Outdoor kitchens: 10 things you need to make yours fabulous

At my house, I cook pretty much for one reason: I get hungry.

If I didn't need to eat, and didn't actually like to eat, I would turn my kitchen into something more interesting, like an ice rink or a skydiving arena or a petting zoo, which would all be way more fun than a place to make a meal.

Apparently, I'm a minority of one. Across America, kitchens are the spaces where home improvers get the most carried away. So much so that having one fabulous kitchen indoors isn't enough anymore. People are creating serious I mean, restaurant-quality-serious kitchens outside. They have everything built in but waiters.

Some of you may recall that I've had homes in my past that had fancy outdoor cooking areas, with men who could use them. But in my current single-living situation, it's just me and my George Foreman Grill.

George and I get along pretty well, as couples go, although, he can move a little faster than I like, and he only has two temperatures: on or off. But he's at home indoors and out, and is highly portable, remarkably reliable, low-maintenance and he cleans up well.

I am grateful for George. I am also grateful for my friends who like to cook. I mean, seriously cook, as in, make bacon from scratch. They like to share their mad cooking skills, and when they do, I salivate so much I put the dogs to shame. (And they still invite me back, maybe out of pity. I mean, they know about me and George.)

These friends also have amazing outdoor kitchens and eating areas, which just keep getting better, I've noticed.

They're sprouting pizza ovens.

To find out what was up with that, I called Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, partly because the name is just so fun to say, but also because the Chicago-based company has been designing, equipping and building outdoor kitchens all over the country for decades.

I get Russ Faulk, vice president of design, on the phone. He confirms that the trend toward building or expanding outdoor kitchens is not just my imagination.

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Outdoor kitchens: 10 things you need to make yours fabulous