I am blaming all of you in this thread for convincing me to buy the Breville. It's all your fault. Marketing ploy? Nope....peer pressure I tell you!!!!!

My old B&D started acting up....it was the thermostat. At 12+ years old, not worth fixing. It got used very often so I'm not terribly surprised.

I think I'm going to enjoy this beast immensely. It takes up a "little" bit more counter than the old one but wow....it's nice.

"Over the weekend I made roasted Brussel's Sprouts in it"

Odd coincidence, I did the same thing in mine on Sunday as well. A 12" cast iron pan fits in easily. With the convection mode on, I was able to get a very good and even caramelization in under 30 minutes. I think the Breville will be used even more this summer to avoid turning on the oven.

For the spouts we just used the pan which came with the oven. It worked fine. Still haven't roasted the parsnips. . .

After about 6 years, the hinge on my Krups toaster oven broke. The was the earlier version of this toaster oven that Cooks Illustrated really liked; they didn't like the subsequent versions. I loved it - toasted well, great for baking/reheating small things. But the hinge isn't worth paying to replace, so it was time for a new one.

Just ordered the medium-sized Breville, which does not have the convection feature and is slightly smaller than their larger unit.

i recently bought the new Breville smart mini-oven. the first one i brought home didn't toast properly, though the oven worked. so i exchanged it for another at bed/bath/beyond. the 2d one works fine as a broiler/toaster/oven, but it has some features i find annoying: you have to hit the 'start' button twice to get it to start. the first time it just shows you what you've selected. so i still forget sometimes. also, the oven shuts off when its timer goes off, and the timer only beeps 3 times, quickly and not very loudly. it's extremely easy to not hear it, even when i'm in the same room. i would like an oven that stays on until i turn it off and a timer that beeps until i turn it off. i'm keeping the thing, but these features are not what i would have installed if i was designing a toaster oven, and at $150 for the darn thing, i can't say i'm terribly enthusiastic....

justjoan wrote:i recently bought the new Breville smart mini-oven. the first one i brought home didn't toast properly, though the oven worked. so i exchanged it for another at bed/bath/beyond. the 2d one works fine as a broiler/toaster/oven, but it has some features i find annoying: you have to hit the 'start' button twice to get it to start. the first time it just shows you what you've selected. so i still forget sometimes. also, the oven shuts off when its timer goes off, and the timer only beeps 3 times, quickly and not very loudly. it's extremely easy to ignore it, even when i'm in the same room. i would like an oven that stays on until i turn it off and a timer that beeps until i turn it off. i'm keeping the thing, but these features are not what i would have installed if i was designing a toaster oven, and at $150 for the darn thing, i can't say i'm terribly enthusiastic....

Are you selling it?

pairs4life wrote:

justjoan wrote:i recently bought the new Breville smart mini-oven. the first one i brought home didn't toast properly, though the oven worked. so i exchanged it for another at bed/bath/beyond. the 2d one works fine as a broiler/toaster/oven, but it has some features i find annoying: you have to hit the 'start' button twice to get it to start. the first time it just shows you what you've selected. so i still forget sometimes. also, the oven shuts off when its timer goes off, and the timer only beeps 3 times, quickly and not very loudly. it's extremely easy to ignore it, even when i'm in the same room. i would like an oven that stays on until i turn it off and a timer that beeps until i turn it off. i'm keeping the thing, but these features are not what i would have installed if i was designing a toaster oven, and at $150 for the darn thing, i can't say i'm terribly enthusiastic....

Are you selling it?

nope, it actually does what it's supposed to do. the toaster is so much better than the crappy cuisinart toaster/oven i've put up with for years. it just takes some getting used to. and i use a separate timer since the breville timer is so useless, IMO.

justjoan wrote:the oven shuts off when its timer goes off, and the timer only beeps 3 times, quickly and not very loudly. it's extremely easy to not hear it, even when i'm in the same room. i would like an oven that stays on until i turn it off and a timer that beeps until i turn it off.

