Design

WILMETTE’S KASHIAN BROS SHARES TIPS FOR DESIGNING A BATHROOM TO AGE IN PLACE WITH STYLE

With adequate space and good design, your bathroom will last a lifetime.

An adjustable shower head with easy-to-reach knobs makes it easier to shower independently.

Properly installed grab bars add essential support near the toilet and in the shower.

Comfort height toilets are easier to use for those with mobility issues.

A floating vanity provides foot room for those using a walker or wheelchair.

High-end vinyl flooring is less slippery and smoother to walk on than traditional bathroom tile.

Pedestal sinks are most comfortable for someone in a wheelchair.

Allow ample space to turn around in a wheel chair or move with a walker.

Touch-less faucets ease the burden for arthritic hands or wrists.

Call Kashian Bros if you want a beautiful new kitchen or bath without the stress and anxiety of a typical home project. We take care of the entire project from start to finish, including design and all installation, even plumbing, lighting, wallpaper, and paint. One call is all it takes to remodel or renovate your kitchen or bath.

Kashian Brothers is located in downtown Lake Forest and Wilmette. For more information, call 847-251-1200 or visit KashianBros.com.

SOUR CHERRY HAND PIES

WORDS, RECIPE, AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS

Hand pies are nostalgic. They recall childhood memories of biking with friends after school to a corner grocery store to find a rack of pies—wax-paper-sleeved, sugar- slicked, skimpy on the filling, but easy to grip in one hand as you wheeled leisurely down the street.

Homemade hand pies build on that nostalgia with better flavor and fresher fruit. This recipe yields hand pies full of fresh-picked sour cherries, in a tender, flaky, oven-baked crust with an optional sugar glaze. A bit of almond flour in the dough and red wine vinegar in the filling adds nice texture and flavor. These pies are large enough to share, although you may want to eat one all by yourself as you linger over your weekend reading.

Choose fresh sour cherries from a farmers’ market or use thawed frozen sour cherries when fresh ones aren’t available. One tip: to pit fresh sour cherries, a counter-mounted cherry-pitter is very helpful.

INGREDIENTS

For pie crust:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 1/2 sticks ice cold butter
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

For sour cherry filling:

1 1/2 pounds sour cherries, rinsed well, stems, leaves, and pits removed to make 3 cups
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, squeezed from 1/2 fresh lemon
Zest from 1/2 fresh lemon
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons pure cane sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

For egg wash and finish:

1 large egg and 1 tablespoon water, whisked together

For sugar glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar (Note: If you use organic, it may give the glaze a slightly golden color)
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons milk/or light cream

METHOD

Make pie crusts:

In a large, wide, shallow bowl, sift flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt together. Cut butter into the flour. Whisk egg with water and pour into center of the mixture. Sprinkle vinegar over. Using a fork stir together until dough comes together with a few crumbly bits still in the bowl. Spread work surface with two overlapping sheets of plastic wrap to make a square. Scoop dough and crumbly bits onto plastic. Lift the corners of the plastic up to make a bundle; squeeze and knead dough through plastic wrap until it all gathers into a ball of dough. (If still too crumbly, place back in bowl and add another teaspoon of water.) Spread plastic back out. Pat dough into a lumpy disk. Cover with two more sheets of plastic making a square over the dough. Roll dough out just a bit through plastic into a flat circular mound. Remove top plastic and cut disk into four parts. Spread work surface with two pieces of overlapping plastic wrap to make another square. Place one of the four dough pieces on the wrap. Shape into a circle. Cover again with two squares of plastic and roll out into a 7-inch circle. Place dough circle—still with plastic wrap squares on both sides—on round baking sheet. Repeat for remaining three pieces of dough. Place stack of dough circles on baking sheet in refrigerator while you make the filling.

Make filling:

Place pitted cherries in a strainer. Lightly press to release some juice into a bowl. Place pitted cherries, sugars, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla in a heavy-bottomed pot. Set aside. To the bowl of cherry juice, add vinegar, and lemon juice; whisk in cornstarch to make a slurry. Heat pot of cherries over medium-low heat. Stir in slurry. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly until mixture thickens, glaze clears, and cherries are softened. Remove from heat to cool.

Assemble pies:

Remove one disk of dough from the fridge. Leaving plastic square on both sides, gently roll out dough circle to a level 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 6-inch bowl, trace a 6-inch circle onto the plastic wrap-covered dough circle with a sharpie. Using kitchen shears, trim off the edge of the dough. Repeat process until all dough circles are trimmed. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. With oven rack set to center position, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one trimmed dough circle on work surface. Remove top sheet of plastic. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cherry filling on one half of the circle. Fold other half of dough up and over the filling, using the bottom plastic to help you lift and fold. Using the tines of a fork, press down and around the now-double- thickness edge of the pie through the remaining plastic to seal the pie. Lift finished hand pie toward parchment-lined baking sheet, flip to place; discard plastic. Repeat for remaining three pies. Brush pies liberally with egg wash. Cut slits in top of each pie to vent steam. Place sheet pan full of pies in refrigerator for 1 hour, or in freezer for ½ hour.

