What are your two favorite kitchen appliances?

[PrincessFiona60]

I hate my KitchenAid toaster oven...sooner or later I will replace it but the price tag and the fact that it still works fine (well, that's a general term) I just can't commit yet.

What kind of convection/toaster oven do you have? What do you think are the best and worst features of the unit?

I have the Breville, 2 racks, easy use it's very straight forward, fairly quiet. I can bake bread, cook ribs, chicken, bake a medium pizza (12"). Dislike: large footprint on the counter. I love this, perfect for two people and works as adjunct oven space when cooking for family events.

On Edit: Brand Change, dopey me.

 

[Andy M.]

All you guys who don't use the safety tool sold with every mandolin ever, do you also not use seat belts, helmets on motorcycles, etc.? This is something I just don't understand. You turn your backs on a super tool because you didn't follow the instructions and got cut!

 

[taxlady]

All you guys who don't use the safety tool sold with every mandolin ever, do you also not use seat belts, helmets on motorcycles, etc.? This is something I just don't understand. You turn your backs on a super tool because you didn't follow the instructions and got cut!

I seldom use the gripper/pusher thingee that came with my mandolin. I much prefer my cut resistant glove. But, I'm the kind of person who considers having the three point seat belt removed from my car and replaced with a racing harness.

 

[GotGarlic]

I hate my KitchenAid toaster oven...sooner or later I will replace it but the price tag and the fact that it still works fine (well, that's a general term) I just can't commit yet.

What kind of convection/toaster oven do you have? What do you think are the best and worst features of the unit?

Mine is a Black & Decker. It has two shelves and a built-in probe thermometer. It's big enough to roast two large chicken breasts and enough veggies for the two of us. It toasts the top a bit more evenly than the bottom, but that doesn't bother me. It has a timer that turns off the heat at the finish - I love that. It's done an all-around good job for me.

 

[buckytom]

I hate my KitchenAid toaster oven...sooner or later I will replace it but the price tag and the fact that it still works fine (well, that's a general term) I just can't commit yet.

What kind of convection/toaster oven do you have? What do you think are the best and worst features of the unit?

I bought the Breville Mini Smart Oven from Bed Bugs Beyond last year and I have to say we love it. I debated going for the lower priced, disposable workhorses at $40 or so, but the reviews were good on a high end model, so I went with it. My wife, who uses it almost daily for breakfast or lunch, loves it.
She disagreed with me when I bought it, but now has absolutely no remembrance of ever objecting to the cost.

 

[caseydog]

All you guys who don't use the safety tool sold with every mandolin ever, do you also not use seat belts, helmets on motorcycles, etc.? This is something I just don't understand. You turn your backs on a super tool because you didn't follow the instructions and got cut!

All the instructions in the world don't make up for clumsy.

CD

 

[Caslon]

Microwave, toaster oven. If there were three choices...the microwave, the toaster oven, the toaster.

My toaster oven doesn't make toast that well.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

My two workhorses are our coffee maker and our toaster oven. Each are used once a day, the toaster oven frequently more than once. She's an old one, probably a minimum of a decade old, but still chugging along. Unfortunately.

I say unfortunately because I want a shiny new toy.

I have the Breville...

I bought the Breville Mini Smart Oven...

Obviously, you both enjoy your Breville. I've had my eye on their highest-end model, the Breville Smart Oven Air Convection Oven for a little while. Air fry, dehydrate...those things are kitchen-sexy, but how practical do you think they are? I haven't felt a need for those features until now, so could you please tell me which model you guys have? And tell me why I will be perfectly happy with even a basic Breville toaster oven. Mini won't be big enough, though - I can guarantee you that right now! I am looking for a new toaster oven that can do more than I've asked of Cuisinart - more like a counter-top standard oven, only smaller. Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[taxlady]

My two workhorses are our coffee maker and our toaster oven. Each are used once a day, the toaster oven frequently more than once. She's an old one, probably a minimum of a decade old, but still chugging along. Unfortunately.

I say unfortunately because I want a shiny new toy.



Obviously, you both enjoy your Breville. I've had my eye on their highest-end model, the Breville Smart Oven Air Convection Oven for a little while. Air fry, dehydrate...those things are kitchen-sexy, but how practical do you think they are? I haven't felt a need for those features until now, so could you please tell me which model you guys have? And tell me why I will be perfectly happy with even a basic Breville toaster oven. Mini won't be big enough, though - I can guarantee you that right now! I am looking for a new toaster oven that can do more than I've asked of Cuisinart - more like a counter-top standard oven, only smaller. Thanks for any help you can give!

That is a nice looking toaster oven. I don't know anything about "air frying", but I'm glad mine has convection and I can use it for dehydrating. Mine is a deLonghi. It cost $199 in 1995 and it's still going strong. It gets used a lot. The only two things I don't like about it are that I can't take the door off to clean it properly and it has a "continuous clean" interior surface. It's some horrible rough surface that I should supposedly be able to just wipe clean with water. It tears any cloth or sponge I try to wipe it with.

