Welcome to the Bakehouse: A Kitchen Tour and Giveaway!

My first kitchen was pea green.  Not the pea green you’re thinking.  The sort of pea green only achieved by soup-ing peas.  My first kitchen was pea soup green.  Technically it wasn’t my kitchen. It was my parents’ kitchen where they likely stood sleepless, heating my baby bottles, where they taught us how to hide under the table in the event of an earthquake, where my dad would lovingly stir maple syrup into my cold cereal milk.  

It was a galley kitchen, a pea soup green hallway essentially. It’s where I learned the discipline of doing the dishes even when you do noooooottttt want to do the dishes, it’s where I dropped my goldfish on the linoleum floor and couldn’t find it for hours (I dunno), it’s where my dad would yell “how many times do I have to tell you to close the refrigerator / close the cupboards / wrap up the bread / be a decent thoughtful human!?!?!?!?!?”. I always thought those were rhetorical questions because the answer was obviously A LOT… YOU HAVE TO TELL US A LOT OF TIMES, DAD!

That galley kitchen where six of us chopped and stirred, wiped and washed, swept and mopped, unloaded groceries, fought about chores, bickered about the phone, shared meals, made brownies… that kitchen was perfect in its pea soup green chaos. 

There have been a slew of kitchens between then and now.  All small, some shared, all wonky and imperfect and precious in their own way.  

And now we’re here.  Right here.

A few years ago I moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans with adventure under my wings.  I’ve managed to live and love and bake in a few kitchens around these swampy grounds and I’ve finally decided to take root, settle, and put together a kitchen exploding with care, competence, and just really good vibes. 

This year I’ve been fortunate enough to partner with my favorite kitchen brand KitchenAid to bring together my dream cooking space.  It’s been more than I could even imagine to combine their stellar large appliances in putting together my space.  KitchenAid cares about how we move around our cooking spaces, how we welcome people in to cook and eat with us. Their products reflect that care down to the detail.  

I hope you’ll join me in the coming weeks as I show you around my kitchen space. I want to show you how the Multi-Door Freestanding Refrigerator keeps my food fresher longer (and looks good doing it). I want to show you how the Double Oven Convection Range allows to me cook more evenly.  I want to show you how the Dishwasher with Dynamic Wash Arms helps me clean up easily and happily. 

My kitchen life has been transformed and to share that with you, we’ll be making a fall-inspired Brunch over the next month and I’ll show you just how KitchenAid makes my space and my cooking shine! 

And, the best part?  Cook this brunch along with me for the chance to win a full suite of KitchenAid® major appliances!* It’s the largest, most awesome giveaway we’ve done on the site so far and I can’t wait to make it all come true. Along the way we’ll be giving away an array of KitchenAid® small appliances, so be sure to follow along as we go for details. You can enter to win the full suite of KitchenAid® major appliances by participating in all 3 small appliance giveaways we’ll be announcing over the next 3 posts. I can’t wait to see how your Brunch comes along!  

Follow @KitchenAidUSA and @joythebaker on Instagram and use #JtBBakehouse and #MadeWithKitchenAid to be entered in the giveaway with each brunch recipe.  Official rules here.

I want to share my kitchen joy with you.  Come on in to the heart of my home, the Bakehouse! 

Here’s a peek at what we’re making!

Sweet Potato and Fresh Sage Frittata with Herby Butter Lettuce Salad

Crisp Butter Roasted Chicken with Fresh Corn Johnny Cakes

 and two traditional New Orleans Cocktails!  The Hurricane and Brandy Milk Punch! 

KitchenAid provided the appliances shown. I have been compensated for creating this content, but all opinions are my own.