Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven, Stainless Steel, 16.93"D x 20.87"W x 11.42"H, TOB-260N1

I did a ton of research before buying this oven. I'd had a Black & Decker for years that I loved, but it began to malfunction, and I reluctantly knew I needed to buy another large countertop oven.I use my countertop oven constantly--far more than my regular one, actually. There are two of us, and I find it ideal for most meal prep.I'd read the reviews about the door not closing properly, how hot the oven becomes on the outside, how the paint comes off the buttons, etc. But it seemed overall to be the best and most dependable choice. So I sprung for it.I love it.The first thing I did was to apply clear nail polish to the buttons before I even used it. Problem solved. I've never had a smidge of issue with the buttons or their paint coming off.The door was adjusted fine. At first I was curious, because it appeared to be slightly away from the oven body when shut, but that was not an issue whatsoever. No heat escaped. It was evenly closed. It works perfectly fine.And the heat issue--I'd read how people burned themselves on the door handle and so forth--honestly, I have never had a problem with the heat at all. Does the top get hot? Of course--it's an oven. Do I ensure to pull it forward to the front edge of the countertop and out from under the overhead cabinets? Of course. Does it heat up my kitchen? Nope. Can I put things on top of the oven while it's in use? Yes. I put the extra rack and extra broiler rack that I ordinarily store inside the oven on the top when I remove them to use it. They are all metal. It's no big deal.This oven heats up incredibly fast--within 3 minutes or so. It actually cooks faster than my other oven or previous B&D did (I check my recipes about 5-10 minutes earlier now). The heat seems even and steady.What I love about it: (1) The internal light is wonderful. (2) The interior is large enough for most daily needs and for baking quick breads (banana bread, zucchini bread) and the like. (3) It's an attractive piece of equipment to have on the counter in the kitchen. (4) It offers a number of cooking settings on the dial as well as the ability to customize to what you want. (4) It comes with two racks that can be placed in any of four positions, two of which will pull out when you open the door.What I'd improve: (1) The timer theoretically "rings" when it has preheated or is finished cooking. Are you kidding me? That "ring" is barely a whisper. The sound level of the timer definitely should be hugely amplified for anyone more than 1 foot away to hear it in a silent room. (2) There should be an independent, manual "Preheat" setting offered that doesn't impact the cooking time. I have to add extra minutes to the cooking time to account for my food prep, and then I set a separate timer (and one that I can hear!) once I put the food into the oven for when the food will be finished. That's a small inconvenience, but it would be nice if the oven provided it. The first improvement with the ring is the most important. (3) For some reason I read that the manufacturer says not to use glass in the oven, but instead to use metal. I'd gotten rid of most of my metal in favor of glass for my gas oven and my microwave, so I had to buy new cookware for this one. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it did cost me some extra money just for this Cuisinart.I've used this oven daily now for a couple of months. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat to someone who wants a quality appliance that will enhance and expand their cooking capabilities. It's a fine piece of equipment.

For more than a year I'd been eyeing this unit as a replacement for my old and beat-up Cuisinart toaster oven, which served us well for a decade or so but had seen better days. Air frying seemed interesting, but I had zero interest in a dedicated appliance, and thewirecutter.com claimed this model air-fried better than any dedicated air fryer. I finally pulled the trigger a few weeks ago, and while the unit has some minor quirks and is missing what I think is a key accessory, it's overall great. First, the quirks:1. The "beep" signal is barely audible and the volume and tone can't be changed. Thankfully we all have timers on our phones, in our smart devices, on other appliances, etc. If you are going to be away from the kitchen, you'll want to use one of those instead.2. The temperature can only be adjusted in 25-degree increments. This doesn't matter all that much; recipes that call for 360 degrees will be just fine at 350 (or lower, see #6 below).3. The light stays on for a strangely long time before auto-shutoff. I usually turn it off manually, for fear of hastening that far-off time when the bulb dies.4. For air frying, you absolutely must get a basket so that the air properly circulates around the food. I purchased the "EaZy MealZ Round Crisper Basket" which fits this model perfectly and is well worth the $17.5. After a few weeks I still find navigating the cooking options to be a bit awkward, just the first bit when you are selecting a main mode. Eh, not a big deal.6. There is a learning curve. Recipe instructions for regular ovens have to be adjusted, otherwise you will overcook your food. This is apparently true of many appliances of this kind. For most things I've tried so far (from baking banana bread to air-frying chicken wings) I've dropped the temp 50 degrees and/or reduced the cooking time.Speaking of chicken wings, STELLAR in this thing. Crispy as all get-out, and no oil needed. Here's my recipe, if you can call it that as it's so simple:1. Defrost wings sections if frozen, and pat them as dry as possible.2. Place them in the aforementioned basket (which can fit 12-15 pieces) and sprinkle generously with kosher salt.3. No need to preheat the oven; using the "dual cook" function, first "speed conv" at 350 for 24 minutes, then at 400 for 12 minutes. Carefully transfer to a bowl and toss with whatever sauce you prefer, if any.Air-frying on "speed conv" is also brilliant for reheating fast food fries (in the basket, hit them with an oil spray first, five minutes at 325, salt immediately when done cooking) and leftover pizza (either on a piece of foil or directly on the wire rack, 325 or so for several minutes). Haven't tried veggies yet, but I expect similarly great results. For pre-packaged foods, even if the instructions say to defrost first, "speed conv" and experience using this unit allows you to get right to cooking without the defrosting.The unit comes with a broiling pan -- pretty straightforward -- and a pizza stone, which works well but can be a pain to clean.All the general toaster oven stuff works great, no need to get into the details here. There's tons of cooking space for a device of this kind, and I find myself using it far more than I ever did our old unit. For small batches of things, it's now my go-to oven/frying device.In short: Expect to spend some time learning how best to use it for whatever it is you like to bake/fry. It won't take long, and once you do, you'll probably love this thing.