This is a great thread, and thanks to everyone for the insightful information! I'm wondering if you can give more details on how you clean your Wolf CSO? I watched a video for Thermador's CSO and was a bit alarmed by the evaporator well in the bottom that one has to clean with a provided yellow sponge each night. Do you find that you need to do the same with your Wolf? We had a demo at the SZ showroom and they said a simple wipe down of any moisture inside would do. Also, the chef said that at home she only needed to refill the water when needed, 1-2 times per week (and she has a family of 5). The Thermador video also said that the water should be emptied out each night. What do you do to clean/maintain the water for your Wolf? Thanks for any info you can provide!

I haven't been cooking much. Too hot and my new field job leaves me pooped at the end of the day. I love it but it still wipes me out. The potato salad I made after having and loving it as Wegman's. The carrot cake I made last weekend for BF's birthday. I had made it once before and liked it, but this time I ran out of carrots and subbed crushed pineapple for some of the carrots and it was fantastic! I just love one layer cakes, they are the perfect size! The baked beans recipe is going to be my new "go to" baked beans. It is the first completely "from scratch" baked beans recipe that I have liked. If you use a crockpot, it is still a cinch to make. Latin Red Potato & Corn Salad Recipe from Wegman's Makes 12 cups. Ingredients 2 bags (24 oz each) Baby Red Potatoes, 1-inch dice 1/2 red sweet pepper, 1/4-inch dice (about 3/4 cup) 3 ears of corn, shucked, kernels removed (about 3 cups) or 1 pkg (16 oz) Whole Kernel Corn, thawed (Frozen Foods) 1/4 red onion, peeled, very thinly sliced 1 Tbsp Tabasco Pepper Sauce 3/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt 1 1/4 cups Cilantro-Lime Pesto (see related recipe) Zest of 1 lime Directions Add potatoes and enough cold water to cover in stockpot. Simmer on MEDIUM about 20 min (don't boil), until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Lay potatoes flat on baking sheet to cool 10 min (still warm, not completely cooled). Combine red pepper, corn, onion, Tabasco, and salt in large bowl. Fold in potatoes, pesto sauce, and lime zest. Cilantro Lime Pesto 5 cloves Peeled Garlic 1 bunch cilantro, washed, roots trimmed 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (Bulk Foods), toasted and cooled 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp Pure Olive Oil Juice of 1 lime (about 1-2 Tbsp) 1 1/2 tsp sea salt Directions: Add garlic, cilantro, toasted pumpkin seeds, olive oil, lime juice, and sea salt to food processor. Pulse on HIGH until well-combined. Chef Tip(s): Toast pumpkin seeds in skillet on MEDIUM-HIGH, 1-2 min, until lightly browned. Let cool. Great dipping sauce for quesadillas and grilled vegetables. Lpink's notes: Can use regular red potatoes if you don't have the dosh for the pricey baby ones. Just cut them up. Can also use parsley and maybe fresh oregano or some other herb in place of the cilantro if you can't find that either. Add a healthy dash of ground corriander seed to compensate. Torta di Carote del Veneto (Carrot Cake from the Veneto) from "Cucina Ebraica" by Joyce Goldstein Note: Joyce says use fresh young, sweet organic carrots. She's probably right, but subbing a cup of canned crushed pineapple for a cup of carrots adds a note of freshness if you can't afford the fancy carrots. Serves 8 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. almond extract (I omitted this because I added pineapple this time.) 1 tsp. vanilla extract Grated zest of one large lemon 2 cups all purpose flour (I used half whole wheat pastry flour) 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (I used half nutmeg and half ground ginger) Pinch of salt 4 cups finely grated carrots (about 1 lb.) (Thank you again Johnliu for the Cuisinart!!) 1/2 cup ground toasted almonds Confectioners sugar for the topping (I made cream cheese frosting) Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch cake pan, line it with parchment paper and butter the parchment. Beat together softened butter and other wet ingredients. In another bowl sift together flour and dry ingredients. (Or not, Lpink never does!). Fold flour mixture into batter, then fold in the carrots and almonds. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Bake until golden and the top springs back to the touch and the cake tests done. 45-60 min. (I baked it for 45 and it was done). Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Invert the cake onto a cake platter when cool. Sift confectioners sugar over the top of it and serve with a dollop of whipped cream if you want to be Continental. If not, frost with cream cheese icing. Lpink's note: Sub one cup pineapple for one cup of carrots. This greatly improves the recipe. Also, I think I would like it better with walnuts, but I didn't have any so I made as written with almonds. It was very good, but if you don't have almonds on hand, feel free to sub walnuts. You could also add plumped raisins for extra interest, but not needed. Last but not least, a "Cooking Light" baked beans recipe we have been enjoying all week. I didn't use chorizo, I just used some turkey kielbasa we had on hand. Not as sweet as regular baked beans and picante, both good things IMHO. Smokey Baked Beans with Chorizo from June 2011 "Cooking Light" magazine. Ingredients 1 pound dried Great Northern beans (2 1/2 cups) 1 cup diced dry-cured Spanish chorizo 4 cups chopped onion 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 4 cups water 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon paprika 2 bay leaves 2 tablespoons brown sugar (NO! Use 4 heaping TBLSP) 3 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste 3 tablespoons molasses 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (Lpink subbed a WHISPER of ground chipotle, since she didn't use chorizo) 2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper 1/2 cup chopped green onions 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Preparation 1. Sort and wash beans; place in a Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans. Cover; let stand 8 hours. Drain. 2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chorizo; cook 4 minutes or until fat begins to render. Add onion and garlic; sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Add beans, water, and next 7 ingredients (through bay leaves); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until beans are just tender. (Lpink made the beans in the crockpot.) 3. Preheat oven to 350°. 4. Stir brown sugar and the next 3 ingredients (through crushed red pepper) into bean mixture; bring to a simmer. Cover; bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until beans are very tender and sauce is thick. Remove from oven; stir in vinegar, black pepper, and ground red pepper. Discard bay leaves; sprinkle with green onions and parsley.

