Fornetto Wood Fired (or Charcoal) Oven and Smoker Review for 2014

One of the big trends in Outdoor Living for 2014 is the addition of the Wood Fired Grill and Pizza Oven combinations.  One of the premier cooking products for this category is the Fornetto!  I had an opportunity to take a close look at this and actually eat and taste test some food from it.  What great  unbelievable flavor!

Couple of things I really appreciated when I used the Fornetto 1. Really easy to use 2. Really liked the "oven window" feature where I was able to to actually see my food being cooked. 3. I also enjoyed the "group cooking" aspect where it was truly a conversation piece. 4. You can use lump charcoal OR flavored wood which really allows for the "cook" to be creative and add a lot of zest into the food without adding a lot of additives or preservatives and spices which made the flavor that much more spectacular!

The other thing I really took notice of is that while we were making wood fired pizzas the Fornetto was able to cook/bake the entire pizza from start to finish in about 8-10 minutes.  Everyone made their own personal pan pizzas and it was a LOT of fun is less than an hour!

Finally, and what I felt sealed the deal, was the fact that it was very portable.  You could move and maneuver the pizza oven from place to place very easily which made it nice for the entire family.

Here are some pictures of what the pizza oven looks like!  It's got a few colors to choose from, but as you can see - a great look to any patio and a great way for the outdoor cooking enthusiast to add to their capabilities in experiencing their outdoor living space!

You can purchase this directly from the Family Leisure website here

http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Fornetto-Wood-Fired-Oven-Smoker

and if you check out using the RGRILL5 Code you can receive a special 5% discount indicating that you read this blog post!

Direct Free Standing Images

Free Standing Perspective Picture

Get Wood/Charcoal Fired Up!!!!!!

Ready for next season - one of the last outdoor kitchen installs of 2013

When you hear people say "I love to grill year round, if I could I would grill out every day of the year!"

Do you think those hard core grillers really mean it?  Well these folks sure do!  We installed this outdoor kitchen December 17th and I believe they plan on using it this weekend despite it being below 0 outside.  As you can see from the pictures there is quite a bit of ice on the lake, but can you imagine the view when it thaws this spring? 

I sure can!

What we did here was a clay powder stucco, weather tight Fire Magic doors and drawers with rain guards due to the proximity of the kitchen to the lake, and a Baltic Brown solid surface granite top.  Not trying to conflict with the beautiful red brick masonry that was already in place we decided simple was better the granite offered a great accent to an already beautiful backyard.

We completed the outdoor kitchen with a 38" Delta Heat grill with rotisserie!

One of the benefits of purchasing a true "premium grill" is that the customer is getting a 304 stainless, dual lined grill head that can get to AND maintain the high heat necessary for grilling in colder weather.  Often times a lot of the grills that come at a lower price point are advertised as stainless steel, but a much thinner stainless and often times even a stainless steel that can still be corrosive under harsher elements.  Not this grill that was redesigned this year by Twin Eagles.

That being said - enjoy the view and get ready for warmer weather!  It will be here sooner than you know it!

Full Rendering - Delta/Fire Magic

Pre-draw concept

Completion 1 Angle View

Completion Side View

Saber Infrared Grill has unveiled their full outdoor kitchen component line and I got a sneak peak in Las Vegas!

The Saber IR Grill has been moving up the charts quickly with name recognition as well as performance in the field for the value and price point.

This year they decided to add to the grill line by introducing a full range of outdoor kitchen components ranging from doors and drawers to a paper towel holder.

Although these will not be available to ship to the consumer until January 15th, 2014 I was able to get some images of what's in store in outdoor living and outdoor cooking.

Here are some pictures of what's coming next year!

Of course these will be able for pre-order at

http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Saber-Grills


Enjoy and get ready for a great 2014 in outdoor living and outdoor cooking!

Saber 304 Double Door

Saber Outdoor Rated Fridge

Saber Horizontal Access Door

Saber Paper Towel Holder

Saber LP Tank or Trash Can

Saber Door/Triple Drawer Combo

Twin Eagles Custom Outdoor Kitchen - just in time for Thanksgiving turkey!!!

This is an example of a particularly tricky outdoor kitchen, but with precise measurements we were able to allow for a kitchen that not only satisfied some spatial and framing requirements, but we were also able to create a more complete cooking experience by working around the support post and creating a small bar/serving area for a couple of folks to enjoy their meal or relax and enjoy the smell of the great food coming off the grill!

This Thanksgiving turkey doesn't stand a chance with what's under the hood in this custom outdoor kitchen.

