The art of toaster oven cooking?

[Canice]

My building super has just asked me not to use my oven until he replaces the entire range next week. While I'm very happy to be getting a new unit installed, I'm a little concerned about not having an oven.
I know a lot of people user toaster ovens, but I have to admit...I hate them. Maybe mine's just crappy (a 4 y.o. DeLonghi) but it seems they don't heat thoroughly or evenly or get hot enough or something. I suspect part of that is pilot error and prejudice, though.

Are there any general hints for using a toaster oven in place of conventional? For example, I was juuuuust about to roast two different dishes, potatoes and carrots, when I was told not to use the oven anymore. First off, obviously both won't fit in the toaster oven at once, so that's its own problem. But can I get golden, fluffy roast potatoes in that little thing? I know I hate the flimsy "roasting pan" that came with it; I think it gets too hot and burns food quickly.

Any strategies for this short-term inconvenience are most appreciated!

[tholbrook]

Hi Canice -

I have a T-Fal convection toaster oven that I use fairly frequently.

I've roasted garlic and veggies in the toaster oven many, many times - anything in quantities too small to justify heating up the big oven. I've made small batches of cookies and muffins, but I don't think I'd try anything like brownies or cake, since uniform "doneness" is so critical.

I've noticed that anything near the back of the oven gets done much faster, so I rotate more frequently than I would normally, and if possible, I stir everything around several times. If I'm baking, I reduce the temperature by 25 degrees since the heat source is so much closer.

I rarely use the pan that came with the oven, except for cookies. An 8x8 Le Creuset baking dish fits fine, so I usually use that with no problem. And it does annoy me to no end that my quarter sheet pan (9x13) does not fit...

Hope that helps - and sorry that you're losing your oven temporarily! Do you know yet what you will be getting as a replacement?

[Canice]

Thanks! I think my oven is a lot smaller than yours, but I'll check tomorrow to see how big a pan I can fit in there. Fortunately I'm cooking for one and have lots of great small Emile-Henry casserole dishes, so I may be able to improvise.
I already had fingerling potatoes cooking when I posted. I did turn the pan several times, and I think I'll need to do that with everything. But, I have to say...they were really, really good! Maybe this is the nudge I need to get over my bad relationship with that thing. However, I was bummed I had to sauté the carrots. They were fine, but I definitely prefer them roasted. But good to be forced to do something in a new way!

I just watched Bobby Flay's mealoaf throwdown, and am emboldened to make a small meatloaf in the darned thing tomorrow..

Oh, and no -- don't know what I'll get as a replacement. That's kind of a bummer, but I have to imagine that a crappy 2009 range is still better than an average 1979 range?

[margeslp]

Canice, you'll probably have the best advice for the next person in your position after you problem-solve. Frankly, I never bought a toaster oven but inherited my son's when he moved into an apartment that had a built in one. If I use to cook, it is usually fish fillets. It takes forever so do no serious baking in it. What it is good for is crisping up wrapped appetizers from the freezer with great success with both phyllo and tortillas.
I might try a first round in the microwave with a dry finish in the toaster oven.
That little tray I use quite a bit in the oven for a 1-2 person serving and to freeze globs of chipotle with abobo, tamarind pulp, etc. for bagging and putting in freezer.

[tholbrook]

... I have to imagine that a crappy 2009 range is still better than an average 1979 range?
Yes, one would certainly hope! :)
Good luck, and I'm glad the potatoes turned out well!

Just for the heck of it, I did a search on Amazon ... Nordic Wear and Chicago Metallic both makes several types of baking pans for toaster ovens (there are other brands too). Maybe if you start using your oven more often, it would be worth checking out.

[Gilgamesh37]

Corningware also has a ton of small dishes (round, oval, oblong) that fit a toaster oven, and if you're near a C'ware outlet, they're dirt cheap. I know this because my mother cooked out of a makeshift kitchen in their guest bathroom--microwave, toaster oven, hot pot--for THREE YEARS after my Dad burned down the front 4 rooms of their house, which included the kitchen (seriously, don't ask---I don't know how she put it with it for that long, I would have killed him for the fire in the first place, but waiting 3 yrs to rebuild the kitchen. No way) Unfortunately, since she's no longer with us, I can't ask for specific tips, but I know she came to actually prefer cooking in the toaster oven for just the two of them--when I went to visit after her death, both of their regular ovens were being used for storage!