The Breville I have has a time dial, like the temp dial, so even if the default is 5 mins you can change it to whatever you want - like 50 min or 5 hours or something. Just like you can adjust the temp higher or lower than the default. Does yours not do that?

boudreaulicious wrote:

pairs4life wrote:Anyone know of a repair person in Chicago.

We have a 20+ year old Black & Decker Toaster Oven that died today. My husband doesn't want to replace it. I think he may feel differently once he hears the cost of a repair.

Thanks,

Best post of the night. Maybe of the month.

Well thanks to lemoneater I have been " magically tidying up" and as such placed the still not repaired toaster oven in the car with Mr. pairs4life as he went fishing last weekend. I suggested he take it to a local hardware store, the kind of place that may still do small appliance repair. He gave it to his fishing buddy, an engineer. He checked the elements. They were good. Replaced the cord with an industrial one. It should be good for another 20+ years!

pairs4life wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:

pairs4life wrote:Anyone know of a repair person in Chicago.

We have a 20+ year old Black & Decker Toaster Oven that died today. My husband doesn't want to replace it. I think he may feel differently once he hears the cost of a repair.

Thanks,

Best post of the night. Maybe of the month.

Well thanks to lemoneater I have been " magically tidying up" and as such placed the still not repaired toaster oven in the car with Mr. pairs4life as he went fishing last weekend. i suggested he take it to a local hardware store, the kind of place that may still do small appliance repair. He gave it to his fishing buddy, an engineer. And it works!

If you're still looking for a new one,under $100 this is the last one I got,and I like a lot,especially with an extra rack: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z34OME

Thanks but no thanks that's my favorite.

Quote, just now from Mr. pairs4life: "That toaster oven is getting it done."-- The ultimate in use it up. :mrgreen

You can check Oster TSSTTVRB04 it has great popularity because of the performance it delivers and it can be purchased in under $100, currently this oven is available at Amazon also.

grmaryp4 wrote:You can check Oster TSSTTVRB04 it has great popularity because of the performance it delivers and it can be purchased in under $100, currently this oven is available at Amazon also.

My Black & Decker from 1987 still works!

The Brevilles are expensive but they are also hands-down great. I bought one for home a couple of years ago and I was so impressed that I bought two more - one for each of my offices. They heat quickly and toast evenly, and have a bunch of useful cooking modes (some convection). Especially at work, I love that every cooking mode defaults to auto shut-off because there are times that I get pulled away or diverted and the shut-off has prevented burnt food or, possibly, worse.

Right now, Sur La Table is having a sale on Breville ovens, with some models up to 45% off. I think that some of these offers actually net out lower than amazon. They're also offering a 20% off Friends & Family discount (code family18), though I'm not sure if the promotions are stackable. In any case, if you've been considering pulling the trigger on one of these, now might be the time.

=R=

Hi I'm zoid, and I'm a toaster oven junky [Hi zoid!]

Seriously, at one point I had six and I'm down to three. Why three?
1 - The smallest one is great for making toast/bagels/broiling sandwiches
2 - The mid-sized is perfectly capable of roasting a small chicken, baking a meatloaf, of even making a loaf of bread
3 - The big boy can handle a small turkey, a few pies, or 2 large take and bake pizzas, though I admit this is stretching the definition of a toaster oven

Admittedly 2 and 3 get WAY more use in the summer when I don't want to fire up the oven but 1 is on the counter and gets used at least once a week.

Has anyone tried one of the new Breville pizza ovens?

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/product ... zza%20Oven

In the Nov. - Dec. issue of Cooks Illustrated, they reviewed the June Intelligent Oven and raved about it. Of course at a $1,500 price tag, it might not be a realistic purchase for most. At that price, the thing should tuck you in and kiss you goodnight.

dukesdad wrote:Has anyone tried one of the new Breville pizza ovens?

