Question to fishlessman or anyone about soapstone griddle

gdenby

Hi all, and particularily fishlessman,[p]I just bought a soapstone griddle, and cured it over a platesetter at 350. The included instructions were almost non-existent, and so I wonder some about using it. Some on-line references say to have a spacer between soapstone vessels and open flame. True? Is it o.k. to place it on either a lower or raised grid, with a dome up to 500? I'd hate to shatter it, its a really nice piece of cookware.[p]TIA[p]gdenby

fishlessman

gdenby,
ive got two griddles, one says its ok for an open flame and its thicker with a groove around the outside perimeter, the other is larger but thinner with a lip and it said it was for inderect, no flames under it. the large one has a been cracked for several years but the copper band seams to hold it together, ive had that one up to about 900 degrees. the small one has been up to maybe 600 and nothing has gone wrong with it. i cook on both sides of them, pizza on the back side, greasy stuff on the lipped, grooved side. if yours has the copper band, be aware that the copper will blacken and it softens with high heat ie. the handles will be soft enough to bend on it while carrying.

gdenby

fishlessman,[p]Thanks. I've got one with the copper band and handles, with an outer drip groove. Those Monte Cristos you did awhile back looked so good, that I'm going to give them a try.[p]gdenby

bw

gdenby,[p]Monte Criscos sound yummy..Anyway of getting a recipe for that. I missed out seeing the pictures.[p]bw

gdenby

bw,[p]If you search the archives on Monte the post comes up. fishlessman just comments that the basic ham and swiss fillings worked better that the prosciutto and ? other cheese. He posted some nice pics of the hot and bubbly samidges.[p]The recipes I have all are similar. Slice of bread, butter, slices of ham, butter, bread, mustard, butter, ham, cheese, butter, bread. Brush with egg dip & slice diagonally. Skewer with toothpicks, and fry or grill on sides. Some recipes say trim the crusts. Essentially, a double-decker grilled cheese.[p]gdenby

fishlessman

<p />gdenby,
i put a little sugar and vanilla in the egg dip and stacked them higher with wooden skewers. and added the butter last instead of between the slices with the syrup. maybe some thin sliced pineapple in there would be good too.