My Favorite Hidden Kitchen ToolDecor Girl

I like to say I am an interior designer who dabbles in kitchen design because I cook and cannot stand, no not strong enough, I HATE a kitchen which does not work for the person using it. You rule the roost and the kitchen is filled with your staff. Like any group of employees, a kitchen has star performers, those who have been around too long and then there are those quiet performers who get the job done minus the ego. In my kitchen I have one quiet performer which is also a star.

I’m talking about the warming drawer. This is unsung kitchen star, which some may poo poo as unnecessary, until they have one. I love my warming drawer. This is the first kitchen I’ve ever had one in and I’ll never go without one again.

BENEFITS OF A WARMING DRAWER

Keeps food warm
Excellent plate warmer
Awesome for proofing baked goods
A lifesaver while entertaining
Perfect for “holding” meals

Keeping food warm is the whole point, duh. But this becomes more useful than one might first imagine. Think about holiday dinners, entertaining, appetizers, keeping the hubster’s dinner warm because he forgot to call to say he’d be late, the uses are endless. The warming drawer is the perfect kitchen tool to keep warm food warm while waiting for another portion of the meal to be completed.

A warming drawer is wide and deep, almost 2ft by 2 ft in the 30″ models, this is some mind-blowing-ly useful space in the kitchen. An oven has space but dries food out if you try to use it to keep items warm, especially at 350° while other food is still cooking. A warming drawer will keep food moist. One can keep platters full of food warm in a warming drawer or six dinner plates in a 30″ drawer.

For the gooey or stale effect, use the microwave. The microwave is dinky by comparison and certainly nowhere near cost effective or efficient for keeping food warm. Microwaves use big wattage (1000+) to heat compared to a warming drawer at 400-600 watts.

At first thought the idea of “plate warmer” might sound a bit silly but I promise I use this a lot. Think of three cooked items: eggs, fish and pasta. None are good cold, ewe. “Cold fish” is not a happy term. When the plates are pre-warmed they keep the food warm throughout a meal.

A warming drawer can put an end to speed eating to finish a meal before it gets cold. 🙂

As a designer my job is ask lots of really personal questions, listen to, chew on, digest answers and desires into a workable solution. Regardless of the homeowner, a warming drawer is always a useful kitchen tool.

For more information on warming drawers:

Dacor – this is what mine is, however the newer ones are more techy.
Miele
Thermador
KitchenAid

Okay there is one more use for the warming drawer: this is the most efficient place to keep the beefy pizza stone. Raise your hand, ever drop one transporting it to and from your oven? I love double duty! Under the oven is perfect. Plus at only an inch thick, my pizza stone lives in the warming drawer. I just sit the plates or platters on top of it.I like hiding the warming drawer. One doesn’t have to but most are configurable to accept a cabinet front to match the rest of the kitchen. For me, it isn’t a focal point so why add to the visual clutter – hide it. It’ll be our kitchen secret. 🙂