Dark to Bright: On Painting the Kitchen

Blogger: Faith Durand
Started at The Kitchn: 2006

Faith basically took the reins from me on The Kitchn when I had our daughter back in 2006. She now oversees the site and all the freelance writers who contribute. I'm not quite sure how she does it, but she does it incredibly well. On top of all the daily duties that come with the full-time gig, she not only manages to write knock-out posts of her own, but she somehow figured out how to write a book this year!

I'm so thankful for what she's done for The Kitchn this year, and mostly I'm proud to call her my friend.

A FEW QUESTIONS FOR FAITH

1. What’s your favorite kitchen tool?
   Most-used? Probably my stack of half-sheet pans. They are good for roasting, baking, and prepping. But my real favorite is probably my Benriner mandoline. I love shaving vegetables for salads and slaws, or even using it to get perfect Parmesan cheese curls. It's a dangerous love, though; I have the nicks and scars to prove it.


2. What’s your secret indulgence in the kitchen?
   Not-so-secret indulgence is music! I always have music on while cooking. Blues, jazz, folk, and old-timey country are on regular rotation. I also have listened straight through most of the available This American Life episodes in the kitchen. But my _secret_ indulgence is raw pie dough. I don't make pies very often, but when I do, oh wow -- the raw pie dough is so seductive. It's that taste of pure butter, just rolled in a little flour, seasoned with salt and a pinch of sugar.


3. What’s your favorite quote on food, cooking, or eating?
   "It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others.

   So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it; and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied; and it is all one." - M.F.K. Fisher, from The Art of Eating

A FEW POSTS BY FAITH
• How to Make Cake Pops
• Recipe: Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
• How to Cook a Steak in the Oven
• Kitchen Tour: Paule Caillat's Splendid Paris Kitchen
• Brown Bag It! 14 Great Ideas for Weekday Lunches

MORE POSTS BY FAITH
• See all of Faith's posts at The Kitchn

(Images: as credited in above links)