Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 1)

[Deryn]

rotuts - a little cultural/geography/elementary physics lesson for you. EVERYONE knows that we, north of the border folks, live in igloos. Igloos are made of ice and snow. Ice and snow don't do well when combined with steam and heat - they have a tendency to melt quickly. It is only those of us who can afford to have our igloos built to encase a trailer who have the luxury of countertops that don't melt when steamed to perfection. But, then again, trailer counters aren't usually very long/large either so even there there can be a storage issue.

So, please be kind .. Kerry and Anna merely left their steam oven in the only place they know is insulated well enough to take its heat without causing major puddles on the floor and a gaping hole in the side of their regular igloos.

Sorry .. off topic .. hide this.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Deryn (log)

[rotuts]

excellent points.

 

as mentioned, only 24 hours away to correct this  ( aller-retours )  ( its winter time .... )

 

unless they take the Short-Cut on the S.S. Vomitoria   

 

Id like to see the Lunch Ladies faces if they see one in the GTA pre 'N' model  for $ 150 Loons.

 

talk about Sirens Singing .....

 

just saying.

 

BTW   """   trailer counters don't tend to be very long/large ""

 

long and large enough for a CSB or two I bet.

Edited November 28, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

BTW  in the BV-XL my HM(M) bread needs its crust cut off pre-toasting.  they get so hard they are difficult to deal with

 

in the CSB:  delicious and 'just-right'    

 

thats a 5 - 6 second times saving each morning right there !

[Kerry Beal]

I have seen refurbished units for less than $150 - sadly doesn't change my serious lack of counter space.

[rotuts]

fair enough

 

 

"Fresh Cream always Floats to the Top"

 

or as friend used to tell me  "  Plenty of Room at the Top "

 

Id change that to " Always Plenty of Room for what's Top-Notched "

 

the Freeze-Girl's in the basement correct .....

 

it needs a few pals from Upstairs to move Downstairs.

 

to keep it company ....

[weinoo]

New here. I picked up a display model CSO-300 discounted at Sur la Table in Salt Lake City, UT for $135 before tax back in September. It was marked down to $150 but thought what the heck and I asked if they would discount it more and they did! Never hurts to ask. My wife gets annoyed I buy myself all the things I want and that she doesn't get a chance to get me anything I want for birthdays/Christmas so I've promised I won't use it until after Christmas. It's a struggle.

 

I wonder if people had been seeing mark-downs on price because Cuisinart is going to introduce the 300N model. It's a little old but I didn't see it listed in this thread:

 

The only new features are a steam clean button and I think a drain for the water (that one is harder to hear). But this is the only place I've seen mention of it. Thoughts?

 

Sorry - but that spokesperson is an idiot.

[gfweb]

I've never seen or touched one and I could do a better job than that moron

[rotuts]

Bad You

 

you need to "" care3ss one ""  soon

 

Im not posting my TML sandwich I just made:

 

very lightly 'Caressed'  HM(M) bread.  on lite Toast in the CSB

 

bit of lite crunch  full aroma

 

TML / mayo / lettuce / thin cut tomato / No Bacon   / and Tj's horseradish  fantastic stuff /

 

and some soup.

 

I didnt want to post a pic

 

as there would be a stampede ...

Edited November 28, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

I decided to try english muffins in the CSB.

 

I usually dont eat EM's, now that I make HM(M) bread.

 

the friday after thanksgiving, a local store chain offers " Breakfast on Us " so some such ...

 

OJ, eggs, coffecake , bacon, and EMs are sharply reduced.

 

so I motored over there and pick up a couple of EM packs.  these are 'store brand' not Thomas 

 

$ 0.49 a 6 pack.  this would be an inexpensive experiment at best.

 

in the vary distant past when I used to get Thomas' and rarely the StoreBrand, the store brand was

 

doughy-er than Thomas.

 

I took the trouble to split the EM's w a fork.  toasted 2 x 1/2's at " 6 " and then applied some butter.

 

they were crunchy, soft and very aromatic.

 

tried a second 2 x 1/2 at "7"   this is as high / dark as the CSB goes.

 

both the BV-XL and CSB seem to limit how long you can toast.  you can always add time.  maybe they don't want to be

 

responsible for an outbreak of "Crumb Fires"

 

the 7 was even better :  more of all the good things.

 

I can imagine these EM's or better ones, esp. home made being the center piece of 'EM's w sausage and gravy'

 

the EM's would shire right through the sausage and gravy.   and we all know how good S & G can be.

[weinoo]

Funny - my toasting "strategy" is to toast lower (usually at 2) and then just hit the start button again.  When the CSG toasts again at the same number, it retoasts for a shorter period of time, and I find I have more control over the finished toast.

 

Now this is what makes the world go 'round.

[weinoo]

As the temp drops, I am starting to bake again.  I also got Forkish's book, Flour Water Salt Yeast, so I'm fooling around with that. Yesterday, I made his "Saturday White Bread," but of course didn't follow the instructions 100%.  Instead of baking the loaves in a Dutch oven, I baked one in a loaf pan in the CSG, and I made some focaccia with the other one...

