Here is a "recipe" that uses figs. It was in my email from Arcamax and it is from Wolf Gang Puck. Honestly I haven't tried it (or figs for that matter) but it sounds interesting for you venture-some soles out there: GRILLED FIG AND PROSCIUTTO SALAD Serves 4 SHERRY-DIJON VINAIGRETTE 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup almond oil or safflower oil Sea salt Freshly ground white pepper SALAD 4 thin slices prosciutto 1 head fris lettuce (chicory or curly endive), leaves separated, rinsed, thoroughly dried and torn into bite-sized pieces 1 head Belgian endive, leaves separated, rinsed and thoroughly dried 1 head radicchio, leaves separated, rinsed, thoroughly dried and cut crosswise into thin julienne 1 shallot, peeled and very thinly sliced 4 ripe fresh Mission figs 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Sea salt 1 small block Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 3 to 4 ounces 1 leaf fresh sage, rolled lengthwise and cut crosswise to form thin ribbons Freshly ground black pepper Preheat an outdoor or indoor grill. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. In a mixing bowl, stir together the vinegar and mustard. While whisking continuously, drizzle in the oils until thoroughly blended. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and set aside. You should have about 1-1/4 cups, enough for this salad and several other recipes. Store the remaining dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator. When the grill or broiler is hot, begin preparing the salad. First, drape each slice of prosciutto in the middle of a chilled salad plate. Arrange the frisée, endive, radicchio and shallot on top, taking care not to conceal the prosciutto completely, and set aside. Rub the figs with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle them lightly with sea salt. Carefully place them near the cooler edges of the grill's cooking grid and cook them, turning with tongs, just until they are evenly marked all over with dark brown grill marks but not yet cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes total cooking time. Immediately cut each fig lengthwise into quarters and arrange the fig quarters on top of each plate. Drizzle each serving with about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the Sherry-Dijon Vinaigrette. Using a cheese plane or a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler, lightly shave some Parmesan on top of each plate; you'll only need about 1 ounce total for 4 servings, but it's easier to shave that amount from a larger block of cheese. Garnish with the fresh sage and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and black pepper. Serve immediately. If anyone tries it, let us know. Figs are kind of rare here is in CT. Heidi

Joan,Joan Joan you are one more amazing person to share all these beautiful pics.Do you keep books on your pics.You ought too.They are really great. Someone gave my FIL a digital camera for Christmas and he had us to put it together and show him how to use it.Than he asked how to get his pics out.We told him we take the card and print them out.Bless his heart for 82 years old you can see why he asked.He said he just stick to flim cameras.We told him to call us and we show him any time how to take pics with it.He was so amazed how you can look back at the pics you took.You know you can hardly find flim cameras any more.They look at you like are you kidding when you ask if they sell them.

What an incredibly helpful thread! It has saved me from returning to panic mode. About a week ago I saw the spray-painted outline of the planned island for our new kitchen and it was 10 inches less in width than I had been told. (I had been told 46" wide and it was drawn as 36".) After seeing all of the posts and photos, I will be very content with 9' X 42"(we were able to add 6" back in without losing too much aisle space) . Thank you to all posters!

Me too -- HUGE smile! Your challahs are so gorgeous, loves2! Wow -- I am going to aim for yours next week. We only do a four-strand braid; I'm going to have to look up how to do a six-strand because yours are so beautiful! (ours only used three cups of flour but is long and skinny because for the strands I left Challah ben Challah up to his own devices) I wonder if our challah is wiggly because of my youngest on my back ... or maybe it's because we like reptiles! It's really because a four year-old helped me OOPS! I mean I helped my four year-old transfer it onto the cookie sheet. (just a standard cookie sheet, but on the diagonal) Your husband has some good eyes! Yes, those ovens are Gaggenau but they're 30" wide (their new models). They're not steam ovens. I really, really like them. I hated paying for them! But I really like them. I LOVE the side-opening door. I LOVE how quickly they heat and how quickly (and quietly) they cool down. I love how cool the doors stay. I love how when the oven is on, the interior light is on the whole time -- no fiddling with the "light on" "light off" button. I love how large the glass is (how big the viewing area). But, I think the convection is just so-so -- areas cook faster than others and I still have to turn the cookie sheets. And I think it's crap that these expensive ovens don't come with full-extension gliding racks (or whatever they're called) like other much less expensive ovens do (Electrolux comes to mind). Yes, I am Tacky McTacky to keep bringing up the cost but I can't help it -- other than our cabinetry, they were the most expensive thing in our kitchen. And I had to think long and hard (and on and on -- my husband is part-saint to have brooked my hand-wringing) about getting them. But, whenever we talk about our kitchen one of our absolute favorite things is those side-opening ovens. So, I guess that's what we paid for! How do you like your ovens? (Miele, right?) I am so sorry if I am getting you confused with someone else, but I think I recall when your kitchen was being installed your wondering if you'd made the right choice for your oven. ??? That's not quite it, but I can't get the specifics straight. I want to tell you, your posts about your kitchen really influenced my planning. You were the first person I read who talked about zones and how it would impact you with your children (I mean impact in a good way). My kiddos are so little so I didn't know enough to envision what it might be like with older children (and hopefully more of them!). I took your experiences to heart, I really did. Thank you so much for all your forthright feedback!