Who’s your Mama?

My friends gave me the nickname years ago…. 

Mama in the gluten free world since 1997: 

a gluten free pioneer, pie baker, PCC cooking instructor, gluten free diet guide, cookbook author, camp cook, Gluten Intolerance Group board member, food blogger, gluten free recipes from James Beard award winners. 

Visit and sample Mama K’s  treats at the Magnolia Farmers Market beginning June 1^st and help us answer the next question:

What’s next? 
Your feedback will help us figure that out.

I’ll be bringing: gluten-free pizza crust/flatbread, granola, apple hand pies, breakfast breads + stop by for a taste

And here is the big deal:  

We are a dedicated gluten free facility and celiac friendly

Magnolia Farmers Market opens Saturday, June 1^st with many new vendors joining this thriving, community gathering spot.
(Saturdays, June – September, 10am-2pm)

I will find out which of these vendors offer good GF possibilities.

Magnolia Farmers Market New Vendors This Year Include:

Caravan Crepes – Each tasty morsel is made in-house with a commitment to using the freshest ingredients, including: french lentils, pistachio pesto,and mozzarella savory, and Cara Cara orange curd sweet crepes.  Also featuring gluten free teff crepes.

El Chito – Seattle’s best Tamales!

Golden Ratio Gourmet – bottled marinade, dipping and finishing sauce all made by a Magnolia resident.

Got Soup –Soups from seasonal, Washington ingredients, frozen in quart size containers.

Hedlin Farms – Heirloom tomatoes and veggies from the fertile Skagit Valley – a 4^th-Generation-Farm.

Jarvis Growers – A dozen different varieties of garlic, from hot to mild and everything in between, grown on the Olympic Peninsula.

Knife Sharpener Guy-get your kitchen knives (garden tools, too) sharpened while you wait!

Mama K’s Gluten Free Bakery – Magnolia resident and a cottage-industry: gluten-free pizza crust/flatbread, granola, apple hand pies, breakfast breads

Present Tense Farm – Veggies, greens, melons, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, winter squash, all from Snohomish County.

R Heritage Farm – Heritage breed chickens, turkeys, eggs, and Berkshire pork, all from Gold Bar, WA.

River Farm – Organic herbs, peppers, tomatoes , melons, eggplant, onions, summer squash, corn, lettuce, and cabbage from Ellensburg, WA.

Snohomish Bakery – Baguettes, rye, fougasse, and sour dough breads. Also featuring croissants, muffins, pastries, and macaroons.

Teya’s Pastries & Cakes –A cottage Baker making assorted pastries, cakes, and cookies.

Tieton Farm & Creamery – Goat and sheep’s milk artisan farmstead cheeses; chevre, washed rind goat and sheeps milk cheeses, feta, and halloumi  (blended goat and sheep cheese that’s great grilled)!

Twin Oaks Creamery – Cow and goat milk, cheddars, Romano, brie, blues, feta, camembert.

Whidbey Island Ice Cream – Handmade chocolate covered ice cream bars, using local berries, fruits, and cream sourced from local farms.  Pints available, too.

White Heron Vinyard (growing their own grapes at Mariposa Vinyard) with Chardonnay, Arvine, Merlot and Sweet Roussanne from Quincy, WA.

Youngquist  Farm – Strawberries, raspberries,  blueberries, and  blackberries  from Skagit County.

My goal this month is to wear two form fitting dresses for two graduation events and to be able to sit comfortably!

To reach that goal I have restricted sweets and starches and have tried to eat more protein to stave off the need to snack.  So far it’s going pretty well.  We also try to have one meatless meal each week and portobellos are a great way to go since they have a meaty texture to them anyway.  The picture above is just a few bites of the meal really (but it photographs better than a whole plateful ) but my goodness it is good and was pretty quick to make too.  And it fits the #meatlessmonday theme too.  This would be good with some roasted asparagus too.

The meaty mushrooms can be grilled or broiled or baked… you choose. 
The sauce ingredients were quickly pureed in a food processor then left to meld flavors on the stove for awhile.
And the polenta was the easy-slice kind in the market sauteed til a bit crispy and topped with a little mozzarella .

