Star Kitchen: Donatella Arpaia Stewart

When Donatella Arpaia Stewart bought her Connecticut house last year, the first order of business was tearing out the kitchen. "It was all dark brick and brown cabinets with stained-glass doors," says the restaurateur and judge on The Next Iron Chef: Redemption. She and her husband, Allan, who live in New York City during the week, had a single goal: The work had to be done by this Christmas so Donatella could host the holidays here. They got their wish; the kitchen was ripped down to the studs and rebuilt, with time left to spare.

Donatella had a vision of her dream kitchen, but she turned to a professional kitchen designer for help: her mother-in-law, Sharon. Donatella took her advice and used beaded back panels for her cabinetry. "She told me they'd create a more textured look," Donatella says.

Every August, Donatella and the women in her family preserve farm-stand tomatoes so they can turn them into sauce all winter. For Christmas, she uses the tomatoes to make a traditional ragu with braciola and meatballs.

Donatella chose glass-front cabinets so she could display some of the wedding gifts she and Allan received, like these Waterford crystal glasses. "We got such beautiful gifts, and I wanted to be able to see them," she says.

Even though her friends told her it stains easily, Calcutta gold marble was Donatella's first choice for countertops. She thinks it's far more beautiful than granite. "I'm obsessed with keeping it clean," she says. "I always yell at my husband, 'Don't leave anything on the marble!'"