 

 

That's ready to be baked in one of the Chicago Metallic toaster-oven pieces, which I bought as a set from Amazon for about $15.  It went very nicely with an arugula, avocado and pecorino salad...

 

 

 

[rotuts]

""  focaccia ""

 

Id like to hear a bit more about the f.

 

Id like to star baking in the CSB and that looks like something both up my alley and doable for me !

[weinoo]

Focaccia - this one was simply 1/4 of the recipe from the above book. So it's a simple dough, 72%-ish hydration, bulk fermented for 5 hours, proofed for an hour, then baked.  Normally, when I make focaccia, the dough has a nice amount of olive oil in it; this one didn't, but I made up for it by generously coating the baking pan with olive oil, and generously pouring olive oil on top before baking.

 

It baked on the bread setting, at 425°F for about 18-20 minutes.  You do have to watch the bottom of this, as it gets darker a lot faster than the top.

[chefmd]

Rack of lamb cooked at 140 degrees steam for about an hour, seared in cast iron pan after that.  Served with flash seared maitake mushrooms.

[termite]

I'm in the market for a new toaster oven.  I'm trying to decide between this, the Breville Smart Oven, and the Cuisinart TOB-260.  Would this make for a good toaster oven for regular use, or would you consider it a completely separate applicance?

[rotuts]

the CSB  ( Cuisinart Comi Oven ) makes the finest toast ive ever tasted.

 

you can read about that and other things is does above.

 

the BV-XL makes a type of toast that's more 'baked' than intensely 'heated' then the elements turn off

 

think what an old style toasted used to do : blast away until the desired color is achieved then pop-up

 

the BV has some sort of logic chip that varies the intensity of the heat source near the end and gives in my

\

opinion a sort of baked toast : on the dry side.  you may like this or not.

 

I cant see what the cuisinart toaster offers other than it might be bigger than the CSteamBoy

 

the CSB does not fit a 1/4 sheet pan, the BV-XL does

 

all the smaller expensive toaster ovens seem way over priced to me based on there size and what they do for that $$

 

the CSB does things no other small appliance can do.

 

read through the thread.

 

I was very surprised at the Steam Results, which I wanted to explore, and very late to the CSB fantastic toaster Fx.

 

you cannot put the CSB under a cabinet, or the steam released will destroy that cabinet.  that's my opinion on placement.

Edited December 21, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[termite]

Thank you!  That's really helpful.  I think the cabinet placement issue might prevent this from being an option, sadly.  Maybe if I can rearrange my wire-shelf open air pantry and put it on there....

 

I love the look of most of the food on this thread!

[rotuts]

"""   rearrange my wire-shelf open air pantry and put it on there  """

 

well worth doing.  the CSB is unlike any other puppy around.

 

Id get it just for the toast.

[termite]

OK, so what's the most you'd pay for it?  I can currently see it online for $230, tax and shipping included.

[rotuts]

A Bazzillion Bucks ?

 

there will be an update at some point

 

as far as I can see its just a software addition.

 

dont hold me to this.

 

do you need it Toot Sweet ?  can you wait a bit and look around ?

 

if you cant, look around a bit more. but

 

at 230 you will be very happy, not knowing a bit about your economic situation.

 

that's a solid OK price for what you will work yourself into.

 

you just cant look further and find it After Xmas for 187.

 

or when the new one comes out, at 150.

 

this may take forever, and your Toast will Suffer.

 

there is No Free Lunch

[gfweb]

Agree with above.

 

When CSB comes out with a bigger model I will get one.

 

Till then, I love my Breville.

[rotuts]

""   bigger model  ""

 

I see no reason that this might be soon

 

but Id like to be surprised !

 

in the mean time  .....

 

 

 

I bet shelby is dreaming about a CSB for Christmas, just for those home baked EM's

Edited December 22, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

I picked up a bag of Russet Pots. and thought Id give them a whirl in the CSB. Red new potatoes Ive looked at in the past.

 

here are the RP's Pre :

 

 

and here they are done :

 

 

about 425  steam/bake  maybe 30 min +

 

they were very good.

 

not soooo good Id run out and buy a CSB just for these.  but better than the BV-XL

 

the Red New Pots.  ( waxy ) would get you to run out for a CSB, though.  but as I have a CSB

 

they were very nice.  

[Anna N]

Well, rotuts, you will not be pleased to hear this but I have yet another reason not to bring the CSO down from the frozen north.

I made toast in the Breville XL this morning and it was brilliant. Instead of using the toast function I used the broil with convection function. The bread was homemade and thickly sliced but it came out just as toast should. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Of course it must be tended to ensure it doesn't burn and it must be flipped. But this just solved the problem for me!

Edited to make better sense.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Anna N (log)

[rotuts]

'''   it must be tended '''   

 

""  it must be flipped ""

 

there you go ....

 

I get a ''free''   3 or 4 minutes which I use all sorts of ways ...

 

mostly to drink Coffee, but over time, imagine how this adds up

 

 

however, Im pleased your HomeMade toast has improved.

 

somewhat.

Edited December 26, 2014 by rotuts (log)