Did you know that the toaster oven is one of the few small appliances that Alice Waters approves of? If you do a lot of cooking for one, then you will agree that a good toaster oven is a kitchen necessity. The key is to purchase a decent model, one that really functions as an oven as well as a toaster. Then you can do everything from roast a small chicken (or my favorite, chicken thighs!) to baking off a small tray of cookies to making your cinnamon toast in the morning. More

Q: My built-in microwave is slowly losing power and on its last leg. I would love to replace it with a toaster oven when it finally dies and do away with a microwave altogether. But I can't seem to find any toaster ovens that are specifically designed to sit above a range and include a fan.

Any ideas?

Sent by Thirza More

Q: I live in a house that has been divided into efficiency apartments, which means I have a kitchen so tiny I can't spare the room to put a toaster. I remembered seeing spatula-like stove top toasters in old movies. When I searched for what I thought that would be called, I came up with articles describing an $8 stove-top toaster that used to be available from MoMA, and it's exactly what I was thinking of! But they no longer seem to sell it. Any ideas on where I could find something similar? It really seems like the perfect solution to my toast problem.

Sent by Morgan
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Are you into really, really shiny appliances? Love the chrome-married-with-wood-grain trend? Then this "Silver Art" line from Krups may be just what you're looking for. More

Jamie Oliver is always full of surprises, but this one really takes the cake. Or the cheese, as it were. How do you make a crispy, warm, and bubbly cheese sandwich with nothing but a two-slot toaster? Jamie shows us how. More

Croutons are our salad kryptonite. We find that we look forward to even the most lackluster salad if we know croutons are involved. Happily for us, making a quick single-serving batch of crunchy, garlicky croutons requires only a toaster and three minutes of our time. More

I'm pacing the miles (literally miles!) of aisles in Chicago's McCormick Place today and tomorrow, scanning the thousands of products on display at the Home & Housewares Show. Nearly everyone who makes or sells something for the kitchen and the home is here this week, and while there is a lot of useless stuff on display, it's also a pleasure to check out quality products in person. Here's one great product: An update to Chicago Metallic's high-quality toaster oven bakeware line. More

Breakfast can be the most fun meal of the day. Everyone is up and getting ready before school and work, and food tastes especially fabulous first thing in the morning. No matter what we choose to serve up, there always seems to be toast on the table. Why not make it fun? More

Remember those Toastabags we showed you a few weeks ago? These reusable bags let you make quick, no-mess grilled cheese sandwiches in the toaster. Well, reader Jess wondered if she could find an even easier, cheaper alternative. Here's what she came up with! More

I was recently given one of these Toastabags to try out. It sat in a corner of my office for weeks. To say I was skeptical of this as-seen-on-TV product would be understating it. A bag for the toaster? Please. Well, I have to eat my words. No — actually, I ate a marmalade-and-mozzarella sandwich, fresh from the toaster, and it was amazingly easy. More