Art Culinaire French Ranges

For those of you who have time and have been using your ranges for a while, I'd love some advice and encouragement. My Cluny 1400 has been stored in our barn for the last 4 months, and will not be hooked up until February, but I am chomping at the bit. I opted for the traditional plate and really want to master it. Where do I begin? This is our environment: We live on a property but are not commercial farmers; however, we grow for ourselves everything from apples to peaches to 30 varieties of lettuce and greens, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes---most everything you can buy in a traditional market, but FRESH! I want to experiment, but am slightly intimidated by the thought of winging it. I saw some illustration recently of a chef using either a plate or a griddle to just throw a slightly seasoned slab of cod and bundle of fresh asparagus on top, "grill" them, et voila! Is this too simple? What would be the proper tool to use for such a preparation: the griddle or the traditional plate? I'm so excited I could go on forever with various inspirations and inquiries, but I'd love some feedback. Sincerely

Hello Cprice,

Did your range get installed yet?

I say wing it and then post the results. I have the simmer plate that has the wok plate in the middle (haven't a clue what it's really called) and I think that may be messy to use as a grill top. I thought that you could purchase a moveable griddle top?

Anyway, congratulations!
dy

The other day I went to the garden and picked some Swiss chard to dinner. Having reviewed some ideas in cookbooks, I blanched the chard and then wrapped them around a rice-feta-raisin mixture to form bundles. Not a perfect presentation ( wrapping technique a little faulty) but it was delicious. My question is: I ended up baking the bundles in a buttered pan, but could I have used the traditional plate to seer them? I'm dying to learn more about using that plate!

I have the traditional plate and use it for simmering all the time. It takes 5 minutes or so to warm it up, then you adjust the heat and place your pan(s) wherever you find that they simmer best. You can also use it for more than one pan at the same time, a real plus for me since I have le petit cormatin. Have fun with it!
Regards,
Gwen

cprice,
The traditional plate is not intended to be used as a griddle with the food directly in contact. It is intended that pots and pans will be placed on it and moved around to vary the cooking temperature. For searing foods you can remove the "manhole cover" in the center and place a skillet or saut? pan over the 18,000 BTU flame underneath.
-Doug