I am about as excited about our new convection oven as the first caveman undoubtedly was about discovering fire. This definitely goes into the 'splurge' catagory, but if you know how much I love to be in the kitchen, and if you think back to the past ranges / ovens that we have had, you will understand my state of culinary near-bliss.
To recap: our last house had a really cool-looking O'Keefe & Merritt, circa 1950 extra-wide range and oven - massive and splendid in all its enameled cast-iron glory. The only problem was that the burners had absolutely no fine control, the broiler half of the oven was broken, and the oven temperatures as marked on the knob had little to nothing to do with reality. Perhaps most vexing was the way that the entire house we were living in was slanted horrendously, making slow progress on its patient, decades-long slide down the hill. Every omelet that i have made over the past 3 years; every pancake has been heavy on the downslope side!
Our house in Oregon had an electric range, with those silly spiral elements. Maddening, especially since we actually had a natural gas fireplace plumbed in just 10 feet away, as well as a gas powered clothes dryer. Priorities, man! Apparently, people in that part of Oregon mostly have electric ranges and appliances, as electricity is cheap, subsidized by huge hydroelectric plants on the Colombia River. We could have gotten the gas line run and replaced the range, but we were only there for a year, and we really didn't have ANY extra money at the time.
Anyway, this range is a dream. I still haven't figured out all the buttons, but it has a great high-powered burner, as well as one that is designed to give absolute control for the most mild simmer imaginable. It is level! Yeah! And the oven itself is a technological marvel - it has both gas and electric elements at the top and bottom of the oven, so you can apply direct heat as needed. It can proof bread, has a thermal probe so you can get a roast exactly to med-rare, and the convection feature is amazing, allowing quick baking times, and ability to crust the exterior while leaving the inside perfectly done.
Kristin went on a trip to Napa, and it was the perfect opportunity to make some 'Lambsicles.' Simply let the rack warm to room temp over 30 minutes or so, trim any gristle, (but leave the thick layer of fat on the outside of the ribs, maybe score it with a knife to allow it to render off more completely.) I rubbed them with balsamic vinegar, sea salt, crushed corriander and fenugreek, then seared the fat side for a few minutes in a saute pan, before moving it to the oven, fat side up. I put a probe into the center of the rack, set the probe monitor to stop cooking when it hit 140F (probably could back that down to 135 next time,) and turned the convection oven to 400F. Once the interior temp hit 140, (~10-12 minutes later,) the oven beeped, the elements turned off, and I removed the rack to cool on a plate for ten minutes. I drained the juices from the lamb back into the saute pan, turned the heat to high, dropped in some chopped sage, and reduced about a cup of red wine into a sauce. I threw a handful of arugala on a plate, cut 3 lambsicles and arranged them, then strained my hot reduction sauce and drizzled it over the top, wilting the greens slightly. Delicious!
To recap: our last house had a really cool-looking O'Keefe & Merritt, circa 1950 extra-wide range and oven - massive and splendid in all its enameled cast-iron glory. The only problem was that the burners had absolutely no fine control, the broiler half of the oven was broken, and the oven temperatures as marked on the knob had little to nothing to do with reality. Perhaps most vexing was the way that the entire house we were living in was slanted horrendously, making slow progress on its patient, decades-long slide down the hill. Every omelet that i have made over the past 3 years; every pancake has been heavy on the downslope side!
Our house in Oregon had an electric range, with those silly spiral elements. Maddening, especially since we actually had a natural gas fireplace plumbed in just 10 feet away, as well as a gas powered clothes dryer. Priorities, man! Apparently, people in that part of Oregon mostly have electric ranges and appliances, as electricity is cheap, subsidized by huge hydroelectric plants on the Colombia River. We could have gotten the gas line run and replaced the range, but we were only there for a year, and we really didn't have ANY extra money at the time.
Anyway, this range is a dream. I still haven't figured out all the buttons, but it has a great high-powered burner, as well as one that is designed to give absolute control for the most mild simmer imaginable. It is level! Yeah! And the oven itself is a technological marvel - it has both gas and electric elements at the top and bottom of the oven, so you can apply direct heat as needed. It can proof bread, has a thermal probe so you can get a roast exactly to med-rare, and the convection feature is amazing, allowing quick baking times, and ability to crust the exterior while leaving the inside perfectly done.
Kristin went on a trip to Napa, and it was the perfect opportunity to make some 'Lambsicles.' Simply let the rack warm to room temp over 30 minutes or so, trim any gristle, (but leave the thick layer of fat on the outside of the ribs, maybe score it with a knife to allow it to render off more completely.) I rubbed them with balsamic vinegar, sea salt, crushed corriander and fenugreek, then seared the fat side for a few minutes in a saute pan, before moving it to the oven, fat side up. I put a probe into the center of the rack, set the probe monitor to stop cooking when it hit 140F (probably could back that down to 135 next time,) and turned the convection oven to 400F. Once the interior temp hit 140, (~10-12 minutes later,) the oven beeped, the elements turned off, and I removed the rack to cool on a plate for ten minutes. I drained the juices from the lamb back into the saute pan, turned the heat to high, dropped in some chopped sage, and reduced about a cup of red wine into a sauce. I threw a handful of arugala on a plate, cut 3 lambsicles and arranged them, then strained my hot reduction sauce and drizzled it over the top, wilting the greens slightly. Delicious!
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