New Bertazzoni Range installed!
Here is the new range installed! The floor is not really this pink and is more of an orange color, which looks better with the range than the pink. I'll have to photograph it again in different light. The range looks better in person than in the photo, but you get a general idea. It does with the red teapot that Sherry gave me years ago (Thanks again, Sherry - I've been using that teapot every day since you gave it to me!), and of course with the new red mixer.
This range has a Wok grate, which I love, plus a simmer grate for holding small pans. I'll post some more photos later, to show the top of the range. I had to leave work temporarily this morning for the delivery, which was before lunch. Then I made a quick lunch after the installation, but I have not eaten it yet. My normal lunch time is still one hour from now.
I think the kitchen is complete now - there is really nothing that needs updating, except perhaps the toaster oven, but that is minor and not a priority, unless I do not like the oven that came with this range.
I'm really glad we put up the stainless steel backsplash last week-end.
It is gorgeous, congrats.
My simmer grate is on the front far right. Perfect for us. We use it to keep the chemex coffee warm early morning. My wok grate is the middle one of five. I use it for quick searing of salmon, strips of skirt steak for tacos, small steaks, etc. I have a cast iron wok and it keeps it all contained without splatter. (with a splatter screen usually).
I have found all the burners, if it is similar, have very specific uses and soon become an easy toss back and forward for just what you need. I think you will get fast heat without much 'heat' in your kitchen that you seem to want to avoid.
I have AC on today because of such high humidity but do not have any issue with a seared salmon BLT i'm planning for dinner.
It looks awesome! I hope you and bro enjoy many happy meals with it.
Here's another photo to show it with the fridge we got a few days ago.
I did notice that all the burners appear to have specific uses, and the one in the front left has an inner and outer burner, and so I can turn them on separately. When both are turned on, it gives the highest heat, and so I'll probably use the wok there. The burners are all very responsive - I guess because they are new! Another advantage is that they can be lit with matches in case there is a power outage, although we generally cook outdoors when that happens.
My one concern is that the fan for the convection oven might be loud - I have not tested that yet. The convection fan has a separate control.
The oven came with ball-bearing glides, but we have to install that ourselves, and so I will have to decide where that will go - there are four different heights to choose from.
Congratulations! It looks great and should provide you with much enjoyment. I see they were able to level it out flush with your counters, as well. Watch out for the vicious cycle of upgrades: you upgrade your stove, and suddenly you may feel compelled to upgrade your cookware.
Wow, some serious upgrades! You are going to have fun.
Gooster, we've been spacing our upgrades out so that normally we do not do that much in any one year, but this year we did both the fridge and the range. We would not have replaced the fridge if the ice-maker had not stopped working, but we are both very happy that we did, as we like the new one a lot better.
Last year we did the counter-tops, which included a new sink and faucet - the year before we got a new dishwasher and microwave, and so they have been spaced out. I wanted to replace the counter-tops on day one, but we could not afford it at that time.
I am seeing red. :-)
Red is my favorite color on the rainbow.
dcarch
Looks great, Lars! Congratulations, I hope It provides many great meals for many great years.
Since it's easy to spend other people's money, I'll add that I think dcarch is onto something with that simple accent on the MW. RAL 3001 I believe? Go for it!
WOW! Wish I had the chutzpah to buy a pretty red range. That looks fabulous!
Congratulations my friend. That looks amazing. I love the colour. I would never get tired of red.
That is beautiful. Tell us how you like the burners and oven, when you've tried them out. I will be in the market for an new stove eventually. Thanks.
That's great! I hope you and Kevin enjoy it and are renewed.
Just beautiful it is......I am a red person.....have alot of red in my kitchen....small appliances and decor....Love the picture with the new red Kitchen Aid mixer setting there. Don't you just love that new red mixer? You guys have done a good job. Be proud!!
Lars, I think dcarch has the idea -- more red accessories to buy! See, I said the upgrades don't end. How about a nice red Ankarsrum? Some new dishes? I'm just stemming the tide of upgrading my cookware, cutlery and gadgets since remodeling the kitchen -- two years ago!.
Lovely!!!