Serves 4                                                                                                               Wine Pairing: Oregon Pinot Noir – the umami present in the mushroom make this match

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

3/4 cup olive oil
4 large portobello mushrooms
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped shallots
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme

Rub 4 tablespoons (1 tablespoon per mushroom) olive oil into mushrooms until absorbed.
Combine remaining olive oil, vinegar, shallots, rosemary, and thyme. Pour marinade over mushrooms and marinate for 4-8 hours.

If grilling mushrooms cook them 3-4 minutes per side over hot coals.  I just baked them in the dish I marinated them in at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or so.

Adapted from a recipe from Cooking Gluten Free! and Chef Erol Tugrul, Café Margaux – Cocoa, Florida

Marinara

15 ounces fire roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen’s were good)
4 ounces tomato paste
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic passed through a garlic press
8 ounce diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil

Puree first 4 ingredients in food processor, place in a medium saucepan, add the diced tomatoes and basil then heat for an hour over medium low heat.

Polenta

Slice into equal rounds and saute in a non-stick skillet in a little butter or oil turning once until both sides have crispy edges.  Top with a few thin slices of mozzarella, melt and serve.

I am having some fun growing edible flowers to decorate my cakes.
The glazed lemon cake is a crowd pleaser and the flowers give it a simple elegance for any cake table. 

This cake stand has a decidely French look.

hand holding cake stand

Desert Rose Cake Stand

pulled pork ready to serve

No matter the time of year, pulled pork is one of my frequent Default Dinners—something that doesn’t take a lot of labor to prepare and everyone in the family loves it.  It’s one of those meals they get excited about when they ask What’s for Dinner?

With Cinco de Mayo quickly approaching perhaps you can use a recipe like this!

Crisped Gluten Free Pulled Pork

We have a favorite spot in South Park for authentic Mexican food, so everything we make at home kind of goes through a filter of “would they serve it this way?”  We used to just slow cook the pork shoulder and then serve it, after a few times we realized a crispy crust was missing.  Many stovetops incorporate a griddle these days which (in our other house) was great.  Right now we are using a $20 tabletop griddle–which I use for so many things—and it is perfect for pulled pork.  It even holds (exactly) a 3 pound pork shoulder roast after it has cooked for 4 hours.

Crisped Pulled Pork

(serves 4 with leftovers)

3 pounds pork shoulder ”butt” roast
4 ounce can chopped green chilies
12 ounce bottle green taco sauce
12 corn tortillas
canola oil for frying

Remove any string that might be holding pork together.  Cut the piece of pork in half horizontally so it is one even layer and place it into either a Dutch oven or a flat roasting pan with at least 2-inch sides.  Place pork fat side up and sprinkle chopped green chilies and taco sauce all over the pork.  Fill taco sauce bottle halfway with water, shake it up and pour over pork. 

pork covered in green chiles and green taco sauce

Cover tightly with lid or foil (depending on which cooking vessel you use)

pork tightly covered--we use just a simple shallow baking pan

and cook 4 hours at 250 degrees (crock pot cooking works too but it will take all day). 
When meat is pull-apart tender, it is done.

Add a crisp crust

Remove only really big chunks of fat (don’t remove it all as you want some for flavor) and separate the meat with a fork, set aside.  Often there is not any fat to remove.

Just before serving heat some oil in a heavy skillet or on a griddle.  Briefly cook corn tortillas until they soften, drain on paper toweling.  Remove all but a few tablespoons of oil from skillet. Add pulled pork ( in batches if using a skillet) and cook in oil for a few minutes to add a bit of a crust to the meat. 

pulled pork just placed on griddle

pulled pork crisped and ready to serve

Serve tortillas with pulled pork, pico de gallo, and refried beans.

Alternative:  If you don’t have time to make pico de gallo, serve with grated monterey jack cheese topped with chipolte sauce (we use one by Bufalo called Picante Chipolte Salsa)

Pico de Gallo

While the pulled pork is cooking, make the pico de gallo— and just before you crisp up the pork, pour a bit of oil on the griddle and warm up some corn tortillas then drain on paper toweling and keep them warm in the oven while you crisp the pork.

Gluten Free Refried Beans

Pinto Beans

Refried Beans

refried beans

(serves 4 with leftovers)

2 cups dry pinto beans
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup or less of lard–you can also use canola oil if you like
Reserved cooking water from beans
2 teaspoons salt

Rinse and pick through dry beans to remove any stray objects (like small bits of rocks).Soak your beans overnight or follow your pressure cooker instructions for pre-soaking.

