convection oven...reboot

Model CTO6301

I am in love with my Black & Decker Digital Advantage Countertop Convection Oven/Broiler (Model CTO6301). I purchased it about 7 years ago when I was renovating a property and was planning to live onsite during the work. When plans changed it was never removed from the box.

Five years ago, I un-boxed it and started using it but wasn't patient enough to become acclimated with the push button features. The first tries yielded uncooked food. I was over it! 

I cleaned it and placed it on top of the refrigerator. 

It essentially became a Chinese Wall to keep items from slipping off of the top of the fridge and becoming wedged between the fridge and the wall—a very tight space that would have sent any item to purgatory.

Recently, with no real motivation other than a few videos on YouTube (Bhavna's Kitchen), I decided to bring it out of prison.

To encourage my usage, I invested in a baking set designed especially for toaster ovens.

I re-read the book and decided to make a concerted effort to become re-acquainted and love it, else get rid of it. Much to my chagrin, I adore it. My new first efforts had much to do with heating my lunch. Second try was baking mini-pies. From there, I attempted to bake cookies. Although failing to match the efforts from the larger oven, I stayed the course. There is a baking cookie feature and I have options to shift the wire rack into different positions.

Today I baked a few potatoes on preset, but increased to time from 45 minutes to an hour. Unsure of the results, I went the gym with about 15 minutes left to its end. I returned home to a perfectly baked potato!

The model is not made any longer. There are upgrades and of course competition in the market. I will use this one however until it no longer functions. But for now, I am happy to say one less device is sitting on a shelf unused!