[BakerAunt]

Hi, Cwcdesign. It's a good idea, but there is no Ikea anywhere near us in the lower panhandle of Texas, and unless there is one in South Bend, there is not a close one to us in Indiana.

My husband likes the idea of the design program. He probably thinks it will be cheaper than marriage counseling. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for the detailed discussion of Blue Star, Aaron. I'd never heard of the company but will do some investigating and checking of reviews. My husband would really love it if I went with an all gas range, as he finds them more cost efficient.

I checked the Blue Star website, and their 36-inch RCS Series model is about the same price as the Frigidaire dual fuel I looked at yesterday. The 30-inch is about $600 less, but still appears to be five burners, which I think is a bit tight. It also was not clear to me that the burners were sealed (in case of those wonderful boil overs that happen from time to time).

From what you say, it sounds like it is well insulated.

I have baked with gas. In fact, I baked the various parts of our wedding cake in an old gas oven at the place we were renting--an oven that was even on the verge and ceased working properly about a day later. If the oven maintains a consistent temperature without hot spots, then gas would work. My Thermador electric oven has been wonderful in that regard.

There is a Blue Star dealership in South Bend, as well as a service place, so that is within half an hour of where we will be living.

My research yesterday led me to the same conclusion about Viking and Wolf in terms of dual fuel. Kitchen Aid was out of the running very quickly.

Did you also get your range hood from Blue Star?

Thanks for responding. You have given me a lot to consider.

[BakerAunt]

Mike, does this look somewhat like what you used?

http://www.broderbund.com/p-963-punch-interior-design-suite-v19.aspx

$39.99 might save a lot of frustration (and marital strain) down the road.

My husband and I are not that computer saavy, so how easy are these programs to use?

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Mike. Apparently Lowe's has this kind of computer program for designing kitchens that they use when helping people work out cabinets. We will start with the hand graphing and go from there, but I need to decide on appliances, as that affects the layout. We are working with a much smaller kitchen area than I would have liked, even with taking some space from a closet on the other side of the wall, but to get a house in the desired location, I had to accept that (kicking and screaming, I might add).

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, in need of baking therapy, and in a quest to use up some shredded coconut I baked Anzac Biscuits, using the recipe from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion (p. 83). I find these work better with quick rolled oats, and I use unsweetened shredded coconut. I use my 1 Tbs. scoop to drop them (Zeroll #40) and so get 24. d after looking at stoves online,

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

My husband has been reminding me that we need to sit down with graph paper and figure out the new layout for the Indiana kitchen so that we can talk with the contractor when we are up, briefly, at the end of May. I have thus spent far too much time on the internet today trying to figure out dual-fuel ranges.

Question: I've always preferred a free-standing range to a slide-in, in part because I think that they are better insulated. Am I off base on this?

I've been looking at Frigidaire. The website shows only two dual-fuel ranges, one a 30-inch slide-in and the other a 40-inch free-standing range. The latter is pricy, but it would hold 3 cake layers....
However, the oven controls are on the back. The slide-in has the controls in front, but it has no backsplash.

I tried to locate reviews of other brands without much success. I did see that a dual-fuel Kitchen Aid was recommended by Consumer Reports, but I cannot figure out why, since the oven was only rated very good and another site also commented that it bakes unevenly. Perhaps they were so enthralled with the gas burners that they overlooked it?

I looked at Thermador, but they list 0 service people within 100 miles of where we would be living, which is odd because they have a number of retailers. Of course, even the lowest level dual-fuel Thermador is expensive these days.

I looked at one oven site and had to laugh--it was all about how the range looked in terms of the décor, and there was nothing about how it cooks and bakes.

I've also been looking at control locations and I prefer the controls in front.
I really would like a backsplash on the stove.

At this point, I shall go drown my sorrows by baking cookies.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for a great article, Mike. Like you, I always have chicken/turkey stock in the freezer

Lately, I've been using regular ClearJel, rather than flour, to thicken my gravies. I also find that a flat whisk is most helpful.

[BakerAunt]

My PBS channel tends to show some material much later than in other markets, or maybe I just missed these the first time around. From what I can gather, I get to see one show on Jacques Pepin and one on Alice Waters on Friday.

[BakerAunt]

I have Orange Barley Pound Cake (recipe on this site) baking in the oven. I'm also about to start the KAF Ultra-Thin Pizza Crust, so that we can have pizza for dinner.

Note: On the pizza, as usual, I drizzled in the olive oil after the rest of the ingredients started mixing. However, for the first time I weighed the ingredients rather than measuring by volume. The dough was a bit stickier, but my husband said it was my best crust yet, and I agree.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I'm trying out a new recipe for Orange Cream Scones that I tore out of a Bon Appetit (August 2000), p. 104. (I'm trying to cut down on stuff before our move, and I have some nice organic oranges.) I'm making a half recipe, and I'm substituting in 1 cup of barley flour for one of the two cups of AP Flour. I'll cut the butter into the dry ingredients tonight, then refrigerate it overnight. Tomorrow, I'll add the egg and half and half, mix, shape, and bake for breakfast. I'll report back on the recipe by adding an addendum to this post.

Addendum: The scones are fabulous. I did add 1/4 tsp. of orange oil. I froze three of the six I baked. I kept two others out, and I will check to see if they hold up over a couple of days.

Second Note: The scones are very good the second day, but they are truly excellent when freshly baked and warm.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt. Reason: added material

[BakerAunt]

I've never cooked eggplant--and my husband says not to start!

Italian Cook--it's good to hear from you again. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made the Four-Bean Salad recipe that I got from my college roommate. It is for a church potluck on Sunday.

[BakerAunt]

I did not bake either of these two items that I ate at a party yesterday, but they deserve a mention.

My husband's last doctoral student baked some wonderful Earl Grey cookies.

My husband's colleague made his pretzels--the big kind that get the lye treatment. It almost makes me think that I should try baking them one of these days, if I can get over my fear of using lye!

[BakerAunt]

Here is the link to the Forrager website:

http://forrager.com/laws/

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Len. I was going to post a question about the gold yeast, so that helps tremendously.

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