I'm wondering if instead of a toaster oven (I know they work for a lot of people, but maybe not best choice for us?) I should just get the small Whirlpool MW with the curved back to fit in the corner where my current huge (22" x 15.5" x 12.5 high) MW is? Thinking about usage, besides the weekly meatballs that are in huge Corningware roaster (that I could do in oven or in stockpot on stove), the MW mainly gets used for multiple cups (nice to fit 4C Pyrex but I could buy a 2C in addition to the 1C I have) of water for tea/cocoa/oatmeal per day, occasionally reheating coffee (not often), that almost-daily 12-16oz veggies, very occasional scrambled eggs (nice and fluffy in a Pyrex bowl - have to measure but no larger than 11"). The toaster is fairly inconspicuous, slices go side-by-side so it fits along the wall with plenty of space for a paper towel or plate in front of it, I really don't need to replace a toaster. I do have a rice cooker (but it's a large one, hate to pull it out for veggies). Recently bought a 5qt electric pressure cooker, hoping to replace the rice steamer and 2 slow cookers (3qt and 6qt) with that, also works better than pan of water for defrosting (I never defrost meat in MW). I guess I could replace the MW with an electric kettle LOL but it's nice to be able to cook scrambled eggs, reheat the occasional plate of leftovers as well as boil water in less than 2 minutes. If I ever need another oven for baking, I have a large Nesco down the basement (so far I've just used it for large batches of apple butter - pan is too large to fit in my double sink or DW but if using just to hold a baking pan it wouldn't need to be washed out). Actually, I've been meaning to try it for baking bread so I don't have to heat up the big oven. I even have a smaller Nesco that can hold 1 loaf pan I may try baking in.

Have you seen the long running threads about the Cuisinart on eGullett? Part 1 (Dec. 2013 to Oct. 2015) Part 2 (Oct. 2015 to now) Near as I can tell, there is a negligible difference in actual capacity between the original CSO300 and the new "N" model. The "300N" has a redesigned (removable) water reservoir for the steam function (removable to make it easier to clean). Also, the "300N" offers the convenience of a specific setting for "steam clean" (as opposed to running a steam cycle in an empty oven on the plain "300" model.) Seems to me the older reviews will be equally applicable to the newer "N" model. I have a smaller kitchen but have been tempted by the optional steam oven functions of the 300N. Tempted mostly because Costco.com carries it. Same price (and free shipping) as Amazon. The attraction being the Costco absolute satisfaction guaranty --- if you don't like it, return it for a full refund at your local Costco. Re your question about getting both the BSO and CSO: I see no reason for that. My take is that the tradeoff between the models is that the Breville SO has more capacity (i.e. will fit a standard ¼ sheet pan) while the CSO offers the option of steam oven functions (but still functions with the regular small oven functions you get with the Breville.) My hesitation has been that the capacity of the CSO (which I saw at BB&B) seemed a bit smaller than I wanted. Very much a YMMV thing, though, as indicated by the enthusiasm in the eGullet threads.