We are remodeling now, house is gutted, and for some time I had a temporary kitchen (no more, we packed that up too). I can't comment on guests over, but in our temporary kitchen, I used my toaster oven far more than the microwave. Cuisinart makes this steam oven that I will get to replace my ancient toaster oven, recommended here on the GW cooking forum.

Aside from a toaster oven, I made do (quite well!) with an electric skillet, an Instant Pot (also couldn't live w/o during the remodel) was a sous vide (finished sous vide food off in the electric skillet) which made cooking a snap, and our grill.

Most people set up temporary kitchens in other rooms... I'll forewarn, many have issues with blown breakers using more than a few appliances at a time.

Also, a sink of some kind. We are using our utility sink for everything. Not fun, but could not live without it. We kept the fridge plugged in and just move it a bit as needed.

Good luck!

Another vote for the Breville; the larger ones also have convection. Wonderfully even performance (weakest point can be toast, actually, you have to switch to the upper rack)

2ManyDiversions: She is not setting up temporary kitchen, just wanting something to get through the holidays. She has an instant pot and an electric skillet, but thinking of things you do in microwave and oven that one of these ovens might work for. What do you cook in a toaster oven? I've never had one.

Zalco: Is the Breville toaster oven also called the Breville Smart Oven? If so, which size do you have and what do you cook/reheat/bake, etc. in it?

Gooster: If you bake on convection, do you set oven setting for regular temperature and it converts to convection time/temp or do you have to manually figure that?

"lizbeth-gardener

Gooster: If you bake on convection, do you set oven setting for regular temperature and it converts to convection time/temp or do you have to manually figure that?"

Just because a manufacturer sticks a fan inside an oven and calls it convection does not mean that the oven is a good convection oven. Lot's of times that is just good marketing.

Check reviews carefully before you buy.

dcarch

All of Breville's counter top ovens, from the mini, toaster sized to giant, are very well thought of. If there's any thought of baking, this is a great choice. If there's more need for roasting, a Nesco roaster might suit.

For a microwave, any one made by Panasonic or Sharp, who make most of the microwaves in the world, no matter what badge is on them. will work just as well. Look for the features required, and price. A $100 microwave from Costco is as good as a high end built in one. The only quality difference is potentially heavier wire, more durable latches, etc. The magnatron is going to degrade over time no matter the price.

Steam is lovely. I love my very high end, plumed in combi-steam oven. But over the holidays is the wrong time to be learning new tech. In fact, I'd choose whatever is being bought with intuitive controls at the top of the features list.

I guess I don't fully understand what each ovens capabilities are and haven't had time to research yet.

She has a combo oven/micro that is old and she replaced micro with new countertop (temporary) one without researching, thinking any microwave would work. I'm not sure what she got, but guessing it's a low wattage or just not a great micro. It takes forever to heat up anything.

She probably uses/needs the microwave function as much as the baking function. She has a very active young family and cooking takes a back seat to sports and kids activities.

Can any of these ovens bake a pie as well as heat up leftovers?

What do you cook/bake/reheat in yours?

I have the cuisinart steam oven and I love it. It can also toast and convection bake - you don’t need to use the steam setting (though we love it, especiallly for reheating leftovers). I highly recommend it.

lizbeth-gardener -- I have the regular Breville Smart Oven. I've cooked small cassseroles and baked goods (like a small tray of brownies) in mine, as well as gratins and the like. It supplements my main oven (which is a large single cavern true convection type). You will see it gets top reviews all around, although the competition is closing the gap. But, it does not microwave.

It does sound like she has a low wattage microwave.

A good microwave is inexpensive. I just replaced one for a bit over $100 on amazon and it works great. If she needs larger capacity, those are a bit more expensive. In my experience, any of the major appliance brands make reliable counter microwaves - I got a Panasonic this time.

The problem with counter top ovens is capacity. The Breville ovens are excellent but the large capacity models require a 240 amp line. The smaller models plug into a regular socket but capacity is small.

I have a Cuisinart Convection oven but its drawback is the interior size. It is good for cooking what fits in the interior but that's limited. Because of interior size, it wouldn't be particularly good for baking - I can bake six cookies for example which is fine when I just want to take a few frozen dough balls to make for a snack but impractical for holiday baking.

cyc2001; so it sounds like your Cuisinart Steam Oven would do what a microwave does as well as bake? What model do you have and does it hold a very large size pan?

Helen: That may be what she ends up with if none of these do double duty, baking and microwaving.

Gooster: The Breville Smart Ovens sounds like a great supplement for people who don't have a second oven or even for those who just need a small first oven. She does need the microwave, though.

" She is not setting up temporary kitchen, just wanting something to get through the holidays. "

How is that not setting up a temporary kitchen?

She already has a functional kitchen, except micro is slow and oven is temperamental-a combo unit. She was just looking for a better microwave and if she can get a countertop oven/micro combo to tide her over till she redoes kitchen, even better.

I would definitely look for a microwave that has so called "inverter" technology.

They are not cheap, but very practical for better cooking.

dcarch

Get a 1200 watt Panasonic microwave and just about any counter top oven that is large enough to fit a 9 x 13 pan. I have three countertop ovens, one in regular use and the other two are back-ups, all bought from garage sales for $6 or less.

The big jump in speed and power in a microwave is when you go from 120 V to 240 V, usually with a built-in.

My relatively inexpensive Panasonic that I bought a few months ago has the inverter technology. I don't notice it being better than my older countertop which lasted for years and worked well.

I use a microwave principally for steaming veggies, reheating and cooking frozen foods. For cooking and reheating, I generally use 50% power anyway because otherwise I find the food cooks too unevenly and gets hard so lack of power is really not an issue for any microwave I've owned.

"Helen

My relatively inexpensive Panasonic that I bought a few months ago has the inverter technology. I don't notice it being better than my older countertop which lasted for years and worked well.----"

It depends on what you are cooking. For heating up coffee, boiling water, making soup, etc. makes no difference.

For some meat recipes, huge difference that inverter electronics can cook at low power. All other microwaves cook always at 100% power.

dcarch

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@dcharch - You could be right about the technology but I don't cook meat or other proteins in a microwave as I don't like the results. I don't have a life style that necessitates microwaving rather than grilling or roasting which are pretty quick and produce tastier results.

Huh? Dcarch, I'm missing something there. I've never had a microwave that only cooked at 100% power.

All normal microwaves can be either on or off with 100% of the power, just like an undimmed light bulb. The same with normal electric ovens, toasters, induction cook tops, etc.

The thermostat tells the heating element how often it should be on or off.

Unlike a gas cooker which you can adjust the heating intensity.

dcarch

You mean it flickers on and off, rather than "dimming"? Thanks, if that's right, I get it. :)

This is a nice simple oven a bit larger than most toaster ovens. Ann_t has this one with the electronic panel instead of this older model with simple dials.

I have an oster at the beach house with this exact dial layout. Love it. (the smaller model).

Breville is excellent. Much higher price.

Either choice would be a good fit for the need.