Clark, Melissa. "No One Ever Slaved Over a Hot Toaster Oven. (Dining,
Dining Out/Cultural Desk)(THE SUMMER COOK)." The New York Times (August
24, 2005): F1(L)


A CONFESSION: Until recently, tucked between the latest-model ice cream
maker and a high-tech juicer, sat the toaster oven I've had since
college. A minimalist metal shoe box, it has gotten me through
countless bagels and reheated spinach pies over way too many years. But
if it hadn't been for a string of 90-plus-degree days with 90 percent
humidity, I probably would never have bothered replacing it short of a
natural crumby death.

But the weather, coupled with social obligations, made me reconsider
this neglected appliance. Unlike a regular oven, a toaster oven doesn't
heat up the kitchen. Thus I could do more than just make salad out of
the cartloads of vegetables from the farmers' market week after week,
and perhaps even attempt a summer fruit pie, without melting into a
gelatinous puddle of sweaty misery.

Of course for any of this to be possible, my old college stalwart would
have to go. Using it to cook things more involved than English-muffin
pizza would require more sophisticated settings than the two it was
capable of: barely hot enough to warm a bagel, and too hot to toast
without burning the edges.

A little research revealed that toaster oven technology has come a long
way since I graduated from college. For one, the capacity has grown.
Without commanding that much more counter space, the new models are
designed to hold up to six slices of toast or four chops or fish
steaks, twice as much as my old one. The settings have gone upmarket,
now including an array of different bake, roast, toast, broil and
convection options -- a whole lot more than my big oven.

These slick new toaster ovens are good-looking, too. The silver
DeLonghi I ended up with has the spiffy glamour of a 1960's Aston
Martin, albeit shrunken to kid-size proportions.

For me the diminutive size was the best part. Adorable and wee, it
filled my childhood Easy-Bake oven void. With epicures for parents, I
was encouraged to use the regular stove (under supervision), never
''baking'' a chocolate cake by the heat of a 100-watt bulb. My new
toaster oven, several decades later, makes a good regressive stand-in.
Two six-inch cake pans will just fit side by side, so a doll-size
chocolate layer cake is definitely in my near future.

More immediately, though, was the dinner I planned. A midweek August
meal for four, it needed to be something that was easy to do at the
last minute and that took advantage of the season's fresh produce.
Because like a regular oven, the toaster oven has precise temperature
settings, I had many baking and roasting options. Did I want to roast
vegetables like zucchini and eggplant under high heat, or slow-bake
delicate items like Swiss chard flans or a batch of buttery shortbread
flavored with fresh herbs (verbena, rosemary, lemon-thyme, or
lavender)?

After some experimentation and with guidance from the galley proofs of
''The Gourmet Toaster Oven,'' by Lynn Alley (soon to be published by
Ten Speed Press), I realized that I could adapt many full-size-oven
recipes to the toaster oven. Whole chickens, ducks and large meat
roasts, of course, are out. Cut-up chicken parts, however, work nicely.
And so do thick-cut chops and steaks, small whole fish and fish
fillets. In produce, the key is to use vegetable chunks, not slices.

Given those limitations, I could prepare dinner comfortably for two to
four but not really five or six. Or I could make part of a larger
dinner in the toaster oven (such as shortbread, a pie, meatloaf or
roasted garlic for pasta or roasted figs as part of a salad), and do
the rest outside on the grill, on top of the stove, or even easier, via
takeout.

After considering my usual roster of chicken, pork, steak and fish for
a main course I picked up some veal chops because I wanted something
slightly fancier than anyone might expect from a toaster oven. All I
did was rub the meat with garlic, chipotle chilies, brown sugar and oil
before broiling.

For a starter, the goal was to make something colorful, summery -- and
ahead of time. A mixed pint of red, yellow and gold cherry tomatoes
just fit when they were spread out in the toaster oven baking pan, and
I let them simmer slowly in garlic-scented olive oil until they
shriveled and practically melted. Once they had cooled, I spooned them
over herb-flecked fresh ricotta cheese and served the dish with crusty
bread.

I chose zucchini as a side dish, to see if toaster-roasting would be a
better option than sauteing, which often turns it mushy, or grilling,
which can render it leathery and tough. High-heat roasting brought out
the zucchini's sweetness and crisped the edges without drying it out.
Chopped fresh mint and a shower of crumbled sheep's-milk feta made a
savory and near-instant topping.

Choosing the dessert was tricky for someone as sweet-toothed as I am.
There were too many options. I had ripe peaches that needed to be used
up, but what to do with them? Cobbler? Pie? Crumble, crisp or a nice
juicy tart? In the end, having run out of time, I took the simplest and
quickest route, making roasted peaches with brown sugar, cinnamon and
some shredded basil. I paired them with a healthy dollop of creme
fraiche, but anything rich and creamy like ice cream, whipped cream or
sour cream would be equally good.

One downside to the toaster oven is that, to make an entire meal in it,
you must cook in batches. So I made sure that all the recipes for my
little dinner party -- save the veal -- could be served warm or at room
temperature. I cooked the cherry tomatoes earlier in the day and the
zucchini just before my guests arrived. Then I stuck the veal in the
oven while we inhaled the tomatoes and ricotta, and roasted the peaches
while we ate the veal.

Did any of my guests notice that all the food was cooked in an oven
smaller than a breadbox? Yes, and they were duly appreciative of the
hot and satisfying meal eaten in my cool and comfortable kitchen. One
friend even raised her wine glass in thanks. ''To the DeLonghi,'' she
said slyly, ''for going beyond the usual toast.''

Hear hear!

Compact Cookery

I TESTED three of the latest-model toaster ovens for this article. All
far surpassed my old college model and performed nearly identically
when I tested recipes. Differences had to do with ease of use, features
and styling.

Cuisinart Total Touch toaster oven broiler with exact-heat sensor and
convection, Model TOB-175BC; at www.chefscatalogue.com for $179.99.

Techies are bound to love this gadget-laden oven. Once you plow through
the manual (which is essential reading), you can program all your
preferred settings, meaning the oven will remember just which shade of
sienna you like your toast. The vast panel of touchpads might be a
little confusing for the less digitally inclined. And because this oven
has only one cooking rack (the other ovens have more), preparing a full
meal could be an all-day affair. But if space is an issue, this model
is a few inches narrower than the others without sacrificing any
interior oven space.

DeLonghi Convection Toaster Oven model EO1251; $129.95 at
www.amazon.com.

Fashioned to look like a miniature professional range, with dials
instead of buttons, this chrome oven is the sleekest and the most
idiotproof of the group. Its three basic knobs -- on-off, temperature
and function -- are intuitive, though it lacks the programmable bells
and whistles of the two others. The only other drawback is its lack of
a baking timer, which you probably have on another fancy appliance
anyway.

Krups FBC-2 six-slice digital convection toaster oven; $159.99 at
www.amazon.com.

Though it's not nearly as attractive as the DeLonghi, this model makes
up for its plain facade with its reliability as a workhorse. Its big
buttons make it easy enough to toast a bagel before you even drink your
coffee, and it has almost as many program settings as the Cuisinart.

MELISSA CLARK


Cherry Tomato Confit Over Fresh Herbed Ricotta

Time: About an hour

1 pint mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes, stemmed

1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled

1 bay leaf, torn in half

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup fresh ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon, thyme or lemon thyme

Crusty bread, for serving.

1. Heat toaster oven to 325 degrees on bake setting. Spread tomatoes,
garlic and bay leaf on the oven's baking pan with rim. Drizzle with
oil, and sprinkle with a large pinch of salt and several grinds of
pepper. Bake until tomatoes are wrinkled and fragrant, about 45
minutes, shaking pan once or twice. Transfer pan to a rack to cool.
Discard garlic and bay leaf halves.

2. In a shallow serving bowl, gently combine ricotta and herbs. When
tomatoes are warm or at room temperature spoon them over ricotta, and
serve with bread, sprinkled with more salt if desired.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Broiled Veal Chops With Sage

Time: 15 minutes, plus at least 20 minutes' resting

4 bone-in veal loin chops, 1 1/4 inches thick, 10 to 12 ounces each

2 garlic cloves, halved

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large chipotle chili packed in adobo sauce, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the can of chilies

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage.

1. Rub veal chops with cut side of garlic cloves (digging garlic into
bone to release oils), and season generously with salt and pepper. In a
small bowl, mix together the oil, chipotle chili, adobo sauce and
sugar. Smear mixture all over chops, and let them rest at room
temperature at least 20 minutes or in refrigerator up to 24 hours.

2. Heat toaster oven's broiler 3 minutes. Put chops on oven's broiler
pan, and broil as close to heat as possible until done to taste, about
5 minutes a side for medium rare. Garnish with chopped sage.

Yield: 4 servings.

Roasted Zucchini With Feta and Mint

Time: About 50 minutes

4 small zucchini cut in 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Lemon wedges, for serving.

1. Heat toaster oven to 450 degrees on the bake setting. Spread
zucchini out in one layer on the oven's baking pan, and drizzle with
oil. Sprinkle with a large pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper.
Bake until zucchini is well browned and roasted, about 40 minutes,
stirring once or twice.

2. Toss zucchini with feta, mint and more salt and pepper, and serve
hot, warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges on the side.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Peaches Roasted With Brown Sugar and Basil

Time: About 30 minutes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil

Pinch ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

4 ripe peaches, halved and pitted

Whipped creme fraiche or sour cream, for serving (optional).

1. Heat toaster oven to 375 degrees on bake setting for 5 minutes. In a
small bowl mash together butter, sugar, basil, cinnamon and salt.

2. Spoon mixture into cavities of peach halves, and arrange peaches
stuffed side up on toaster oven's baking pan with rim. Bake until
peaches are softened and butter is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Serve
hot, warm or at room temperature, with creme fraiche or sour cream.

Yield: 4 servings.

CAPTION(S):

Photos: DESSERT ON THE DOUBLE -- Roasted peaches with brown sugar,
creme fraiche and basil, cooked in the author's new silver DeLonghi.
(Photographs by Robert Caplin/The New York Times)(pg. F1); A MEAL IN
STAGES -- Making dinner in a toaster oven requires cooking some dishes
ahead of time. From left below, zucchini, cubed and crisp, made a side
dish; veal chops, seasoned with chipotle chili, took 15 minutes; cherry
tomatoes, first out of the oven, were served with ricotta. Right,
peaches with cinnamon.; AFTERWARD, A SPRINKLING OF SAGE -- Veal chops
are rubbed with garlic before broiling. (Photographs by Robert
Caplin/The New York Times)(pg. F5)

This post is probably a professional/commercial one, HOWEVER I found it
to be full of *very good suggestions and recipes. So it is, IMHO, a
very worthwhile read.

I love my toaster oven, and couldn't do without it. One example: I buy
croissants at the supermarket and put them in the freezer. I take one
out of the freezer, and put it in the microwave for about 8 seconds. It
feels too soft then, so I use my toaster oven--but *first I dampen it
thoroughly with water, put it in the toaster oven for a minute or two,
watching it closely. When I can tap the crust with my fingernail and
if feels crisp, I take it out. From freezer to plate in less than 2
minutes.
This method, moistening and toasting, is good for crisping many
things, baguettes, pizza crusts, etc.
Nancree