ovens

What's for dinner? Ask the oven

Every Sunday, before I go grocery shopping, I gather my family around the table and ask, "What do you want for dinner this week?" And every Sunday, right after I ask, everyone is suddenly extremely busy counting the tiles in the kitchen backsplash. Which is why I often find myself staring at that same backsplash come 5 p.m., wondering what the heck to feed my brood tonight.

If only my oven could tell me what to make!

That's what one of the latest kitchen offerings from LG attempts to do. The new single and double built-in … Read more

Siemen's iSlide oven has an iPod-like clickwheel for temperature-setting

I spotted this Siemens avantGarde iSlide wall oven on Kitchens.com and was immediately drawn to the iPod-like clickwheel it uses for controlling the oven's temperature.

It's certainly cool and seems easy to use, but I'm not sure how stable the touch wheel will be after you slide your finger on it a thousand times. (After a year or so, my iPod Nano's wheel became quite quirky and I might find that annoying in an oven--sending me right back to the basic Magic Chef knob.)

Wheels aside, this oven has drawn a lot of attention for … Read more

TMIO, maker of the intelligent oven, is MIA

Is TMIO, the company that made a pioneering intelligent oven its users could operate via cell phone or Net connection, truly out of business?

I wish we could find an answer.

I started wondering what had happened to Cleveland, Ohio-based TMIO (which stands for Tonight's Menu Intelligent Oven) today after I tracked down a local appliance seller, BSC Culinary, asking if I could get a peek at how the $7,500 intelligent oven worked. I also wanted to find out if the company had anything new to offer.

When I called, a worker there told me they haven't … Read more

A no-frills workhorse for electric range buyers on a budget

It's no pro model, but this Kenmore 30-inch freestanding electric range is a more affordable, dependable workhorse for buyers who aren't seeking extras.

This self-cleaning oven (retail about $499) has four coil elements (two 8-inch and two 6-inch) and accompanying porcelain drip bowls on the stove top.

The oven uses push-to-turn control knobs (located in the back, so you have to reach), and electronic controls and has a timer and digital temperature display.

With options for three time-based levels of cleaning, this oven locks to clean and unlocks after a cleaning cycle is finished.

There's a roomy … Read more

Mixed review for TurboChef Speedcook

TurboChef's Speedcook oven has grabbed some serious attention over the past year, nabbing Sex and the City co-star Kim Cattrall as its spokes-actress and the support of top chef/kitchen stuff endorsers like Charlie Trotter. Fawning articles in Forbes, the New York Times, and Business Week are piling up faster than the oven can roast a chicken.

And boy, can this oven cook fast--up to 15 times faster than any other conventional oven, finishing a rack of lamb in about the time it takes me to shower. It looks pretty spiffy, too, while dusting the competition. (Take that, slow … Read more

Accessible kitchen design

I'll freely admit that I rarely--if ever--thought about accessibility issues before I had a son with special needs. Now, it's an issue that's nearly always on my mind. Have you ever noticed how many commercials and TV shows aren't closed captioned? Have you tried to navigate any Web sites using a text-to-speech reader lately? How about something simpler, like unloading a dishwasher in a typical kitchen--when you're in a wheelchair?

Fortunately, I'm not the only one thinking about this. Whether it's to woo an aging population with mobility issues or advocating on behalf … Read more

Vegetables that look good enough to eat

Are those cooked carrots as bright as they could be? And if you're going to eat your vegetables, don't you want full vitamin credit? The Gaggenau combination steam and convection oven helps you set a beautiful table with food that's full of health benefits.

The steam generator is connected directly to a removable water tank that doesn't require any plumbing or drainage lines, so you won't need to call your contractor for a pricey installation. The tank uses just one-third of a gallon to supply enough water to fill the oven with 100 percent humidity … Read more

Smeg and Marc Newson bring color back to the kitchen

In the '70s it was hip to decorate your kitchen in colors that would otherwise blind a normal human being. You couldn't go into a kitchen that didn't have chartreuse, guacamole, or squash yellow ovens and refrigerators. In today's sleek modern world, we've leaned more toward the stainless steel brushed look that makes our kitchens seem cold and lifeless. Designer Marc Newson wants that to change.

At the recent EuroCucina kitchen appliance and design show in Milan, Smeg debuted its new line of high-end ovens and cooktops designed by minimalist designer Marc Newson. Known for his … Read more

Killer Download: Find holiday recipes using cooking database apps

With Thanksgiving only two days away, people are bringing out their favorite recipes for turkey, gravy, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. How do you keep your recipes from year to year? My father's method was to put his favorite recipes into notebooks that would be brought out every year. But even with laminated pages, eventually his notebooks got pretty messy. My mother used index cards to store recipes, but over time the ingredients would fade, especially if the recipe was popular with the family.

In the search for a better method through software, I discovered some good recipe database programs anyone can use. These handy apps let you store all your favorite Thanksgiving recipes (along with all your other recipes) in a searchable database which you can quickly print out for easy access in the kitchen. You can also catalog things like spices and ingredients on hand, and then search for results using those and other parameters. Some of these apps let you explore other databases online with countless recipe variations and varieties of foods to choose from.… Read more