[sharhamm]

Target also carries small sized baking pans, even the little springform pans.

[Tutalady]

Canice, I have a deLonghi TO also and hate it. A friend of mine had one that she had had for years and loved it so when my old one died, I decided to try this one. It toasts unevenly and actually you can really only toast 2 slices at a time and I seldom try to do anything except heat things up in it.
Want a new one but they are all made in China, it seems.

[blazedog]

You can't get "roasting" results in a small toaster oven so why bother. It's only a week and there are lots of recipes that don't require an oven -- in the summer many people just didn't use an oven in the "olden days". Braises, sautes, grilled items don't require an oven.

I do find I can cook fish with good results so it's handy for a single piece of salmon and I think in the past I might have done a lamb chop or something equivalent but I don't have any recollection. I have also heated items which require "crisping" up like a slice of pizza.

I think there are appliances called toaster ovens which are more like real ovens but the lightweight toaster oven at least in my experience isn't real an "oven" but more like a box which has some ability to surround food items with dry heat.

[funniegrrl]

First, I lived for several months recently with no oven so ... while you might not cook everything you'd normally cook, it's not that big a deal to eat well without one for a while.

Second, I have had a good toaster oven in my past, and I could do anything in it that I could do in a regular oven, just on a smaller scale. It was large enough to hold a 6-well muffin pan. That was the only oven I had in college, and I made EVERYTHING in it and it turned out well. So, it could be that you just have a poor example of a toaster oven.

[Canice]

Thanks, tholbrook. If I find I've come 'round to cooking in the toaster oven I'll get one of those pans; I know the flimsy one that came with the oven is not conducive to good, even cooking. For now I'll try using my little Emile-Henry dishes. And turn them a couple of times during cooking.

[birdyone]

I've had this one for about a month now - I LOVE it - had the smaller version which was also great, but when this one came out in larger version - I bought it - it is fantastic - I rarely use my oven. A lot of people have a problem with 'toasting' in the small ovens - this one does a perfect job.

http://products.howstuffworks.com/cuisinart-convection-toaster-oven-broiler-tob-165-review.htm

[Jewel]

I've had this one for about a month now - I LOVE it - had the smaller version which was also great, but when this one came out in larger version - I bought it - it is fantastic - I rarely use my oven. A lot of people have a problem with 'toasting' in the small ovens - this one does a perfect job.

http://products.howstuffworks.com/cuisinart-convection-toaster-oven-broiler-tob-165-review.htm

This is the one that I have...it's about six years old at least and still doing toast duty every morning, and gets used just about every day during the hotter months when I don't want to heat up the big oven!

We spent more on this one than on a 'regular' toaster oven, but we figured if we were going to take up valuable counter space we might as well get one that could do more than just the average could. Well worth the extra $$ for us!

[Ohioan]

Many, many years ago, when I was stationed overseas during the war and quartered in a single room with no (legal) cooking facilities, I cooked most of my meals anyway - with a small toaster oven and a two-burner hot plate. I discovered that I could actually do full meals this way, and pretty good ones at that. As I recall, I often used aluminum foil crimped around the edges as a roasting pan, so I could fit a smaller "pan" (more foil) side by side with it and not mix the flavors. Of course, I was just cooking for one at the time.

Ah, memories!

Cheers,
Phoebe

[Valerie226]

I have a little Delonghi one also. I use it mostly for heating french breads, toasting nuts, nachos, bread crumbs, small stuff like that. things are so close to the heating element... it's important to preheat before putting any food into it, or it will burn ASAP, definitely more likely toward the back of the oven.
After it's heated up it works pretty well. if you can lower the shelf... mine has two slots... it's not quite so likely to burn things. I've never made anything that needed to actually bake or roast.