I took a little course put on by the Wolf distributor here ... it was very informational. They didn't recommend using straight convection for anything that has much of a side on the pan, because the side blocks the air circulation, which is how the food is being cooked, so the top will cook faster than the inside. But it's fine to use convection with cookie sheets and broiler pans, or at least try to use the lowest side available. Also, don't cover food if you're using convection. They recommended convection bake for pies, not straight convection. And, if you are using straight convection, flavors will not transfer (eg, it's okay to bake a tray of bacon-wrapped scallops on one rack and cookies on another). They also said to turn down heat 25 degrees and reduce time 20 to 25 percent with convection, which matches what I've heard elsewhere. Here is the percentage of oven element used for each mode (this is for Wolf) Bake stone = 40% broil, 60% stone Bake = 10% broil, 90% bake (the hidden element on bottom) Convection bake = 90% fan, 10% bake Broil = 100% broil Convection broil = 100% broil, 100% fans Roast = 25% broil, 75% bake Convection roast = 25% broil, 75% fans Convection = 100% fans

Terry, you remind me of myself when I was first married. My mother did not want anyone in her kitchen except to clean up or to make an occasional batch of cookies, so I didn't know much. Poor DH ate so many flops! Looking back, I would give you several pieces of advice. The first is that you invest in some tools. A portable mixer, a food processor, a nice marble rolling pin, some silicone mats, some nice heavy cookware (I use cast iron skillets and a dutch oven. For my saucepans, I use nice heavy ones that I bought at a flea market. For bakeware, I like those insulated pans.), measuring cups and spoons, and a good set of knives. The mixer can be an inexpensive one. It needs to be lightweight enough that you can bring it to the stove and use it to mash potatoes and make 7-minute frosting, if you want to someday. I had a big MixMaster for years, but I found it too cumbersome and heavy. The food processor can be an inexpensive one, too, but get one that has a big bowl if you can. I use a Cuisinart. It was killer expensive and if I had it to do over again I would've bought something else, due to the fact that once in awhile the blade gets jammed down onto the bowl and it has to be shipped to get it repaired, and they take their sweet time. I have Cutco knives, simply because I was suckered in when I was 18 and not very consumer-savvy (something ELSE I had to learn on my own!). They have served me well for 40 years, but I've broken a couple things and the manufacturer will not make good on the "Lifetime Guarantee" because I lost the certificate somewhere along life's way. There are lots of brands of knives that are still good that don't cost as much. They should feel balanced in your hand when you grip the handle in a cutting position. I use my food processor a lot. I make my own chopped and shredded vegetables, "Shake'n'Bake, graham cracker crumbs,and lots of other things. When a recipe calls for the sugar, eggs and fat to be creamed together, I just drop them all in and turn on the motor. So also when the flour and fat needs to be "mixed till the mixture resembles corn meal". I find I hardly ever use my blender unless I'm making smoothies, and I bet I could make them in the food processor, too. I like wire whisks for when I make gravy, puddings, pie fillings. Christmas is coming up, maybe you can put in a request to Santa. I almost forgot, I use my crockpot a lot, too, and it's one I bought at a thrift shop. I have a microwave I bought at WMT on sale, but mostly I use it for heating up things, melting butter and thawing frozen things, and baking potatoes. I think I could probably do without it easier than some of the other tools I have listed here. The second piece of advice is that you learn certain skills, such as how to cut up a chicken and how to roll out a pie crust. Yes, you can buy cut up chicken and rolled-out pie crust. If you want to cook for your family in order to cut your grocery bills, you'll notice these things are more expensive. The third piece of advice is that you start with casseroles. There are lots of variations, each calling for a pasta, rice or potato ingredient, a meat ingredient, one or more vegetable ingredients, and usually something that binds them together, like tomato sauce or canned soup. Men and kids usually love a good casserole. If you go to Allrecipes.com and do a search on "casseroles", it will return any number of dishes. These are all rated and critiqued, and these are worth reading. No, I'm not connected to Allrecipes in any way, and there are other sites where you can do the same thing, it's just that it's my "Go to" site usually. They even have a section of "How-To Videos". Here's something I make and use a lot. I think I got it off Allrecipes.com. You can use it on chicken, fish, pork cutlets. Pop these in the oven, make a nice salad and bake some potatoes in the microwave: Shake n Bake an 18 oz box of cornflakes yields about 5 cups of fine crumbs. I mix this recipe up and keep it in a quart canning jar in the refrigerator. When I'm ready to use it, I put only about 1/4 cup on a plate and dredge the meat in it. You can always add a little more to the plate if you need to, but this way you don't waste, because you need to throw out whatever comes in contact with raw meat that doesn't get baked. 3-1/2 cups corn flake crumbs 1/4 C all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons paprika 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons onion powder Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Prepare chicken following the same technique as described on the box of the original mix using 2 1/2 lb. of bone-in chicken (6 to 8 pieces, with or without skin) or 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves Preheat your oven to 400º, then moisten the chicken with water. Use a large plastic bag for the coating and use the same steps as described on the original package: "Shake moistened chicken, 1 to 2 pieces at a time, in shaker bag with coating mixture. Discard any remaining mixture and bag. Bake at 400º in ungreased or foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan until cooked through --BONE-IN: 45 minutes/BONELESS: 20 minutes" Sorry this is so long! --Ilene

Thanks Rita Re alternate cooking weeks: some things you do for maintaining marital harmony :) because our grocery shopping, meal palnning, our cooking styles and our clean up routines are so opposite to each other.. in fact that's true for a lot of how we both think and work... so different .... reminds me when we were at Sedona many years ago and got our auras read(it's the new age method where they read the energy you generate as colors ). And our aura reader was amazed that DH and I were Married because our auras were so contrasting, none of our colors matched..except this teeny tiny bit of green ..and she claimed that's what made us click in the cosmic sense. We both had a good laugh about it afterwards anyways back on the kitchen : our current kitchen is one cook\one eat space. Wonder if our cookin schedules will change with our new kitchen ....

I'm guessing that will need at least 40 minutes, probably more. I baked a blueberry coffeecake Christmas morning in an 8x8 pan. Baked at 375 for about 50 minutes. Btw, this was by far the best blueberry coffeecake I've ever made! I used Trader Joe's Wild Boreal blueberries and added chopped pecans to the streusel topping. Blueberry Coffee Cake For the Streusel Topping 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch chunks For the Cake 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon packed lemon zest, from 1 lemon 1/2 cup milk 2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen may be used but do not defrost) Make the streusel topping: Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Using your fingers, mix until no lumps of brown sugar remain. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it reaches a crumbly state. Refrigerate until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch square pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed to combine. Add the berries to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed. Do not over-mix. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a rack for about 20 minutes, then serve right from the pan. This cake is best served on the day it is made. Leftovers will keep well for a few days wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature.