(Full disclosure: this is NOT a picture of my kitchen. :))Yes, after almost 30 years, we bought a new kitchen range. And I am THRILLED! So, here is the story:
The oldest daughter has online Pampered Chef parties and I usually buy something from her. About a month ago, she had her last one and I decided to try one of their baking stones. Both of the girls love theirs, so I figured I would give it a go. A couple of weeks ago, my order came in--I couldn't wait to use the stone. I placed the refrigerator biscuits on the stone--this was to help 'season' it--and put it in the oven. And I couldn't close the oven door because the stone was too big. Now, the smallness of the oven on the old range has been a source of extreme irritation for me since we bought it. I don't have ANY idea why the stove had such a small oven--most people have never even heard of the problem. I could never place a 9X13 pan in the oven lengthwise--it always had to be sideways. Of course, this meant I could not put as much stuff in the oven as the average person could put in theirs, so everything took me longer to cook because of having to cook in shifts. A general pain in the ass--to put it mildly. Anyway, we decided to buy a new range as it was the last of our original appliances to replace. I decided on the GE and we ordered it last week--and today it was delivered.
This range is really over the top in terms of features. First--and what REALLY sold me on it--it has two ovens. I KNOW that the smaller of the two will be the one I use 90% of the time. A great energy saver as the space is so much smaller to keep heated--it takes half the amount of time to pre-heat as the big oven does. The bad part about the two ovens: there is NO storage drawer, so I have to find places for some items. Oh, well, it could be worse.
The range top is ceramic and has five burners. The middle back burner is just for warming, but still... Both front burners are dual--you can change the 'size' according to the size pot you want to place on them. This thing has more settings on it than you can imagine--for crying out loud, the upper oven has a PIZZA setting!
But the part that REALLY blew me away about this range: it is Jewish! There are settings for the thing that will enable it to NOT go against orthodox Jewish Sabbath requirements. Something to do with not being allowed to turn on or off appliances during Sabbath, or something like that--I'm sorry I am not very knowledgeable about this. Anyway, the stove can be set to turn on at sundown and stay on for the entire Sabbath OR be disabled for the same period of time if you program to do so. As I said, it has to do with requirements regarding working on the Sabbath. It just is a cool--but for ME unnecessary--feature. And totally strange. :)
As of right now, we haven't used any part of the stove. Today was spent trying to 'burn off' the new smell from the oven. Many hours of using the self-cleaning feature helped with this task. I'm hoping to give the whole thing a good workout tomorrow. I may even start cooking again! Yeah, right. :)
When we built the house we ended up with a Jenn-Air range and it, too, has the Jewish settings. We aren't, so have never tried them... but I find it interesting that such a thing would be incorporated into an electrical appliance.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun to have such a nice piece of equipment to cook with? I love mine. I had an older, small oven stove, too... and hated it. Love the smooth top and I have convection, too, so can cook actually faster if I want to.
Damn. Now you've got me thinking I want to cook something and I'm stuck at work. ;)
Wow!!! Awesome range. Now I want one. :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to get started with it--will definitely post an update in the following days/weeks!
ReplyDeleteKate, sweet range. I would also be frustrated with such a small oven.
ReplyDeleteMazel tov.