Cooking at the Cabins

Each of the three cabins has a full kitchen, a grill outside and a fire pit on the lawn, and the reviews show guests cooking their own dinners. This is our plan for eating well at the cabins: what each kitchen's listing names, what to pack from home, what to buy in Malone about ten road miles north, and three menus built around a ski day, a lake day and a night at the fire pit.

The kitchens, cabin by cabin

The three listings use the same amenity names, so the kitchens line up neatly. The table below follows the wording of each listing. Where a row says "Not listed," the listing does not name the item; it may still be in a cupboard, and the host can tell you before you pack.

Three differences shape the cooking. The Tiny Home has no dishwasher on its list, so plan meals that leave one pot and a few plates. The Aviator is the only cabin that lists a baking sheet, which matters for anything roasted in the oven. And only the Tiny Home's listing names its grill as gas; the other two say "BBQ grill," so ask the host what the grill burns before you buy charcoal or a propane tank. The groceries guide covers what the cabin kitchens already have from the shopper's side, and the cabin comparison sets the three cabins side by side in every other way.

What the photos show

The photographer's pictures from October 2026 fill in what the amenity lists leave out. All three kitchens are laid out the same way: one run of cabinets along the wall, black counters, a stainless sink with a pull-down faucet under a window, a range with a smooth top and the microwave mounted above it, and a stainless refrigerator at the end of the run. A kettle sits on the stove and a knife block on the counter in each one. The Modern Pine and The Aviator have their dishwashers under the counter beside the sink.

The coffee makers in the photos are drip machines with glass carafes, set on a wooden tray with mugs. At The Modern Pine it is a Cuisinart. The Aviator's counter also held a champagne bucket and two flutes for the shoot.

A smooth-top range rewards flat-bottomed pans and a little patience: it holds heat after you turn it off, so slide a pot to a cool burner when a sauce is done. It is a good stove for soups, chili, pasta, eggs and pancakes, which is most of what a cabin week calls for. For the cabins room by room, see the posts on The Modern Tiny Home and The Aviator.

What guests say about cooking here

The reviews say the same thing in different words: guests cook here, and the kitchens hold up. A guest at The Modern Tiny Home in September 2022 wrote, "We like to get away and usually cook most of our own meals, easily done in the well-stocked kitchen." A February 2022 guest there found it "fully stocked with pots and pans for cooking."

At The Modern Pine, an August 2023 guest liked having a "kitchen with full size appliances in a tiny home cabin," and a February 2025 guest wrote of "Great appliances to cook." An April 2025 guest called the Pine's kitchen "complete and fully equipped."

The Aviator's guests take the meal outside. A June 2026 guest, back from a day of hiking, "cooked dinner in the kitchen, and ate it outdoors on the deck." That is the pattern we suggest for most summer evenings at all three cabins.

Two Pine guests quoted in the après-ski post added the fine print: the spices stop at salt and pepper, and the cookware is basic. The bag below covers both.

A cook's bag from home

The groceries guide has the food list. This is the equipment list, the few tools that turn a well-stocked rental kitchen into one you can cook a real dinner in. All of it fits in one tote.

• Spices you use at home. A small jar each of whatever your cooking leans on: chili powder and cumin for the ski-day chili below, garlic powder, paprika, dried herbs, red pepper flakes.
• A sheet pan, unless you have booked The Aviator. Roasted potatoes, oven fries and sheet-pan dinners all need one.
• A mixing bowl and a cutting board you like. Neither is named on any listing.
• An instant-read thermometer. Grilling at dusk on a deck is the hardest time to judge doneness by eye.
• Heavy-duty foil and zip-top bags, for the grill, the leftovers and the lake-day lunch.
• A cooler and ice packs. None of the listings names one, and the lake-day and drive-up plans below depend on it.
• A thermos, for soup or cocoa on a ski day.
• Coffee and filters. The listings name the coffee makers and kettles and not what goes in them.
• Long roasting forks for marshmallows, if you want them; the fire pit guide explains what "barbecue utensils" covers.

Leave the slow cooker and the air fryer at home unless they are part of your plan; the counters are a single run, and the meals below work with what is there.

