Author Archives: LeAnne Notabartolo

Sunday Suppers at MTO

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

This past Sunday I went to the first of the Sunday Suppers series at Johnny Church’s MTO Café.  WHAT FUN!  Hubby John and I were seated at the bar, and while most people might be annoyed by that, I wasn’t at all.  Yes, our backs were to the rest of the room, but we had a bird’s eye view of what was going on in the kitchen!  Johnny, joined by Tim Doolittle, Vincent Pouessel, Marty Lopez and Michael Van Staden and Heidi Koval on desserts put out a fun dining experience.  Pair it with beers from downtown denizens Banger Brewing, and you have a winner!  Each Chef created an appetizer and a main course.  You chose one app and one main and one dessert and there were 4 different styles of beer to choose from, try all or just one!  Of course, John and I chose differently so we could try as many dishes as possible.  My only complaint was that I couldn’t try all of them.

Chef Johnny Church

Chef Johnny Church

When I first read about it, I thought it would be sampling menu of all, not a true supper theme.  Once I wrapped my head around the fact that it was intended to be a supper like you would get at Grandma’s house (not MY Gram’s house – she was a terrible cook.) I was hooked.  I really wanted sample sized portions of everything because the whole menu looked great, but still, I loved it!  The biggest problem was making decisions.  BTW – they offered a supplement if you wanted to try more than one, but with Restaurant Week going on (it ends today), I knew the leftovers wouldn’t get eaten.  A huge Bonus for Hubby was that it started at 5:30 so he wasn’t out too late on a “School Night”.  What was really interesting to me is that I knew almost NO ONE there.  Because I go to a lot of foodie events, I usually run into someone I know, but the only person there I knew at all was Jim Begley.

White oak grilled delta asparagus, poached Pahrump egg, frisee and Parmesan

White oak grilled delta asparagus, poached Pahrump egg, frisee and Parmesan from Chef Johnny Church

The "Covergirl" to quote Bacchanal Chef Michael Van Staden and Assoc. Beet & radish salad with hazelnut bacon vinaigrette

The “Covergirl” to quote Bacchanal Chef Michael Van Staden and Assoc. Beet & radish salad with hazelnut bacon vinaigrette

BBQ braised beef cheeks with polenta

BBQ braised beef cheeks with polenta from Chef Marty Lopez

Grilled Open Blue Cobia, Rustic Ratatouille, Confit Lemon & Capers Gremolata from Chef Vincent Poussel

Grilled Open Blue Cobia, Rustic Ratatouille, Confit Lemon & Capers Gremolata from Chef Vincent Pouessel

Plum Butter Almond Cake with Roasted Plums - from Chef Michael Van Staden

Plum Butter Almond Cake with Roasted Plums – from Chef Michael Van Staden

Berry Cobbler

Berry Cobbler from Heidi Koval

The next one is scheduled for Sunday 27 April and I suggest you make a reservation and get there early – the place was PACKED!  Johnny assures me the events will continue and change and the participating Chefs with be different each time.  Rumor has it that Naked City’s Chris Palmeri and Desnudo’s Christian Dolias are on tap for the next one.  I can’t wait!

FYI – I have been attending a LOT of beer-centric events lately and since Joseph James will be featured in two of them, I will write about those together, even though the first one was last month.

 

Restaurant Week and Being Bald

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Here’s the thing.  I like to dine out.  A lot.  And many times I can’t justify the expense, especially since I have this new awesome kitchen and I love to cook.  But right now, this week in the Spring, eating out is SOOO much fun and really a community minded thing to do.  It’s Restaurant Week!  Check out the link and see all the great menus and try someplace new you have been dying to (like Hakkasan for me)  or go to a tried and true place (like Rx Boiler Room for me later in the week). 

