There’s a great line in Peg Bracken’s I Hate to Cook Book (in my very yellowed 1960 paperback copy, it’s on page 15), in her directions for a dish she calls Skid Row Stroganoff. After telling you how to brown the ground beef, garlic, and onion, she offers this gem: “Add the flour, salt, paprika, and mushrooms, stir, and let it cook five minutes while you light a cigarette and stare sullenly at the sink.” Priceless.
But what does that have to do with this year’s 26th Annual Kitchen Tour to Benefit The Music Hall, you say? Well, I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing all 12 kitchens that are on the tour already. And The Stolzer Home has this fantastic view of the Piscataqua River Back Channel. Most of us don’t smoke anymore, but I can just picture the cook in this fantastic kitchen staring happily out her big front window at that gorgeous water view whilst, for example, her roux and stock start to thicken. I’m afraid I’d be prone to burning things with that lovely scene to gaze at all day. Read More
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Hard to believe it has been nearly a year since the 25th Annual Kitchen Tour to Benefit The Music Hall in 2016. But I’m here to tell you, this year’s tour is almost here. Which brings me back to this blog space to share some info on the gems we are featuring this year. It’s May 13, the Saturday before Mother’s Day. You’ll love the area we’ve chosen this year – the Little Harbor neighborhood of Portsmouth, all very walkable. You can stroll with friends or family from kitchen to charming kitchen. Read More
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One of the very cool things to like about this year’s Kitchen Tour is that it’s a walking tour in downtown Portsmouth, it showcases the city’s great history even as it shows off its sense of contemporary style, and it includes 10 homes that are each quite special. Okay, that’s three very cool things. But it’s hard to be shy about this year’s Kitchen Tour. It’s going to be a winner.Read More
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If you’re lucky enough to have a home with a direct view of the beautiful Piscataqua River, you’re lucky enough. If that home also happens to possess a fantastic kitchen, well, molto fortunato. Very lucky.
We have two homes on this year’s 25th Anniversary Kitchen Tour that are right on the river. I invoked a little Italian above because the lucky folks who own one of those homes have rightly named it “Bella Vita,” which means beautiful life. Indeed.Read More
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You know those little strips of paint colors you bring home when you decide it’s time to turn your home from drab to dazzling? It’s probably true we take far too many of the samples. After a while, they all start to look alike. Your eyes get blurry from the wide selection. Soon it’s impossible to tell the difference between Alluring White and White Hyacinth. Drab seems easier. Read More
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William Lawrence Murphy received patents for his “disappearing bed” in the early 1900s. If only Mr. Murphy could see the bed style that now bears his name in The Cresta Home. Alas, he is long gone.
But you, my friends, can come take a look at a Murphy Bed like no other on this year’s 25th Anniversary Kitchen Tour to support The Music Hall. You’ll likely not actually see the bed per se. It’s hidden behind a fantastic piece of art by Jay Schadler and happily ensconced between two lovely bookshelves.
And just think …. I haven’t even told you about the great kitchen in this Bridge Street home yet. Trust me, the amazing kitchen lived up to the owner’s design goals: state-of-the-art, professional-chef-level space that was open yet efficient, created with sophisticated clean lines, and possessing a splash of the wow factor. Three goals. Three goals met. Wow indeed.Read More
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Did you ever notice that right when you think you know a lot about Portsmouth, you discover another exceptional thing? That happened to me many times as we visited the homes that will be on this year’s 25th Anniversary Kitchen Tour to support The Music Hall. It certainly happened when I took a gander inside a home on State Street.Read More
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For the last quarter of a century, scores of people have made an annual pilgrimage through some of the Seacoast’s finest kitchens. With great determination and sometimes wondrous awe, these intrepid folks have gazed upon evolutions and revolutions in countertop materials, cabinet styles, and cutting-edge appliances.Read More
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