Here it is with the mixer in the view, plus the window with Kuba cloth.
We also have a red Soda-stream (I think that is what it is called), and it stays on the counter as well, but off to the right of this photo. For me, there is enough red now, but I really do appreciate how much the red stove has changed the appearance, compared to the old stainless steel stove.
We have some adjustments to make still. I made burritos this evening using the two high heat burners, and I discovered that they do not have low heat settings, and I almost burned them. I also know that we were supposed to adjust the low heat settings ourselves, and we have not done that yet, but I do have instructions for that. I was amazed at how quickly the pans got so hot! It is more powerful than I expected. Next I will have to test the oven.
I can tell I will not get tired of the red color any time soon - it is just so stimulating and inspires me to keep everything neat and clean. Having the new fridge makes cooking easier as well. Kevin had told me that there was too much stainless steel with the old stove, and I think we have struck a good balance at this point.
Curious about the broiler. My friend just had the same one installed but don't think i can get out to LongIsland anytime soon. With my cooktop i have learned about the heat for each burner. The medium for braising, the tiny low for a light simmer, but have a enameled cast iron disc to get it even lower.
I have red as my accent color. Just a bit but it works with so much post and beam wood tones. My front door is red.
Lucky you for installation. My new freezer is in my garage. It is HUGE. The delivery guys were super but we could not get it into the back location, lol. We need to move some things this weekend. Fortunately we do not need to move the staircase. : ) Tiny home living is a challenge.
DH says huge is better than too small. I suppose i can apply for that moose tag now. He does want the room so we can finally go into a beef share.
That is a truly beautiful appliance. I wish you many wonderful meals over the years from it.
sleevendog, I now have one huge chest freezer and one upright, and we fill them both, along with the bottom freezer on the new refrigerator AND the "extra" refrigerator on the front porch we use for cold drinks and extra eggs and produce. So, apply for that moose tag AND get into a beef share, LOL.
Lars, that's a beautiful range, and your red accents really do brighten the kitchen up. The floor is ceramic tile? I know many people told me not to get ceramic tile and we went with a laminate on the kitchen floor and I've wished ever since that I'd have gotten ceramic instead. When we replace it, and we will, it's going to be ceramic.
Meanwhile, enjoy that range and refrigerator. It's amazing what a difference a new fridge makes, isn't it?
Annie
Annie, the refrigerator has made a big difference - partly because we emptied out the old one completely and are starting over somewhat fresh. I am keeping a large amount of space in the new fridge open, and the one in the garage is somewhat full and should probably be thinned out. I have way too many pickles, especially pickled carrots that are a by-product when I make refrigerator dill cucumber pickles.
I do like ceramic tile on my kitchen floor, but if I were doing it completely over, I would consider using black slate, for dramatic effect. I would not use that with black counters, however. Personally, I do not want wood or laminate in my kitchen, and fortunately it is a separate room from the living room, which has the original 1950 oak floor. Our dining room and art studio have travertine, as does the hall between the dining room and kitchen. It looks nice, but is not the most practical; however, I do like it. I also like Saltillo tile, if the architecture supports it. I told my sister to put that on her patio, and for once she took my advice and is very pleased.
It's red, what's not to love
Enjoy
Really REALLY nice, Lars! Very attractive. May I ask what make refrigerator you have? It looks just like mine, which I got last Dec. And I love it! For the very first time ever, I actually have enough space, I can organize things in it, and most important to me, I can see what I have without having to practically stand on my head to see what is on the lower shelves.
Rusty
The refrigerator is Kitchenaid, and it was on sale at Home Depot. Since it was exactly what we wanted was more than 25% off, we decided to go ahead and buy it rather than wait. We were shopping for fridges because our ice maker stopped working, and since our old fridge was 6 years old, we thought it might be a good idea to replace it - plus we did not like the configuration of the SxS doors.
Here is a photo of a kitchen somewhat similar (in color scheme) to mine, but with the floors that I wanted!
First pizza baked in new oven. More details later, but I wanted to post the photo.
