Pllog makes a good point. Thank goodness for small mercies - no peeling, no flaking. Funny about that with the previous ovens. Rather surprised about that too as I hadn't heard anything about it. Must say, am a bit mystified by a convection oven whose fan cycles off. Why??? Not to save energy surely since the most energy-light part of the oven would be the fan! I downloaded the manual and saw that bit on page 17 that Rocs pointed out to you. A convection oven that may or may not convect. That's not averaging, I wouldn't say. Anyhow, Monogram has received good reviews and I will say that the forward/backward flow is a not half-bad idea to get good coverage. Not to sound totally condescending, but I just wanted to reiterate a few things that you probably already figured out cooking oh in the course of your life and re: convection anywhere (these are the things that I needed to learn): - pre-heat time. Never mind the beep; let it pre-heat 30-40 mins. - Selecting the correct racks and rack pairs when multi-rack baking. All specify to watch for this esp. with multi-rack cooking. - Air-flow: Take them at their word when they talk whatever their oven needs for clearances and to ensure laminar flow in their ovens. Yours says 1-1.5" clearances on either side from the walls, center the dishes on a rack, stagger them when one on top of the other (mine is v. tolerant about the last in convection mode but the clearances for airflow are definitely imp. I've found) - cooking to dish type: darks, vs. shiny vs. glass. Spills vapourizing to smoke is also surprising. Sounds like the bottom element was on and scorched the spill. I think using your drip try from here on out to help catch spills sounds like the best bet. I don't really know what to say though as it sounds a bit odd. Wouldn't have thought the bottom element could get that hot that it would char spilt pastry. No way that Monogram will come out to check the element to see if it is out of place somewhat? (Its a stretch but that's such an odd happenstance, I'd be dying to see what's under the panels ;-) ). Rhome, you'll figure out the ovens' idiosyncracies no doubt.

Great idea to form a log for slicing. Is that 8 oz. cream cheese? Thanks.

There were some watermelon recipes in the paper, and this one caught my eye. Carrot, Pistachio and Watermelon Salad This salad contains olive oil, which helps boos the effect of the lycopene in the watermelon. 1/2 cup blueberry vinegar, or 1/4 cup blueberry juice and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 tsp dried Italian herb blend 1 tsp cracked pepper or to taste 1 tsp honey 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 cups shredded carrots 4 cups small-cubed seedless watermelon 1 cup chopped pistachio nuts (shelled, roasted and salted) In a bowl, whisk together blueberry vinegar, Italian herb blend, pepper and honey. Whisk olive oil into mixture in a low stream until thickened. In a shallow bowl or deep serving platter, layer shredded carrots, watermelon and pistachios. Pour dressing over and serve immediately.

Well, now I'm actually looking up sweet and rich brioche recipes! Sleevendog, you made me think about the last time I made brioche - sweet, not the way you prefer, which is far less rich or sweet. Realized I've not really made a rich brioche in 30 years - and I used to bake that recipe (lost now) for everything! I mean everyday bread to buns and so forth, not even kidding. Gosh I had a serious sweet tooth! But I was young... Funny how our tastes change. I used to not like crunchy crusts also, and that has clearly changed! I do think Sleevendog's recipe lends itself well to hot dog buns (for DH and I) and I'm going to print it for later : ) Do prefer those kaisers for hamburgers, but as mentioned, my burgers tend to be very 'wet' and need something to stand up to that! Not really up to breads just now (had the mixer out yesterday intending to also make a batch of bread dough when I realized I had a prep area only 12" W x 24" H (we're in demolition mode ya'll!) and no room for scales, for dividing, for anything! Sigh... I think tastes and preferences vary region to region, state to state, nation to nation, and as mentioned, our tastes change over time. Since Kaiser Rolls originated in Austria (or so I've read) and Brioche from France, I can't honestly say I know what authentic brioche or kaisers taste like, and have to go with personal preferences for the most part. CindyMac, thank you for posting your Moomie's Famous Buns recipe - and the photo. I think that, or Sleeve's would work well for my preferences with pulled pork especially. One thing I'll probably never try are lobster rolls. DH hates seafood for the most part, and lobster here is frozen. Still, I can imagine they are amazing, and my world is smaller because I won't ever have the pleasure. But who knows, maybe someday I will treat myself : )