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.

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.

OK...here's the thing. For counter-height seating, you need a 15" overhang. Even if you scrimp on overhang people will still take up the same amount of space so trying to shave off a few inches of the overhang doesn't really help. With the smaller overhang, people just don't sit as close to the counter edge OR they sit sideways (not comfortable for any length of time). Then you need approx 5' from the edge of that 15" overhang to the table. Even then it'd be a tight squeeze to get by if people are seated in both places. [BTW...your children may be small now, but they will grow rapidly! So, if you're thinking a smaller than recommended overhang will work b/c they're small...don't. Always plan for teens/adults when planning something as permanent as a peninsula.] Has the design already been finalized? Or can changes still be made? If so, to the exterior as well? I'm asking b/c if you could move the front door down so the "Covered Porch" is flush w/the garage you could gain 4 feet. I would then move everything on that side of the house from the stairs to the front door, down that same amount. That would give you another 4' for the Kitchen + Table area. You would then have just enough space for an overhang. This would have the added advantage of adding more space to the MBR and/or Laundry & WIC. One of things I regret not doing when we built 14 years ago is making our porch flush w/the garage. We could have either had a deeper porch (8' now) or added 4' to the depth of the house...more useful. Another idea is to switch the FR & DR. You might be able to expand the kitchen into the table area and use the DR for all meals since it will be a lot closer to the kitchen. You could then have an island for casual/social seating. The DR would also be a little longer so you could fit a table in there more easily than the current location (that's a pretty small DR). Sample dimensions could be DR: 16'2" x 12'8" & FR: 16'2" x 17' (In the FR, put the FP & windows on the right wall...) ++++++++++++++++ Oh, and I agree with PeytonRoad, the MBA door swing should be against the shower, not the sinks. To avoid it altogether, consider making the door a pocket door, sliding from the sink side of the MBA. This will mean no recessed medicine cabinet in that wall, but I think it's a good compromise. We have a similar MBA...but our tub & shower are switched. The door swings against the tub. We're now thinking about remodeling our MBA and one of the first changes we plan is to get rid of the recessed medicine cabinet and install a pocket door. I think it will make a big difference in the "feel" of our narrow bathroom. What we don't have is the nice corner for a tub...there's a bedroom on the other side of our bathroom wall. Have you thought about putting in another window by the tub...a window on the right wall so you get a "corner window" effect?

Yes, that's her "little" brother in the background, he's 15 now. (sigh) And if cookies are involved, you'll find him there, LOL. We started with her favorite, chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies. I reminded her that when she was small she HATED oatmeal, and so wouldn't even taste the no bake cookies. When she finally tasted one she loved it, and I keep telling her she's going to have to eat more to make up for all those years she could have been enjoying them and missed out. She is also very talented, because she is the only person I know who can cut the palm of her hand on a cookie scoop, LOL. She says it's because she's left handed, I say it's just a gift. (grin) Anyway, we kept on baking, and made her second favorite, snickerdoodles: She came over after work and by the time we finished those it was about 10 pm, so one more cookie. She wanted to try a new recipe, White Chocolate and Peppermint cookies. They were chewy and good, although quite sweet. She broke up the candy canes with my mortar and pestle while I made room on the freezer in the garage for more cooling racks. We were trying to hurry the cooling process along so she could get home, and the garage was pretty cold, so that worked well. OK, I think that's enough cookies for this year, although now I really want to try those cranberry lemon bars that Olychick posted, the one from the NYT recipe site. Merry Christmas, I'm making the sugar manufacturers very happy this year! Annie