So, to start off I went to Buddy V’s in the Venetian, the love child of Cake Boss’ Buddy Valastro and Elizabeth Blau.  I was pleasantly surprised and loved the décor (Moment of Truth – had they brought me a bowl of the polenta croutons instead of my Caesar salad I’d have been thrilled!). Sorry for the quality on these pics, they were taken with my phone.

Cannoli - plural

Cannoli – plural

Carbonara

Carbonara

 

 

The most unusual thing happened there.  If you have been following along, you know I shaved my head last week for St. Baldrick’s and I am now nearly bald – watch the video here if you haven’t already.  The consequence of having no hair is that I am always COLD and intermittently wear scarves and hats to combat that.  Well, needless to say, some people mistake my baldness for me being a cancer patient.  While at Buddy V’s a woman walked up to me and in the most glowing tones, but with pity in her eyes, told me how gorgeous I was and that my eyes were stunning.  Of course I was flattered, who wouldn’t be?  I felt I had to explain my hairless state and told her of St. Baldrick’s.  She was really impressed, but it got me to thinking – dangerous…I KNOW.  How do I treat cancer patients?  Do I go out of my way to say something complimentary to them?  Do I smile with pity and look away?  Being bald is an eye opener for me and is really making me more sympathetic and aware of what cancer patients might be feeling in regards to their appearance.

And lastly – I have been dying to get my butt into Hakkasan and Restaurant Week was the perfect excuse.  OMG it was phenomenal.  YOU should go!  Here’s the big bonus – spend $50.14 on dinner, get a fab meal, donate 18 meals to the community AND get a $50 gift certificate for use the next time you dine (before 14 April).  What’s not to love about that?  EVERYTHING we had was exceptional and I can’t wait to go back and eat my way through the entire app menu alone.

Salt & Pepper Squid

Salt & Pepper Squid

 

Crispy Fried Quail with Five Spice

Crispy Fried Quail with Five Spice

Dim Sum

Dim Sum

Stir Fried Scallops

Stir Fried Scallops

Stir fried Spicy Venison

Stir fried Spicy Venison

Bok Choy with fried garlic

Bok Choy with fried garlic

Passionfruit Panna Cotta with Blood Orange Supremes

Passionfruit Panna Cotta with Blood Orange Supremes

 

In addition, I went to the first of the Sunday Suppers series at Johnny Church’s MTO Café.  WHAT FUN! Watch for that post later this week!

Feed the City

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

This is the first time EVER I have asked anyone to be a guest blogger.  I asked my Sister Nancy to write because she is doing really important work on feeding people in her community.  This is a longer than usual blog, but do read through to the end, especially if you live in South Florida.

Also keep in mind for those of you living in Vegas, Restaurant Week begins on Friday!  It’s one of my fave times of the year and I get to feed people by dining out.

And now a word from my Sister:

As some of you may know, I am Good for Spooning’s favorite sister.  I’m sure she has mentioned it to you on several occasions on how much she loves me and wishes that I lived in Las Vegas.  So it is no surprise that I am her first ever Guest Blogger on her new website!

All joking aside — I am very humbled and excited to get this opportunity.  The real reason I am the first Guest Blogger is that LeAnne asked me to write a little something about the an event called Serve the City being coordinated by No Perfect People, Inc., which is the not-for-profit where I work.  This is our third Serve the City, and for this time around, NPPI has partnered with 22 other non-profit organizations to create over 1,100 volunteer opportunities at 30 events — all held on Saturday, March 8, 2014!  It’s like a service project on steroids!  Our partners are international, domestic, and local organizations providing a variety of services which include providing affordable housing to the elderly, a food pantry, a home for teen moms, providing services to the blind, and a day shelter for the homeless.  The program provides an on-ramp for our volunteers to experience the joy of service to others.