Bake pies:

Place parchment-lined baking sheet full of chilled hand pies in oven. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 30 minutes, until pies are golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack.

Glaze and serve:

Whisk powdered sugar with softened butter. Whisk in milk or cream and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over hand pies. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The ART of the CUPCAKE

Robin Ross and Elizabeth Holland wearing Bunny & Babe, Winnetka

Elizabeth Holland tilts her head in concentration, one hand holding a perfect little cupcake, the other, a piping bag full of buttercream. Applying just the right amount of pressure, she squeezes the bag and pulls the piping tip up and away, up and away, in deftly timed precision, producing amazingly lifelike rose petals. Within seconds, more than a dozen petals daintily curl around the central rosebud, and the icing flower is complete. Across from Holland, Robin Ross is likewise focused, piping a minutia of green leaves, yellow petals, and brown seeds until a sunny sunflower smiles up from the top of another cupcake. It’s just another day in the life of Luxe & Lilac, the mother-daughter duo who has been wowing the North Shore for nearly a year now with their floral fantasia of cup-sized cakes.

Available in vanilla, lemon, and chocolate flavors, big and small, and in myriad groupings for every imaginable occasion, the cupcakes bloom with a bouquet of buttercream floral options. There are roses and peonies, dahlias and hydrangeas, daisies, sunflowers, and lilacs.

For Ross and Holland, who share both a love for baking and a love for flowers, teaming up to launch Luxe & Lilac was the natural outgrowth of the family’s entrepreneurial spirit and celebration of food as the heart of the home.

“From my earliest memories growing up in Highland Park,” says Ross, “my family was always a cooking family. Love centered around coming together for meals, large and small. There was also a passion for experimentation and learning.”

That spirit thrived as Ross raised her children including Holland, who was the eldest. “We are a very creative family and are frequently brainstorming new business ideas,” says Ross. “Most get caboshed by one or more of our family members. But this one seemed right from the beginning.”

The timing was certainly right. Ross, for 10 years a management partner at Levy Restaurants in Chicago, had just finished 28 years at Kraft Foods/Kraft Heinz (leading the Culinary Group for more than 15 years.) And Holland, who has a degree in biology and elementary education, had stepped away from work as an educator to raise two children. “While I was beyond blessed to be home with my two little boys,” she says, “I needed to find a passion or outlet that was just for me and separate from Elizabeth ‘the mom’ and one that I could do around my kids’ schedule.”

Artisanal, small-batch cupcakes have proved to be just that. The idea was born simply enough: Holland took art classes throughout her life and was skilled artistically, often taking inspiration from nature. Asked to bring something sweet to a baby shower, she baked cupcakes and discovered that the talent she had for drawing flowers translated well in 3D buttercream.

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS / STYLING BY THERESA DEMARIA / HAIR & MAKEUP BY LEANNA ERNEST

Putting that artistic gifting together with Ross’ background in culinary-team leading and recipe development, it wasn’t a long leap conceptually to build the cupcake business. But as simple as cupcakes may seem, there has been a lot of complexity behind the scenes.

Because the cakes are produced from a home kitchen, the pair had to jump through many hoops to secure the Illinois Cottage Food License needed to sell them. Developing the perfect batters for each cupcake flavor took months. “They not only needed to taste delicious, have quality ingredients but also had to have an optimal crumb texture that could support the buttercream,” Ross explains.

Creating a buttercream that could hold the shape of the flowers, had a good mouthfeel and an excellent flavor was even more challenging. Tinting the frosting to create perfect, sophisticated hues took much experimentation. And packaging the cupcakes in a way that they could be used for both gifting and special occasions and could be safely contained through transport and plucked out of boxes without muss, was also difficult.

To get there, creating systems for efficiency and consistency has been key. “We are constantly evolving to create better processes so that we can work more quickly and increase our capacity—especially during key holiday time periods,” says Ross.

Likewise, the pair continues to grow artistically, honing piping skills, adding new flower and color palette creations, and responding to customer requests. “We listen to our customers’ input for ideas,” says Holland, “and are always scoping what could be next.”

In the short term? A wheat-free cupcake is nearly ready for launch.

Through it all, Ross and Holland say their strengths balance well. Ross develops the batter recipes, bakes the cupcakes, and handles accounting. Holland heads design, manages social media, and leads the artistic direction of the buttercream flowers. Other tasks are shared. “Elizabeth is always bursting with ideas and is ready to energetically tackle anything and everything. I have a more methodical approach,” says Ross. “But that’s the beauty of our relationship. We build on each other and respect our varying thoughts and approaches.”

