450 degrees in just a few minutes (could go higher, but that was more than I needed just testing it). I did take a quick look yesterday at the Kirkland model while picking up food and a grill utensils for Memorial day. Noted the folded metal corners, screws, etc. which made me more appreciative of the Virco quality in welded stainless steel (lid, lip, etc..) that they ground to a perfect edge and fit. One minor thing that I did not like were how easy the utensil hooks can swing out. I will look for a rubber gromet or something like that to slide over the end to keep them in place. Did I mention this unit is heavy? Not near the 450 lb that the Costco claimed, but Virco did not skimp on stainless steel. Double wall doors, lid that feels immense, and a minor detail, but I really like the stainless steel skirt at the bottom as it makes it look permanent vs. portable (even though it has locking casters), and how about that cover bsbbq?! Fully insulated with velcro ties. For those interested, Costco has a Hoffritz (hoffritz.com)6 pc. stainless-steel and black santoprene (like rubber) grill set that includes a large turner, tongs, biiiig fork tipped knife, grill brush, basting brush, and a 10 x 16" (I think) grid grill. Sorry to push Costco, but I checked Walmart while getting some other stuff, and just two pieces (with wood handles) were more, so I am glad I waited.

Why pay for sheet metal and cheap burners when you can learn, compare, and get a quality grill in the same price range? For Gas Grills 101 check out "How to Choose", "Major Differences", and "What to Look for" at www.picksinc.com/GasGrills/home.htm For Gas Grills 201 check out the "GrillTalk Message Board" at www.picksinc.com/Grilltalk.htm Don't spend $500 or $1000 for a grill that is poorly constructed, made of sheet metal, and has cheap burners!

I found lots of stuff on the web about using ammonia to clean the oven -- put a bowl or pot of ammonia into a heated (though currently off) oven, leave it overnight, and in the morning simply wipe all the crud out. I did use this trick for the oven shelves -- put the shelves in a black trash bag with a cup of ammonia and leave overnight, then rinse them clean in the morning.The oven shelves looked like *new* when I took them out and washed them off. I have no doubt ammonia would have worked like a charm in the oven as well, except that after 15 minutes I was sure that we were all going to be asphyxiated in the night by the ammonia fumes, so I took the bowl out. What I ended up using was basically baking soda and vinegar and water, mixed together. Yes, you get a fizzy mess when the baking soda and vinegar mix. Once that cooled down, I coated the entire inside of the oven with the goop, as much as I possibly could. I let it stand over night. The next morning, using a sponge (frequently washed out), I wiped out the entire inside of the oven. That oven looked pretty damn good after that. Yes, elbow grease was involved, but it smelled okay (and it was immediately obvious where I hadn't wiped, because it still had white streaks). In the future: I'm going to try to get on top of spills/messes earlier (I bought a mat for the bottom of the oven now), and I'm going to use the baking soda/vinegar trick. If you want things to be really easy and you don't mind a strong smell, the ammonia is amazing. Here is a link that might be useful: Baking soda and vinegar

Lucy- See, the siren song of your pizzas, so delicious that they even lured Lou in to take a peek :-). I must have spaced & completely missed your suggestion about baking the pizza on the stone with the cast iron pan above. I wish that I had noticed it! I'll try it that way this weekend (my guys looooove pizza- I swear that's why my husband married me, the fact that I made pizza & the whole Italian Christmas eve fish frenzy). I was a woman posessed and made pizza this weekend while test driving recipes for the boozy bake off. Using Julia's french bread recipe for the crust was insipired and produced a much crispier crust than I had ever achieved before. This dough could also be worked much thinner than my usual pizza dough. I'll be using this dough method from now on unless I'm in a super hurry for pizza. While my pizzas were nowhere near as gorgeous as yours the pizza under the stone (baked on the cast iron pan) was far superior to the one baked over the stone (but not directly on the stone, what a dope I am!). I will begin the quest for a second stone...and a peel! Do we even have a restaurant supply place in our neck of the woods anymore? The one in Port Chester is still there, I think, but the huge one in Elmsford is gone & the one in Peekskill seems to have mainly commercial ranges and giant mixers. I love to mix provolone in with the mozzarella but my son claims it's "too spicy" (he's 3, whatcha gonna do?) Oh Lou, I crave one of those outdoor brick ovens! My father used to build them (him being a bricklayer) but he passed when I was a little girl. He'd be very amused to see his little girl pining for one of those old ovens that he used to make. I swear, I'm gonna have to build it myself one of these days. BTW- I got my baking stone on the clearance shelf at Kohls for 3$ a few years ago. It can't hurt to keep an eye on the dept store clearance, especially after the holidays. I would definitely be interested in the wirtual pizza party, as well as the cupcakes. throw in cocktails and, well, you're playing my song :-). Nina