Second pizza:
I made the dough using my whole wheat recipe, which uses 1 cup of semolina flour for three pizzas (I have dough for the third still in the fridge and will use it tonight), and this gives it a chewy texture, but it was still thin and crisp. On Saturday, we adjusted the choke on the burners so that the low setting is as low as possible for all burners plus the oven, but last night was the first time I baked. I turned the oven all the way up, but the highest temperature I got (according to the oven thermometer I just bought) is 475 degrees. I consider this marginally acceptable for pizza. I did parbake the pizzas at 350 degrees for five minutes with a small amount of fresh mozzarella on them and then added the toppings. The first one has tomato slices (which I sprinkled with dried oregano, even though I also have fresh oregano), basil, and more fresh mozzarella (no salt - the cheese has plenty of salt). After it was done, I added a small amount of Parmesan. The pizza took 15 minutes to get done, and I used the convection setting and checked it every five minutes. I don't think it should have taken that long, but Kevin loved the results. I liked it, but I thought it came out better when cooked on the BGE. Still, it cooked very evenly and came out crisp, which is what I wanted. There is no char on it, but I will not be able to get that with this oven - I will need to use the grill for that. I did use a pizza stone, which I think is 15-1/2" deep - I will measure it later, but it seemed to take up almost the full depth of the rack.
The second pizza has pasta sauce, basil, thinly sliced mushrooms, mozzarella, and Provolone cheese, and it also took 15 minutes to get done. I kept the pizzas fairly simple so that I could get them in the oven quickly. We have not eaten any of the second one yet, but the first one I cut into eight pieces; Kevin had four, and I had three.
My pizza screens are 15-3/4" to 16" diameter and just barely fit in the oven, but they fit. The oven racks are 16" deep, which I knew before we got the range, and I am okay with that. I did not want the range protruding any further into the kitchen than necessary.
One slight drawback - the oven puts out warm air in the front, meaning that it would be somewhat uncomfortable to use the cook-top while baking. It did not heat up the kitchen significantly, however - less so than cooking on the top. I was very glad that I did not add any salt to the tomatoes, as the pizza came out salty enough just from the cheese. I did add cayenne, however, but no black pepper.
what is the OTR Microwave? How much distance do you have between the cooktop and the bottom of the OTR? Berta is currently giving away an OTR with range... raising my eyebrow as I consider that...
Right now we still have the Whirlpool microwave/hood vent. We did get a free microwave/hood vent from Bertazzoni when we bought the range, but we have stored that in the garage in its box for now because the person who installed the range did not install microwaves. Ideally, we would have had the microwave installed first, then the SS backsplash, and then the range, but that was not an option because the range and microwave were delivered at the same time. The backsplash had to be installed before the range, and we installed that ourselves, right under the Whirlpool MW. The Bertazzoni MW is about 1/2" shorter than the one we have now, and so when we switch them out, there will be a 1/2" gap between the MW and the backsplash, which we can cover with some sort of trim. Better to be shorter than taller, although if it had been taller, we would have allowed for that when we installed the backsplash.
I do not know how much space I have between the cook-top and MW, but it works for me. I will measure it when I get home. Overall, I am very happy with the range and the oven has worked okay for me, although the vertical space is a bit tight. I guess that will use a bit less energy, however, and I really do not need any more space than it has. I keep an oven thermometer in the oven so that I can be sure what the temperature is, and I generally also use the convection mode. It seems to bake a bit faster than what I am used to, but not by too much. Last week-end I baked biscuits, and they cooked evenly, which was nice. I mostly bake bread, but also pies and casserole (like lasagna). When possible, I bake in my toaster oven, to keep the kitchen a bit cooler, but I have not noticed the kitchen getting too much hotter when using this oven.
I measured my space, and the distance between the MW and the counter/stove top is 21-1/2" with the current MW. Since the Berta MW is shorter, I will gain at least half an inch when we switch. The cabinet above the stove is 38" above the counter top, which seems like a reasonable space, although if it were lower, it would be easier to reach. I store mostly vinegars there, plus extra granola, honey, and unopened soy sauce bottles. I have a lot of different vinegars.
It's beautiful, Lars. Congratulations! Your pizzas have my mouth watering.
Sally