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/product ... zza%20Oven

My friends tried it and loved it. It took about 2 minutes to make a thin crust. I think it makes a 12 inch pizza so it is fast for a family or crowd. They love making pizza so they are really excited about it.

dukesdad wrote:Has anyone tried one of the new Breville pizza ovens?

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/product ... zza%20Oven

Yes, I have had one for a few weeks. I'll say here what I've said in the pizzamaking.com forum. I've gone from being extremely skeptical to considering it as an adjunct to my WFO to wondering whether I will ever use my WFO again. It defies all of the smug"conventional wisdom" accreted over 18 years. It has produced some of the best Neapolitan and NYC-style pizzas I have ever made.

Chicago Hokie wrote:A 12" cast iron pan fits in easily.

We use a toaster oven (nothing fancy, I think it is a Black and Decker, non-electronic) on a regular basis since our regular oven broke. It is just the two of us and if we need to bake something larger I will use a cast iron dutch oven on the grill.

2 weeks ago I purchased "A 12" cast iron pan" for our oven.

https://shop.lodgemfg.com/skillets-and- ... on-pan.asp

Easily the largest pan that will fit and will make a full recipe. We made cottage pie last week and looking forward to chicken pot pie this.

Bill/SFNM wrote:I've gone from being extremely skeptical to considering it as an adjunct to my WFO to wondering whether I will ever use my WFO again. It defies all of the smug"conventional wisdom" accreted over 18 years. It has produced some of the best Neapolitan and NYC-style pizzas I have ever made.

Wow, that is a stunner. Whenever I have thought about you, I have always admired you having the lucky combination of: time, money and toys (cooking stuff like your wood fired oven).

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Whenever I have thought about you, I have always admired you having the lucky combination of: time, money and toys (cooking stuff like your wood fired oven).

You neglected to mention Bill/SFNM's two most important attributes, intelligence and imagination.

I've been following Bill/SFNM for coming on three decades though Usenet, chat rooms and forums, long before he bought his first Bernzomatic, immersion circulator or Klose BBQ pit, and quickly started learning, interacting and filing away his informed posts, ideas and out of the box techniques.

Meeting Bill/SFNM in person is high on my life goal bucket list.

G Wiv wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Whenever I have thought about you, I have always admired you having the lucky combination of: time, money and toys (cooking stuff like your wood fired oven).

You neglected to mention Bill/SFNM's two most important attributes, intelligence and imagination.

I've been following Bill/SFNM for coming on three decades though Usenet, chat rooms and forums, long before he bought his first Bernzomatic, immersion circulator or Klose BBQ pit, and quickly started learning, interacting and filing away his informed posts, ideas and out of the box techniques.

Meeting Bill/SFNM in person is high on my life goal bucket list.

Thank you for correcting my oversight. He is the complete package.

I remember when he had a short film clip of a pita bread baking in the oven. I started taking film clips of people making food. Deta making burek is over 80,000 views the last time I checked.

Very inspiring!

Regards,
Cathy2

G Wiv wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Whenever I have thought about you, I have always admired you having the lucky combination of: time, money and toys (cooking stuff like your wood fired oven).

You neglected to mention Bill/SFNM's two most important attributes, intelligence and imagination.

I've been following Bill/SFNM for coming on three decades though Usenet, chat rooms and forums, long before he bought his first Bernzomatic, immersion circulator or Klose BBQ pit, and quickly started learning, interacting and filing away his informed posts, ideas and out of the box techniques.

Meeting Bill/SFNM in person is high on my life goal bucket list.

What? No mention of my awesome humility?

Seriously, I appreciate the kind words. And really look forward to meeting you someday IRL. I think we could have been twins separated at birth, but I am much younger and better looking!

Cathy2 wrote:Thank you for correcting my oversight. He is the complete package.

Wow. What a great way for a thread to go wildly off-topic! Thank you. I am embarrased by this kindness. I should return here more often.

