Carly, my oven I believe is the latest version. It has the Cobalt blue oven interiors and all glass doors. You know, with each oven I've used through the years.....we've moved a lot; I think they each have their own personality! Like I mentioned a good preheating of 20 to 25 minutes has always worked for me. Also, through the past few years I've replaced all my old dark color bakeware with Nordicware plain aluminum or Wilton plain aluminum bakeware. The exceptions would be specialty pieces. Like Bundt pans, loaf pans & pie plates. According to a friend who is a home economist, she states they give the best & most even & reliable baking results. I have to agree. I've rarely have a baking disappointment. Sometimes, cake mixes can be funny. Although Duncan Hines always gives a great result. Pillsbury works well too. That said, a scratch yellow cake would probably be a good test of your oven. I have to admit to have only making a few frozen pizza's so far and they baked well. Maybe your oven it is just a bit to hot. Also weather can have an impact on the end result. I did notice my new Kitchenaid oven has a reflective plate above the broiler where my previous 5 year old model did not. I don't recall the size of the coils in the old compared to the new. That said, I'm not seeing any great difference. This oven seems to be a few minutes faster than the other. However, not enough to cause any anxiety or recipe headaches. Charly, Here is a link that might be useful: nordicware bakeware

Ann H., traditional Chanuka foods vary with the community. Jews of Eastern European descent eat latkes (but never agree on how to make them). Israelis eat fried filled doughnuts. As you see in the string, and can find on many web sites, everywhere in the world, Jews come up with something different for Chanuka. The one constant is that it should be something cooked in oil; that's the point. The idea is to commemorate the story about the oil for the menorah. lpinkmountain, if you use a mix for matzo balls, you will go to hell. JUST KIDDING! But really, I have never understood what the point is of that mix. I mean, matzo balls contain matzo meal, salt, egg, water or broth, and fat (chicken fat best if you are not a vegetarian and your cardiologist isn't looking). So what's in that mix? I think it's just matzo meal, salt, and some bouillon powder (which I don't like anyway); you still have to add the rest -- doesn't really save any time and just costs a lot more and uses more packaging. Lakeguy, here is how I (a genuine Jewish mother) make chicken soup and matzo balls. It's a very simple recipe, without even any dill or garlic, but it really doesn't need it, because the strongly developed chicken flavor holds its own, so try it this way first. Really, you can make any kind of chicken soup your family likes, but make sure to follow the two essentials about the type of chicken and the length of cooking. Try to find a kosher chicken -- the bigger, fatter, and older, the better. The taste is just much, much better. It's not that the kosher slaughtering makes a difference. But they grow them bigger, and they don't feed them chemicals (not for kosher purposes, just to broaden their market to foodies), and the soaking and salting of kashering is like brining it. If you can't find a kosher chicken in your town, then go for an organic one, I guess. Lindac taught me the money-saving tip of using a package of wings instead of a whole chicken (kosher chickens are not cheap). Gellchom's Jewish Chicken Soup (eat! eat!) 1 cut up kosher chicken, or a large package of wings, necks, etc. 2 stalks celery, NO LEAVES, scraped and cut into sticks 2 large carrots, scraped and cut into sticks one whole onion, peeled Salt and pepper Rinse the chicken and put it in your soup pot. Cover with water to about 3/4 inch from top. Bring to a good hard boil, reduce the heat, and skim. Then add the vegetables, 1-2 T salt, and some pepper. Cover and simmer a LONG time -- absolute minimum 1 1/2 hours, but I like to let it go to much longer, even to 6. If it cooks too far down, then just add some water; the taste will still be plenty rich, I promise. Remove chicken and use for something that can have seriously overcooked chicken! Discard onion (and celery, if you want, but I like it in the soup). Remove carrots and set aside. Strain soup and return carrots, celery, and maybe some of the chicken. Chill and remove some but not all of the fat before reheating. Serve with matzo balls, kreplach, noodles, or rice. Matzo balls (this is just the old recipe off the back of the Manischewitz matzo meal box, before they changed it from schmaltz to oil) 2 T schmaltz (rendered chicken fat; buy frozen in kosher market or make your own) or oil (if you must!) 2 lg eggs, slightly beaten ½ c matzo meal 1 t salt, optional 2 T water or broth (use broth if no schmaltz) Mix schmaltz and eggs. Mix matzo meal with salt and blend. Add water and mix. Cover and chill at least 15 minutes. Boil slightly salted water. Reduce heat to low, form balls (with wet hands, and note that they will enlarge as they cook), and add to soup. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes.

"If I'm in the mood for fried chicken, I go to KFC." Yanno, I USED to be fine with KFC. I don't know what it is about it, but I just cannot eat it anymore - leaves a greasy heavy taste and does not feel good in my tummy at all. I never eat there anymore - just cannot tolerate their fried chicken. But that's okay cuz we have SO many places here that make killer fried chicken. Way too easy to get to! As far as the "art of home cooking", I think it is certainly still there. But for many of us, at least in my case, I am older, live alone, son is off on his own (which means I never have a house full of teens eating though dishes as fast as I can make them), and I swear the older I get the more things it seems I have to do. I always thought it would be the reverse....but it's not darn it. So convenience is much more important for me now. I rarely even eat dinner during the week (I hit the gym after work and really only want a snack when I get home) so I just don't have the need or "want to" to spend time cooking up meals that will probably leave leftovers that get tossed anyway. There are certainly exceptions of course - I seriously crave chicken pot pie when it starts getting cold weather, so that is one of my "singnature dishes" that I take the time to make. And even if the BF does not finish it, I will portion it out into containers and freeze it for my lunches. Some things are worth spending a little time on, LOL.

Overcooked fish is tough only if you allow it to dry out. If it is baked in a sealed pan, it will not become tough. If you reheat it, it can become tough, but I've never had fish that was tough that was not cooked improperly. When I grill swordfish, I cook it on a grill pan indoors and keep it covered. Sometimes I add mushrooms to increase the moisture so that it will also steam while it is grilling, and sometimes I just add a small amount of water to the grill pan. If you overbake fish in a sealed pan, it becomes mushy, not tough.