Cook the beans according to package or pressure cooker directions.  When beans are cooked, saute onion in fat over medium heat in a heavy skillet, cook until soft and somewhat carmelized.  With a slotted spoon, remove the beans from their cooking water.  Add cooked beans along with more of the lard and mash the beans while combining with the onions. Salt to taste.  If the refried beans need additional moisture add some of the bean cooking water.  If you plan to freeze the beans add some additional bean cooking water to them as well. 

Note: I am using mangalitsa leaf lard, a highly rendered lard that is healthier.  Can be purchased at ChefShop.com
Early adopters of the Mangalitsa Pig lard include: The French Laundry and The Herb Farm

 

You can follow other food bloggers with Default Dinner posts on Pinterest. 

 

Spencer's in Old Palm Springs (photo from website)

It’s been a few years since my last post on Palm Springs and in that time some additional options have surfaced.  Wonderful options in fact for people who must adhere to a strict gluten free diet.

When we first arrived in the desert we bought a ton of groceries thinking we would have to cook most nights.  In hindsight I should have purchased much less to give us more flexibility.

On this trip we had four successful dining out experiences. Two were tried and true: the reliable PF Changs and The Cliffhouse but two were new to us:  Indian Wells Club (or IW Club as it is known –the restaurant is open to the public) next to the Hyatt in Indian Wells and Spencer’s at the Historic Tennis Club in old Palm Springs. 

The Cliffhouse is in La Quinta and features steaks and seafood and is a unique venue built into boulders similar to those found at Joshua Tree National Park. We go there for the simplicity of steak and vegetables but the other two restaurants offer a huge selection of noted GF items on their menus. 

GF noted menus:  IW Club  and Spencer’s   

I mentioned to the waiter at each restaurant that some people who order from the gluten free menu don’t necessarily have celiac disease, and that for us, it was absolutely critical that no cross contamination exist. Each waiter spoke to the chef and we thoroughly enjoyed each meal.

So happy!

IW Club in Indian Wells

I had two meals at the IW Club, a lunch following tennis with girlfriends and dinner with my celiac son.  He was so impressed that things like GF soup and beef stroganoff were on the menus– in 16 years we have never seen these items offered at any restaurant. Their online menus don’t indicate which items are GF but there are many items and each is clearly marked on the menu at the restaurant. Everything is very good!  At the IW there is outdoor seating perched up above the golf course.

We were there at sunset with a 180 degree view of the mountains and enjoyed a warm breeze.

Indoors is very comfortable with leather chairs and a club atomosphere.

this place was great!

Spencer’s at the Historic Tennis Club in Old Palm Springs

Spencer’s has a 60′s movie star vibe, very old school, classic Palm Springs.

Inside it reminded me of the Seattle legendary restaurant Canlis.

During the day their outdoor dining is fantastic and it is shaded from the sun as well as cooled on hot days with what appeared to be outdoor duct work for A/C.

At night the outdoor dining is lit with hanging balls:

All of Spencer’s menus are posted online and there are so many GF choices (they call them GFI-Gluten Free Item)  Sam had the Traditional Triple Decker Club Sandwich on what they called a GF potato bread that was very good.  We asked about the source of the bread and it was Udi’s, much to my surprise.  I haven’t seen anything that Udi’s calls potato bread so I assume it is their regular bread that shows potato starch flour as an ingredient. Sam has never been able to order a sandwich while dining out in his entire life so this was pretty exciting!

 Our friends ordered the Baja Shrimp Salad and said it was very good.

Spencer’s was selected as Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence 2012.

Chef Eric Wadlund has worked in some of America’s finest Four Star restaurants:  Azur by Le Bernardin, The Occidental, The Rattlesnake, and Terra Cotta and most recently at the renowned James Beard House.

We love the relaxed atmosphere of Spencer’s and the dedication of the kitchen to execute gluten free the right way.

And since I mentioned Joshua Tree earlier I have to put this in, it’s the skull rock at Joshua Tree.  Next time we will go ready to hike and plan to be there in the late afternoon for the best picture taking hour.

skull rock

We hope you will be able to join us!

