Some of you know I’m in the process of moving from Dallas to Los Angeles after leaving my role as the Executive Director of Digital & Social Media at AT&T. I have since started a new job at the PR agency GolinHarris where I am currently leading Digital for the Western Region.
This new change brings back some memories for me as I graduated high school in South Pasadena and attended my first couple years of college at Pasadena City College before transferring to Hillsdale College in southern Michigan where I met my beautiful wife Stephanie and spent nearly 16 years living in Michigan before our family’s two years in Texas. So in some ways this is a homecoming for me.
In all the logistical “fun” of a cross country relocation, our home in Dallas was packed up last week and we are awaiting our new home to be ready to move into in August. Until then I am currently living in LA while my family enjoys a much needed summer vacation in Michigan.
With nearly three weeks of living without a home, I decided to stay at a hotel with a kitchenette. Leaving me with just a few options – mostly Marriott Residence Inn or Extended Stay America hotels. I opted for Extended Stay because of availability for the time I needed and a far better price per night.
Over the following weeks I thought I’d do a series on Hotel Cooking. I personally get tired quickly of dining out with too much butter, sugar, salt, let alone the expense. So I’ll be cooking using a fairly limited kitchen with only a few items I brought with me: chef knife, pairing knife, stock pot, wooden spoon, and some tongs. I also bought a nonstick sauté pan since our nonstick was getting a bit old.
The kitchens at Extended Stay America are more than adequate for what you need to do some cooking while temporarily living away from home. There is no oven, but there are two stove burners, a full-size refrigerator, kitchen sink and microwave. The rooms also come with a set for two of dishes, cups, some pans, a cutting board, toaster, coffeemaker and silverware.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy my adventures of cooking in a limited hotel room kitchen for one. If you have any tips please share them in the comments. Now I’m off to a Farmer’s Market to get some ingredients!