Shopping in Malone on the way in

Price Chopper at 53 Finney Boulevard, the ALDI and the Walmart Supercenter on Route 11 are the three supermarkets on the way in. Price Chopper's own page lists 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day; ALDI closes earlier in the evening, and the groceries and supplies guide has all three stores' hours to check before a late arrival. Price Chopper's own page lists a bakery, seafood, catering and curbside pickup, which helps on a Friday when nobody wants to walk the aisles after a long drive.

Shop from the menus, not from the aisles. For a three-night stay with one ski day, one lake day and one fire night, the list below covers dinners for four with leftovers:

• Ground beef or turkey, canned beans and tomatoes, an onion and a bag of shredded cheese for the chili.
• Bacon, eggs, bread, butter and milk for two breakfasts, plus pancake mix and syrup if you have not bought syrup locally yet.
• Sandwich makings, fruit and a block of cheese for the lake-day lunch.
• Chicken thighs or burgers, sweet corn in season, and potatoes for the grill.
• Hot dogs and buns, and the s'mores trio, for the fire pit.
• Beer from the supermarket, if you want it; in New York, wine and spirits come from a liquor store, and the groceries guide lists the ones in Malone.

Four miles from the cabins, Cooks' Country Store at The Cook Farm in Owls Head stocks local beef, eggs, milk, bread and cheese, and its self-checkout kiosk keeps it open around the clock. It is the place for a forgotten carton of eggs on the second morning.

Keep the cold food cold on the way up. The FDA's advice for coolers is to hold cold food at 40°F or below, to pack meat and poultry still frozen so they stay colder longer, and to keep raw meat wrapped so its juices stay off everything else. If you shop at home and drive several hours, a full cooler with frozen meat on the bottom is the easy answer.

Where everyone eats

Each cabin sleeps four, and the listings say no parties or events, so every menu here is sized for four people. The Modern Pine and The Modern Tiny Home add that they are not suitable for children under 10, and all three listings carry Airbnb's flag that they are not suited to young children and infants. A family at the cabins means older children and teenagers, who are a help in the kitchen.

Plan where everyone will eat. A guest at The Modern Pine in January 2023 noted, "The table only seats two but our older kids were able to eat at the couch." The photographer set the Pine's table for two by the picture window, and The Aviator's for two under its TWA sign. On a warm evening the deck solves it: the Tiny Home lists an outdoor dining area, The Aviator's listing describes dinner at the deck table, and the Pine's deck has outdoor seating.

Two families traveling together can book The Modern Pine and The Aviator, which share one property: each group of four gets its own kitchen, grill and fire pit, so nobody waits for a burner. How the two cabins share a property explains the layout.

A ski-day menu

Titus Mountain's base lodge is about 3.5 road miles from the cabins, five to seven minutes by the listings, which makes a ski day the easiest day to eat well. You can ski the morning, drive back for lunch and be on the lift again in an hour. The Titus guide covers the mountain itself.

Breakfast before the lifts

Bacon in a skillet, eggs in the fat, toast from the toaster and coffee from the drip machine. Set the coffee up the night before so the first person up only has to press the button. Fill the thermos with hot cocoa or tea while the bacon cooks.

Lunch

Two good choices. Drive back to the cabin for grilled cheese and the chili from the night before, reheated on the stove. Or stay at the mountain: Titus lists three places to eat, Mo's Moon Valley Grill on the main floor of the lower lodge with table service every day, the Titus Trading Post on the ground floor, known for its poutine, and a grab-and-go cafeteria in the upper lodge. The Trading Post and the upper cafeteria run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and every day in holiday periods, so check the mountain's dining page for the current days.

Dinner after the soak

Chili is the ski-day dinner. Brown a pound and a half of ground beef with a chopped onion in the biggest pot, stir in chili powder and cumin from your bag, add two cans of beans and a large can of tomatoes, and let it simmer on low while everyone takes a turn in the hot tub. It holds for hours on a smooth-top burner set to low, it feeds four with lunch left over, and it uses one pot. Serve it with shredded cheese and the bread from the store.

At The Aviator, with its baking sheet, oven fries are an easy side: cut potatoes into thick sticks, toss them with oil and salt, and roast them in a hot oven, turning once. Put shredded cheese or cheese curds on top and ladle a little chili over it, and you have the cabin's own version of the Trading Post's dish.

Wet gloves and socks go in the dryer, which each cabin has, while the chili simmers. For the evening by the stove, see skiing Titus, then the soak.