In that this is a food blog, I want to focus on Feeding the People!!  We have a bunch of events scheduled where food is the at the center of the service project:

  • We will be serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Broward Partnership for the Homeless (a homeless shelter) and at Ronald McDonald House;
  • Lunches will be served at a low-income assisted living facility, a foster care home, at a respite day for foster kids, and at a shelter for domestic violence victims and their families;
  • Volunteers will sort food at Feeding South Florida (part of the Feeding America network);
  • Dinner and a worship service will be held for women in an in-treatment addiction facility;
  • A busload of folks will be gleaning (a biblical initiative that involves volunteers picking produce from farmers’ fields that have been left from commercial harvesting methods which is then distributed through a food pantry);
  • Families will be planting a vegetable garden for a food pantry; and
  • We will take a collection of items for an emergency food pantry at our night-before Rally from the volunteers.

These events don’t even include the hundreds of volunteers we will feed that day because they are serving where they aren’t feeding the people!

That’s a lot of meals!

On a personal level, food is a big deal.  I never feel right unless I have food in the house.  Those who know me know you can show me you love me by feeding me.  Even when we have been on the tightest budget, food was not something that we trimmed very much, except through coupons or sale shopping.  It is too much of a comfort knowing we will survive another day when all else points to the opposite.  I think that is why I connect with people over food — because to me it has more value than just nourishment.

And I think that is why we learned in planning our previous Serve the City events that  (1) people love to feed people, and (2) we can’t have enough opportunities to provide a meal because as fast as we create the opportunity, it fills.  It could be that people feel the same way I do and they want to share that with others or may it is just a practical way — a visible way — to connect.  And we all know we have to eat.  We all can either remember what true hunger feels like or we are scared to know.

Initially, we underestimated how much people liked to feed people, so this time we tried to find multiple opportunities to provide meals in our community.  The result is that the above events will provide thousands of people with food in our community in some form or fashion not just for that day but for the weeks to come.

A second benefit to serving the hungry in our community is the impact on the volunteer.  Studies have shown that volunteering has surprising benefits, including making new friends, battling depression, and increasing your social skills.  Read more here:  http://www.helpguide.org/life/volunteer_opportunities_benefits_volunteering.htm

Because of these reasons, the impact is HUGE — both for those we service and for the volunteer!!

This is the third Serve the City event I have had the pleasure of working on for NPPI, and each time, I am blessed beyond measure.  One of my favorite things to do is to help people find just the right service project for his/her talents, skills, and experience.

How can you help?  What can you do to help feed a family that might be in a totally different time zone from where you are living?  How can I serve my community?

I’m so glad you asked!!  You can help by donating — either sponsoring a meal (for one of the above listed events or for our volunteers) or just to help out with supplies and equipment or helping us buy an emergency food box for the pantry.  Click here to make a donation!  http://nppinc.org/donation.php

And if you want to serve here in South Florida, click this link (http://cbglades.com/events/servethecity/) to see the available opportunities for Serve the City!!

I have never been so proud to be a part of an organization as I am with NPPI.  The work that I get to do is rewarding on a level that words come short of expressing.  I hope you will join me in Serving the City!

 

Bald is Beautiful

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Those of you who have been following along know that I was planning to shave my head for St. Baldrick’s and I did!  Together with friends Al Mancini and Rick Moonen and other participants at Ri Ra Las Vegas, we raised nearly $20,000.  My hair will grow back in an unknown color, but I know I have done something amazing to help out kids with cancer.

Enjoy the pics and watch the video!

A dose of liquid courage with my two buddies!

A dose of liquid courage with my two buddies!

Our new look!

Our new look!

Chef Rick Moonen keeping his dome warm

Chef Rick Moonen keeping his dome warm

with friend Julie

with friend Julie

Many thanks to everyone who came out to support and donated.  And special thanks to Friend Lynn Moonen who took all the pics and filmed everything.

 

Mission Accomplished…and a recipe.

