The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.


 
Barb and I love to cook, so when we retired 20 years ago and moved to Prescott AZ, I designed our home that we built. I was what they called a space planner engineer working for the phone co, in California. My job was to design building additions for the company's many central offices where the switching computers were located.
My last project was over 12,000 sq ft.
So when I jumped on my cad program to design our new home the kitchen was one of my main objectives. It had acres of counter space 48" stove top, double gas ovens, two large pantries and a huge subzero refrigerator freezer. The kitchen alone if I remember right was just short of 800sq ft. including the dining area.
For the eight years we lived there we had a Christmas party each year where we had over a hundred people over and the kitchen would easily accommodate 40-50 people at a time.
We loved it, so when we decided to downsize a few years ago we went from 2600 sq ft home with an another 1600 sq feet of under the house storage finding a suitable home with an adequate kitchen was a little difficult.
But we did find one and although we don't have the vast space we had, it works for us. Now in our 70s we don't cook nearly as much as we used to, and our 1600 Sf patio home is a whole lot easier to take care of.
 
When I cook or bake, i am particularly paranoid of whatever. So when I wash beaters, mixing bowls, etc. After scrubbing and such, they get put in the hot oven then re-washed. No worries
 
Tony-Chicago said:
When I cook or bake, i am particularly paranoid of whatever. So when I wash beaters, mixing bowls, etc. After scrubbing and such, they get put in the hot oven then re-washed. No worries
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Seems like real germophobia to me, if you’ve washed them properly why in blazes waste the energy to “bake”them then re wash!? I see that as lots of wasted time and energy, heating the first wash water, then heating the oven and then heating MORE wash water. I’d seriously start thinking about that process.
 
The oven is already on for whatever the mixer was for. (Cookies, bread, dessert, etc.)Therefore no issue. And you can be sure the beaters are sterile if we ever have another massive bbq. Second wash is really just a cool down rinse to avoid hurting someone.
Besides, someof the metal bowls may get contaminated when doing the rubs and stuff.
 
Tony-Chicago said:
The oven is already on for whatever the mixer was for. (Cookies, bread, dessert, etc.)Therefore no issue. And you can be sure the beaters are sterile if we ever have another massive bbq. Second wash is really just a cool down rinse to avoid hurting someone.
Besides, someof the metal bowls may get contaminated when doing the rubs and stuff.
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Okay, fair enough.
When people see me doing scullery after dinner and I’ve run a sink filled with glassware and flatware they are shocked as Claude Raines (character in “Casablanca”) when they find just hot a sink I run for that! I figure something will kill me sooner or later but, I don’t think it will be tainted cookware.
To (Very loosely) Quote “Doc Boone“ from the 1938 western classic starring John Wayne “Stagecoach”…
”There may the wrong bottle or the right bullet that will do me in but until then I will continue to tempt fate.”
I clean thoroughly, carefully but, not necessarily obsessively.
 
I’m lucky my wife won’t let me do dishes. I feel terrible after some cooks. That Al pastor I did on the rotisserie, oh man what a mess. Whole kitchen was red and so was my wife’s face.😡
 
I find that mise en place and cleaning the kitchen as I go makes cooking a lot more fun.... Once in a while I break discipline and go into swedish chef mode... and I almost always regret it due to the mess after the meal and the 20 minute kitchen clean up. On the other hand, mise en place and cleaning as I go makes the whole experience a lot more Zen like for me (along with the right music).
 
Tony-Chicago said:
The oven is already on for whatever the mixer was for. (Cookies, bread, dessert, etc.)Therefore no issue. And you can be sure the beaters are sterile if we ever have another massive bbq. Second wash is really just a cool down rinse to avoid hurting someone.
Besides, someof the metal bowls may get contaminated when doing the rubs and stuff.
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You realize the moment you touch the "sterile" beaters with whatever you use in the second wash they're no longer sterile, right?
 
Rich Dahl said:
So when I jumped on my cad program to design our new home the kitchen was one of my main objectives. It had acres of counter space 48" stove top, double gas ovens, two large pantries and a huge subzero refrigerator freezer. The kitchen alone if I remember right was just short of 800sq ft. including the dining area.
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Rich, after I win Powerball tomorrow night I'm hiring you to redesign my kitchen.;)

Timothy F. Lewis said:
View attachment 42747
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I like the idea but suspect it's too tall for my setup. Like you I have a windowsill and small side shelves that probably rule out Timothy's over-the-sink model, but unlike you I have cabinets on either side of the sink and there's only about 15-3/4" between them and the countertop.
 
Rich's house sounds like he could be a bond villian. Not sure which title.
Mine would be, (while cleaning dishes after slaving away), on her majesty's bleepin service
 
JKalchik said:
I've found quite a few reasons to "clean as I go," not the least of which is that if I get at some stuff like bowls that I made dough in will just about wipe right out if I get right at them. Making beer, if I can get the boil kettle cleaned out as soon as I get the wort into a fermenter, it's easy to clean out. If I wait even an hour to get at the boil kettle, that stuff starts to set up HARD.
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Yes sir. I find than most of my hot side gear can just be rinsed well with hot tap water if I get right on it. I never let anything sit for more than a few minutes. It's clean as you go for me. Especially easy since started using an electric all-in-one.
 
Brad Olson said:
Rich, after I win Powerball tomorrow night I'm hiring you to redesign my kitchen.;)


I like the idea but suspect it's too tall for my setup. Like you I have a windowsill and small side shelves that probably rule out Timothy's over-the-sink model, but unlike you I have cabinets on either side of the sink and there's only about 15-3/4" between them and the countertop.
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That was my concern with the over the sink design too. This thing is perfect for me, the back side is right up next to the fridge and the drain runs so easily right into the sink, this has made kitchen life so much easier. The thing is only 13 3/4“ deep by 22 1/2” wide. So, it’s a pretty small footprint on the counter.
 
Dang, that's what I was afraid of. Too tall for my sink area.:(

Now if someone took the over-the-sink design and modified it so it had an offset from the wall...
 
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