building forum. I read some of those stories and it makes me so grateful for our builder and all my subs. I just can't get over how many decisions there are to make with a new build. We have a custom home, not a spec house, so everything came from me. My DH is happy to go with pretty much what I wanted. I have the backsplash in my kitchen left to decide. That is the last thing.

*Groan* backsplashes! I'm still agonizing over that as well...but I won't have to decide on that for awhile...that's the one thing I think we're going to DIY...

Then I plan to tackle (w/DH) a Mudroom DIY! We're thinking of taking 5' x 12' out of our 24' x 24' garage to make small mudroom and organization area for backpacks, etc. That's quite a ways off though....maybe even a year or so...we need to get the kitchen paid for first!

I have never had as much room as I will have in this house. We have two mudroom lockers that are just huge. We also have a "message center" that we will use for mail, recycling and whatever else you need near the back door. I have more cabinets than I can fill, but I am sure I will manage. We have lived in two different places for the last 10 years (going between them) and now will be in one place. I won't know what to do with all the stuff. I have duplicate kitchen stuff that I will have to decide what to keep and what to give away. I don't mean to brag, but it is all just so exciting, I just can't stop gushing, sorry.

One of our goals is to add lots of cabinet space as well. Right now I have so little usable cabinet space in the kitchen that I have stuff stored in the DR, Den (food processor!), basement, and even the garage! I can't wait for kitchen storage!!!!

If you're an ebay-type person, you could always sell those dupes and get some of your money back...or give them away to your church or charity or shelter...they could probably use some of them or find good homes for those they can't...

But, if it's an appliance you use a lot, I'd keep the duplicate and either store it in case your current one breaks down or have it in two places! I have two hand mixers and I'm thinking of storing one in the baking area and one in the general prep area...YES!!! I will have a separate baking area and general prep area!!!! [Can you tell I'm really excited too?!!!!]

Our other goal is more counter space...I currently prep and/or bake in the 24" b/w the sink & range....bumping elbows w/DH while he's cleaning up!

Joining the party...hi I'm Vicky from So. California! Thanks for the
recipes. Marthavila...my sister lives in Brooklyn too! Buehl, its amazing
how helpful you are to everyone! There are so many like you with talent...
wish I could be of more help! I posted a request for layout help, if you get
a chance. Its great to hear where everyone lives out there!

I'll check it out Vicky! But probably not tonight...my DH is giving me looks that it's time for bed...I've been sorely neglecting him lately with my obsessing over our kitchen...and everyone else's! I find this much more fun than my "real" job...I work with computers doing testing & requirements. It was great at one time but after almost 30 years, I'm bored and tired of all the political games played at my company and in the government!

goodnight all!

Well,

Glad Paulines made it!

My dinner party went GREAT!!! So great in fact, that today DH and I have reversed roles. He was nagging me about making a list of all the kitchen things that still have to be done, and email them to our kitchen guy. (For those that may not have followed all my posts, I am doing the GC of a total house reno, and our kitchen has been one fiasco after another, dealing with a supply company, and DIY most of the work.) HA, usually it is me frustrated with delays and chomping at the bit, and my hubby is "Alan is doing his best, don't bug him...". Today I am so mellow, even DH harping can't get me down!

And that was entertaining in a LR with plywood floors, no granite on the pony wall, and drywall sheets leaning against the fireplace 'hole'. But to me, with ALL the walls painted, (we were still applying the final coat late Sat afternoon!), and all the mess cleaned up, furniture polished and drywall dust vanquished, I felt like I was in Shangrila!

But kitchen (even though not 100% done), was the shining star, and it was so much FUN!!! I am so excited about this new phase of our lives, sharing meals with friends and family is going to be so much better! (And our house has always been the 'place' to host parties, but usually in summer, cuz I have a pretty fabulous garden and a huge deck)
Sorry for the gushing- but it's such a neat feeling to have all the planning and work come to fruition. Feel kinda bad that it was still a shambles when kids were home for Christmas.