Goldgirl - We just replaced our 10 yo basic toaster oven (which did fine but was surely showing it's age) with a new Krups FBC1. Compared to our old TO this thing is amazing. It cooks so accurately. I don't know how else to say that. Our old TO just provided heat. It had a basic heating element. This thing seems to caress the food with heat, intelligently.... The heating elements surround the food and alternate giving the food time to 'catch up' Does that make any sense? The controls are intelligently laid out and work exactly the way I would expect them to. We haven't had it long enough to tell you anything about it's longevity but I would surely miss it if it was no longer here. I had no idea I could do so much with a toaster oven. It cleans up easily (for the occasional mishap). It's big enough for most things I would bake for just the two of us (not big enough for a full size chicken but 'parts' in a stoneware pan work just fine). And, by the way, it does a nice job with toast too... Hope this helps, Ken

I also grew up using a toaster oven. After my 1950's toaster stopped working, I bought the large Breville. It was basically my second oven. Not only were frozen foods heated, bread toasted, leftovers reheated, but it cooked side dishes or baked potatoes. We're a family of 5 and it was used, at least once, daily. After a couple of years, the "on" button started to malfunction. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about a replacement and decided on the Cuisinart CSO because we steam veg and rice and I wanted to proof bread a couple of times a week, all in addition to the other uses I mentioned. I was essentially looking to replace our M/W for steaming. I kind of miss my Breville because the interior is larger and it performed convection cooking better, IMO. However, the Cuisinart is still used quite often. I can still fit a 12 inch frozen pizza in there, but only 4 bagel halves instead of 6. With 3 kids, that makes a difference in timing. The kids like to heat sandwiches for lunch. I use the steam function regularly. I prefer to reheat on the cooktop for a crispy bottom, in a covered skillet. At this point, the kids use the M/W to make instant oatmeal and that's it. I'm just waiting for it to die. My induction cooktop does a better job of melting and reheating. To go along with my oven, my ultimate goal is to get a real CSO and keep the toaster oven for small things/toasting. No m/w because we hardly use it.

"Elmer, I hope you understand that because a toaster oven is unnecessary to you it doesn't mean that it's unnecessary for everyone." Yes, of course. I was expressing my own opinion and why. "Do you have a microwave oven? That's unnecessary to me. I can heat water in a kettle. I can cook food and warm leftovers on the stove or in the oven. I seldom eat popcorn and wouldn't eat microwaved popcorn if I did. I defrost meat in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours. A microwave is just counter clutter since I have other equipment to do the job a microwave does." Yes we do. It's built in to the cabinets on a shelf (not over the stovetop and not on the counter). We don't use it that much. We've never used it to heat water, to cook food, or to make popcorn. We have little frozen meat, mostly purchased seafood only, and what he have is defrosted in the fridge as you describe you do.

I have the same oven Bumblebeez. It's part of my outside kitchen and sits on a stainless steel table on my back porch and because of that I don't worry about heat above or below. The top does get quite hot and if you are cooking something for a long period of time I'm sure it could eventually 'brown' the baskets above. As for a stone counter, I'd be very cautious and would not count on a metal tray under the oven to protect it - especially aluminum which is an excellent conductor. Those ovens are designed for counter top use so in theory it should be fine but personally I would not want to risk it and end up with cracked stone. If you can find an old cutting board to use as a sacrificial insulator (maybe at a resale shop) that would protect the counter. BTW - have you used it much yet? I use mine all the time in the summer to avoid turning on my oven and year round anytime I have something small to bake/roast which is most of the time with just two of us! I like it a lot for most things but find it to be a PITA with the time limit for slow cooking. No way to have known that before purchase unfortunately. It's a safety feature I could live without.