Second refrigerator

[tommy]

i just bought a second refrigerator (the first one of my adult life). i'm so happy that i find myself going to the basement just to stare at it and open the doors of the empty box.

what do you put in yours for day-to-day purposes? right now, i've got two lonely bottles of diet pepsi in there. i suppose it'll be handy for the holidays and for entertaining in general.

this is one of the happiest days of my life.

[fifi]

beer

and 242 jars of assorted condiments

Actually, when I had one, in a past life, it was great for storing stuff (like the condiments) that I didn't use often. It was a lifesaver around the holidays or anytime a big-time cooking event was coming up. I loved it. Must have one again one of these days.

[Cusina]

Oooo, congratulations!!

I love having a second. Ours is in the basement for lack of other space, but I use it a lot. Much of it is full of beverages, but we also keep our frozen staples in there too, like marinara and stock. And vodka. I love having it for things I want to keep out of sight too, cakes and other tempting things that might get nibbled away if left in full family view. Enjoy!

[tommy]

beer

jesus, why didn't i think of that. i'm going to move it from the garage to the fridge. eeeexcellent.

[Mayhaw Man]

I've got a deep freeze and a second fridge. The second icebox is great for storing sheetpans full of stuff and for keeping really large items in.

The deep freeze, on the other hand, has paid for itself many times over because it gives me the ability to store beef that I get a couple of times a year from a neighbor (grass fed) and to take advantage of big buys on seafood when it is cheap (shrimp, crabmeat, etc.) and since hunting takes up virtually all of my free time in the winter, by the end of the winter it is usually crammed to capacity with ducks, venison, doves, and quail. I also put up tons of peas and butter beans in the summer and the freezer holds them as well. Occcasionally I am lucky enough to get down to Cajun Land and stock up on stuffed chickens, sausage, and great bread (most recently I did this last week and picked up baked goods at Lejeune's in Jeanerette, La). I really should get another, but I have nowhere to put it.

[birder53]

Congratulations on the fridge! We have one in the garage that is so old it has the rounded front and opens with a handle that reminds me of a slot machine arm. It is full of soda, bottled water and suet cakes(for the the bird feeder). It really comes in handy for entertaining and taking advantage of specials on foods that need to stay cold. There are also three bottles of champagne in there as well. You should have no trouble keeping it filled!

The fridge is very, very old and came with the house in 1985. The sellers said it belonged to the original owner and they had no idea how old it was. The house was built around 1954. The sellers left a bottle of champagne in it as a house warming gift for us and now we always make sure there is at least one bottle of champagne in it. You never know when you might need some bubbly!

[woodburner]

i just bought a second refrigerator (the first one of my adult life). i'm so happy that i find myself going to the basement just to stare at it and open the doors of the empty box.

this is one of the happiest days of my life.

I often use mine as a tempering tank. Moving things from the chest freezer, into the second refrigerator, for thawing. Or vice a versa, if for instance we end with three turkey's such as this time of year, I'll move any frozen ones from the freezer to the refrigerator, for thawing and then cooking, replacing the new stock into the freezer.

oh yeah

beer works good too

woodburner

[jwagnerdsm]

A few years ago we were at the Home Depot buying supplies to enclose the back patio. We walked by those little dorm fridges and I gave my wife a "can I" look and she agreed. We put it out on the back patio so that we wouldn't have to walk eight steps for beer. And now that our kids are of waddling stage, it's easy for them to access when I yell, "#*$*@, get Daddy his #($*@ beer." Kids are so cute when they are kind of scared of you. Anyway, we are preparing to buy a second dorm fridge for a new rec room in the basement AND we are also moving are regular fridge into the garage for additional storage. So I have enjoyed your post. My mother has a fridge that she uses for beer, pop and an enormous supply of cheese. So add cheese to your list.

[=Mark]

I got one of those 2.5 gallon Brita filtered water dispensers with the little spigot in the front. I refuse to play into the water costing 6 times as much as gasoline mentality that Madison Avenue has so succesfully foisted onto the public.

