We have a 39" range now from the 1950s and though I believe there are some other ranges out there in this size, none came in such a beautiful package as the Lacanche. We bought a Volnay (awaiting it's arrival) which is 39" also only it has the bigger 21" oven and a smaller warming cupboard. I have a 21" oven on my current range and love it - it's a perfect size for us. I don't have any trouble getting roasting pans in or out or bumping my hands/arms on the sides. I was told the Volnay oven would warm up in 15 minutes (ambient air) and then the walls and all would continue to warm up after that. I actually think 15 to 20 minutes is pretty good. I was comparing it to an oven on a 36" range and I think they said the blue star was 30-35 minutes warm up time. That really turned me off. Comparatively 15 (or 20) sounds pretty good! What do you cook on now? Have you tested exactly how long the oven takes to come up to temperature? What you currently work with could inform your perspective. It doesn't seem there are that many ovens that will heat up faster, especially ones that are full 30" ovens. It actually takes me at least 15 minutes to prep for any meal so waiting that long isn't really waiting. I'm only semi-informed but I think only speed ovens and steam ovens would heat up faster and that's in part because they are much smaller. I've heard others complain about the racks but I guess I don't move racks so didn't notice during my test drive of the Lacanche. The griddle is reportedly very heavy. I'm just going to buy an off the shelf one that's lighter. I won't use a temperature gauge to know when the oven has come to temp - I'll just time it and then by feel/time over time. I think the light does go off and then starts to circulate after that so you should now the oven is ready. BTW, I researched the Ilve and the depth of the oven is really shallow if I recall so I'd be sure to look at the interior dimensions. IMHO the craftsmanship of the Lancanche was better than the Aga ranges. If you really want super speedy oven heat up times I'd look at pairing a Lacanche with a speed oven. Some of the Lancanche have 21" ovens (e.g. Volnay) which might work better for you based on your comments than the smaller ovens on the Cluny. I think some people just learn how to navigate the smaller ovens with time and are very happy with them. Some have looked at vintage O'Keefe and Merritt ranges. The range top does not have as many BTUs as the Lacanche, if that matters. But the OM ranges are lovely to look at. Good luck!

Let's see, what can be made ahead and frozen? Chicken pot pie, or even better since you're at the ocean, Lobster Pot Pie, I saw Ina Garten make one and couldn't figure out why I'd never thought of it. She used puff pastry dough, making it fast, instead of homemade dough. Cabbage rolls do well made ahead and frozen, then baked with the sauce when needed, or just cooked all day in a crockpot. Macaroni and cheese is easy and fast to put together and nearly everyone likes it. A "taco bar" has been discussed here many times, and it's something that people can put together as they like, you can use ground meat, marinated chicken, pulled pork or beef, or all or any combination, and some tortilla chips along with the toppings could yield nachos and taco salad for those who like that. LindaC's idea of meatloaf is a good one, and a couple of roasted chickens can yield hot chicken sandwiches, that above mentioned pot pie, chicken tetrazzini, chicken salad sandwiches, chicken enchiladas. You can't go wrong with a couple of roasted chickens. Your leftover roast can yield a shepherd's pie too, my girls loved it, along with Spanish Rice made with ground beef to make it a full meal. As well as dinners, how about breakfast? Lots of breakfast casseroles are quick and easy, and I make Woodie's Creme Brulee French Toast the night before and just bake it in the morning. The smell alone got my kids out of bed! Biscuits and gravy are pretty fast, if you bake biscuits the night before for supper and then heat them in the morning. BreaKfast burritos are easy to make ahead and freeze, as are "McMuffins", which then only need thawing and heating. Oatmeal cooks overnight with fruit in the crockpot really well too. I'm sure you have cookies, brownies, desserts covered. LOL Cookies and brownies freeze well, but the dough can also be made ahead and refrigerated for a day or two, and baked off as needed. Oh, and I have a cinnamon roll recipe that calls for making the dough the night before, letting it rise in the refrigerator and baking them the next day for hot, fresh cinnamon rolls, if you're interested in that. Annie

I made these last year and although it sounds like an unusual combination of ingredients, after people tried them, they didn't last long. SAVORY DATE RUGELACH  makes 4 dozen 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups walnuts, divided 4 oz. blue cheese, cut into cubes 48 pitted dates (about 12 oz.) 1 large egg white 1 tsp. water Dough: In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Stir in flour and salt just until blended (or use mixer on low speed). Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; flatten each into a disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Filling: In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse ½ cup walnuts until finely chopped; reserve in small bowl. In same food processor, pulse blue cheese and remaining 1 cup of walnuts 7 to 8 times or until a coarse mixture forms. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large cookie sheets with foil; grease foil. (I used parchment paper.) On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll 1 disk of dough into a 10-inch round. Cut into 12 equal wedges. Beginning 1 inch from outside edge, sprinkle 1/2 cup blue cheese mixture in 2 Âinch wide ring on dough, leaving dough exposed in center. Place one whole date crosswise on wide end of each wedge. Starting at wide end, roll up each wedge, jelly-roll fashion. Place rugelach, 1 inch apart, on cookie sheets, point side down. Repeat with remaining four dough disks. In small bowl, beat egg white and water. Brush rolls with egg white and sprinkle with reserved walnuts. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden, rotating sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking. Let stand for a minute or two and then transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature up to 3 days. To make ahead: Arrange unbaked rugelach in single layer in jelly roll pan; cover and freeze until firm. Remove from pan and place in freezer containers with waxed paper in between each layer. Seal and freeze up to 3 months. About 45 minutes before serving, preheat oven to 350. Line 2 large cookie sheets with foil; grease foil. Arrange frozen rugelach on prepared cookie sheets and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.

Juno_barks and Gidge816, I think it's certainly worth getting some samples and seeing how it looks. Our first choice was super white and it was actually half installed in the kitchen and then removed. As I recall it had a slightly warmer tone to it than the iceberg but was very similar in terms of movement etc. The Calacatta tile that I used would probably be a better choice than a colder toned marble but again, your mileage may vary depending on your other choices and light etc.