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TMCNet: Now that's a kitchen: You could call caterer Joan Leineke's home remodel a cooking palace

[August 02, 2008]

Now that's a kitchen: You could call caterer Joan Leineke's home remodel a cooking palace

(Sacramento Bee, The (CA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 2--The beauty of Joan Leineke's new dream kitchen is that it's absolutely, totally functional.

A cook's candyland.

--She can boil water in a nanosecond on her induction stove top.

--She can sous vide (vacuum-seal) salmon in her Rational SelfCooking Center.

--She can whip up a pizza Margherita (with basil from her garden) in her wood-burning oven.

Or she can just make a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich and call it a meal.

But this 800-square-foot cooking showplace isn't for Leineke's popular catering company (Joan Leineke Catering). This is her home kitchen. It's the kitchen she and husband Jake, an industrial contractor, have dreamed about for the 30 years they've lived in Fair Oaks.

"The new kitchen replaces the family room, dining room and the old kitchen," Leineke says. "It took 1 1/2 years to complete, and I'm amazed at how it turned out."

Richard Graber of Graber- Rasmussen Architects in Sacramento was the primary architect on the Leineke project.

"I had fun doing it," Graber says. "It's a commercial-type kitchen with a residential feel."

The redesign was handled by Applegate Tran Interiors of San Francisco. (The company opened an office in Sacramento.) It also included additional square footage to the country/modern home: a master bedroom/bathroom.

But it's the kitchen that Leineke's personal and professional touches heat up.

"The appliances, plenty of counter space and pull-out cabinets instead of overhead cabinets were my must-haves," she says.

And ample space to either use or store her 15-inch platters.

For example, the Sub-Zero refrigerator is 26 inches wide (with a neighboring 18-inch freezer).

The 36-inch-wide, six-burner Jade gas range is a beauty, with a mighty 18,000 BTUs. (Restaurant stoves are usually 32,000 BTUs.) It replaces Leineke's 48-inch monster Garland stove. She even had a faucet built in overhead for easy water access -- no trips back and forth to the sink.

The counters (and one island), honed out of antiqued granite, are 30 inches deep instead of the traditional 24.

More than 60 cabinets hold dishware, glassware, utensils, pots and pans, even lids.

"I love pull-out cabinets for storing pantry items like vinegars and oils," Leineke says.

The kitchen incorporates several cooking areas: the main "line," which is similar to what you might see in a restaurant kitchen, and a pastry- and pizza-making area that's mere steps away from the wood-burning oven, which is surrounded by Venetian plaster. Long pizza paddles and fire-stoking equipment hang on the side. Oak, cut from the trees in the backyard, is stored underneath.

Each work area has its own sink (with disposal and trash compartments). Both are within reach of two smaller refrigerators -- for cheeses and pizza ingredients, and bottled and canned drinks.

There's a dishwasher just for glassware and a Miele washer that cleans a load in 10 minutes.

With all this storage space, what you don't see in Leineke's kitchen are countertop appliances lined up side by side.

"My Cuisinart, choppers and my dream machine Thermomix (it makes everything from sorbet to home-baked bread) reside in the 'appliance garage,' " she says. The cover rolls up and down just like a garage door.

Her Kitchen-Aid standing mixer is hidden in the pizza/pastry area, on a lift-out board, "so you don't move it."

Leineke admits that when she saw the final plans on paper, she didn't realize how much space she would have.

That's why there's also room for a wine-storage unit, a built-in coffee maker and the Rational SelfCooking Center, which Leineke says her designer wasn't happy about including.

"But I insisted," she says. "You can grill, steam veggies and rice, roast, even fry an egg in it."

Vernon Applegate, the lead designer, e-mailed that the Leineke project took a modern approach yet remains informal.

"There is a distinct connection between the landscaping and the interior and exterior spaces," Applegate says. "It's casual living reflected in the materials we used, which were earthy and natural."

Indeed, the toasty brown zebra wood used on the cabinets mixes nicely with the rugged gray granite counters and the shades of mauve and taupe interior paint.

Now, instead of separate rooms, the formal dining room feeds into the kitchen, so guests can easily move back and forth.

Leineke has been whipping up meals for friends and family since spring, when the remodel was completed.

She says no matter how large or small a kitchen is, it's always the best place for conversations.

"Function is important to me," Leineke says. "Even though this kitchen is not as practical as my catering kitchen, it's certainly fun.

"And I finally know where everything is!"

Her five favorite things

Joan Leineke doesn't hesitate when asked what makes her kitchen her kitchen.

"Now that's a question I don't have to think twice about," she says.

1. Wine-storage unit. It keeps bottles at the appropriate temperature. She says: "Wine is always ready for opening. Different ones for different servings at dinner."

2. Miele dishwasher. It does a full load in 10 minutes. "It's so quiet, you never hear it running."

3. Induction stove top. It quickly boils water and, with a turn of the knob, quickly cools. "I can have pasta ready in minutes."

4. Deep-fat fryer. It's part of Leineke's "line," which includes the induction stove top, a built-in wok, a griddle and, of course, her six-burner range. "I made fried chicken the other night. It also makes great tempura."

5. Ample counter space. Leineke's granite counters are deeper than standard, 30 inches instead of 24. "The depth was important to accommodate the range and the other appliances -- and for food-prep space."

--Leigh Grogan

Good stuff

Besides her state-of-the-art appliances, Joan Leineke invests in unusual gadgets and specialty food items for whipping up dishes such as homemade quesadillas with duck confit.

Check it out:

--All-Clad tagine: She hasn't used it yet, but Leineke's tagine (a flat, circular pan with a cone-shaped cover) is a device designed to cook a variety of dishes, especially Moroccan fare, like stews. It's also good for serving couscous because it retains heat and moisture. A tagine can be used on a stovetop at high heat to brown meat and vegetables.

--Magnetic spice rack: Each spice holder attaches to the wall next to Leineke's microwave. The round tins hold a variety of dried herbs and spices. She also has a spice grinder that minces dried and fresh herbs at the same time. As she told Bee photographer Florence Low: "You love your camera like I love my spice grinder and dishwasher."

--Specialty items: Leineke has a green thumb when it comes to growing peppers, including gypsy and sweet Italian varieties. She also grows eggplant and herbs, like Thai basil, rau ram (Vietnamese mint) and shiso (a tangy Japanese herb), and she preserves lemons. Her favorite extra-virgin olive oil? DaVero Dry Creek Estate. She loves shopping at ethnic stores that sell Asian and Indian ingredients and, of course, the farmers markets.

--Cookbooks: Leineke's collection numbers at least 1,000. "It's my weakness!"

--First meal in her new kitchen? "Because there was a learning curve (with temperature and cook time), we played around a lot with the wood- burning oven. My grandkids love making pizza," she says.

--Leigh Grogan

To see more of The Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sacbee.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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