In a series of portaits displaying the form and function of my new friend and colleague, Wedgewood Stove, I will attempt to illustrate its beauty, butch strength, perseverance and shockingly enviable steady cookery.
Here in this first image I have juxtaposed Dutch Oven with oven. Both are enamel cast iron. Both can cook, simmer and bake. But as you can see, one is blue.
Wedgewood has been cropped so as to leave you on your post-modern deconstructuralist toes. I have purposefully objectified oven to make you want more.
What will oven bake for us first? Cake? Cookie? Souffle?
This is so pornographic. It makes me feel dirty. In a good way. And oh man, the Le Creuset pot is like lingerie... the icing on the cake. I am lusting after your oven.
Posted by: kneidlach | 23 February 2006 at 07:09 PM
It's so pedestrian and unpretentious and I totally understand, having left behind a Wedgewood with -- Red Knobs! -- at my last address. I miss it.
Posted by: cookiecrumb | 23 February 2006 at 08:56 PM
LOL @ butch strength. What a great description.
Posted by: randi | 23 February 2006 at 10:26 PM
You may Heart Fat, I Heart Le Creuset.
This femme can't get enough of that oven...
More pics, please.
Posted by: Anne | 24 February 2006 at 01:06 AM
More pictures and tell us all about it , please. There is no detail about ovens that is more than I want to know.
Posted by: Lindy | 24 February 2006 at 08:45 AM
I covet your Le Creuset oven. I have two pieces in Flame but that blue is gorgeous.
How old is your oven? I'm moving into a new place soon and I'm pretty certain that the oven is as old as the house (circa 1930). I'm slightly afraid of it actually. Any tips?
Posted by: Meredith | 24 February 2006 at 12:02 PM
Hey Meredith,
Treat it with love & respect. Keep it clean and get yourself a Taylor oven thermometer. These old beasts can have temperature issues in the oven department. The knob can say 325 and your oven will rest at 375. Keep an aye on it like a pirate and you'll be FINE.
Every morning you will wake to greet your new gas range friend. It'll send chills down your spine at 7:30 in the morning knowing that any time, day or night, you can create a masterpiece.
Always show great respect and it'll treat you with the same.
Biggles
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | 24 February 2006 at 12:59 PM
So Biggles--
Just How Do You Keep it Clean?
hey everyone--- thanks for all the comments to my silly Ode Tp Art School post!
And don't worry, more pix will follow! Let me start doing some cooking...then I'll really make you all hot and jealous...
Posted by: shuna fish lydon | 25 February 2006 at 02:01 AM
Biggles --
Can you click on my name above, puhleeze? I can't find your email addy on Meathenge. And I have some brisket recipes for you (plus a candied corned beef fresh from a Long Island bar mitzvah).
Thanks!
Anne
Posted by: Anne | 25 February 2006 at 12:38 PM
Biggles --
Can you click on my name above, puhleeze? I can't find your email addy on Meathenge. And I have some brisket recipes for you (plus a candied corned beef fresh from a Long Island bar mitzvah).
Thanks!
Anne
Posted by: Anne | 25 February 2006 at 12:40 PM
Sorry for the double post -- thank Maud the cat for that.
Anne
Posted by: Anne | 25 February 2006 at 12:41 PM
I clicked and sent me name off.
How do I keep it clean.
There are a handful of different layers to deal with.
With these old ranges, you can remove most of the upper clothes and expose the goodies.
I use a vacuum of some kind to get at the bits.
Then I use 409 to get the surface action.
Then I use 409 and a stiff brush.
Then I use Bar Keepers Friend.
This procedure goes for the upper surfaces as well.
If you have caramelized bits on the griddle? Heat it as though you were cooking and lightly scrape off, let cool.
If you're really worried about scratching, use Bon Ami. It's got NO abrasives what so ever. While this is a plus, it makes it tougher to get things clean.
Pull knobs from front of rig and use 409 and paper towels to rub clean.
Basically, start easy and unobtrusive. Gradually pick up the pace if the grunge requires it.
Some guys massage their pickup trucks every weekend with essential waxes and cleansers.
I spend personal time with my gas range.
While I may not be able to cruise the avenue in style, my meat roast will bring you to your knees in a fork's moment.
Biggles
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | 25 February 2006 at 07:22 PM
So says the butterfield blues band
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | 25 February 2006 at 07:24 PM
Shuna: To keep it clean, take it apart a lot. Pull off the knobs, lift off the grates, yank out the griddle.
When I moved my Wedgewood into my house (well, *I* didn't move it), the guys took it apart to make the load lighter. Drawers came out. Shelves, too. Griddle and grates off... All that is where you do the cleaning.
409 is your friend. AND -- I was totally stunned to learn this -- Hot water. Just lower the removed segments into a warm sink. You hardly need chemicals.
Dang, I miss that stove! (Yes, Biggles, it runs hot. You need a thermometer.)
Posted by: cookiecrumb | 25 February 2006 at 11:01 PM
Okay all you smart alecs -- how do you suggest cleaning an oven without using deadly chemicals and tozic fumes?
I am renting a house with an old electric stove. I have not cleaned an oven in more than thirty years, since I was smart enough to have a self-cleaning wall oven way back then. I remember horrible spray-on foams and weird other sprays from my childhood but I am at a loss as to how to safely and
green-ly clean an oven. It is only nominally spattered with brown spots from a kind of tandoori dish I cooked with an Indian friend. I would like to make it spotless for baking. Hints, please, Heloise????
Posted by: Kudzu | 26 February 2006 at 01:13 AM
Bon Ami, Kudzu. Won't scratch is non-toxic and is the best way I've ever known to clean a stove or oven.
Baking soda soak with water to a paste also works well.
Shuna, coveting is a sin. You have now given me a reason to repent. Wowzer! Nice, nice nice! I say bake up a very nice gingerbread in the oven while using the dutch oven for your main dish!
Posted by: chronicler | 26 February 2006 at 11:05 PM
Hi Shuna - this looks great! I was visiting a local antique shop the other day and found a fantastic butcher's block - alas, it wasn't something I could afford but I was caressing it for a while... I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures, thank you for the lovely post.
Oh and I found an egg beater that looked just like 'yours' too, I might go back to get it :)
Posted by: keiko | 27 February 2006 at 08:02 AM
Thanks for the helpful tidbits, y'all. I need to remember to get an oven thermometer before I burn my first cake!
Posted by: Meredith | 27 February 2006 at 11:59 AM
Fantastic Butcher's Block.
If anyone is looking for an inexpensive nice sized hardwood cutting board, keep your eyes peeled for older portable dishwashers. They're usually free and the maple tops are still fantastic! Of course you'd have to dispose of the old unit according to local state and federal laws. Even so, it's nice to recycle when you can.
The roll-around shelf & cutting board next to my stove was made from such an item 20+ years ago. Sand and make nice! Oil and use.
Biggles
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | 27 February 2006 at 01:30 PM
Your red teapot (I think?) and now this blue cast-iron pot... Methinks you might have the best color taste of any person I know.
Posted by: Luisa | 27 February 2006 at 04:36 PM
This is what I love! An exchange of ideas and hints and flatteries! And lookie here-- all it was was a tiny corner of my oven!
So many comments! And it wasn't even controversial!
thank you thank you thank you!
Posted by: shuna fish lydon | 27 February 2006 at 10:00 PM