CentralMA

Here's the link to Darto detailing the presale... https://www.dartointernational.com/pre-sale " The wanted mistake / Pre-sale Thicker than usual, same price as always We are happy to announce that from January 18 to 24 we’ll offer our traditional saute pan n.27 with 4mm thickness, instead of 3mm, at the same price (60 USD). This design was born by accident some time ago and we never did it again until now. As we know that many of you could enjoy its benefits we decided to launch this presale worldwide again. Be aware! Although it’s great preserving heat, it’s also heavier (2.8 kgs / 6.1 lbs). As we don't use to manufacture this special design, it will only be able during this week, not later. " There's more info on the page. Looks like it won't ship until the end of April. I'm considering it, knowing my wife will never use this due to it's weight. Finally, a pan of my very own!!!!

Cast iron oyster grilling pan https://www.outsetinc.com/products/oyster-grill-pan

Late 70s I was working local restaurants, ended up working nights in a cocktail type place and through those contacts worked lunches in a little soup/salad/crepe place. Very popular with the "ladies that lunched" at the time. No more than a 40 seater place, we'd usually turn the tables twice each lunch. Limited staff, usually no more than 4 (including the owner), so we did it all. My primary job getting in the door was making crepes....depending on the expected days service it could be anywhere from 60 to 200. I got to be damned good at crepes. I'd use that the type of pan weinoo shows in his post, next size up (maybe a 10"base?) and I'd use them upside down. Super easy to get the first side done, then an easy flip to get the 2nd side, slide it to the holding area, wave the pan a few times to cool it slightly, back down for another. Would usually have 3 or 4 pans going at a time. Quick work, then on to other tasks. Then open the doors and wait on tables. Then kitchen cleanup and dishes. Good times. But thinking now about it, over that summer I probably made 5,000 to 6,000 crepes, maybe more. Damn.

That's exactly what it appears to be. Think of this pan not as crepe manufacturing but as crepe assembly and presentation. This past year I acquired a table side service set, It has the Paul Revere embossed pan, looks like it was never used. The alcohol stove has shows signs of use. No maker marks on the stove unit. Pretty much solid copper, but probably "restaurant grade", for the trade. Still fun though. And no, I've not used it as yet. Maybe this summer.

A little late to the party here...but: I always see a few CI grilling pans of various makes at the thrift stores / resale stores I frequent. Usually well under $10, any most times never used. Recent finds in CI have also been the Weber CI skillet that works with the kettle grill, accessory grate, and a lovely big oyster CI pan. Again, both never used, and the oyster pan still had the label on it.

Take a look at the "Minion Method": https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/firing-up-weber-bullet-2/ I'll use a full load in the ring, with a small can opened up both ends in the center. Fill the can with 3 - 6 lit briquets, pull the can out leaving the lit briquets in the center of all the other charcoal. Assemble the WSM and watch the temps for a spell, adjusting the air flow as needed. Never let it get too hot. Once it's stable walk away. Many times I will not utilize water in the pan either, but will use a pizza stone wrapped in foil over the empty pan. No difference with or without water in the quality of the cooking, but it does use less fuel.

Best use info yet...

I'm primarily a Weber Kettle user, and have quite a few accessories both OEM Weber and other manufacturers. I've most of the sizes, but alas not the Ranch Kettle. Also an owner of multiple Weber Smokey Mountains. I've also a Large Big Green Egg and a Kamado Joe Junior. Other grills too, oddball stuff. And a recent acquisition of a 2001 Weber Gas unit, my only gas grill in over 35 years. To your questions: If you find cleaning the Weber kettles easy to light, temperature maintain, and cleanup you'll find the kamado types just as easy, and after much practice much better at cooking over a live charcoal. The learning curve is a bit steeper, getting the temp to behave where you need it, planning the time and "arrangement" of the cooking routine. The ceramic grills create a better oven environment, once the thick walls soak in the heat it will radiate it nicely back to the interior of the grill. The ceramic grills are great for high heat cooking. Pizzas are a treat coming off a ceramic grill. Extreme heat searing is easy to do. Long slow low temp cooking is better on a ceramic than on a kettle, but I still prefer my WSMs for the 18 hour cooks of pulled pork, brisket. Your comment that the WSM uses quite a bit of fuel I find odd, I can attain 15+ hour cooks on a single load of briquets. The ceramics are better though on lump consumption than a WSM. All that said, I use my kettles far more than I do the ceramics. The rotisserie for the kettle gets a lot of use year round. Pulling a chicken off the spit after an hour and a half, getting the meat off and having a the remains go into a pot for soup is great in the winter. Big drawback on any live fire grill is the inability to safely have it on an attached deck, balcony, etc. SO, if you have the $$$ to spend and enjoy cooking over charcoal by all means get the Joe Junior. If you enjoy it, you'll outgrow it and soon have a larger ceramic next to it.

