SIL has warming drawer on her stove and loves it. It comes in really handy when you're cooking for a crowd and have several hot sides that don't need to be served as soon as done.

Definitely as above, keeping sides warm makes it priceless for me as I like to get things done ahead of time and I like a lot of side dishes. If it's only DH and me, I'll admit to using it as a bread box also: it's all steel inside so it does a good job of that.

90% of the time my WD is used for bread and chip storage. I took the interior measurements to the dollar store and found a bin that would fit inside the WD (minus the lid) and acts as a liner. When I need to use the WD for entertain, I take out the bin/liner with it's contents and store it in the laundry room.

I went to the restaurant supply store, again with the WD measurements, and found 4 serving pans that fit the WD perfectly for parties especially brunch (scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, biscuits, baked apples-for example).

Here is my concern-my warming drawer is in the middle position of my triple oven. That places it at counter height and perfect of a continuation of the buffet line that I set up on the counter.

D@#$, I love my configuration the way it is!

I like the idea of putting the warming drawer at a good height for serving.

I could put it in the island; we always serve from there. Thanks!

Now, I could really use a "laundry list" of all the things you have put into your warming drawer either for entertaining, or family-style-saving-meals-for-late-arrivers. Please share!

I used to have a WD in a previous house and I really miss it. Is it a necessity? No, but it sure makes things easier in the kitchen trying to get many things ready together for a meal. I also used mine for proofing pizza dough and for warming plates before a meal. Just talking about it makes me look around my kitchen to see where I could put one. My DIL has one built into her stove (bottom drawer) and she loves it also.

Are there any other cooks out there that could chime in with the top dishes that are well-suited to a warming drawer? Since I've never had one before, I want to immediately start using it, and I would love to just get sort of a laundry list of dishes that seem to be real winners and always come out warm but not overcooked or dry.

Strayer, My guests and I have made various breakfast casseroles that have all faired well in the WD.

As a side dish to ribs off the grill, I have had a Tater Bar. In the WD I had mashed potatoes, tater tots, waffle fries, and potato skins. On the buffet line I had various toppings e.g. sour cream, butter, bacon, green onions, cheeses, gravy. Guests made their favorite combinations.

A Taco Bar has worked well too. Guests could make their tacos from the WD and the buffet line.

Of course Thanksgiving Dinner is a perfect opportunity to use the WD.

Smoky Cauliflower is a favorite too. I do this without a recipe so this is my best recollection: 1 large head cauliflower, broken into 1 inch florets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley

Place cauliflower in a bowl. Mix oil, paprika, and salt. Drizzle over cauliflower; toss to coat. Transfer to a 15" X 10" baking pan. I line the pan with parchment paper.

Bake uncovered at 450 for 10 minutes.

Stir in garlic. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cauliflower is ender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with parsley.

I think your current location is perfect. I am doing a kitchen remodel and I have a warming drawer that I specifically installed to the right of the cooktop right under the counter (where a top drawer would be). I did this based on feedback from many on the kitchen forum that the location makes a big difference on whether the warming drawer is used or not. Are you replacing all 3 ovens? Can you do 3 individual units? That may give you position flexibility. There is no restriction on that will specifically prevent you from installing a single warming drawer in the middle if that is what you want.

Here the use cases I came up with on how I will use the warming drawer:

- Keep food warm so that I can cook and eat with the rest of the family. Currently if it is food that is best eaten warm, my family eats while I cook and I eat last.

- Better sequence cooking so that I can make some things ahead and store in warming drawer. I did get the kind that has a vent to shut or open so that the crisp food stays crisp and soft food stay soft. The dishes that mustangs posted look perfect as well.

- low heat warmer I don't have to baby sit - Great for bread proofing, yogurt, batter fermentation etc.

mustangs, that smoky cauliflower sounds great! Do you ever have problems with the garlic burning? I know it can't take the full oven time.

Has anyone used a Nesco oven as a warming drawer? I'm still trying to justify the purchase to myself. It's not that much money, but also requires storage space.

Strayer, sorry for the thread hijack. I posted before thinking.

Liz, I haven't had a burning problem with the garlic. Maybe because I use pre-roasted garlic cloves in oil; I get it at the olive bar at the Fresh Market.

I love my WD for keeping pies, cobblers, brownies, etc. and breads of all types warm. I can bake early, clean up the mess, put the apple pie or rolls in the WD and they still perfect for dinner hours later. I never run out of oven space because I transfer to the WD as things are finished in the oven and then bake/roast the next items. Being disabled, the WD really helps me get a large family meal together in stages as I am able yet still have everything ready at the right time. I love it.

/tricia

"----Has anyone used a Nesco oven as a warming drawer? ----"

The typical Nesco's thermostat can control from 200F to 450F, nothing lower. That of course is way too hot for keeping food warm.

However, for about $20, you can get a motor speed control/Router speed control to plug in the Nesco and control the Nesco's temperature from room temperature to 450F. With the speed control, you can use the roaster for very low and very slow cooking.

dcarch

I use mine occasionally, usually when entertaining. It's terrific when making pancakes or potatoes or other side dishes. Mine did not come with anyway to create humidity, so I might have to add a small dish of water to keep certain foods from drying out.
If I'm not entertaining, it's used to warm dinner plates on cold nights. My drawer placement is a bit high, which makes it awkward on the cabinet stack. I also installed a cutting board which acts as a landing pad below the warming drawer. That's been handy for transferring items from the double ovens, checking a dish or as a quick landing pad before the island.