As they near the finish line of their first year in business, both are optimistic about what lies ahead.

“As a family, connecting over food and creating memories has always brought us closer and given us joy. We want to help others create these types of moments with our cupcakes. It’s really important to us,” sums Holland. “Whether it be for a happy birthday or a large holiday gathering, our hope is to help others connect over food with a sweet and happy sharing experience.”

For more information, visit luxeandlilac.com.

WHEN OLD AND NEW COLLIDE

When Sam Berngard and her husband, Jason, were looking for a home for their young family, the timing was imperfect. Having sold their city dwelling right before COVID shut down the world, they found themselves with nowhere to go. “We had our heart set on this beautiful home in Northfield,” remembers Berngard. “But the housing market was so volatile during the spring of 2020 that the house fell through.”

Yet, with the help of up-and-coming interior designer Caroline Turner, a house hunt that initially seemed imperfectly timed became the perfect time to find the Berngard’s dream home. After Berngard and Turner were introduced by Turner’s cousin, whose Page One Pilates studio in the West Loop Turner had designed and Bergnard frequented, a fast friendship was founded on similar design styles.

“I knew when I met Sam that I’d design her house someday,” recalls Turner, who has an illustrious design pedigree having worked for Kelly Wearstler, Nate Berkus, and Kara Mann. “We had this incredible chemistry and shared a love for the same types of design.”

Over the next several months as the Berngards temporarily lived in Michigan during the summer and Wisconsin in the fall, Berngard continued to look at homes until she stumbled upon an off-market listing in Highland Park.

“It’s this beautiful, classic red brick Georgian on this large, wrap-around corner lot,” Berngard describes. “The family who owned the home had lived there for 40 years and you knew just walking in the door that they had loved living in this house.”

But before making any offers, Berngard took Turner through the house to get her thoughts.

“I told Sam she had to buy this house immediately,” says Turner with a laugh. “It had all of these old architectural details like dentil molding that I just loved. I knew they had found the one.”

Turner embarked on what was to be a seven-month design and construction project, where the ultimate goal was to create a space that felt like a retreat.

For inspiration, Berngard asked Turner to draw from two of her favorite hotels: The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia and The Marlton Hotel in New York.

“I know this doesn’t sound like it makes any sense,” laughs Berngard. “But we wanted our home to have Southern charm and the vibe of a vintage New York hotel. We wanted to create an interesting city life out here in the suburbs. Caroline was absolutely the right person to help us because she has this unique ability to pair the old with the new.”

One of the first spaces Turner transformed was the front door vestibule. Walls that had been wallpapered in a muted grasscloth were painted a high-gloss black. The floor was updated with new tile, including an inlay of the home’s address number—very reminiscent of a storied New York hotel.

“Anything that was safe, we didn’t want to do,” explains Berngard. “We kept the elements of the home we loved: the moldings; the spiral staircase; and a built-in bar. It was up to Caroline to make them modern and fresh.”

Turner loved the traditional layout of the home, with rooms being walled off from one another rather than having the more open floor plan typical of homes today. While Turner designs rooms to flow seamlessly from one to the next, each space has a unique identity of its own.

The home’s all-season porch might be the Berngards’ favorite space but the living room may be the home’s best example of Turner’s effortless ability to mix high/low and modern/vintage furnishings.

“I never want Sam to feel like she’s living in an antique store,” says Turner. “So in the living room, we have a custom Maiden Home sofa in blue mohair offset by an antique travertine table. We painted the existing moldings and built-in bookcases and finished the room with a heavily textured piece of contemporary art we commissioned from Darcy Lamstein at DBL Works.” Another noteworthy piece is a piano the Berngards inherited from a family friend. At Turner’s suggestion, this piano is now playing a completely new tune having been painted a high-gloss burgundy.

In the dining room, a vintage chandelier Turner discovered while antiquing in Michigan set the tone for the space.

“We hung this light fixture just as we found it over a dining table we bought at Williams-Sonoma,” says Turner. “I’m not a snob about sourcing. I think mixing high and low pieces is what makes a room more interesting. I want the eye to catch something as you enter each room.”

One of the crown jewels of the renovation is the kitchen. Turner’s love for using living materials like marble and brass, which reveal character and beauty over time, is present throughout. The patina on the antique lanterns she found in New Orleans is a particular favorite.

While the first-floor renovations of the home are complete and several design projects on the second floor have been checked off the list, the family is happily taking a pause to enjoy all of their hard work.

“We’re just so proud of our house,” says Berngard, who loves to entertain. “It lends itself so beautifully to holidays and celebrations of all kinds. We can’t wait to have everyone over.”

For more information about Caroline Turner and her design firm, visit carolineturner.co.