Things are still a bit unorganized, got to work on the basement for storage of lesser used pits, pans, appliances.

gfweb: Lovely setup. Looks like it's half the size of the house we've been setting up for "retirement". 1950's 1000sf ranch. And as long as we're playing show and tell I'll add a couple of pics. And one tip: Think hard about the size of the range you'r looking for. For me, the 30" made sense due to the size of the kitchen. The price tag on the 30" sent my wife into a daily "well if you're going to spend that kind of $$$ on a stove ........etc..etc..etc. When it arrived and we got it in place I gave her the owners manual, showing operation etc. When she got to the page of the possible styles, configurations, sizes she looked at me and said "ya know, we could have given up another 6" of counter space and gotten the 36" with the middle griddle...". I channelled Ralph Kramden for a minute or so. It's been 40 years now. I love her dearly, and she tolerates me. Pics when I log in with my phone.

I'm a recent owner of a BlueStar 30" RNB. My wife can't cook bacon on the stovetop without burning it, I can't get the bacon from the same package to crisp up. Not sure what either of us is doing wrong, but we'll figure it out. Different styles of cooking, if any appliance can show us the better way to do things I'm betting the BlueStar can. The BlueStar line is dead simple. The oven convection fan is a bit loud but not annoyingly. The amount of heat off the stovetop, and it's evenness, is incredible. We use older (70+ years) cast iron quite a bit, I noticed today that the seasoning appears to be getting even better on the commonly used ones. My much younger deBuyer Mineral B pans are also looking better. My venting is to the outside, with a JennAire hood. Damn thing sounds like a Boeing 747 on the highest speed but it does the job. I switched the halogen bulbs with LED after one of the original bulbs burned out after a month, no issues since.

Now there's a new marketing campaign. Sure beats the old one "Worcester, Paris of the Eighties" Next time in the area have your friends take you to Westboro. Arturo's is well regarded in the area, in business for 40 years.

How often do you get to Worcester? And why would you if I may be so bold to ask? 40+ years ago I worked on Shrewsbury Street, had many a lunch at the Boulevard. Great pic by the way...it actually looks pretty clean. And many a 3AM visit too, after carousing around the city until 2AM. Lots of stories. And the Arturo's pic? That in Westboro? ~30 years ago I tended bar for a spell at the previous location in Worcester (their location previous to Worcester was in West Boylston).

This could work: https://www.bigassfans.com

What size are your windows? I know a guy who knows a guy....

And it took 3 weeks, and a little bit of rattling the BlueStar cage, but the black knobs finally arrived. They're not asking for the stainless ones back either.

It's been a long road... Plumber was here this morning to finish up the install. I was at the tool rental shop 8AM sharp to pick up the AirSled, back at the house by 8:45. Plumber was waiting for me at the house. He had told me 10AM, I had to scramble to get the needed height spacer blocks ready (AirSled stuff). Minor modifications to the initial gas install (and a little more after he left, but just to make some extra space through the floor so the gas line could move closer to the wall, not a lot of room behind these ranges), then plugged it in, purged the line, fired it up. It's lovely. More lovely than I thought it would be. My wife, who I do love dearly, and who has been holding the idea of my purchase of a $5K range over my head for the past months, also seemed pleased. Have I told you about the window treatments she picked out? Through a good friend in that business, 4 roller shades, chain operated, not big windows, not quite $800, his cost/our cost. I think I've gained the upper hand on this one. Ya can't cook on shades.... Pics when I get the cabinets back in, the place cleaned up. But it's nice...really nice. And hot. Wicked hot. Which reminds me to purchase a couple of kitchen use fire extinguishers before the inspector arrives on Tuesday. Inspectors like fire extinguishers. And the AirSled. Marvelous piece of kit, but the rental unit was a tortured mess. Lots of duct tape repairs existing, I needed to add more than a few inches of Gorilla tape to patch the air leaks. Once I got it fairly airtight it was easy to use, lifted the 200+lbs with ease using the supplied vac the size of a small watermelon. My plumber expressed interest in purchasing one for his company use, I think he was seeing the $$$ available to be made without bringing in high cost labor for heavy appliance moves. I had the AirSled back to the rental company by noon, 40 minutes away. And just $20. Well worth it. So far, life is good.

