My Dream Kitchen

I have a tendency to dream.  Sometimes its of stuff that i will likely never see realized.  Sometimes its just over the smallest, simplest things. Lately, my focus has been on my life in the kitchen.


Now, I am lucky and have a pretty great kitchen for a New York City apartment. Its pretty big and spacious.  It doesn't have lots of windows, which can make it difficult to shoot my recipes but I make it work.


Lately, I have been imagining what it would be like to have certain things in my perfect kitchen.  I see models of kitchens and I start to drool and think of all that i could do in those kitchens.  Here are a few of my dream kitchens.

If you noticed a theme, you probably saw the island in all of the shots.  I want/NEED a large island in the middle of my kitchen with a sink and lots of counter space with storage underneath.  One day, I will have a kitchen that is a combination of these.   Yes, i know that means i either need to marry rich, sell lots of photographs, or leave New York.... I am hoping for the first two.


So thinking about my dream kitchen, i started trying to think a little more realistic.  So I started with the items I would want in my poor man's dream kitchen.


1) Knives.
I realized the last couple of weeks, i need better knives.  Santoku knives seem to be the way to go. When i watch coking shows, they all seem to have a version of these.  They look like they cut so well.

"The knife is designed in a way that helps aid the slicing motion. They are made either with or without hollows. When the Santoku knife has hollows, it helps the food slide right off the blade so it does not stick." santokuknife.net

2) Programmable Crock pot.
About 5 out 10 recipes I have made lately, I used a crock pot.  Cooking with a crock pot is great cause you can set it and forget it.... except when the recipe calls for 4-7 hours cooking time.  If I am at work that day, I can't run home and start it or turn it off.  I have to either plan on doing those recipes when I am home or when my roommate can come home and that seems to defeat the purpose of using it.  The top one by Hamilton beach is my favorite as the timers and thermometers make for a perfect match.

3) Storage:
Now, if i had the kitchens above I would likely not need much of these but since i am living in the real world, I do.  The one thing my kitchen doesn't have is proper storage space.  I seriously wish i could hire a interior decorator to come in and just do my kitchen so that we could better utilize the space we have.

4) Pots & Pans
We are in need of some good pots and pans. I would love to have stainless steal or iron, something that would last a while, not disintegrate over time into my food... YUCK!  These are both Cuisinart, as i found those seemed the safest and most versatile.

5) Griddle
I have had my eye on a cast-iron griddle for a while.  Why cast-iron?  Its stable, healthier, non-stick and cooks a lot more evenly.

OK so why am I torturing you with all of this?  Just cause i want to share my dream with the world so its no longer in my head.  I have plenty of dreams that i haven't yet shared... so count yourself blessed.