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

It’s done!  WAHOO!  I have the kitchen of my dreams.  It’s absolutely beautiful and I am thrilled.  I have always been one of those people that wants ALL the tools on the counter within easy reach, but my new counters and backsplash are so gorgeous that I don’t want to cover them up.  Yes, I am hiding my toys. Well, not all of them.  I don’t have enough cabinets and drawers for that, and no, I am not kidding.  All of the cabinets you see are filled with lovely pretty things and MOST of the drawers are full too.  And now the painting begins, so if you are good with a brush, c’mon over – I have work for you to do!

Ta DA!

Ta DA!

After 3 weeks of non-stop dining out and take out, I have gained 10 lbs.  No, I am not kidding.  And as if I haven’t eaten out enough lately I have 3 events this week that will take me from my kitchen.  A Birthday Dinner for a dear friend.  A Brewer’s Dinner featuring local brewery Joseph James. A fundraiser for MSA.  And Friday?  I am having a Girlz Night IN!  John is out of town, so the gals are coming over to see the new kitchen, have a few cocktails and eat some snacks.  We are doing a Pajama Party theme and I am taste testing boozy punches now.

Yes, I have been cooking!  FINALLY!  I made a commitment to myself to empty out the freezers.  I am working with what I have on hand and adding fresh produce to make it great.  The thing is…I shoved some stuff in there and didn’t label it.  Yeah, I know.  Forty lashes with a wet noodle.  I KNOW better.  That is the first thing they teach you in culinary school.  LABEL AND DATE everything.  Nearly everything was labeled and all were properly wrapped, but the surprises are nearly as exciting as unwrapping a known item.

I’ve even been baking, in the middle of Girl Scout cookie season even!  And I am sending it out to Jack at college.  I can whip out double loaves of Banana Bread in record time and I am sharing the recipe here with you.  My Step Mom, Nettie, always said my recipe was the best (Moment of Truth – I nearly plotzed when she said that because she was a complete BAD ASS in the kitchen). Nettie also said banana bread tastes best after it has been in foil over night. Dad and I disagree.  It should be eaten before it cools completely!  Mine is nearly identical to hers, so I am not sure where she got the idea that mine was better.  The MAIN difference in our recipes is that I bake mine in Pampered Chef Stoneware Loaf pans.  Yes, it works in other pans, but that’s what I use. This recipe doesn’t call for nuts because Hubby doesn’t like them in his banana bread.  I DO like them!  Use about 1 Cup walnuts or pecans or a little more if you are feeling generous.

Banana Bread

3 ½ C All Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp salt

5 over ripe bananas

2 C sugar

2 eggs

½ C buttermilk

1 C shortening

Grease 2 standard loaf pans, set aside.  Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk together dry ingredients, set aside.

Using an electric mixer, mash bananas until they are almost liquefied.  Add all ingredients, except dry ingredients, in the order listed.  Once well combined, add dry mixture.  Mix only until combined.  If you mix it too much it bakes up tough.

Pour into the loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes away clean.

Cool 10 minutes in the pans, and then turn out onto a cooling rack.

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And So It Continues…

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Here we are, now in week three of the renovations.  Have I mentioned how impatient I am?  The beginning of the process went so quickly that I was irritated when everything came to a grinding halt with the counters.  Counters went in yesterday and backsplash today!

So what’s a cook to do when she can’t cook?  Well, I finally DID get to cook.  In San Francisco.  At my Sister in Laws’ house.  Bonnie and Gretchen hosted us for a getaway weekend and I made breakfast.  Nothing fancy, just a little veggie frittata.  I feel remarkably better with just creating that one simple dish.  Gretchen and I LOVE to cook together and the brother and sister duo (John and Bonnie) reap the benefits of our work.  This trip we ate out for almost every meal and we drank some fab beer during the final days of San Francisco Beer Week.

If I am going to be perfectly honest, and I always try to be, when John booked the trip, we didn’t know it was going to be Valentine’s Day weekend.  We didn’t know it was going to be Beer Week in SF.  All we knew is that we needed to get away from here and the hot mess that is our home right now.  In fact, when I called to make dinner reservations at RN74 for Friday night, the hostess said, “You mean Valentine’s Day?!”  With a slightly panicked sound akin to Jessica Rabbit when she realized there was “Dip” in her future.

