When building a house a few years ago in Toronto, I was often feeling nostalgia for my childhood, part of which was spent in tiny farm towns in northwest Ohio. Turns out I was responding to the odour of ripe cow manure emanating from my mud-covered boots. It seems the house footprint was the site of a long gone barnyard that pre-dated the 1948 house I had demolished. My drain man even pointed out the bricks that the farmers had put down to give the animals footing in the mud. ** Mentioned this to an English acquaintance who one-upped me times a thousand. He was digging for an extension of his home in London. Turned out it was the site of an ancient Roman cemetery. We're not the first ones to pass this way.

I've had my convection oven for about 4.5 years now and I love it. Mine is GE too. The convection cooks at a slightly lower temperature and for a slightly shorter time. I always enter the temperature noted on the recipe, so if the recipe says 350, I punch in 350. The convection automatically sets the oven at 25 degrees less. So, 350 = 325, 425 = 400, etc. And I usually figure on cooking everything about 10% less than the normal time for the recipe. I would have cooked the Cornish hens in my old oven at about 425 degrees for 45 minutes So, you should enter 425 for the temp, the oven will heat to 400; and you should figure on the hens being done in about 41 minutes or so. It took some testing and experimentation for me to come up with the 10% and YMMV so you should just get in the habit of checking on things earlier than normal till you see how long things are taking to be done. Best things about the oven: Browning is beautiful; and I love putting three cookie sheets in at one time and having them all done perfectly instead of having to put in one at a time.

"Many manufacturers will require a heat shield between a range and cabinets or ovens and cabinets." Residential kitchen equipment is zero clearance to the sides and back. The sides and back can be directly against flammable surfaces without any fire hazard. This is one of the problems that show up when commercial equipment is used in a residential setting. Most commercial gear is NOT zero clearance, and does not even have to follow rules about oven door temperatures. In a commercial kitchen you are expected to know the doors (and even the door handles if the equipment has been on all day) are hot enough to burn. Insulation only slows the movement of heat, it does not stop it. Turn the oven on high enough for long enough and the cabinets will get warm. Run a self clean cycle and they will get warm even quicker.

Roxul Rockboard 80 mineral wool board is a good thermal insulation. you could try it by cutting a piece to fit and laying it on top of your pans. Black urethane or silicone gasketing material in a caulking gun or tube size could work to fasten it to the bottom of the enclosure above your drawer.