tekobo

Definite “no” to extra basket. It will take up too much space to store and it is not that difficult to shuffle your coal around if you want to insert or remove your basket splitter. I would say everything else on your different lists is essential. The spit rod rotisserie is fine, doesn’t take up too much space and the prongs can be put into the dishwasher. I left out the baking stone when I first ordered my 32 but I found it was needed for making bread and taking advantage of the full space available on the 32 (individual pizza stones gave you less leeway). I don’t tend to use my hot/cold smoker much but it has been really useful when I have wanted to cold smoke bacon for instance. All that said, I see no mention of tile, pebble or colour. Come on, spill the beans!

Happy Wedding Anniversary @Troble. That looks divine!

P.S. I did a shallow dive down the rabbit hole to understand more about why some copper pans are lined and others not. The need for a high and even heat seems to be the reason for cooking polenta in an unlined copper pan. Acidic foods react with copper but given polenta is not generally acidic, using a traditional unlined pan should not be a problem. I avoid using my tin lined pans at high heat but use them for low and slow in the BBQ. This is because tin melts at temps above 230C (450F).

Hiya @braindoc. Your mission, if you wish to accept it, is to find a way to get the pan out of this restaurant in Padova. Here it is, hiding behind a child's birthday balloon. It is heavy gauge and lined and they confirmed that it is used for polenta. That said, I just googled copper polenta pots online and they look nothing like this one. Oh well, it is lovely, whatever it's official use is.

I remember having to dig through different threads to find out about how to cook pizza on a KK when I first started. At the time Charles' posts were the reference set that everyone pointed me to. It's been so long since he last posted that I have temporarily forgotten his forum name. Will go searching in my bookmarks... Ah! @ckreef, how could I forget you? Well, there are some good pizza posts by him, lots of great pizza pics from @MacKenzie and a delightful Chicago Thin thread, amongst many others about pizza, from @Pequod. People like @David Chang are bringing new things to the party and it would be good to have a way to better mine the rich resources on this forum. The search function is OK but you have to sift through a lot of dross to find what you need. Are better ways to use this forum's tools or are there other forum formats that make searching and surfacing information, possibly ranked by popularity, easy and transparent?

Welcome @Stromer. Good luck. The journey to buying a KK is often long. The arrival is so so sweet.

@Tyrus, my husband was very pleased to be told that he is very knowledgeable. Given you were separated at birth, so must you be. We set about thinking about what we could fill the pot with. He thinks it would hold chilli for 200 people. We don't have that many friends. One could probably fry a whole turkey in it. If one liked turkey. Or steam a great big suet pudding. Or, much more safely, fill it with oranges. We are in Italy at the moment and there was a beautiful pan on display in a neighbourhood restaurant that we went to last night. It's for polenta they said. It's not for sale. I may have to sneak back in to steal it. See what you have started @braindoc? I hope you enjoy your journey with copper cookware as much as we enjoy ours.

Made beautiful tortillas yesterday with my current Premier mill. It was a bit fiddly to get it running smoothly and I could not help thinking of the upgrade that @Syzygies talked about. I guess I will appreciate it even more if/when I buy it. In the meantime here are some very tasty tortillas, made with fresh masa.

Oldies are the best. Made this again yesterday. Everyone LOVED it. I had some leftover basil pesto from making pizzas the day before and the combination of pork leg al pastor and Italian pesto was a real winner.

Thanks @Syzygies. Lots of new information. I never knew cinders had anything to do with making vinegar. Lots to learn and, maybe, buy.

I was re-reading this thread this morning. Distraction from doing actual work. This photo made me laugh. Again. I wonder if I should dedicate this day to drinking rather than working?

Turbot on the 32 last night. Took it off when it probed at 63C on both sides. It was perfect.

@Tyrus you and my husband were separated at birth. He bought this humungous pot at an online auction a few years ago. When the tinning guy received it, direct from the auction house, he rang my husband up to ask him if he had any idea how large it was! Anyway, it is completely impractical for cooking unless you are feeding a battalion. It lives in our porch and we fill it with oranges when we buy in bulk. The six bottle wine box in the second picture gives you an idea of the ridiculous scale of the thing.

Never say never @tony b. The fermenting hole is deep and rewarding. @Syzygies, I have been meaning to ask you about vinegars. Do you have any go-to recipes for the vinegars that you make? I have tried to make some fruit vinegars and the jury is out on whether I have made a nice vinegar or something that leads you to screw up your face and say that tastes vinegary in a way that is not complimentary. I have seen the "mother" floating on vinegars but I produced a weird gel like substance when I made a cider vinegar based shrub recently. Have you ever seen anything that looks like the creature in the picture below?

My husband and I scour e-bay and European markets for copper pots and pans and, because they are often bashed up, we get them beaten out and re-tinned by a lovely man at Sherwood Tinning. We recently picked up a set of three pots in France and had them re-tinned. They are the best quality yet, with a beautiful hammered finish and quite a thick gauge. See the difference between one of our standard pots and the beautiful hammered one in the pictures below. I can't say that they cook any better than any other sort of pot but I love the look and they bring me joy every time I pick one up.

@Basher you have to admit that was not just any old "stainless steel welder". He did an awesome job. Are you any closer to getting home and being able to use all your toys yet?

You puzzled me with this statement @tony b. I love shio koji, have only had it when a friend brought it down from a small batch producer in London and have tried unsuccessfully to make my own. It is made by fermenting grains and I don't believe it is left over from making sake. You might mean sake lees? That said, you are the king of retro-engineering. If you ever find out how to make the lovely shio koji paste that the Japanese sell, I will move in with you - OK I don't need to scare you - I will steal the recipe and method from you!

What fun! I love playing with fire and your method is probably better than mine. I was advised to start the fire over to the left in my allegro and the deck then gets heated up by radiant heat. You just built a great big fire in the middle. That must heat the deck up faster. Gonna try that next time. And yes, I too need to replace my marginal yeast before my next try!

Yesterday was veg day in KK land. Bumper harvest from the allotment in the morning. Care for kale, lots of it, anyone? The sweetcorn are now larger. Still sweet but starchier. Slow cooked some sweet potatoes and tried a new bake with cherry tomatoes, potatoes and baby onions. Added in some cooked borlotti beans and charred the remaining corn. That's me set for veg sides for a few days!

Those steaks look gorgeous Robert. Have you cooked one yet and, if so, how did it taste?

Thank you for the pics @jonj It's a lovely oven the 4 pizze. Looking forward to seeing what you cook in it.

Unboxing pics please!

@Poochie your concern about weight reminded me of the "lift" that we had to do when my Alfa Allegro arrived. Five of us assembled to lift it having removed the bricks from the base of the oven to reduce weight. The lift was super easy and we could have done it with four. Two might have a push. It took less than a minute. So I would not worry too much about weight if you can get help. I have tried to bake bread in my Allegro. A silvery black puck was the result. I have tried to cook desserts in my Allegro. Instant burned top to my cake was the result. The KK is much more controllable and I rely on the KK if I want to do any outdoor baking. I use the WFO for high heat roasting and pizza. That said, I have not totally given up on bread in the Allegro. The Alfa website shows cooks baking bread in their WFO. I don't like to be defeated and so will study them carefully to find out how they succeed. In the meantime, my black bread is literally the toast of the town.

Tee hee. Congratulations @jonj! For the record: you solicited the advice but it was given freely and happily. I hope you and your new toy will be very happy together.

Your pizza crust looks lovely @KK787! Definitely a method to try.