My Dream Outdoor Kitchen Come True

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how much I love our wonderful, joyful cabin in the woods. Except for the mosquitoes. To make my outside time more comfortable, my vision was simply to create a screened-in porch. We’d enjoy an outdoor sitting area, but without the mosquitos. But we ended up created my dream outdoor kitchen.

I consulted with my friend Susie Fredman of Stone’s Throw over a bagel and coffee. She sketched out a plan. We were deep into the screened-in porch project when I became inspired to expand it into an entire outdoor kitchen. We had a few iterations of the new space before we decided on the final plan. I was a gal with a vision! Imagine roasting a rotisserie chicken on a grill at sunset. My dream outdoor kitchen had captured my imagination.

The idea of cooking in the woods, nestled in the trees, felt so romantic and life enhancing. Before it was even built, creating our outdoor cooking space was such an uplifting project for me! It was wonderful to have something to look forward to, especially during my health scare. It truly felt like I was creating sacred space for myself and my loved ones.

I share about and partner with only the most fabulous brands. The folks at Abt and DCS collaborated with me on this outdoor kitchen. As a 30 year customer of Abt, this was a no-brainer collaboration.

Getting the Grill of My Dreams

My first stop was to consult with my friends at Abt. It’s a family owned business that has everything from appliances to electronics in Chicago. I’m a regular, although they also ship nationwide. As a Chicago gal, I’ve been a longtime customer of their appliances. I appreciate their amazing service. They recommended the best of the best: DCS. Before construction began, I took an impressive field trip, to view their store and their showroom. I enjoyed meeting and becoming friends with their fabulous sales people, like Matt Moser. Their installation team has got it going on, and so does their customer service!

If you want a spectacular grill setup, there’s no one better. My top priority was a lovely grill with some burners. I’ve had one burner outside before, but having four almost eliminates cooking indoors. It’s such a joy! We set it up with plenty of space between the two sets of burners. We wanted to cook with a few pots without the pots winding up on top of each other.

Cooking in our Outdoor Kitchen

As I envisioned, we use the outdoor kitchen 10 months a year, cooking inside only when it’s bitter cold. I’m a 365-day-a-year grill user, and our grill setup at the cabin elevates the experience in many ways. Our DCS Series 9 grill from Abt has a rotisserie, charcoal grill, and a large griddle. It also has two side-by-side side burners. I love to use both the charcoal and rotisserie. They’re pretty amazing.

I love our indoor cabin kitchen, but frankly it is on the smaller side, so cooking outside feels wonderfully spacious. It’s lovely to cook something delicious amidst the trees and the sounds of nature. For decades, I’ve used a griddle indoors. Having a larger griddle outside has been fantastic when feeding a group. We love making pancakes, stir-frys, bacon and eggs, fried rice, and smash burgers.

A Few of My Favorite Things

DCS then said, “Dream bigger!” So in addition to the grill, we added a few extras. For entertaining, the double drawer mini refrigerator is a game-changer. For everyday use, it’s been perfect for overflow storage. It holds all the extra beverages, marinades, and just-in-case ingredients we no longer need to run back inside to get. The beverage cooling sink becomes the heart of the party. Guests in the outdoor kitchen are always intrigued when the icemaker kicks in. Roy and I are ice enthusiasts, and the ice at the cabin is just next level. Our new outdoor kitchen has made entertaining even more fun and easy.

Outdoor cooking is just so joyful and festive for me. The cooking experience still feels new, but I will forever appreciate the feeling of open-air cooking in my own home.

Thank you infinitely to Abt and DCS for making my dream outdoor kitchen come true. Stone’s Throw Interiors has 40+ years of interior design expertise, and they’re wonderful. Check them out in Harbor Country MI, and Chicago.