If I may pivot to pessimism, since you have your backup stored away, you may find that when your main MW crosses the appliance rainbow bridge, your backup m/w has also become defunct in sympathy.
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We have a small galley kitchen. It’s very tight but extremely efficient. We built it in the early 90’s on a shoestring budget - my husband built the cherry cabinets since he learned the trade from his father. Now that we have entered our 70’s, we appreciate the easy dance we do cooking in it. The microwave is something we use everyday. It’s counter height. I would never be safe taking a hot dish out of an overhead appliance. I’m short and not that strong. I would end up with hot food and a lid on my head.
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Not sure whether coveting, waiting, or saving. Perhaps a mix of all three. I’ve been on the fence about replacing my electric range with gas for years. I’m hesitant because we need to extend a gas line from some other place in our house. We may have gas water heater - not sure - but we don’t have a line to the kitchen. And then also the environmental impact of gas. And I live in a very liberal town where they are coming after gas appliances in new builds, and at some point they may become verboten altogether. That said, I’ve worked with gas stoves before, I vastly prefer them, some of the ones out of Europe are downright gorgeous, and I am otherwise a pretty environmentally responsible person. Anyway, an internal conflict that will eventually be resolved. But…inertia. You know. I don’t want induction. I can’t achieve a char with induction. And I don’t want to learn a new technology or buy new pots/pans. If no gas, then I’ll stick with what I currently have.
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We just replaced a 20 year old gas range. We have no natural gas running to our property, our old gas range ran on propane but the conversion from LP to propane really sucked and it was underpowered. This time we bought a Bosch slide in to replace the POS GE we had. The gas plumber did a bang up job with the propane conversion kit and we’re thrilled. We have a convection oven, kickass middle power burner and more BTU’s than we we ever had and I’m so glad that thing died. The appliance was around $1700 and the plumber charged us around $680. So worth it - should last us until we go into assisted care.
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I hear you! I “solved” this by getting a four burner induction stove top and a two burner gas stove top (I had always had gas), but it sounds like you need the oven under. FWIW, I really only use the gas to char, but I wouldn’t want to be living without that potential. And I didn’t have to buy new pots/pans. I got rid of my early Farberware set finally that weren’t suitable for induction, but everything else I had worked. I took a magnet that fell out of my old cabinet door, and went around with it to all of my pots and pans. I was surprised…
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Lol. Do they age out?
I’m thinking about going the same. I have an appointment with gas company next week. I’m going to see if it’s feasible to extend the pool gas line to the house.
I hate electric.
Supposedly they’re banning gas in all homes in NY by 2030 or something like that. I’ll be outta here by then.
I’m in Western WA - not Seattle, but similarly environmentally minded. I hopefully am not leaving anytime soon. I love it hear. The beauty and the hiking opportunities are unparalleled.
My little test kitchen is all-electric. I’m currently baking pizza in a countertop oven (on a baking stone). I should probably have a custom-sized thick baking steel made for that oven, to approximate a good pizza.
As Neapolitan pizza really excels when it gets cooked in 2-3 minutes (at 900F or so), I haven’t been able to justify picking up a serious baking steel. I should probably get one anyway, as a backup, even if I pick up the pizza oven.
I make pizza in a Kamado joe. Comes out great.
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I just loved our itty bitty 1930’s Spark gas stove. So efficient and reliable. Had to leave it when we moved and our next one was a huge Amana POS. Two holiday dinner oven failures and repairs were the last straw. Could never find a satisfactory replacement. When we moved again, we did not have a gas line to the kitchen and just stayed with the electric kitchen appliances here. Electric thermostats seem to be a constant disappointment. Would love gas for the cooktop at least but asthma and environmental concerns rule that out. MIL went with the top shelf GE gas range and cooktop twenty years ago and what a rabbit hole that was for her. I think the repair person must have earned some fancy vacations off of her. Dreams…
I’m not understanding. You’re skipping the progression from “regular” home oven pizza directly to a high-temp, sub-2-minute Neapolitan oven?
A piece of scrap steel is dirt cheap, and there are ways to boost the effective temperature to about 600 or 650F. Do you already know you want/need 900F? Do you regularly make enough pizza in the N style to justify the big outlay without trying a steel?
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Speaking of dreams, if I were to go off aesthetics alone, I’d be choosing this range. Probably red, but the orange and yellow are also swoonworthy.
https://www.build.com/product/summary/1511009?uid=3543284&jmtest=gg-gbav2_3543284&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5NSdBhDfARIsALzs2EDbRUp68GsFhLyo6ykqBiCkL94OszF4ZNMoLKtf-FeKsk1Hmkfj09MaAqG3EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Yes to insurance microwave! My parents bought their currency on as a new house gift to themselves in 1979. Still going strong except for the light which mom won’t let dad fix. There was a hiccup which required a potential replacement 25 or so years ago. The replacement is still in its box
Yeah, Neapolitan pizza is basically the kind of pizza I like 90% of the time. I haven’t tried a baking steel in this particular oven because it’s a countertop (small) electric oven and there aren’t a lot of great baking steels in this size. But a custom-sized thick baking steel is on my list of things to try. I am all for experimenting/learning.
I have also looked at the Breville Pizzaiolo as a potential option for Neapolitan pizza. But the thread was titled “coveting” so I figured I should post about the oven I really want, rather than the more reasonable one I could use if I didn’t covet the nice one. 
I am also hoping to use an Effeuno as an oven for certain types of bread. It can work well for those too (unlike the Pizzaiolo which is more of a single-use machine).
Okay, I get it. You could also dream of having Stefano Ferrara build you a pizza oven. See, https://www.eater.com/2014/3/31/6254697/inside-the-world-of-stefano-ferrara-pizza-ovens
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Adding my currant wish for next fall’s sales. Will need the lid with this one. I have the 20 cm version, but could do with something a bit larger:
That’s a great pick. I have the 24cm Copper Coeur stew pan (same pan as the saucier, but with two helper-style handles instead of a long handle).
What do you make in your 20cm saucier? What are you thinking about making in the 24cm saucier?
I make big batches of fruit preserves in my 24cm stew pan. Like I put a whole pineapple or a whole melon in there (cored and diced into pieces) plus 16.7% sugar by weight. I simmer using a fixed temperature and stir occasionally. I pair the preserves with yogurt (scalded in the 24cm pot-au-feu, then sous-vide incubated in Weck jars). That combo is my after-breakfast treat almost every day. 160 calories, 12 grams of protein. Makes me pretty happy. 
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That’s a beauty.
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My ten all linen waffle weave dish cloths arrived from Lithuania! They are natural (no dye). I gave them my standard linen treatment, a quick wash with 1/4 cup of vinegar and a second quick wash with 1/4 cup of baking soda. They are, unsurprisingly, fantastic. LinenHomeStudio on Etsy.
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