Newbie here - love my Egg and new Outdoor Kitchen

Newbie here - been lurking around here for a couple weeks and I want to say thanks for all the terrific information I have learned about Egging. I look forward to learning more and hopefully sharing some of my experiences.

We have nearly finished a complete indoor kitchen exansion/renovation project that included the addition of an outdoor cooking area and patio. It was important to me that we create a covered area for ouddoor cooking that I could utilize in any weather. Since they had to reconfigure the roof anyway for the indoor kitchen expansion, who not simply add a few more feet to the screened-in porch and have a place for me to grill or slow cook protected from the weather. Once you start spending this kind of money what's a few more bucks anyway?? :S

The pic below shows the nearly finished product. The hood is a 60" Vent-A-Hood that moves 1,200 CFMs. It does a great job keeping the smoke off the ceiling and out of the adjacent screened-in porch. The light from the four 50 watt halogen bulbs is tremendous. It is amazing how well one can cook when they can actually see what they are cooking! :laugh:

I will continue to use my gas grill for burgers, dogs and such for large gatherings, but the Egg has now become my go-to cooker. After having the egg for exactly one week now I have done pizza, burgers, 6 racks of ribs, and a 9 lb beef brisket. All have been terrific (ok, I'll admit that the first batch of ribs were somewhat overcooked but the ones I did on Memorial day were the best I ever ate). I plan to do some Ahi Tuna steaks tonight.

Here is the nearly finished cooking area (still waiting for the completion of some trim work and paint). Since its completion a couple weeks ago my family (wife and 4 kids ages 2-15) has been outside in the back yard and on the porch/patio virtually every afternoon/evening. What a great addition, investment really, to our home and something we definitely will enjoy for years to come.