I will say the room is lovely and the staff very pleasant at RN74 and I did have THE most perfectly cooked duck I have ever had in my life.  The weekend’s tastings, however, were stolen by Mama Ji’s in the Castro.  HOLY MOLY!  Everything we had was exceptional.  Even the tofu was absolutely phenomenal, as far as tofu goes.  We ordered everything on the appetizer menu, plus a few other things and if you go, and I hope you do, you should order the Spicy Cold Noodles.  The noodles were ice cold, but the toppings and oil on top were not only temperature hot, but spicy hot too.  Ridiculously delicious and the best thing I ate all weekend long.

The most perfectly cooked duck I have ever eaten. RN74

The most perfectly cooked duck I have ever eaten. RN74

 

Cold Spicy Noodles at Mama Ji's

Cold Spicy Noodles at Mama J 

I am back home, without appliances and waiting anxiously for tomorrow when my stove is reconnected.  My counters and my backsplash are amazing! The same awesome crew that did the floors came back at my request to do the backsplash.  I am in the homestretch!  If everything goes according to plan, we are skipping sushi date night tomorrow and I am cooking at home.

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More soon, and if we are all lucky, I will post more recipes as I get creative in my new kitchen!

Hide the Anchovies

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I love anchovies and I am always trying to find ways to sneak them in without John tasting them.  This one was a WINNER!  I may do a whole series of recipes for you featuring anchovies. This recipe is for a marinade for flank steak or a tri tip.  You could try it on other things, but these are the only cuts I have vetted for this recipe. Trust me.  Really.  John despises anchovies and he LOVES this marinade.

Here is what you need to know.

  • Soy sauce and anchovies are loaded with umami, that magical fifth taste.  When blended together they are a secret weapon.
  • And don’t be afraid of the salt either.  Seriously.
  • If you want to switch it up a little, you can add a tablespoon of good quality tomato paste (the kind in a squeezable metal tube, not from the can) because that is loaded with umami too.
  • Let this marinate at the very minimum 30 minutes, but no longer than 4 hours.  And if I am doing a quick marinade, I let it sit at room temp.
  • I chose grapeseed oil for its neutral flavor and high smoke point. You are tossing this onto a hot grill. You want oil that can stand the heat.
  • Contrary to what the Kraft salad dressing commercials would have you believe, your meat doesn’t need to SWIM in marinade. This is enough for an average sized flank steak.  I increase it by half or double it for a tri tip depending on the size and of course marinate the tri tip longer.
  • And before you go freaking out about the lack of acid, there is a reason for that.    Acid “cooks” the meat and can make it tough if you marinate for a long time. Yes, really.  Did you ever eat ceviche?  Well the fish is “cooked” with an acid like lemon or lime juice.  If you really want that hit of acid, splash on some red wine vinegar after it comes off the grill and has rested, but you won’t need it.

No, there isn’t a pic of the recipe.  Do you really want a pic of dark brown liquid?

 “Hide the Anchovies” Marinade    

4 large cloves garlic

1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt

2 anchovy filets

4 Tbsp Soy Sauce

4 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

 

Using a mortar and pestle (or a muddler) crush garlic into a paste with the Kosher Salt.  Add anchovies and continue to make a paste.  Whisk in Soy and Oil until a uniform consistency has been reached.

Place beef into marinade and allow to sit for at least ½ hour or up to 4 hours.  Grill beef to desired doneness.

 

Anticipation

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

To be honest I never have said I was good at waiting for ANYTHING. As a young person I would shake the gifts under the tree and try to guess what was in them. I would try to sneak into Mom’s closet to find out what my gifts were. When I am ready for a vacation or getaway, I cannot WAIT for the plane to take off and get VERY irritable if there is a delay of any kind. I just want to scream, “Sit your fat asses down so we can take off goddammit!”

