Gourmet Toaster Oven and A Sauce for Eggplant

How's that for a utilitarian and un-snazzy title? First stop: Gourmet Toaster Oven . This is a book I checked out of the library. i like the concept: use your toaster oven when you don't want to heat up your oven, either because it's wasteful of energy or because it will heat up your already hot house.

This book didn't turn out to be as useful FOR ME as the Amazon reviews led me to believe. Many of her recipes call for using a dough mix (that she has a recipe for) so you can make individual pizzas and samosas and things like that. Not being a baker (would that I were), I found these of little use.

She does tell you how to make huevos rancheros in the toaster oven--stack all the usual suspects (tortilla, beans, egg) and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Here's the recipe I tried: Eggplant with Tomato and Cream Sauces.

For this, you need to slice an eggplant crosswise, place in an oiled baking dish and top with marinara sauce. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Top with mix of 1/2 cup sour cream, minced garlic,1 beaten egg, grated cheese of your choice and bake for another 15 minutes.

I tried this because I had everything around. I wanted to see if simply baking the eggplant would sub for the laborious and messy pan-fried eggplant of my youth. It was not as good, but I never do eggplant the old-fashioned way anymore.

As for the sauce, I had to augment sour cream with yogurt. It was fine. The sauce will be a good topping for garden eggplant.

Obviously, the main weakness of the book is that it doesn't really tell you how to use the toaster oven in amazing ways: it is the tiny oven cookbook. Still, I'm glad to have seen that sauce recipe, since we always have plain yogurt and eggs around. I want to try it with feta.

Remember my toaster oven search and how I bought the Black and Decker which I HATE?

The toaster oven that evokes sighs and cries of joy costs $250. I wish I could find it cheaper.