Ready, set, DELAY!

Boy, I could get used to this.

The new oven has a delay bake feature.

Given that every oven I've cooked in has been at least old enough to legally vote, these new-fangled features are a mystery to me. Just having an oven that heats to the temperature at which you set it is a novelty. The perfect cooking stars finally aligned today (big enough recipe to warrant using the oven, adequate time in the afternoon to delay the baking until dinnertime, and an overwhelming desire for a nap) and I was able to use the delay bake/cook and hold function.

Setting the delay, cooking temperature and baking time is fairly straightforward, although there is no room for dalliance or second thoughts; if you delay (bad joke) in entering the next variable, the whole thing reverts back to nothing and you need to begin again.

Since Sunday is one of my "big" cooking days - I will often prepare a fairly large casserole or roast to subdivide for weekday lunches - I can see popping something in the oven before I leave for church, to return home to the delicious smells of a fully-cooked meal wafting from the oven.

Now if only they made an appliance that washes dishes.