42” Corner Build in the Shadow of Mount Nittany

[Giovanni Rossi]

The next generation?

Our son started a 27 month tour in Kenya with the Peace Corps in Sept. Got a message the other day that he and some others in his cohort are thinking of building small wood-fired ovens. Said he will probably ask for advice when the time comes. Considering most of them are in pretty remote locations, I'm thinking a cob oven is the way to go. If he decides to pull the trigger, I'll probably tap the knowledge on the Forum.

[JRPizza]

You must be proud of your son - getting valuable life experience while helping the needy!

[Giovanni Rossi]

You must be proud of your son - getting valuable life experience while helping the needy!

You know it JR. I was tentative at first, but what a great experience it may be. He's a 30 yo mechanical engineer who's both thoughtful and thought-provoking. He recognizes how fortunate he is to have been born in a place that has provided opportunity and advantage and was compelled to give something back. He'll be teaching STEM subjects to secondary students. When not teaching, he's hoping to use his knowledge to stabilize his water and electricity supplies in the remote area he's been assigned.

[JRPizza]

Awesome - hopefully he will get a chance to build an oven or two

[Giovanni Rossi]

2nd Thanksgiving turkey

Fired Wed afternoon to a dome temp of 460F.
Daughter had a great idea to roast the neck and backbone while firing the oven. Then used those morsels to make a fantastic gravy!

It was a pretty chilly night. Started roasting at 2 PM Thur when temp was 380F. 2 hours later the bird was done.

Made some grissini with the residual heat.

[Giovanni Rossi]

The next addition to my build was going to be my new and improved insulated door insert but that's been delayed until fall.

Instead, here's a detail our daughter added to the pizza making station!

[SableSprings]

That should be the motto for our forno community!

[JRPizza]

The next addition to my build was going to be my new and improved insulated door insert but that's been delayed until fall.

Instead, here's a detail our daughter added to the pizza making station!

Amen to that!

[RandyJ]

Looks great. I need to finish a few more of my details too. I will be interested to see what you end up doing for a Insulated door. I wish Ben had a option for that on his site. I would think that would be a big seller.

I put a deposit down to have someone build me a paver patio next month. I was going to do it myself but have been doing to much overtime and have not had time. So I guess i will just spend the extra money on having someone else do it for me.

Have you been using the oven a lot. We have been using ours every other week or so lately.

Randy

[Giovanni Rossi]

Hey RandyJ, Thanks, it's been fun showing off the final product and explaining wood-fired cooking to guests.

I used some leftover Foamglas and CaSil board and sealed it well in a maple box for my first attempt at an insert. The concept was sound, by my execution was not. The only thing I had to do was remove Ben's door thermometer when I used the insert. My second attempt at a door gasket using a bead of the red Permatex was a winner and is holding up well. Unfortunately, I put the insert in after a pizza party when the oven was a bit too hot and really charred the inside face.

Hope the patio turns out well. There's something to be said about coming home after work and seeing progress on a project instead of having to suit up and getting to work!

Not using it as much as we like. It's been so rainy and, until recently, downright chilly. So, we've had only 3 parties so far this season. Daughter bought a house and we've been putting in lots of remodeling hours getting ready for move in day. We'll see how things go the rest of the year. On a positive note: the cost per pizza has dipped below $40

[UtahBeehiver]

Now a days $40 dollar "GOOD" pizza is not too far out of the ballpark.

[SableSprings]

Yes, I remember the elation I felt when my bread loaves dropped to under $100 each!