Remember years ago when they had stories about the oil companies buying out or killing researchers who found ways to run automobiles on water? Imagine what it would cost now to fill your tank for a buck per pint?

[hjshorter]

We looked at a house today that has two complete kitchens, one upstairs and one downstairs. If we buy it we will have two full size refrigerators and a stand freezer.

[bloviatrix]

I'm jealous. I want a second fridge. Alas, there's no room in my apartment.

Enjoy it.

[woodburner]

What was I thinking earlier??

I just pulled some chicken that was in the second refrigerator, that's headed for the fire.

Brining!

woodburner

[Jason Perlow]

Our second fridge, which is of the minibar-sized variety, is exclusively used to store beverages in.

Our house is laid out as a ranch-style, with an upper level with the 3 main bedrooms, a main level with the kitchen and main living room and dining room, and our basement (offices and laundry). When we had our kitchen redone we didnt have room to move our large refrigerator downstairs, so we bought one of the smaller units for keeping cold beverages upstairs so we wouldnt have to go downstairs at night into the kitchen-in-progress in various states of danger.

It still serves as our primary beverage fridge so that we can keep them out of the main fridge downstairs and leave space for other stuff. Its also cool that we have a minibar because it lives in the guest bedroom and is nice for our guests when they sleep over. Our guest bedroom also acts as a wine storage facility, they are all racked on the wall facing the bed.

We also have a chest freezer in our den/3rd bedroom, which is also upstairs.

[mikey]

All of the above, plus the double batch of red beans I make for our office potluck every year(or anything else you make in that stockpot that's too tall for your kitchen refrigerator).

[Dana]

When my second fridge conks out, I'll have to buy another as I am now dependent on it. It holds any number of bottles of wine and beer, as well as extra dry goods such as flour, sugar and bisquik. Here in the south, stuff like that gets creepy crawlers in a hurry. As previously stated, the extra fridge is great for brining and thawing as well. Congrats!!!

[Priscilla]

What is now our Beverage Refrigerator was the first refrigerator purchase of our adult lives, too. I well remember the huge happiness ... seemingly irrational, yet also not.

For years this little (by most standards it is little; we lived in teensy places) frost-free Kelvinator was our sole fridge, but now it is happily (I feel certain it is happy) ensconced in the barn, whirring away, chilling and protecting vital materials.

Inside: Whites, roses, sparklers, mineral water (Gerolsteiner just now), beer, 100% grapefruit juice in cute little bottles, the last of the homemade arancella. Some ingredients, like cornmeal -- regular, coarse, blue -- rye flour, & similar.

Presently too the turkey and the pork loin we'll be brining and cooking for Thanksgiving reside there.

In the freezer, the excellent little samosas made by a Pakistani lady, bags of really good potstickers, a flavored vodka somebody brought, ice.

[Mayhaw Man]

Its also cool that we have a minibar because it lives in the guest bedroom and is nice for our guests when they sleep over. Our guest bedroom also acts as a wine storage facility, they are all racked on the wall facing the bed.

Should guests bring their own corkscrew or is one available? I always carry a cup when I travel, so that won't be a problem.

[howard88]

Tommy:

I can feel your joy. We are a two refrigerator household for the past ten years. It has become for us a necessity. I cannot see living without it. The second fridge is located down the hall in the mud room so it is easy access. It has two kosher turkeys in the freezer plus quarts and pints of homemade soups. The fridge part is used for brining, aging roasts, leftovers, beer, soda and simply the excess from the fridge in the kitchen. Enjoy it man, it'll be full up in no time.

[tryska]

i vote for beer.

[ronnie_suburban]

Congrats tommy. If and when you add a 3rd one, let us know and we can stage an intervention

=R=

[RBloom03]

Since we already had furniture, TV, stereo, etc in our family room, my husband and I decided to turn our living room into a bar - complete with L-shaped bar, pinball machine, dart board, and a second refrigerator. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) it's so full of beer that there is no room for anything else. And the freezer is full of ice for those days when beer just won't cut it.