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Archive for the ‘Kitchens’ Category

Blue Star and Marcus Samuelsson

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Last week we were invited to a private event with Marcus Samuelsson and Blue Star Appliances. The two have recently joined forces to promote restaurant style cooking at home. It couldn’t have been better timing because we’re designing a kitchen for a client who loves to cook and entertain so much that she takes it to a professional level. Forget about the usual bangs and whistles, her must have in the kitchen is a salamander. I do love to cook, but to be honest, before her request I had never even heard of a salamander. That’s because they’re generally reserved for commercial cooking, giving meat and fish that sizzling, finishing touch. After our meeting I got on the Internet and started my search only to find that A) THEY’RE HUGE (not ideal for pretty designs) and B) they’re not approved for residential use. Finally I spotted the Blue Star salamander, the only professional quality device approved for residential use and found the invite to their event in my in box the same day.

In addition to being a total sweetheart, Marcus can cook. He is a Top Chef Master, has competed against Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America, stars on a few of his own tv shows and prepared a state dinner at Obama’s White House honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. We were walked through the preparation of a four course meal and given invaluable tips along the way. Two of my favorites were: when shopping for fish, tell the vendor you’re making sushi and they will walk to back and come out with an entirely different grade than what’s on display- without an additional charge. Since ”we” don’t cook with non stick coating because it’s toxic, to prevent food from sticking, make the pan as hot as possible so you hear a serious, sizzle sound when the two make contact. We’ve tried this one on our Viking stainless and it does work.

The food was fab (surprisingly large portions) and I really enjoyed his green message: stay home and cook to enjoy fresh, well made and happy food.

Tags: blue star appliances, cooking at home, iron chef america, marcus sameulsson, salamander broiler, top chef masters, viking stainless, white house state dinner
Posted in Events, Green Living, Kitchens, Lectures | No Comments »

The SoCal Contractor on Design*Sponge

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Big thanks to Grace at Design*Sponge for blowin’ up our favorite green builder Mr. SoCalContractor on one of our befores and afters.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Fresh, green goodness! Enjoy.

Tags: bath remodel, Before and After, Design*Sponge, kitchen remodel, SoCal Contractor
Posted in Baths, Before and After, Blogs, Green Living, Kitchens | No Comments »

Valcucine's Sexy Glass Kitchen

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Form Magazine and Valcucine invited the who’s who of interior design to their LA showroom this week to unveil the world’s first 100%recyclable kitchen cabinet system, Invitrum. Of course the Dennis Design Group and Jr. Designer, Baby Elle, were in attendance. As always, we were surrounded by glamour: the cabinets, the people, the food, the fashion displays. I’d have to say it was one of the better events this year. Go showroom manager Reba!

More about the cabinets- not only do they exude the sexy, sleek styling, which could only be Italian, but the contents are totally lacking in emissions. The Invitrum by Valcucine features recycled aluminum, sustainable wood, water based finishes, mechanical joints (so no glue is needed) and practically scratch proof, tempered glass. The cabinet fronts are half the thickness of normal systems which reduces the weight by 50% and extends the life of hinges, joints and the overall kitchen. When the time comes to recycle the components, they are labeled for an easy dismantle.

Tags: eco-friendly, Form Magazine, Green Events, Green Retailers, interior design, Invitrum, kitchen, kitchen cabinets, valcucine
Posted in Events, Green Building, Kitchens, Retailers | No Comments »

[LORI DENNIS INTERIOR DESIGN]

Lori Dennis formed Lori Dennis Interior Design, specializing in green interior design, in 1998. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Coastal Living, Southern Accents, Woman's Day, Los Angeles Times, Apartment Therapy and countless other magazines, books and websites throughout the world. [more..]

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