So here I sit in a filthy house (Moment of Truth – my house is ALWAYS a little cluttered, but it is RARELY filthy) with no cooking appliances, waiting on granite, tile and backsplash. The cabinets were installed so quickly (3 days) that I thought for sure that the rest of the kitchen would move along as smoothly. Mistake number 3. That’s what I get for thinking.

I know. You are wondering what Mistakes Number 1 and 2 are.

Number 1 – Thinking I would be fine with eating out all the time. Let’s be honest here! I LOVE to eat out. But the kind of food I like to eat when dining out is pricey and after the amount of $$ laid out for the renovation, it’s really fucking difficult to justify $100 for dinner several times a week. I can make do with tuna sandwishes* and other stuff for lunch and yes, I am a junk food junkie. But NO ONE, not even I, can eat like that all the damn time. I limit it to once a week.

Number 2 – Thinking I would be able to “make the best of it” and cook on the grill or my little butane burner or simply enjoy a salad. FYI – I can’t stand eating salad. When offered the choice between soup or salad, I will almost always choose the soup. I know people who do eat salad every single day (Hubby would cheerfully eat salad every day). I like hot food. I like food with layers of flavors and textures that is HOT. And if this was the summer, it would be easier to jump on the salad bandwagon, but it’s February.

John warned me I would be stir crazy. John KNEW I would be a basket case right about now. He knows me so well. What he didn’t know is that he would be just as bad as I am. We can’t find anything. We can’t really cook anything. And we are both tired of the messy house and the food we are eating. I am not sure what is stressing me out more. It’s a toss-up between the filthy house and the lack of creative release. You see, I have come to the conclusion that even though I SAY I can’t meditate, I am lying to myself. I meditate in the kitchen. By focusing on the job at hand I am able to center myself and get my shit together. Yeah, um, I don’t have that right now. So I am not centered. I am crabby and ready for this to be done. Of course it looks amazing and I am so much happier with the results to date than I ever thought possible.  Enjoy these pics of the tile work.

This is the basic pattern. The yellow "croquet hoops" are the spacers for the grout.

This is the basic pattern. The yellow “croquet hoops” are the spacers for the grout.

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Gilbert (L) and Bobby working their magic.

Granite and more electrical on Monday and hopefully backsplash on Wednesday.  Then to paint.  Then to party…and party some more!

* I always write sandWISH

Shave and a Haircut – Two Bits!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

What would you do if one of your friends or family members had cancer? Would you shave your head to show solidarity and support because they will likely be losing their hair in treatment? Each year I THINK I am going to shave my head for St. Baldrick’s on March 1st and then I chicken out.  Last year I had made the mental commitment to actually follow through with it and then I remembered that there was a family reunion to celebrate Dad’s 70th Birthday on March 20th.  It was the first time since my Grandad’s funeral in 1992 that all 5 of the siblings had been together and the FIRST time EVER that all of Dad’s grandkids had been together.  I knew if I showed up with a shaved head for the official photographer I would never have heard the end of it.

The whole Fam Damily

The whole Fam Damily

So here it is, another year later, and I was reminded by friend Al Mancini‘s FB posts that it is finally time to step up to the plate and get shaved.  Here is the thing:  St. Baldrick’s raises much needed research funds for childhood cancers.  Kids’ cancers are different from adult cancers and need to be treated differently and researched differently.  And one of the most challenging things treating infants with cancer is they can’t tell you how they really FEEL.  Years ago I dated a guy, Tony K, whose mom died of a “childhood” cancer.  It was almost unheard of for an adult to get the kind of cancer she had.  All of her treatment was FREE because she was able to talk to the doctors and tell them how she felt and what the treatments were doing to her.  She helped with research.  Well, here is my chance to something to help.

