EXCITED NEW OWNER !

[Chad Sanders]

An extra use for the pilot in the C is for potporri (sp?)
When I'm not cooking I have a small ceramic cup filled with water a little cinnamon stick and clove sitting over the vent for the pilot.
Maybe a little too Martha for some. I just enjoy coming up with new ways to use every last drop this beast can put out.

Chad

[ha_asfan]

The All American Breakfast sounds great and that is actually one of my first fantasy meals, with French Toast too. I didn't know you could simply push the gunk to the back of the griddle and into grease cups....sounds very restaurant cool ! As for the potpourri, yes, that is a bit too Maratha for me...instead, I'll keep the inscense nearby...probably some Frankensence and Mihr... When you use another pot or pan on top of the griddle, doesn't it mar the griddle finish ? Do you all have your griddles profesionally polished or clean them yourselves ? Thanks for all the valuable info so far, I'm certain to have more questions soon !

[annnt]

Hi Ha;
I scrubbed and scrubbed my griddle and couldn't get it clean and shiny so I lightly buffed it with a tool that a metal-artist friend of mine has. I'm not very happy with the results because you can see a slight swirl pattern in it now. And with each use it's less and less shiny and is getting some small discolorations. Eventually I may look into having it nickle coated.
Regarding a vintage fridge, have you looked at the modern reproductions? They are pricey - $3-4K (at least the ones I've seen advertised), but most certainly more energy efficient.
Ann

[ha_asfan]

Nickle Plating.....can you cook on it ???

[ha_asfan]

Hi Annnt, I can't bare the notion of a reproduction anything...I'm all about using what we have and NOT producing more stuff !Fortunately, a vintage fridge restorer is within thirty minutes of my home. We have allready discussed my needs and although he has 75 [!!!] refrigerators, none are what I want. I'm a very patient guy and will hold out for my vintage fridge with the bottom freezer. From what I understand, the energy savings with the new guys is not so great. As with the Chambers, the insulation , original materials and construction is superior to anything available today so the motor runs far less frequentlly to maintain the proper temp. Right now, I am still in the learning phase !

[Chad Sanders]

Yes putting any rough surface on the griddle will mar the surface. Thats why I take the polished griddle off completely and replace it with a full cast iron griddle that covers the entire opening. It almost looks like they were made for each other.
I use Country Cabin brand griddle. I have 4 kids and we have pancakes or french toast every weekend and it works great.
Make sure your kitchen fan works because that butter and grease can get alittle smokey.

Chad

[quintonk]

I wasn't understanding taking the gridle off completely, but i get it now. that's a great idea. now i need to look for a gridle that fits. my husband will love that. he did eggs on the real gridle one night and didn't clean it off. so when i used the broiler for steak the next time, wow what a mess. i used one of thos mr. clean magic erasers to get all the baked on grease off. DH was in big trouble. now i just need to get a cast iron griddle.

and...where does the drip pan go. we have one, but it sort of slides around. is there some place you "hook" it in?

[ha_asfan]

Taking off the griddle makes a lot of sense....it just comes right off ? I would like the griddle to look flawless, following your advice seems practical. Is nickle the appropriate coating ?

[annnt]

Hi Ha;
I'm with you on using what's already out there and not producing/consuming more. I had thought that the old fridges were not good energy-wise. Thanks for the enlightenment.
Ann

[ha_asfan]

Hi Chad and Annnt, Thanks for the griddle tip. I just added it to my Want List. Did you the $200+ Thermobaker on Ebay ??? As far as energy savings go with the old refrigerators, I always try to determine if the energy and materials used to created the new product are less than the energy which would be consumed by an older motor. I think old wins out every time. I'm still curious about using nickle as the finish for the griddle...was nickle the original finish ?