We moved into a house last year with an existing downdraft set up and no near-term option to gut and re-do the entire kitchen (and also no near-term option for a hood). The existing downdraft was 8" and it was completely useless in my opinion. It was an older Viking model, as I recall. We replaced it with a 14" Thermador downdraft and a 1000 CFM blower. On the back burners of our cooktop the downdraft almost always captures everything - it is quite effective. In testing, I have never seen any discernible difference in the gas flame or in cooking b/c of the downdraft. However, on the front burners, even on the highest fan speed, there is much reduced capture of steam/cooking fumes. I can also see a small pull on the gas burners, just a little bit, but no effect on my cooking. If you are using a downdraft, get the tallest one possible - it is worth the extra $$ and the only way you can get reasonable performance from any of the burners. Good luck!

I have a 36"Wolf induction cooktop and the Wolf downdraft behind it, on a 11ft long center island. If you are already used to cooking on an induction cooktop,you know that any drops of water or any slight touch, will change the element heat up/down. It's important to have the delicate controls off to the side somewhere, so one doesn't inadvertently change the settings and burn the food. The burners, 4 of them, work great. I love how fast they cook. The 5th burner, the largest one, worked for about 1 year, then quit. One cannot just replace the faulty burner. One has to replace the whole cooktop, so I didn't do that. It's a transistor thing, the repairman said. The downdraft went up/down, with a concealed switch. It looks great, but only comes up about 12-14" tall. One day, it wouldn't retract, so it's stuck in the upright position behind the cooktop, and it doesn't turn on./off. Again, I have to replace the whole thing, according to the repairman. I have had this cooktop and downdraft 10 years. Look at all the choices on the mkt. today. I had no choice, really, as induction was new to the American mkt. I also recently bought a SubZero ice dispensing side by side, refrig/freezer. It's OK, but holds less than the KA I replaced it with. The best DW I have found, is the Bosch, with 3 racks. I can fold all the racks down to fit almost anything. A lot of DW do not have fold down tines. You do have to use salt to keep glassware sparkling. TRM

A friend of mine sent me this recipe, and she makes them. She's never baked them in the microwave. I doubt if I would either because I wouldn't bake just one, but it might be worth a try. It sure would be a handy dough to have on hand. Refrigerator Applesauce Wheat Muffins Favorite Recipes --The Muffin Cookbook Mix up this batter and refrigerate in a tightly covered plastic bowl. If you cook for one, you can scoop out batter for one muffin at a time. Bake in the microwave oven for 30 to 50 seconds, or in conventional oven. 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp Salt 1 cup Quick-cooking Rolled Oats 1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar 1 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 3/4 cup Buttermilk 1/4 cup Applesauce 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup Raisins Directions: In large bowl, combine flours, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In small bowl, combine buttermilk, applesauce, oil and egg until blended. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in raisins. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 10 days. Microwave: Line 6 microwavable muffin-pan cups with double paper liners. Spoon batter into each cup filling 1/2 full. Microwave at HIGH (100%) power, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Rotate dish 1/2 turn halfway thru cooking. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure. For last 3 muffins, line 3 muffin cups with double paper liners. Microwave at HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Makes about 15 muffins. Conventional: Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease or paper-line 12 (2 1/2 inch) muffin cups. Spoon batter into cups. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean Makes 12 muffins. Note: Have never cooked in the Microwave

I also have a Jambalaya recipe that I concocted several years ago at a family gathering. I think there were 20 some people there, so the recipe as I've recorded it is rather large. (with nearly 7 lbs of meat!) I prefer it done this way, with the rice prepared separately, rather than cooking the rice with the rest of the dish, since if there are leftovers the rice absorbs all of the liquid, making the rice gluey and the rest of the dish dry. Also since several members of the group didn't want it too spicy, the amount of red pepper, cayenne pepper and tobasco were much less than I would otherwise have used, but adding tobasco after it is served works very well. JAMBALAYA 2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes) 1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice) 1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces) 2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage 2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds) 2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces 2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces) 2 yellow bell peppers 4 cups of rice 2 large cans diced tomatoes 1 15 oz can tomato paste Olive oil 10 cloves garlic 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground) 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 4 shakes Tobasco sauce 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp chopped parsley In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so. In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked. Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water from tomato cans) and the tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well. In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste. Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked. Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.