A lake-day menu

Meacham Lake is about 20 road miles from the cabins, where the state campground has a designated swimming area, picnic areas and boat launches, for the price of a day-use pass. The Meacham Lake guide has the day itself; this is how to feed it.

Packing the lunch

Make sandwiches at the counter in the morning, wrap them, and pack them in the cooler with fruit, a block of cheese, cut vegetables and plenty of water. The FDA suggests one cooler for drinks and another for food, so the food cooler stays shut while everyone reaches for a cold drink all afternoon. Keep the cooler closed as much as you can. Once lunch is out, perishable food should go back on ice within two hours, or within one hour when it is above 90°F; anything left out longer than that is for the trash, not the cabin refrigerator.

Dinner on the grill

A lake day ends hungry, so set dinner up before you leave. Put chicken thighs in a marinade in a zip-top bag and leave the bag in the refrigerator; the FDA's rule is to marinate in the refrigerator, never on the counter, and to keep some marinade aside before the raw meat goes in if you want it as a sauce later.

Back at the cabin, the microwave saves twenty minutes. Par-cook halved potatoes or ears of corn in the microwave, then finish them on the grill with the chicken. The FDA says partial cooking before grilling is safe only when the food goes onto the hot grill right away, and gives a grill on the patio or deck as the example, which is how the cabins are set up. Chicken is done at 165°F, measured with your thermometer.

Eat on the deck while there is light, and save the dishes for after dark.

Grilling on the decks

All three listings include a grill, and each one stands on its cabin's deck. The Tiny Home's listing names a gas grill and shows it on a spacious deck with the hot tub and Adirondack seating; the photographer pictured it next to an outdoor table. The Modern Pine's listing describes a spacious deck with the hot tub, the grill and outdoor seating. The Aviator's listing places the grill on its deck in the room tour, with barbecue utensils, outdoor furniture and the hot tub, and the photos show it under a cover.

A few habits keep a deck grill dinner smooth:

• Ask about fuel before the trip. The listings do not say whether the Pine's and The Aviator's grills burn propane or charcoal, or whether a spare tank is on hand.
• Bring a clean platter to the grill. The FDA warns against putting cooked food back on the plate that carried it out raw; carry two plates.
• Hold food at the side of the grate. When the chicken is done before the corn, move it to the edge of the rack, away from the heat, to keep it warm without overcooking it.
• Check for bristles. If you clean the grate with a wire brush, look the grate over so no bristle ends up in dinner.
• Bring everything in. The Aviator's listing asks that no food or garbage be left outside, and the other two ask guests to keep garbage secured because of wildlife.

Winter grilling works too, and the après-ski post has the cold-weather grill safety in its section on the grill. A May 2023 guest at The Modern Pine summed up the deck in French: "Le spa et le bbq sont de précieux atouts," the hot tub and the grill are precious assets.

A fire-pit night

Every cabin has a fire pit, and each is different: the Tiny Home's big ring of stacked stone, the Pine's pit at the edge of the woods and The Aviator's smokeless pit on the open lawn. The fire pits and firewood guide describes the three pits and covers New York's fire rules, where to buy wood, and the methods for foil packets and cast iron. Here is the menu that goes with it.

• An early dinner. Cook hot dogs on the grill, or on long forks over the coals, with buns, mustard and a pot of baked beans warmed on the stove. Eat before the fire gets going so the fire night is about the fire.
• Something to pass around. A bag of apples cut into wedges, a block of cheddar and crackers on a board.
• S'mores, with a maple twist if you like: a drizzle of syrup on the graham cracker.
• Hot cider or cocoa made on the stove and carried out in mugs.

Keep the plates and the food on a tray, so one trip carries it all back inside. Quiet hours at the Tiny Home and The Aviator run from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and each property has a second cabin, so keep voices low after ten. A guest at the Tiny Home in September 2020 wrote, "we loved using the grill, hot tub and fire pit at night," which is the evening in one line.

Maple from the mountain next door

Titus Mountain, the ski area down the road, makes its own syrup. Moon Valley Maple began on the ski area's slopes in the 2012-2013 season, at 215 Johnson Road, and the mountain reports 14,000 taps and 6,300 gallons in a recent season. Its page does not say where the syrup is sold, so call the mountain at (518) 483-3740 to ask about buying a jug. Cooks' Country Store in Owls Head stocks Brandy Brook Maple Farm's syrup, and the maple guide has the sugarhouses, the grades and New York's Maple Weekends in March.

