Wow Jane, I am tired just reading about what all you did! Sounds like a wonderful time and lots of work and effort on your part. What a large group to entertain! So nice that your DH helps you with the decorating. Mine does not help with the inside at all. I carry everything up from the basement including the trees, all the boxes, ladders, etc. The only thing he does outside is put a blow mold Santa on our mailbox, although this year, he did run an extension cord from the backyard for some of the lights as they kept tripping the breaker this year! Again, getting everything down out of the rafters, off of the shelves, and put up is up to me! Sorry, I just needed to vent a little. I get a bit envious when I hear of other DH's that help with decorating. Anyway, looking forward to your pix. TFS, Candy

No,I have not, I have a CC, but based on research done on this and other forums Wolf would have been my second choice. I had considered Viking at one time, but after reading hundreds of complaints about Viking quality and customer service and very vew about Wolf over the course of about a year it is my honest opinion that the Wolf would be a better choice. I never clamed to be an expert, and there are rumors that Viking has made changes to improve their products, but if so it will take a long time time to restore consumer confidence in their ranges after so many years of issues. Wolf on the other hand has very few complaints, so I would opt to go for the tried and true. Capital had a good rep on their precision line and the only real change on the Culinarian was the open burners, which I wanted so I chose that. If Wolf had offered a model with a comparable burner I would have chosen that. I think the Wolf has a nicer oven.

This is on my "To Make" short list: Lamb Chili with Masa Harina Dumplings Ingredients For chili 10 dried mild New Mexico chiles (2 1/2 to 3 oz) 5 cups water 3 1/4 lb boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil 1 large onion, chopped (2 cups) 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled 3 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo For dumplings 3/4 cup masa harina (corn tortilla mix) 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup chilled lard or unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro Directions Make chili: Simmer dried chiles in 2 cups water, covered, in a 2-quart heavy saucepan until very soft, about 20 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid, then drain in a colander. Stem chiles (do not remove seeds), then purée in a blender with reserved cooking liquid until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Force purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Reserve purée. Pat lamb dry, then sprinkle with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat 2 tablespoons lard in a 6-quart wide heavy pot or a 3-inch-deep straight-sided skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb in 4 batches (without crowding), turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a bowl. Add remaining tablespoon lard to pot, then cook onion, garlic, bay leaves, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add cumin and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Stir in reserved chile purée and chipotles and simmer, stirring frequently and scraping up brown bits from bottom of pot, 5 minutes. Add lamb along with any juices accumulated in bowl and remaining 3 cups water, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until lamb is tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Make dumplings: Stir together masa harina, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Blend in lard pieces with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dough is moistened (do not overmix). Skim fat off chili and discard bay leaves, then drop 8 or 9 heaping tablespoons of dough onto simmering chili, about 2 inches apart. Reduce heat to low and gently simmer, covered, until tops of dumplings are dry to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro. Chili is best when made at least 1 day ahead, without dumplings and cilantro, and can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Discard fat from surface and reheat stew before adding dumplings and sprinkling with cilantro....

Usually these are inexpensive even when new..and the designs are traditionally repeated rather than creative..rusted does not necessarily mean old as lots of these are treated to create rust with a process…