“Bringing The Indoors Out”

April/May 2004
Deborah Fabricant

There is a solace in lazing around on a warm summer morning, drinking a great cuppa Joe and reading the Sunday paper

I love the outdoors. Always have. There is a solace in lazing around on a warm summer morning, drinking a great cuppa Joe and reading the Sunday paper. Or dining al fresco with valued friends, sharing a memorable meal and swapping some good stories. Laughter. Friendship. Candles. Memories.
I began designing Outdoor Dining Rooms following a dance with my own backyard…a 1932 garage, built without footings, that came with a broken concrete floor, sinking walls and water damage. An old redwood fence that was literally falling down. And a grass area that defied growing. The challenge was to create an  environment that would serve as an Outdoor Dining-Living Room, re-design the garage to accommodate all of my Tablescape paraphernalia that is used for designing client parties, and transform it into a Pool Pavilion.  Big ticket. Big job. Big money. Yikes!

A lot of research led me to a talented team of young artisans who saw  “the vision” and helped me transform a “nothing” yard into a genuine beauty.  Toni Wells Roth spear-headed the overall project, acting as Project Manager and coordinator, making sure all the “i’s” were dotted and all the “t’s” were crossed.  I would hire her again in a New York minute!! For the new colorized concrete pool deck and landscaping I found Brian La Face of Natures Art…great talent, and so easy to work with.  Along with Toni and Brian and their team of energetic guys, we developed and executed an Outdoor Dining Room that epitomizes the meaning of “al fresco”.  Do you all know what a pleasure it is to work with people who know what they are doing, do it well and do it on time?  Well, that was my first experience with this team…and they will now accompany me whenever a new Outdoor Dining Room job appears!

Here is what we did…

  • Took the garage down to the rafters, saving this amazing wooden beam ceiling. Removed the flooring and re-fitted it with footings and rebar. 
  • Our carpenter, Colin Walker, built a loft over one half of the garage that created a great storage area for items seldom used. He replaced the garage door with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors and installed a new window.
  • Maple cabinets were by Closet World. We installed a Farmers’ Sink and cabinet along with a refrigerator, faux-painted a cabinet to look like an old red sideboard and placed that at one end of the room.  This now stores files, TV and miscellaneous object d’art.
  • Built the Outdoor Dining Room consisting of four two-foot square pillars and covered it with a pitched roof that matches the house. This room looks as if it has been here forever.
  • Flooring and deck are colorized concrete (created by miracle worker Freddy!) that resembles old Italian Stones. I placed wooden headers between the “stones” in the Dining Room area to make it look like a different floor.
  • Re-plastered an ancient pool in charcoal and matched the pool tile to the colorized concrete deck.
  • Installed new landscaping.

Mission Accomplished!  Here are some quick, easy entertaining ideas for your next al fresco dinner party in your Outdoor Dining Room!
Appetizer;

  • Slather fresh breadsticks with Truffle butter and wrap in proscuitto.

Salad:

  • Make a salad of peeled, roasted pumpkin chunks, quartered yellow peppers, red onion rings and pitted Kalamata olives. Dress with an orange vinaigrette.
  • Freshly grilled shrimp with baby lettuces, papaya and a mango mayonnaise. (Mayonnaise, Dijon, orange vinegar and diced ripe mangoes)

Entrée:

  • Try pasta with a sauce of one part fresh lemon juice plus a little fresh lemon zest, to three parts cream—heated gently together, and enriched with a little butter. Toss the pasta with the hot sauce, sprinkle generously with freshly grated Reggiano Parmesan and serve with grilled fish or chicken.
  • Rub chicken tenders with sesame oil and grill. Serve with a tomato chutney or slow roasted tomatoes over polenta.

Dessert:

  • Buy meringues and fill with coffee ice cream.  Drizzle with melted chocolate or caramel, top with whipped cream and chopped macadamia nuts.
  • Marinate strawberries or cherries in port, a little sugar and balsamic—serve with crème fraiche.
  • Take 1 ½ cups whipping cream and add ½ cup Fran’s Chocolate or Caramel Sauce. Stir and allow to sit and dissolve. Whip the flavored cream until stiff and fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
    • Take 3” chocolate shells, spread 2 tsp. Raspberry jam on the bottom then top with a dome of chocolate cream. Chill
    • Take 3” pastry shells, spread 2 tsp. Caramel sauce on the bottom. Top with a layer of sliced bananas. Top with a dome of caramel whipped cream.

The lazy days of Summer are quickly approaching…so call your friends, relax in your Outdoor Dining Room and above all….enjoy!

Deborah Fabricant is a Life Stylist/Entertaining Consultant, cookbook author, writer and lecturer. She has appeared on numerous National Television lifestyle programs presenting her Easy Entertaining Ideas and Designs for the Home. She has served as media spokesperson for Foster Farms, Lifetime Tables, Vitasoy, Cost Plus World Market and Sole Water. Deb recently launched a new column, “Dishing With Deb” and continues to write for various publications. She is currently working on a new book on entertaining and continues to create set and table designs for celebrities, special events and new clients. Her professional affiliations include the IACP, AIWF and Les Dames de Escoffier. Deborah resides in Los Angeles, CA.