April 19th, Pike Place Market Arcade Lights, proceeds from this event benefit the Pike Market Senior Center and other foundation charities.  Tickets
We will feature our new apple hand pies and other items to savor:

Mama Ks Gluten Free Bakery Apple Hand Pies. These will fly out of our booth, stop by early.

Chipotle Chili with Roasted Red Peppers and Cilantro Lime Cream

Janelle from Talk of Tomatoes has a feature called Default Dinners that you can follow on Twitter @defaultdinners or check out the newly launched food bloggers default dinners page on Pinterest for great ideas for the nightly meal.  Janelle is one of those people that you just love to be around. Her energy and talent make you want to try a little harder each day to pull together a good meal to ground your family and provide healthy comfort.  With our alternating days of enough sunshine to start working the garden soil and the windy, cold days with sideways rain –chili has been a favorite on the table at our house.

Big Appetites

I am now cooking for two really hungry big guys.  My husband works his day job and in his spare time he is building our next home.  Most people go to the gym but this house is his mental health project.  Not only is it a physical challenge but it also takes a lot of smarts to build something from the ground up.  Our son Sam is the other big guy who towers over us all, I can’t imagine his appetite increasing but as we go into track season it most definately will.  I cook a meal that will feed 4-6 people and they devour it all.  We don’t eat many starches with our dinners– mostly protein and vegetables.  Our starch consumption occurs as we test all the baked goods for Mama K’s!

an interior detail of exposed beams that Sam helped to build

Four ways to cook this chili–crock pot, pressure cooker, stock pot or Dutch oven

So as I was thinking about my recipe contribution to Janelle’s Default Dinners (family meals that don’t require a huge effort but are enjoyed by everyone)  I decided to make a few things from my cookbook that I had let fall off my radar screen.  I am also using my Dutch oven from Le Creuset a lot (6.75 quart size is best).  Every winter I use it 3-4 times a week to make soups, stew, roasts, braises, etc.  When I have jobs that keep me away from my neighborhood for long hours I use my crock pot or if I am in a hurry and have to get it on the table fast I will use my Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker instead.  If you own a Dutch oven and have a few hours you will be rewarded with a complex marrying of flavors that make this recipe absolutely awesome…and I try pretty hard not to use that word much so that it still has some meaning.

Storm Watching Chili Weather

We have a lovely perch in our rental house looking out over the Puget Sound–a perfect spot for storm watching—yes, that is actually something people do in the Northwest.  When I was selling radio advertising I called on a few resorts that promoted their cozy retreats on the ocean as a great place to visit for exactly that purpose!!

Here is what we have recently been watching out the window….it looks like a military frigate or something and some very rough going.  Hard to tell from here but there were a ton of white caps out there and the wind must have been 40 plus mph.  Needless to say we have chili weather……

Wild Stormy Days of March Perfect for Chili

This recipe takes 20 minutes of prep time using a Dutch oven (or a stock pot) and the cornbread another 10 minutes of prep time.  But you do need to allow for the 1.5 hours of cooking time with the Dutch oven or a stock pot.  If you go with the crock pot it’s an all day affair of slow cooking but very quick prep, if you have a Pressure Cooker you’ve hit the jackpot at 35 minutes for prep and cooking.

Smoky Chipotle Chili with Roasted Red Peppers

Before moving on to the recipe where I provide directions for stove top or Dutch oven cooking of this recipe, it is important to note where this recipe originated. Lorna Sass has several books dedicated to pressure cooking. This recipe is adapted from her book, The Pressured Cook  (William Morrow, 1999).  She is creative and helps ease the mystery of using the new safe pressure cookers.  I use it for many things but most often for homemade refried beans.  It’s great to not have to soak beans overnight and to greatly reduce cooking time.  You could do this recipe in about a half hour using a pressure cooker.  

Smoky chipotle chilies, roasted red peppers, a touch of cinnamon, lime juice, and cilantro make this chili exceptional.  

Quick to assemble,  the only chopping is for the cilantro, onion, green pepper and roasted red pepper.  I have become a huge fan of pinto beans in chili instead of kidney beans, you might try them if beans are not your first favorite food.

Wine Pairing:  a California Syrah is recommended with this meal. Dan McCarthy of McCarthy & Schiering Wine Merchants graciously did the wine pairings for me years ago but now there are some good gluten free beers on the market that you might want to try since this chili can be spicy!

 i n g r e d i e n t s :

Cilantro -Lime Cream
A cool counterpoint to the spicy chili.

