Judy, it's not so much the higher wattage on the medium burners that you need as on the big one. You should be able to use a flat bottomed wok on that and get plenty of power. I understand shy, but they really are there to help you. The Miele showroom in Beverly Hills is an especially friendly space, and considering its location I have to think that that's corporate policy! Hm... above statement was made without thinking through your way of cooking. The wattage on the mediums is important if you have a really big pan that you're transferring from the wok into, so want to wok on one of the smaller burners. If you're not ready to cook something yourself in the showroom, ask for a personal demonstration. Even boiling water should give you a good idea about the heat and responsiveness. Could you work up the courage to make an appointment and go watch the salesman or chef use the unit? Or get a pushy friend to come along and speak for you? It's important for you to be happy with your choices, and one of the best ways to do that is to actually see the appliances in action. Re gas, yes, you can use the wok burner with a grill plate, but there are single sided ones that you can easily use on induction. Also, some of the double sided ones with shallower edges work okay as well, at least on some cooktops. I have always roasted eggplants and peppers on the gas flame to get them charred on the outside and not overcooked on the inside (a distinction which may just show up my lacks as a cook in not being able to do this in an oven). I have a little barbecue grate that's made for the purpose. It's a trick that's not for the faint of cleaning, however. Nolamom, the magnet test is a great way to assess whether the pots you have will work with induction, but if you're buying new it's probably worth your while to get pots that are known to work particularly well. Since I already have a lot of Le Creuset (works great with '60's coils, gas and induction all and I love the enamel), I don't know the specifics. Do a search here and you'll find recommendations. Some steel cookware has different amounts of steel in the sides of the pan and the bottom, so it cooks a little differently than one that's all the same. Some have more steel than others. Etc. Cast iron is pretty much cast iron, though weight and thickness will effect the way a particular pan works in comparison to another. Enamel shouldn't matter (it's an insulator but I haven't heard that it impedes magnetism). I have a little Turkish coffee pot which is stainless but doesn't attract a magnet at all. I can't remember if I tested it on Mr. Induction (all this stuff is packed for demo), but I'm pretty sure it won't work. :) Anyway, what I'm trying to say is if you're buying something new, make sure it will work well rather than just work.

The potato bar worked out very well. I left shopping and prepping of the potatoes and other vegetables mainly to my son and husband so we had about twice as much as we needed for dinner. But that's okay - the leftovers will be used and some is disappearing in the snacking as they play. I started from an apple cider cheddar cheese fondue recipe for the cheese sauce (link below) but made some modifications. I got a hard dry cider for this partly because in my experience with grueyer fondue, the cheese melts better in an acid liquid. I also diced the cheese and tossed it with the flour because that helps keep the cheese from clumping. I added smoked paprika instead of chili powder. Cilantro butter was pretty easy to put together and added a nice touch to the flavor: Cilantro butter 3/4 cups firmly packed cilantro leaves 1 stick (1/4 cup) butter Pinch of salt Pinch of pepper Process in food processor until fully creamed. We had shredded parmesean and cheddar cheeses. Mild and hot salsa (the fresh stuff from the refrigerator section at the market Steamed broccoli and carrots, Diced green pepper and green onions Chana Masala (cilantro butter was really nice with this too) Yogurt and sour cream (separately - not mixed together Taco flavor smart ground Tortilla chips for grazing through the evening with the toppings or in case a potato hater wanted to have nachos instead. Here is a link that might be useful: Cheddar cider fondue

Thanks everyone! It was a great way to "break in" at least part of my kitchen! The Strawberry Festival was a great success! It was held on land that we've purchased to build our church as a "Light on the Hill". The Festival was held in celebration of making the half-way point of Phase I of our building. Another 18 months and we hope to be in our new church! Now, to your questions: What makes it my baking center? Well, a lot of thought went in to that. It's a combination of the configuration and location. First off, when everything is finished, my KA mixer will be in the far left corner (along w/functioning outlets), my baking paraphernalia will be stored in the cabinets/drawers of that same corner, and the DOs are diagonally across from it. The "center" is made up of a mini-peninsula + the area b/w the peninsula & cooktop. My vision has been that I will have my cookie pans on the mini-peninsula, I will roll out my dough on the counter to the left of the cooktop, and I will have my mixer, cookie cutters, etc. in the corner...everything right at hand w/plenty of room to do it all! Here're the best pictures I have right now... Baking Center in upper right corner... In lower left corner here... Ovens across from peninsula....but not right in it's path...next to the pantry... You can see the end of the mini-peninsula that's part of my baking center on the right. Gluten-Free Shortcake 2 1/3 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix 3/4 cup shortening mix together then add 1/2 cup milk 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 1. Heat oven to 425F. 2. Stir ingredients mix, milk, sugar and butter until soft dough forms. Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. 3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9"x13" pan ... check it frequently, I don't remember how long it took to bake...maybe 18 or 20 minutes? From: http://leaisglutenfree.blogspot.com/2007/05/shortcake.html While just about anything can be baked/roasted using convection, there are some exceptions...cakes being one. My understanding is that it has more to do with aesthetics than actual baking performance. In most cases you want a cake with a smooth top. Convection baking does not generally lead to a smooth top. Usually, when I'm making just one or two batches of brownies, I use regular (thermal) bake. However, I had 12 pans to make so I decided to use convection mode so I could bake 3 pans at one time in each oven. The temperature was reduced by 25o but they took the same amount of time to bake. So while bake time per oven load was the same, I was able to bake more at one time...instead of doing 6 "oven loads" I was able to do it all in 4.

Yes, it's dough that I colored with food coloring. I have some cookie cutters in little leaf shapes and one is a holly leaf. The "berries" I just roll into balls. I cut them a little thick this year and boy did they spread a bit. Those are some big holly berries! Anyone have any good tips on coloring dough? I use my hands to knead after putting drops of color on, and of course end up with a mess.