A quick Google for "Kitchenaid grease" will produce many hits. More than enough grease can be had for $10 - $20. And a quick search on YouTube for "kitchenaid mixer grease replacement" will provide the teardown info needed for getting the job done. Even if you have light mechanical skills it's very doable. And the end result is gratifying. My daughter and I recently rehabbed my late mother's 1960 era stand mixer that had not been serviced in the last ~60 years. The grease was like a rock, the mixer motor sounded like it was grinding rocks. A thorough clean and fresh grease should give it another 60 years of use. And they do recommend to spin the mixer up at least once a month, sometimes the grease will "separate", leading to the mixer appearing to leak oil.

We've always had good luck with a store local to us. They do mail order. Shows that they're Turkey origin. https://www.arcadesnacks.com/product/filberts-blanched-2/

I sense there's a short story here worth reading.

That reminds me. It's been over two weeks waiting for the correct knobs. Must give the appliance store a call.

I decided to look into this. First called the appliance store, they had never heard of these, nor have ever needed them. And called me a little crazy for thinking I may actually need them. So then I called BlueStar direct. The customer service rep stated there was no such thing. I pushed that URL you noted to them, stating that is was in fact BlueStar produced. Put on hold, 5 minutes later the rep acknowledged that they do indeed exist. Part # SVR-AIRSHUTKIT-NAT. About $130.00 for the set. When I questioned that cost for 5 or 6 medallions the size of a half dollar, and that I was going to be doing the install myself (ooops....should I have said that? Immediately I was told that would void any warranty. I asked, are you sure of that? She digressed after talking amongst others in her area, self installs do not void warranty) and I wanted to be sure what was set at the factory was indeed correct. She then offered 25% reduction in cost. So I'll pass. I was also pleased to learn from the rep that that amount of gas consumed is regulated by the air shutter configuration. At that point I just gave up. Got the free broiler pan after inadvertantly finding a page on their website that was offering free pan and shipping for new owners. Had no idea this was in place for new purchases, was not informed by the appliance dealer. Showed up a few days later. 15" x 13", about 3lbs. I was expecting something larger, maybe due to the "full size sheet pan" selling point of the oven. But it's nice enough. And haven't seen the replacement knobs as yet.

And I should have added if you want to really add another dimension to the spices find an Indian grocery store and find a stovetop spice and nut toasting vessel. I found one years ago that looked good, heavy carbon steel, capacity of about a half cup or so. Doesn't work so well on my current electric coil cooktop due to the rounded bottom, but soon I'll have my gas stove in operation, it'll be fine.

Had I known about something like that it would have been a good solution to the current situation. But at this point I'm tired of cutting into walls and the resulting debris. Moving the wall outlets to a work box will cause little disruption. Vent has been run, complete. Out the side of the house. Still planning on fabricating some type of guard out of 1/4' steel mesh, keep the birds from nesting. Here's pics of the current problem, Looking at the range pic, the recess you see has just 1 3/4" allowance 3" off the floor. It does gain space, to accommodate the gas piping. The pipe you see in the other pic will need to be moved back about 3/4", not hard to do, there's enough play without stressing the installation. And in that same pic you can see the type of outlet we're going to install, removing the quad install in the wall and relocating the wiring to the workbox. In other news, the electrician has stated he'll be here the 20th at 8:00AM. My wife won't make the move to this house until there's a place to cook. Now to decide if I can take the promise of the 20th as a fact, and schedule the gas fitter and most importantly the rental of the AirSled, try to coordinate everything soon after.

I have a 1950's era laboratory mortar and pestle. Not big, maybe 4" internal bowl. High fired, looks like porcelain. Rescued it during a lab facility closure, lots of lab grade equipment going in the dumpster. A shame I didn't think about acquiring other items. Not sure what it was used for, but other than the tail I'm growing there have been no ill effects from it's former use.