1 cup sour cream
½ cup tightly packed chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil, or more if needed
2 pounds well-trimmed boneless beef chuck (buy pre-cut stew meat in the store)
1 medium coarsely chopped onion
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds|
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cups beef broth (add 1 cup more if using Dutch oven)
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of pureed chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (I keep this frozen by the tablespoonful)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can of either pinto beans or kidney beans
2 large cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press or finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1-12 oz jar roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

 4 servings

Make cilantro-lime cream by combining sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, and salt in a nonreactive bowl. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
On the cooktop, heat a tablespoon of oil in the Dutch oven (or stock pot) over medium-high heat.

Brown beef in small batches, adding more oil if needed. Set the beef aside on a plate. Heat another tablespoon of oil. Add onions and cumin and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Return beef to the pot. Add chili powder, stir to completely coat beef, and cook for an additional minute. Add broth and stir well, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in green pepper, cinnamon, and chipotle chile sauce.

Cover Dutch oven and place in preheated oven, simmer until meat is tender, about 1.5 hours. (stockpot method: simmer on stove top 1.5 hours stirring occasionally)
Remove from oven and blend tomato paste into chili. Add the canned beans, garlic and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning.
Return to oven or heat on cooktop until beans are warmed through and garlic loses its raw taste.
Minutes before serving, stir in the roasted red peppers and cook for another minute. Stir in lime juice to enhance the flavors.

Top each portion with a generous spoonful of Cilantro-Lime Cream.

 wine suggestion:  California Syrah

Gluten Free Cornbread

Gluten Free Cornbread

This is my grandmothers’ cornbread recipe. (She always served it with butter and honey.)

The special Multi Blend mix makes this taste just like the wheat flour cornbread my grandmother made.
The original recipe calls for shortening, though I prefer butter. Using buttermilk instead of milk creates a lighter cornbread.

 i n g r e d i e n t s :

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum
1/2 cup Multi Blend gluten-free flour mix 
1 cup corn meal
2 tablespoons butter or organic shortening, melted
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk or milk

  16 servings

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Butter an 8-inch baking dish.

Combine sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt,  gum, flour mix, and corn meal in a medium bowl. Combine butter, egg, and buttermilk in a small bowl.
Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until blended. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick tests clean.

 For more nightly meals and quality gluten free baked goods try Cooking Gluten Free!

Soon I will post an events page once all the paperwork is complete on our 2013 schedule.  Hopefully you will have the opportunity to taste many of Mama K’s Gluten Free Bakery items at these events.  On the evening of April 19th we are participating in the 4th Arcade Lights fundraising event for the Pike Place Market Foundation, a non-profit that supports crucial social services including Pike Market Child Care & Preschool, the Pike Market Medical Clinic, the Pike Market Senior Center, and the Downtown Food Bank.  You will have a chance to taste and sip your way through the market.

Follow this link for more detailed information: Pike Place Market Arcade Lights

My father-in-law was very involved for many years in supporting the Pike Market Senior Center and I spent a year in the senior healthcare industry (more about that in a post later this week) so I feel like I have a personal connection to this event….but we all do really.  The Pike Place Market and our downtown are very important to the city of Seattle.  Many people who visit our town…and it is still a pretty small town with everyone so interconnected.  There is not a day that I go downtown with the big guy that we don’t run into someone we know…that is not something that happens in larger cities…except in Manhattan but that is another story altogether.

Most Seattleites have a soft spot in their heart for the joy of taking an out of town guest to the Pike Place Market or spending an afternoon treating yourself to a day of Sur La Table, DeLaurentis, the fish throwing guys, the magic shop, the spice store, and all the farmers and crafts people whose long laboring hours make the market such a fun place to visit.  I hope you have a chance to visit again soon or to attend Arcade Lights.

As we get closer to the date I will divulge to you the special treat we are planning for that event. 

photo from Seattleite.com

I have always loved lemon cake.

My dad started requesting it as his birthday cake years ago and it somehow became the cake we all requested.  Another favorite is Jill Scott’s song ‘Family Reunion’ . Her lyrics create such a visual memory of her family reunion as she settles her sights on the Lemon Cake:

Mickey and Steven are fightin’ again
Move out the way……. somebody might get hurt
Aw Look at that…. what happen is worse
They knocked over Heleanor’s Lemon Cake (hmm)
You know…. the one she barely ever makes……

So true…. it seems like we rarely get to enjoy such a treat as Lemon Cake!

