We have a new toy, the result of The Great Corny Dog Incident of '13.
It's a convection toaster oven.
It all began on a warm summer's eve last week when K and I both wanted something to eat, but not a full blown meal. She asked, "How about a couple of corny dogs?" Ummm....OK. As pre-heating the big 'ol electronic hot box under the stove takes so long, K just nuked 'em in the microwave instead.
Gag!
The breading tasted like it had been soaking in water for several hours. It was just awful. She said a small countertop toaster oven would have been the way to go, except we didn't have a toaster oven. She said it just makes cooking something simple for two (or was it cooking something for two simpletons?) so much easier. I've never had a toaster oven, and as I've written about in the past, my mother wasn't a cook at all, so this was an all-new concept for me.
K always kids me about my tendency to run to Consumer Reports before I buy anything much more than a pair of socks, and this purchase was no exception. There were several Breville toaster ovens rated on top, but they were $180....not gonna happen! Next highest rated was this little Oster model. I couldn't find it at any store locally, so it was Amazon to the rescue.
It arrived yesterday and we gave it the ultimate test....yep, corny dogs again. This time I think even Consumer Reports would have approved, if they were to ever test corny dogs. They were crispy and delicious, just like the ones Fletcher's cooks up at the Great State Fair of Texas. ;)
And let me just say for the record, yes, they were 100% pure beef (from select cuts of the ear, hoof, and ass) and the breading was pure natural / green / organic / free range, too. I'm pretty sure.
S
Welcome to the 21st century!
ReplyDeleteHave you heard about email?
No, but I was thrilled when I heard Truman pulled out a squeaker. ;)
DeleteOnce upon a time we had a small counter top oven like yours but the one we had pulled more electricity than our fridge. Have they improved on this?
ReplyDeleteBeats me. So far we've only cooked 2 corny dogs in it. I'll let you know.
DeleteS
I'm trying to convince SWMBO that we need a new crock pot. The one we have is nearly 30 years old, I think.
ReplyDeleteI've been jonesing for one of these since a friend of mine said how much she loves hers. "Avoids heating up the whole house by turning on the big oven to cook one little itty bitty pizza," she said. She had me at pizza.
ReplyDeleteSo you need to share some info:
1. Model number of this shiny new toy (no sense in me doing research if you already did it)
2. Will it hold a frozen pizza
3. What else - other than corn dogs - do you see yourself making in this
4. Is it a pain to clean
So...we'll be looking for fantastic pictures of the food that got cooked in this new toy!
It's an Oster model TSSTTVMNDG. $80 through Amazon. A large frozen pizza? No. Smaller ones, or french bread type pizzas, yes. It has full bake/broil/convection capabilities, so I guess it can cook anything a full size oven can, so long as it isn't too big to fit in. There is a rack with a small drip pan underneath PLUS a removable bottom. I had some cheese drip on it tonight, so I put some detergent on it and let it soak while we ate, then I went back to find it had just floated right off. Easy! It does heat up the area surrounding it, but I still think it's better than heating up the big oven.
DeleteThank you! I feel an Amazon order coming on... :-)
DeleteYum! We call them Dagwood Dogs here. Not sure why, but they are delicious!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE corndogs! And I love my toaster oven (it was a wedding gift - so it's almost 23 years old - ha!). I use it to reheat pizza mostly.I've also used to to bake cookies for two :)
ReplyDeleteCookies for two in the toaster oven? I need the big oven for that.
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