oven

Pac-Man oven mitt channels inner child

When I was a child, I loved playing video games. Before my parents invested in a gaming system, I would go to great lengths to secure a spot on my friends' couches, playing Nintendo classics for hours on end. I never went to arcades, so I got all of my gaming in at home.

In high school and college, I finally discovered the arcade classics, and my all-time favorite was Pac-Man. It was easy enough for me to master, and just complicated enough to be challenging and interesting. I'd visit arcades with friends and plunk quarter after quarter into … Read more

Keep cool with this heat resistant oven mitt

"You know what we need to get you for Mother's Day?" my almost-10-year-old asked me last night. Off the top of my head, I could think of at least 47 things that I need--want--from a full-time housekeeper to a MacBook Pro, or, heck, even an iPhone. But my daughter had something else in mind. "An oven mitt," she said.

I will admit that my first response was disappointment. An oven mitt? Really? But my daughter did have a point--I have decreased sensitivity in my extremities, so by the time I react to heat, I've … Read more

Bake one honey of a pizza with a Beehive

Pizza is an amazingly complex thing for a food item so seemingly simple. Bread, cheese, sauce, that's it. That's enough to get you going. Oh sure, you can drown your pizza in a sea of toppings, but the essential structure starts from basic everyday ingredients. The deceptively complex nature of pizza is both a good thing and a bad thing. Endless varieties abound, and there are certainly great pizzas to be found, but it is all too easy to order up a lousy pizza. Good thing you can bake your own.

But don't pick up that pizza … Read more

An oven with some lift

When you're baking, the time your recipe has to stay in the oven can vary incredibly from what the cookbook says. That's due, in part, to the fact that whenever you open the oven door, heat escapes. Gaggenau has come up with a unique approach to the problem: because hot air rises, the Lift Oven opens in such a way that all the hot air stays inside the oven. Rather than have a door that opens on the front of the oven, the base of the Lift Oven lowers to let you access whatever you're cooking, leaving … Read more

This microwave oven will also brown, bake, broil, crisp, and steam

Microwave ovens are overrated. Oh, sure, they can do some things really well, but for other tasks, they fall quite short. Personally, I like an appliance that is capable of doing more than softening butter and popping popcorn. (OK, I know that's an understatement, but bear with me.) Considering how manufacturers love to integrate several appliances into one (usually with toasters, it would seem), it should come as no surprise that the ubiquitous microwave oven is finally starting to diversify.

The Kalorik Steam Microwave Oven w/Real Convection certainly isn't the first combination appliance based upon quick-and-easy cooking, … Read more

This is no overgrown toaster oven

The other day a friend and I were discussing which was better to own: a toaster or a toaster oven. Toasters, being specialized appliances, tend to do a really good job at making toast. Toaster ovens however, sometimes fall short. But when it comes to practicality, the toaster oven is perfect for a multitude of tasks. In the end there is really no debate, as the only answer is simply to have one of each. While that may seem a bit overkill to some, it certainly isn't if the appliance you choose is more oven than toaster.

The Cadco Commercial Convection Oven … Read more

Bake and boil on your baby Belling

In many battles, bigger is better. But, when it comes to working efficiently in tight kitchens, the little guy almost always comes out on top.

Belling makes a wide range of standard kitchen appliances, from ranges and built-ins to free-standing cookers, but it's the "Baby Belling" line that caught my attention. Specializing in compact appliances, the line features things like ranges and induction cooktops that make the most out of small spaces.

One product of the Baby Belling line is this Table Top Mini Kitchen, which combines a range top and a conventional oven in a unit … Read more

Steam or microwave: Your choice

As the number of must-have appliances for your kitchen increase, it's always useful to look at the options that bring multiple cooking techniques together in one unit. The SuperSteam Oven, from Sharp, offers an ideal level of versatility. The designers brought together four cooking methods in the oven, making it easy for you to use whatever option provides you with a fast and healthy meal. The SuperSteam Oven offers steam, convection, microwave, and SuperSteam convection, all in one box. That means that not only can you use it for traditional steaming or even microwaving, you can also use the … Read more

Microwave, pizza oven combo keeps college students going

Convenience and kitchen gadgets go hand in hand. Certainly, that is true in the case of this Stainless Steel Kenmore Countertop Microwave & Pizza Oven. With the inclusion of a pizza oven into the base of the microwave, it's quite possible any college student will never need another appliance as long as they are in school.

The microwave and pizza oven work independently of each other. The microwave has six automatic One-Touch buttons, for most common microwave usages: Reheat, Cook, Defrost, Express Defrost, Popcorn, and Potato. Additionally, an "Add 30 seconds" button allows for personalized preferences for … Read more