This outdoor kitchen features:

Twin Eagles 36" grill with Rotis and Sear Station
Twin Eagles Double Side Burner
Twin Eagles Door/Double Drawer Combination
Twin Eagles Paper Towel Holder
Twin Eagles Outdoor Rated Refrigerator
Tan Brown Granite
Autumn Profit Cultured Stone

Because of precise planning we were able to fabricate the granite properly prior to its arrival making for an even faster installation just in time for the Thanksgiving turkey that's going to be be on the rotis!!!!

Enjoy the pictures!

Approved CAD drawing

Drawing with deck support post

Custom kitchen angle 1 finish pic

Custom kitchen angle 2 finish pic

You can find this Twin Eagles product as well as other fantastic built in components and appliances here at our website:

Twin Eagles 36" Gas Grill

http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/36-Gas-Grill-Head

Twin Eagles Double Side Burner

http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Double-Burner

Twin Eagles Paper Towel Holder

http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Paper-Towel-Drawer

Twin Eagles Outdoor Rated Refrigerator

http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Outdoor-Refrigerator

Exposed Aggregate Patio with a matching kitchen and fireplace!!!!

What we did here tried to maximize space as well as functionality into a backyard using planning to the inch.

In order to stay within budget we were able to make some specific concessions are parts of the project in order to bring the home owner more of a complete outdoor space.

We started working closely together on a design and after a few revisions this was the plan we both agreed would bring a complete look to life!

Materials:
1. Exponsed Aggregate Concrete
2. Aspen grouted cultured stone
3. 96" tall wood burning fireplace
4. Outdoor kitchen with a Saffire Smoker and a Titan grill

2D Rendering approved drawing

3D rendering

3D point of view

Exact same angle live after completion!  Hot tub to come later!!!

Another perspective behind the kitchen

Outdoor Room Full View!!!!

Indiana Hoosier infuenced outdoor kitchen and fire pit!!!!!

What we did here was drastically improve what was once a cracked concrete overlay (which I personally never recommend), ripped out the concrete and replaced it with a solid 2 color stamped English York Pattern that will eventually accent the stone and granite we chose for the outdoor kitchen.  As you scroll down the post you will see the progression photos from start to finish.

Also note that the home owner had a hot tub on their deck that was going unused and we wanted to maximize their space without really increasing the amount of useable space so we added some "Fire" to their deck and finished the look with a beautiful 48" chat height fire pit!!!!

Structurally on the kitchen
Charcoal Mist Cultured Stone
New Caledonia Granite

Outdoor Kitchen Components

38" Delta Heat Grill which you can find here:
 http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/38-Outdoor-Gas-Grill-Head
 36" Delta Heat Door/ Drawer Combination
http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/36-Door-Two-Drawer-Combo
Delta Heat Tall Trash Can
http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Trash-LP-Tank-Drawer
Bull Outdoor Fridge
http://www.familyleisure.com/Grills/Premium-Outdoor-Rated-Fridge

Fire Pit Details
Charcoal Mist Cultured Stone
Uba Tuba Granite
48"
Three fire glass colors
Glacier Ice Fire Glass which you can find here:
http://www.familyleisure.com/Outdoor-Rooms/Glacier-Ice-Fire-Beads
Crystal Red Eco Glass which you can find here:
http://www.familyleisure.com/Outdoor-Rooms/Crystal-Red-Eco-Glass
Jet Black Fire Glass which you can find here:
http://www.familyleisure.com/Outdoor-Rooms/Jet-Black-Eco-Glass

Go Hoosiers!!!!!!

Before (note the concrete overlay that was starting to crack!)

Final Kitchen Utilities

Approved Build Drawings

Finished new English York Stamp Concrete/ Stub For Firepit in deck

During Long Shots (stubs in place)

Built in Grill Shot with lights on

Complete Kitchen Wide View

Another Angled View

Uba Tuba Granite with three fireglass colors!  Go Hoosiers!!!

Lit Firepit!!!! Let's go Hoosiers!!!!

New Venetian Gold Granite kitchen with a firepit and mixed reflective glass to match!!!! Now THAT is custom!

What a great finish to a nice project that's been been ongoing since the end of spring.  Here we have a custom 20 x 18 foot paver patio that was missing something!  What we did to maximize the space, and the grill/bar footprint was combine them all together so that not only could the kitchen area be a place to grill, but also a place to eat, sit by the fire, and relax!

The bar ledge which goes entirely around the back side seats about 10 people and we added about 2 feet of prep to the left of the grill.

What makes this unique from a lot of other featured on this outdoor living blog is that we decided to not try and contrast what was happening with the the beautiful paver flooring, but rather keep the base simple with an outdoor rated stucco, but make the top of the kichen/bar area POP with a New Venetian Granite top and some beautiful reflective matching fire pit glass.

What do you think!!!!

Custom paverstone patio

New Venetian Gold granite top with matching reflective fire glass

Got the island set and all of the components in place

Saber 670 Infrared Grill

We added the furniture and the umbrella and we are all set!