Ways to use a jug at the cabins:

• On the ski-morning pancakes, warmed in a small pot on the stove.
• Brushed on bacon in the last minutes in a skillet.
• Whisked with mustard and soy sauce as a glaze for chicken or salmon on the grill. Brush it on near the end, since sugar burns over high heat.
• Stirred into baked beans for the fire night.
• In coffee, in place of sugar.

North Country cheese and curds

The cheese closest to the cabins comes from dairies a short drive away. Cooks' Country Store carries McCadam, Cabot, and cheese and yogurt from Meier's. Meier's makes its cheese on State Route 37 in Fort Covington from its own herd of Jersey and Holstein cows, and names its cheeses after local landmarks. McCadam's cheese is made in Chateaugay, and the farm stands and markets guide has its farm store and its hours.

Cheese curds are fresh cheese, sold for their squeak, and the squeak fades as they sit; dairy researchers in Wisconsin have been working on ways to keep a week-old curd as squeaky as the day it was made. None of the producer lists at the Owls Head farm store names curds, and we have not found a cheese maker near the cabins that sells fresh curds at the door. Cabot sells packaged curds, so ask whether they are in the case; in ski season, the Titus Trading Post is known for its poutine. For a cheese board on the deck, buy a wedge of Meier's and a sharp McCadam cheddar and taste them side by side.

Apples in the fall

From September, apples are the fruit to buy. The nearest orchard is Prairie's, just outside Malone village about 11 road miles from the cabins, and the Champlain Valley orchards around Chazy and Peru make a longer fall day; the apple-picking guide has the seasons and the varieties. Cooks' Country Store carries applesauce and apple chips from Canton Apples for the months without fresh fruit.

In the cabin kitchens, apples need little more than the oven and a pan. Core four apples, fill each with butter, brown sugar or maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon from your bag, set them in a pan with a little water and bake them until soft while the chili simmers. Slice more for the cheese board, and fry a few in butter to go with pork chops off the grill. Apples keep best in the refrigerator crisper, so a bag bought on the first day lasts the stay.

Coffee and the first morning

Coffee to go means a drive. A March 2026 guest at The Aviator gave the best advice on this page: "if you need coffee first thing in the morning, bring it because there's no 'quick coffee run'!" Pack ground coffee and filters with the groceries, since the listings name the machines and not the supplies, and set the pot up before bed on the first night.

A first-morning breakfast that needs no planning: eggs scrambled with the cheese you bought for the chili, toast, fruit and coffee, eaten at the picture windows.

Cleaning up and checkout

The Modern Pine and The Modern Tiny Home both ask guests to "Please wash used dishes and put them where found," and both list "Throw trash away" before you leave. At the Tiny Home, with no dishwasher and no cleaning products on its list, bring a bottle of dish soap and a sponge, and wash as you go so the counter is clear for the next meal. At the Pine and The Aviator, run the dishwasher the night before checkout so everything is dry and back in the cupboards in the morning.

Garbage needs the most care. The Pine's listing notes that the property has wildlife and recommends keeping garbage secured in designated areas; the Tiny Home's asks guests to secure all garbage and food in the appropriate containers; The Aviator's asks that no food or garbage be left outside. Bag the trash every night, close the cooler and bring it in, and leave nothing on the deck.

Checkout is before 11 a.m. at all three cabins. Eat the leftovers for breakfast, put the last of the cheese and the maple in the cooler, and the drive home starts with lunch packed. When you are ready to book a cabin for the next trip, the three cabins are each on their own page.

Questions

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

1. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/53628054
2. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/41023086
3. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/1168252128174283244
4. pricechopper.com pricechopper.com/stores/ny/malone/price-chopper-166.html
5. cookfarmny.com cookfarmny.com/visit
6. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/dining
7. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/moon-valley-maple
8. fda.gov fda.gov/media/79871/download
9. nny360.com nny360.com/news/meiers-artisan-cheese-unique-in-north-country/article_
10. cabotcreamery.com cabotcreamery.com/blogs/community/farmlove-ara-kuh-shultz-family
11. wpr.org wpr.org/wisconsin-scientists-study-how-keep-cheese-fresh-and-prolong-s
12. Franklin County tourism (Always Franklin) alwaysfranklin.com/listing/meacham-lake