 

[Rparrny]

All you guys who don't use the safety tool sold with every mandolin ever, do you also not use seat belts, helmets on motorcycles, etc.? This is something I just don't understand. You turn your backs on a super tool because you didn't follow the instructions and got cut!

For foods like carrots, celery, cucumber, zucchini and such, using the guard can be very difficult until your closer to the end...it's that determination of how close can I safely go that screws me up...and that was in the beginning, once cut you quickly adjust your determination. Haven't been cut in decades.

And yes I DO always wear my seatbelt.

 

[Rparrny]

I loved all the responses to the toaster oven questions thank you. GG (gotgarlic) was the only one to answer the toast question, thank you...and btw, what is UP with that? We usually buy a toaster oven to replace our toaster with something that has more versatility...but I have yet to find a toaster oven that makes good toast! Like GG, my KA toasts unevenly...less on the bottom than on top. Shouldn't a toaster oven, first and foremost...make toast?
Princess, you mention the footprint on your toaster...my KA is huge and although I wouldn't mind a smaller unit I could handle a large one if it was worth it.
A dehydrator is a nice function...I have an Excalibur but I could see myself using it for small amounts of things I normally wouldn't bother with.
I see many of you chose the Breville...I will have to check them out. Thanks


















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[tenspeed]

The full size Breville (not the air fryer version) is a fairly recent purchase, so I haven't done a lot with it yet. It works well for two people, and I wouldn't get anything smaller. It's much quieter than the noisy wall oven, and heats up in less than 5 minutes. It will hold a quarter sheet baking pan, so it works for oven fries, roasted veggies, etc. I've made a few meals in a small glass baking dish (such as salmon with scalloped potatoes), and it works pretty much like the wall oven.

 

[RPCookin]

All you guys who don't use the safety tool sold with every mandolin ever, do you also not use seat belts, helmets on motorcycles, etc.? This is something I just don't understand. You turn your backs on a super tool because you didn't follow the instructions and got cut!

Because that "tool" is a royal pain in the butt to use. The one that came with mine slips when used with softer foods like zucchini, and is completely useless with cabbage or lettuce. The gloves are just like using my bare hands except that I actually get a better grip, and don't have to worry about injury. I can process right down to the last bit, eliminating any waste.

I don't know why you seem so dead set against the idea. I think that they should be a mandatory inclusion in any mandoline packaging.

The ones in this link are available in 4 sizes, so they should work for anyone. Another brand from Amazon even comes in several colors for cooks who require kitchen color coordination.

 

[Andy M.]

...I don't know why you seem so dead set against the idea...

I'm not at all against protective gloves. My issue is with people who used nothing at all and refuse to use a mandolin as a result, rather than using the provided protection.

I have a V-Slicer with a pronged tool that holds the food to be sliced and provides complete protection. I also can slice down to the last thin piece.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I cringe anytime I hear or read the word, "mandolin."

I bought my first one about 20 years ago. Used it once, and cut off a fingertip. That finger healed by itself. I sold the mandolin in a garage sale.

That is why they put the food holder in the package with the mandoline

About two or three years ago, I bought a really good one on sale at Williams-Sanoma. Used it once, cut off a fingertip.

The definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting a different result.

 

[skilletlicker]

I'm not at all against protective gloves. My issue is with people who used nothing at all and refuse to use a mandolin as a result, rather than using the provided protection.

I have a V-Slicer with a pronged tool that holds the food to be sliced and provides complete protection. I also can slice down to the last thin piece.

I've got one of those too. Never cut myself on it but almost never use it. Quicker to just use a sharp knife. But I can't understand what the argument is about. No skin off my nose if somebody uses a mandolin, or not, with or without the guard. Unless that somebody is a child or employee I'm responsible for. In that case, I'd insist on the guard.

But if I had it to do over again, this is the kind I'd buy.

 

[Vinylhanger]

I don't really use any appliances besides the stove top.

I did love my rice cooker until it melted itself, so I suppose my crockpot is my favorite now.

Though, if I could pick anything, it would be my propane smoker.

 

[Addie]

Because that "tool" is a royal pain in the butt to use. The one that came with mine slips when used with softer foods like zucchini, and is completely useless with cabbage or lettuce. The gloves are just like using my bare hands except that I actually get a better grip, and don't have to worry about injury. I can process right down to the last bit, eliminating any waste.

I don't know why you seem so dead set against the idea. I think that they should be a mandatory inclusion in any mandoline packaging.

The ones in this link are available in 4 sizes, so they should work for anyone. Another brand from Amazon even comes in several colors for cooks who require kitchen color coordination.

What I would consider waste would be the tip of a finger or two. I would rather toss that last piece of onion than take a trip to the ER.

 

[GotGarlic]

What I would consider waste would be the tip of a finger or two. I would rather toss that last piece of onion than take a trip to the ER.

I just use a knife for the last little bit. Right tool for the right job

 

[Addie]

I just use a knife for the last little bit. Right tool for the right job

Yeh, I can buy that.