It is a joke among me and my friends that I change my hair like I change my mind. At a sales meeting a few years ago, we showed a slide show of photos taken at several different conventions.  The people in the room started laughing and I couldn’t figure out what they were laughing at.  But it was my hair!  In every single picture it was different.  A different shade of red, a different length, shape, cut, style.  Never the same! On March 1st at Ri Ra in the Mandalay Place Shoppes, I will have my head shaved for childhood cancer.  I am asking ALL of you to consider making a donation of ANY amount.  No donation is too small, $5, $10, it all adds up.  My goal is $2000, but I really want to beat my friend Al (hehehe).  I figure if he can shave his Mohawk, I can shave my crowning glory.  HERE is the link to donate. I have a little over 3 weeks to make this happen and I need YOUR help.

You can watch a Retrospective of my HAIR for a quick laugh.  There are even pics of me and my Mohawked friend so you can see all the hair that is going to disappear.  Donate, join my TEAM and agree to be shaved, show up at Ri Ra and let’s raise some much needed $$$ for Childhood Cancer Research.

A New Hope…

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

This is Red Leader –  Operation Happy Mama proceeding according to plan.  Installation in progress.  Please view attached images to observe progress to date:

Day 1:

The completely empty kitchen.

Before – The completely empty kitchen.

Josh and Lou inspecting the inventory.

Josh and Lou inspecting the inventory.

Shipment in the garage. BOTH cars had to park in the driveway!

Shipment in the garage. BOTH cars had to park in the driveway!

Day 2:

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Josh and Lou starting the tear out.

Josh and Lou starting the tear out.

Counters out

Counters out

Island with the sink and dishwasher dismantled.

Island with the sink and dishwasher dismantled.

Everything OUT!

Everything OUT!

Final piece of the destruction.

Jeremy tackles the final piece of the destruction.

Day 3:

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Day 4:

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John, our cabinet guy, was a Zen Fucking Master! He had EVERYTHING installed in less than 3 full days.

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Day 5:

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Day 6:

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And yes, John came in to work on Super Bowl Sunday. We didn’t mind – we don’t watch Fball and he was DONE by 1 pm!

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All cabinets and hardware installed. On to granite and tile…

Day 7 :

Electric installed back in the island.  New sockets ready and hot.

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Sink temporarily re-installed

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Yes, that’s the ORIGINAL formica island countertop with the old sink. Now you have an idea how large the NEW island really is.

Day 8:

Red Leader here – we  have a problem…

And  now I wait…  If the promptness of the granite guy’s appearance (he was 2 hours late) and his attitude are any indication, I MAY have a functioning complete kitchen by Halloween.  I can promise you, when you hire me I will show up ON TIME and if I am going to be late, I will pick up the goddamn phone!

Apparently I have to wait for the granite to come in from SoCal and THEN they cut it and THEN install it (Moment of Truth – I thought the granite was an IN STOCK item, which is one of the reasons I chose that particular one).  I thought the counters would be fabricated today and tomorrow and installed by the end of the week! According to the guy who was here yesterday, the granite won’t even BE IN LAS VEGAS until next Tuesday!  Oh, BTW, I can’t put a fucking thing in any of the lower cabinets or drawers until the counters are in.  The uppers are all filled already.  Thank you Friend Lynn for coming over and handing everything to me while I was on a ladder.  But I still have appliances, cookware, flatware, Baking Stones (yes, of course they are Pampered Chef) and Tupperware without homes, resting on every flat surface of the house.  Three tables and the guest bed are covered and the drawers are stacked EVERYWHERE.  Will the granite guys be late for each appointment?  Who the hell knows!

Today the guys come to measure for the tile flooring and the backsplash.  The floor can go in, but the backsplash has to wait until the granite guys get done.  Have I mentioned I am not good at waiting and that my fridge in plugged into an outlet in the living room?

And before you ask, yes those awful light fixtures will be replaced too, but that is WAY down the road.  I will keep you posted.

Red Leader OUT!