Kitchen Reverie

In a recent e-mail blast from the ever-lovely blog ApartmentTherapy, Sara Moulton, t.v. chef and cookbook author, took us on a tour of her recently renovated and teensy Manhattan kitchen.  

As I imagined chopping carrots alongside Sara, I started to think about my own dream kitchen.  What practical and pretty dreams to I have for my one-day kitchen?

In Sara's new space, she brilliantly included a cutting board over top her trash can.  Every time I dice an onion, one little bit falls off the board in transit to the sauté pan.  How much easier would my culinary adventures be with this:

In my childhood home, my parents, forever foodies, selected a cast-iron Aga stove as the centerpiece of our kitchen.  My dream kitchen would certainly include one of these magical anachronistic contraptions. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of cooking on an Aga, the British company has been crafting enamel stoves and ovens since the 18th century.  

The stoves are huge and hearty and fussy, not for the weekend chef nor the gastronomic perfectionist.  They look and act like a rustic stove. With constant heat running through the oven, they are always on, always warm.  The only way to adjust the temperature of the oven is by manipulating the shelves inside. 

But, on a cool or snowy evening (more of a regularity in my native Missouri than in SoCal), there is nothing like taking in the ambient warmth of the Aga as you brew a cup of Earl Gray:

Alongside the Aga, would sit a sub-zero refrigerator with clear glass windows.  I have always adored the look of open refrigerators with neat rows of Pelligrino and colorful jars of Bonne Maman preserves and big bowls of farm-stand fresh produce.  The thought of fridge as gallery delights my eye (though I wonder if it would delight me when I constantly had to clean it):

Aside from the practical details and efficacious appliances, I have dreamed of white cabinets and black marble countertops.  I imagine rolling out pastry dough on the lightly-floured, cool surface of the marble.  I imagine containers with colorful spatulas sitting on the counter.  I imagine Le Creuset pots of coq au vin simmering away on the Aga. I imagine standing at my farmhouse sink, rinsing fresh berries.  

Ah, sweet kitchen dreams. 

What are your kitchen dreams?

Images borrowed from ApartmentLiving, JimHoward, TheGehrisHouse, HomePortfolio, Mark Badgley and James Mischka & DecorPad.