"Hello Lover"
I am no Carrie Bradshaw and this beauty certainly isn't a pair of those Manolo Blahnik's
she covets. Meet my dual fuel, double oven free standing range. Yes, for those of you who had the pleasure of meeting my "Lady Kenmore" (yes--"Lady" was part of her actual model name. Apparently, being "PC" wasn't a concept the marketing folks worried too much about in the late '60s), finally met her metal maker a few weeks ago. Her illness was short. She didn't suffer. One Thursday evening, it seemed she was having difficulty reaching the 400 degrees I begged of her. The next night, she couldn't muster any heat for a Papa Murphy's pizza. As I began to give her the once over, I found the culprit of her demise--the lower heating element had actually deteriorated to the point that it cracked. While she served me well for the last eight years, I must admit that I had been thinking about a replacement in the months leading up to her departure. And that my friends is where this GE Profile came into our lives. Let me list a few of the features that I LOVE about this range:
*Dual Fuel: Yes, cooking with the best of both worlds. This range has a gas cook top for excellent temperature control, while the oven is electric allowing for more even heating. I've read that electric heat produces a drier heat than that of a gas powered oven--important when wanting to make crisp things just that--crisp.
*Convection option: I didn't know much about convection and have only used this feature twice, but I'm already a fan. Convection heat circulates the heat around the oven via a fan producing more even cooking temperatures. It browns the outside of things while keeping the inside nice and moist. Just last night, Nick said, "Hmmm...12/20/10, the day I found out what cookies are really supposed to taste like." Last night I did something I had never done before....I cooked two cookie sheets of cookies at the same time. I didn't even rotate the shelves and they came out beautifully. The manual says you can actually bake three cookie sheets of cookies at the same time. I don't even own three cookie sheets! Thank you convection heat!
*Griddle: Once I started exploring new ranges, I quickly spied an option I knew I had to have--the cook top griddle. In the middle of the range, there is an oval shaped burner which you can cover with a burner grate or the griddle. Today, I made three grilled cheese sandwiches right there--no electric skillet:) I'm anxious to make pancakes, fry bacon, and brown sausage right there!
*Baking Drawer: So the bottom drawer of this range can be used for more than just storage--it can actually bake up to 450 degrees. Perfect for baking a ham in the larger upper oven while simultaneously baking scalloped potatoes in the lower oven on Christmas Day!
Nick loves it because all I want to do is cook and he doesn't have to shop for a Christmas present for me. I have all I wanted this year!
A visit to Santa was extra special this year because we petted real, live reindeer. One of Nick's offices told him about this spectacular event. Each year on the Saturday before Christmas, the Plainfield Kiwanis sponsor the reindeers' visit while you wait in line to talk to Santa at the Plainfield Plaza where the Ace Hardware is located. Above is a picture of Nick and Tenley with the female reindeer named Mistletoe. 
We tried to pet Spirit, too, but he wasn't quite as patient as Mistletoe.
Spirit and Mistletoe live with one more reindeer, Nutcracker (they say he earned his name:)). Apparently, he's quite the firecracker and he doesn't get to travel with the group even though he and Mistletoe are brother and sister. 
Ho, Ho, I don't think so!
