Thanks to all the feedback from the group. I'll share your responses with
my wife. I agree with the general consensus that we won't use more than 4
burners but my wife thinks she'll need six once in a while and I've agreed
not to argue about her decisions. But that doesn't mean I won't help her
research. :-) One option is to put a small oven/range in the bar area in
the basement that could serve as a backup if/when needed.
Based on everything I've read, I suspect we'll end up going with 6 burners
in the kitchen. Ventilation seems to be a big problem with indoor grills
and we'd prefer to just not deal with that. We've lived for 17 years
together without an indoor grill so we likely won't miss it. The built-in
griddle is still a possibility but would probably replace two burners
instead of being an addition to the six-burner setup.
Also wanted to address various comments...
--> Somebody commented on what we eat if we only cook a full dinner 3 times
a week. The other nights are spent eating leftovers, dining with
friends/family, going to a family restaurant, grilling on the deck, or
possibly cooking several small "meals" if we can't all eat together for some
reason.
--> Our three oldest (11, 6, 3) are all boys so my suspicion is that my
wife will be cooking bigger meals and cooking more often in the years to
come.
--> Somebody mentioned cooking with a wok. I've done a lot of travel in
Asia and LOVE oriental food, especially Thai and Vietnamese. One of the
reasons we picked our cooktop was that the burners flip upside down to allow
for wok cooking on the cooktop. ALL the burners flip upside down, which
seems silly, but fact that at least one could do that was certainly
attractive to us.
Thanks, again, for everybody's help!
"Patrick Fitzsimmons, CFP, CRPC, ChFC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:My wife and I are building a new home and are trying to plan our kitchen
appliances. We haven't ordered cabinets, yet, nor do we have exact
dimensions on the walls, so we can order any size appliances we want and
have everything else built to suit. We agree on just about everything but
are having trouble with our cooktop.
We have four children - 11, 6, 3, and the 4th coming in July
My wife cooks full dinners 2-3 times per week and we expect to entertain 8
times a year
I LOVE to grill but usually only the end of spring and early fall when
it's not too hot or too cold
The person we talked to today strongly recommended against a grill in the
cooktop so we tentatively decided upon a 6-burner cooktop and we'll use an
electric griddle or an after-market griddle that we simply place on top of
2 of the burners. When I got back to my office, a friend of mine told me
that she loves her grill and uses it more than her oven or her burners. I
read some articles and the recommendation against the grill seems to be
personal preference.
We also contemplated the built-in griddle for two reasons. First, we like
the temperature control of the built-in griddle versus trying to control
the flame under the after-market griddle. Second, my wife likes the cover
on the griddle because it's a convenient place for her to put cooking
utensils when she's using the burners.
Based on the limited info above, should we purchase:
A) 4 burners and a griddle
B) 4 burners and a grill
C) 6 burners
D) 6 burners and a grill
E) 6 burners and a griddle
F) 4 burners and a grill and a griddle
A, B, and C are roughly the same price. D, E, and F are all roughly the
same price but run about $800 more than ABC. We don't mind spending the
money but want to make sure we'll use it. Since two of our three children
are still small and the 4th isn't even born, yet, it's hard for us to
imagine our needs for everyday cooking.
If it makes any difference, we'll also purchase 2 wall ovens (both will be
conventional and convection), a microwave, and a warming drawer.
Interested in any suggestions and rationale the group can provide.
Thanks!