Though lately we have been eating it A LOT around here. 

I wanted to photograph one and post it now that brides are making plans for their 2013 weddings…….

I kind of cut the cake a little weird but you can see the crumb of the cake better because of it.

There is a glaze of lemon juice, lemon zest, confectioners sugar, and butter that creates a nice drip along the edges.  The glaze goes on when the cake is still warm and soaks into the top.  There is just the right amount of tart and sweet with a delicate crumb that I believe makes this the perfect cake to have on the dessert table for gluten free guests at a spring or summer event.

This is a cake offered at Mama K’s Gluten Free Bakery so unfortunately I cannot post the recipe that I use.  If you are getting married though consider making this a part of the dessert table for your gluten free guest(s).

A week or so before a big holiday dinner, our oven heating element stopped working.  There was some uncertainty from the appliance repair company as to how long I was going to be out of an oven.  I knew that we could grill the main dish and use the stovetop but I wanted the assurance of an oven.

It was a perfect excuse to buy the little countertop convection oven I’d had my eye on for the past year.  I debated whether or not I wanted to give up the counter space and $250 for what I thought was a non-essential item.

I decided to take the plunge and have never looked back. This little oven has managed to put itself in use just about every day since we bought it and I am happy to say the microwave is getting less use too. Not only can I cook anything in this little oven but there is just something superior about food warmed in an oven vs. a microwave and my new little oven heats up in minutes.

Breville was founded in 1932 in Australia with a focus on design and innovation. Their products are now sold in over 30 countries across the globe.  I own one of their juicers, a tea kettle and now this “Smart Oven” BOV800XL. Each Breville product in my kitchen is hard working. (my little review here is strictly out of appreciation for their products, as are all of my product reviews– without compensation)

In this time of “planned obsolescence” for so many kitchen electrics,  Breville is a breath of fresh air. Everything they manufacture is tested and tweaked until the very best product is developed.

Breville Smart Oven Features

To make room on the counter for the Smart Oven we got rid of our toaster and gave up some space.  But what we got in return is an oven that:

> toasts at least 6 slices of bread all at once (which really helps when making lunches on gluten free bread that needs to be toasted beforehand)

>can bake a whole pie, cake, casserole, roast, pizza etc. to perfection (I haven’t tried the roast yet)

> cooks food faster and more evenly on the convection setting

>warms leftovers so much better than a microwave

>uses a lot less electricity than a big oven

>encourages my husband and son to bake cookies at all hours

>warms plates—we do this every night now in fall and winter

>keeps food warm

>has three levels for rack placement and a removeable crumb tray for easy cleaning

>has the ability to defrost and then toast or cook the item with the push of a few buttons

>broils—our favorite is a tuna melt

>can be calibrated for time and temperature in small increments

>adjusts use of various heating elements to what you are cooking

Needless to say we use it every day, several times each day. 

Breville Smart Oven Interior Capacity

I wish I could compare this oven to others on the market for you but that would mean I would have to go buy all of them and test them out.  I don’t really think that is necessary though their quality is top notch.

I believe this oven has the largest interior capacity of any countertop oven on the market. A prerequisite was that I had to be able to bake a whole pie or cake in it so I took my measurements of cake pans and pie plates with me to the store and they fit easily.  Then I went a little crazy finding all kinds of cookware in the store to see just what would fit.  The maximum size pan that fits in this oven is 13 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and 4 ½ inches tall.  It also comes with a broiler pan and a pizza pan. 

There is a smaller Breville oven so be sure you are looking at their largest oven for these measurements.

All of the standard size cookware below easily fits:

Oblong pyrex:  11 x 7 x 1.5

Pie plate:   11.5 x 9.75 x 1.75  includes handles

Bundt:   10.5 diameter  3.76 depth

I do have one small complaint but it is very small.  Early in the morning I am not able to sneak into the kitchen and turn it on because it makes a super loud beep upon plug in.  I suppose I could keep it plugged in overnight but the instructions very specifically state it should be unplugged when not in use (and the LCD screen stays on unless unplugged).

To see more of Breville’s products click here