The Gourmet Toaster Oven: Simple and Sophisticated Meals for the Busy Cook (Paperback)

~ (Author), Joyce Oudkerk Pool (Photographer) "Many years ago, while I was in college, I rented a room in a beautiful old house in Berkeley..." (more)
Key Phrases: oven baking tray, preheat the toaster oven, basic dough recipe, Cracked Peppercorns, Grilled Steak, Basic Pie Crust Dough (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Toaster ovens aren’t just for browning your bagel or warming up frozen pizza anymore. Lynn Alley, author of THE GOURMET SLOW COOKER, is earning a name for herself by finding unconventional and imaginative ways to prepare gourmet meals at home. In THE GOURMET TOASTER OVEN, she reveals why toaster ovens are ideal for creating simple yet sophisticated meals: they take up less space, use less energy, preheat quickly, and are cheaper than convection ovens. They also let you cook small meals more efficiently and provide additional oven space for side dishes when cooking a large meal. In this beautifully photographed book, Alley offers 50 breakfast, lunch, appetizer, dinner, and goodie recipes designed to serve two, promising incredible meals hot out of your (toaster) oven.

From the Publisher

The follow-up book to the best-selling GOURMET SLOW COOKER, featuring full-color photography and 50 recipes for creating dishes in a toaster oven.

Delicious dishes include Coffee Cake Muffins, Southwestern Jalapeño and Red Pepper Scones, Macaroni and Cheese with Olive Tapenade, Beef and Vegetable Samosas, and Chocolate Lava Cake.

Includes tips on buying a toaster oven and taking care of it, and wine notes for each recipe.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580086594
• ISBN-13: 978-1580086592
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,561 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars long overdue, March 19, 2006

By	Kelly Pocci (Downers Grove, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an empty nester and avid cook, this book is perfect. Very tasty recipes without making huge quantities. The author has done her research and deserves credit for filling a rare niche
in this cookbook category. Shhh, don't tell my away-at-college children, but they will be receiving a copy of this book along with a nice toaster oven for Christmas. This is a cookbook everyone could use for fresh ideas, from Anzacs to Yogurt Baked Chicken with wine pairings suggested for many dishes. I wish I had thought of it first.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem!, April 11, 2007

By	A. Lupia "amlbee" (Branford, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Gourmet" and "Toaster Oven" in the same title? You bet! I usually don't review cookbooks unless I feel they are special enough to encourage others to purchase them, and this one I recommend highly.

My family has downsized but my cooking enthusiasm has not and I am entertaining more often but with smaller guest lists. Heating up a gas oven for a small quiche to feed four seems a waste of energy (the planet's and my own) and time (my large toaster oven takes four minutes to reach 400 degrees: my oven, almost 15.) Also, with most recipes in the book serving 2-4, there is not the problem of reducing larger recipes and the resulting dreaded calculations. Quality ingredients well combined and engagingly presented replace long grocery lists and too many leftovers for a small family, singles, empty-nesters and the diet conscious (I mean, who of us really wants that chocolate cheesecake that serves 8 sitting temptingly in the 'frige after a dinner for 2-4?!)

The book itself is a quality paperback, large enough for lovely photos, a brief description of the recipe and suggestions, as well as print that is easy to read.

Well organized, with a good index, the book is divided into five sections, (as well as an informative description of toaster ovens and their features) which makes finding a recipe quick and easy. And, sit down for this, there are even wine suggestions for many of recipes...from toaster-oven cooking! Too cool.

The recipe chapters are: Breakfast, Lunch, Appetizers and Sides, Dinner and Tea and Goodies. Short lists of commonly available ingredients make it easy to take a basic recipe and imagine many substitutions for variety and what is available in your larder.

The Herbed Oven-Fried Chicken, Quiche Lorraine, Artisan Whole Wheat-Walnut Loaf, Banana-Walnut Muffins, Savory Cheesecakes (yup, that's what I said), Turkey, Tarragon, and Apple Meatloaf, Chocolate Lava Cakes...if I have to pick "favorites" these are just super. Yes, you can probably find similar recipes in your cookbook collection, but again, you don't have to do the arithmetic. I guarantee that no one will associate that toaster oven sitting innocently on your kitchen counter as the source of these lovely dishes. And you don't have to tell them, you know.

Of course, you will have to re-think baking pans, casserole dishes, etc. for these smaller amounts, but I have found some lovely and very useful such items on sale in most all places that carry cookware. Besides, if you are a true "foodie" imagine how happy your friends and relatives will be to have something new to give you for birthdays and holidays! And, think of all the room you can free up in your kitchen (large baking pans and huge casseroles can be stored under the bed with those "extra cookbooks"...well, it works for me!)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and sophisticated indeed!, December 27, 2006

By	LoeTeke (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

Excellent set of sophisticated recipes downsized for small servings & simple execution. If you take the next year to practice each recipe you'll be well on your way to gourmet-hood! For example: Authentic English "High tea" scones.