For stir-frying, burner shape is as important or even more important than burner power. I test drove the Miele and Dacor cooktops as well as the BlueStar rangetop we chose. (Not an apples to apples test but at first I was hesitant to give up the space to a rangetop - then when I found out how much better the BlueStar performed for stir frying I changed my mind.) The 15K BTU burners on our Bluestar that are about the same power as the Miele and Dacor burners stir fry much better because they are much more efficient at delivering heat to the bottom of the wok and they do it very evenly. The 22K BTU burner on our BlueStar is even better. When I tested the Dacor and Miele with a chicken stir fry, I put in half the chicken at a time to sear to not overload it and it still wasn't a perfect sear. When I tested the BlueStar, it was a hot day and my DH had packed the ice chest so carefully that the chicken was mostly frozen when I took it out to start cooking. But if I was going to sacrifice my drawer to the rangetop it better be good so I put in all the chicken at once and the BlueStar immediately had it sizzling and seared perfectly. The food really tasted different cooked on the BlueStar. I highly recommend calling around the appliance stores to see if you can find one with the types of burner you are considering hooked up so you can try a stir fry recipe on the burner. I took the same wok and recipe ingredients to each cooktop/rangetop I was considering and learned a lot by doing that. If Bluestar offered a single burner version of their rangetop, that is what I would recommend to you. If you don't have a chance to do that, what you want to look for is a burner that has a shape to deliver heat efficiently and evenly to the bottom of a wok. An example of a bad type of shape is the sealed burner like on the Dacor and Miele cooktops. These have a flat circular top and flame comes out of the side of the circle. The higher you turn the burner up, the more the flame shoots out to the side; no flame goes up in the center of the burner. An example of a type that works really well for a wok is the BlueStar burner shape where the flame comes straight up out of the burner. The burner shape has a circle of flame at the center of the burner and 8 star rays of flame coming out from that circle. The center grate comes off the burner so that the wok sits right down into the flame and heat is delivered to the whole bottom of the wok. This is very similar to the wok arrangements I saw in China. A friend has the DCS wok burner and that does a very good job. We have the Miele oven. I'm very happy with its cooking performance but I find its controller kind of annoying at times. Its heating is very stable and accurate. It cooks bread well. Things I don't like: Maximum timer setting is 59 minutes and 59 seconds. I'd gladly give up the seconds to have a timer that times longer than an hour. If you put in the time and then forget to hit the button that starts the timer, it waits a bit and then cancels the timer. Too many modes - for example they have a proofing mode that only allows two temps (both higher than I would usually want to proof at) and a defrost mode with a wide range of temps (which is what I use for proofing because I can set it to 80 or 90 degrees). One ends up having to learn little tricks like which baking mode lets you set the temp up to 550 degrees (most of the modes stop at 500). If the BlueStar ovens had been available when we were choosing, I'd have been very tempted to choose them. I'm short and the side opening door would be easier for me. The one downside is that they aren't self-cleaning and I'm rather addicted to not having to clean my oven. How is your breaker box occupancy? Ours is full. If you want to add that other oven at a later date, will you have a 220 V breaker spot open? That might be one reason to choose between gas and electric ovens.

Best Ever Eggless Banana Oatmeal Muffins These have to be the best banana muffins I've tasted! I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and tweaked it to make it egg-free and low-fat. These muffins taste best fresh from the oven, and also are the perfect, healthy way to start your day! 30 minutes (10 min prep, 20 min cooking) 6 muffins 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/8 cup skim milk or soy milk 1/8 cup applesauce 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup mashed bananas 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). 2 In a bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. 3 In another large bowl, mix together milk, applesauce, and vanilla. 4 Add the mashed bananas, and combine thoroughly. 5 Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. 6 Lightly grease and dust 6 muffin cups (or line with paper bake cups), and divide the batter among them. 7 Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 muffins Calories 166 Calories from Fat 11 Amount Per Serving %RDA Total Fat 1.2g 2% Saturated Fat 0.2g 1% Polyunsat. Fat 0.4g Monounsat. Fat 0.3g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 278mg 12% Potassium 187mg 5% Total Carbohydrate 34.9g 12% Dietary Fiber 2.2g 9% Protein 4.6g 9%

Twice baked potatoes is on our family Christmas meal every year, has been forever and "they" will not let me change menu, you know that tradition thing. I hand pick my potatoes for size, zap in wave for maybe 4 minutes and then finish in oven giving the skins a crusty finish. Scoop out, add shredded cheese, butter, sour cream, bit of garlic, salt and pepper, (sometimes no salt and use Lawry's Seasoning salt), 1/2 &1/2 if needed. Scoop back in skins, add shred cheese and bacon bits for garnish. I make these up one to two days ahead, refrigerate and bake towards dinner time. I freeze leftovers. Never thought of adding meats......have to try sometime for just us, wouldn't want to spring on "them" at Christmas.

I can't tell you best technique, but this is always successful for me. I usually do a whole butterflied chicken, but it works with parts. Suntan lotion. For crisp skin you need to render out the fat that's underneath, which happens with heat, but it helps a lot if you use a bit of oil and a bit of sugar on the outside. By that, I mean some salad dressing, marinating sauce or similar. It doesn't matter what flavor, just that it has some fat and some sugar. Too much sugar, like with most barbecue sauce, and you'll get blackened. It may still taste good, but it it'll char. Flavor--I usually sprinkle some herbs and spices on as well. Air: Without air exposure, the skin will stay moist and soft. I use a shallow pan, like a sheet pan or hotel pan. You use a roasting pan if you have a rack that sits at the top level of the sides. With a whole butterflied chicken, most of the skin is faced up, and not enough of the legs are skin down to matter. If you're doing a bunch of legs and thighs, and want the skin crisp on the bottoms of the legs, you need a rack. I usually go old fashioned, and slice an onion arranged around the bottom of the pan with some cut carrots or snack carrots, and whatever I want to use up, and use that as my rack, but I'm not worried about the bottom of the legs. I'd still suggest the veg for keeping the chicken moist and tasty, but put a rack above them to hold the chicken to get the bottoms crisper. Steam. The great secret. If you don't have a steam oven, put some liquid in the bottom of the pan. Water, stock, wine, beer, whatever you like. More if you don't have the onion. At least a cup. I've done it this way and it works just fine, Oven--at home I usually use the combi-steam oven on 360° F and 60% steam (convection heat only). Otherwise, I put the liquid in the bottom of the pan, and aim for a similar temperature, with convection. If you don't have any stops between 350° and 375°, 350° is fine. 1.5 hrs. for a whole chicken (about 4.4 lbs.). About half that, 45 min., for 1.5 lbs. of parts. Convection is even more variable oven to oven than temperature. You'll have to keep an eye on it and test the exact temperature, time and fan setting that works for you. Good luck!