Back on-topic: I am loving the Breville. It does have a few drawbacks, but in many ways, it is a breakthrough in bringing delicious Neapolitan pizza to wider audience.

Thanks, Bill! You just saved me building a pizza oven. I'm sticking with the parrilla, though...unless I get the Otto steak grill instead.

Choey wrote:Thanks, Bill! You just saved me building a pizza oven. I'm sticking with the parrilla, though...unless I get the Otto steak grill instead.

We need to talk (and enjoy some pizza), Choey. There are so many options better than a custom-built WFO. We live in amazing times!

The toaster oven I use probably passed its intended life years ago. Still, it provided good service up until recently. I suspect some oil from food I was warming dripped onto the heating element. When I use the oven now, the oil smokes. Cleaning helped some, but as the oven is already quite old I feel that it's time for replacement.

I heard that toaster ovens aren't so safe. Not sure why, I guess maybe because they can pose a fire hazard, perhaps due to their simplicity. After hearing that I am always careful to keep an eye on things and unplug the unit when done.

While I would love to free up counter space, I do find having a toaster oven very practical. I use it to toast bread and also to warm small items. If I had room, I would also get a toaster to properly toast bread. As for warming small items, it seems like overkill to use the big "real" kitchen oven. I also don't like to warm up the place unnecessarily. Finally, I have limited kitchen storage and use the oven to hold various pots and pans, so it's a nuisance to remove all of them just to warm a small item.

Should I get another toaster https://thehomedweller.com/cuisinart-toasters/ oven? If so, any recommendations? I would like something reasonably attractive as it will always sit on the kitchen counter. Also, I don't have a lot of counter space so the footprint must be small. Current toaster oven: 15" length x 9.5" width x 8.5" (h). I realize that there are "over counter" models that are installed into the cabinets above. That wouldn't work for me, as I have under cabinet lighting. Besides, I wouldn't want to install something, anyway.

Or, should I just get a toaster for bread and plan to use the kitchen oven (or microwave, maybe, which can only warm certain things, at most, comparably) whenever I need to warm small items, which seems to occur frequently enough?

Thanks.

I was looking for a similar toaster oven (small kitchen). It's a little expensive ($170 or $135 at Abt), but in typical Japanese fashion it makes consistently amazing toast. I can toast 3 pieces in a row and they all taste/look great (yes, I have small indecisive children) vs our old one where the first was ok, but then steadily degraded where the third piece was barely warm bread. Not sure that it's worth 4 times as much as a cheap toaster oven, but I'm happy that I bought it (YMMV).

https://shop.panasonic.com/microwave-and-kitchen/kitchen-appliances/toaster-ovens/NB-G110.html?dwvar_NB-G110_color=Silver&Quantity=1

It looks a little like something from Star Wars landed on your counter. It has a small footprint, but a little taller than the typical Black and Decker. I love it.

jacketpotato wrote:I was looking for a similar toaster oven (small kitchen). It's a little expensive ($170 or $135 at Abt), but in typical Japanese fashion it makes consistently amazing toast. I can toast 3 pieces in a row and they all taste/look great (yes, I have small indecisive children) vs our old one where the first was ok, but then steadily degraded where the third piece was barely warm bread. Not sure that it's worth 4 times as much as a cheap toaster oven, but I'm happy that I bought it (YMMV).

https://shop.panasonic.com/microwave-and-kitchen/kitchen-appliances/toaster-ovens/NB-G110.html?dwvar_NB-G110_color=Silver&Quantity=1

It looks a little like something from Star Wars landed on your counter. It has a small footprint, but a little taller than the typical Black and Decker. I love it.

We have this and use it every day. Toast, bagels, waffles, reheating pizza and other leftovers, cooking chicken nuggets, baking any other small-batch thing. Well worth the money, IMO. (A curious note: the second piece of toast takes a shorter time than the first, because the oven is already warmed up!)