Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I rarely am tempted to buy single function kitchen appliances, due to limited counter space. I'd been thinking about purchasing one of these for awhile, and before a recent week-long motel stay I decided to buy one and take it with me on the trip. Once settled in the motel which had a small fridge, I picked up some eggs, whole wheat english muffins, sliced cheddar cheese and a package of sliced ham from the deli. With a little experimenting, I was enjoying a delicious, lower cal version of Egg McMuffins for breakfast every morning. Instead of using a whole egg, I substituted two egg whites in each little poaching pan and added a little extra steaming water to cook the thicker egg patty long enough to get it cooked all the way through. I saved money and calories by making these myself in the motel, and so easy to do! Granted, this wouldn't be easy to lug on a plane, but for a driving trip it's lightweight and easy to carry in and out of motel rooms. I'll keep using this at home now, for toasting bread as well as making egg sandwiches. The added bonus -- this also makes up to 8 perfectly done hard boiled eggs in just a few minutes with steam instead of boiling water, and for the three batches I've made have, the shells have come off very easily. This great gadget has earned a permanent spot on my kitchen counter! ************* Edit: February 18, 2013. *************** After three months of use, I'm even more in love with this thing than I was at first. 1. I've used this every day, sometimes twice a day, to make egg sandwiches or just to make toast. It performs flawlessly. 2. Shortly after I bought this in November, one of the egg poaching pans began losing its non-stick coating, coming off in blisters. A month later, the other one did the same thing. It wasn't a big deal, I just wiped it out with a scrubby pad and rinsed it off to remove any flakes of coating. After the second pan started doing the same thing, I called West Bend and explained the issue -- they sent me two free new pans without question, and I have had no trouble with the non stick coating on the new ones, so it must have been a bad batch. Be sure to use a good-quality non stick spray, butter, or oil in the pan before you drop in the eggs. 3. I see some of the reviews complain that the toast doesn't pop up high enough and they have to use a fork to fish it out. The levers on this toaster are designed so that you can actually lift the lever up about an inch from it's "popped up" position to raise smaller muffins or bread above the toaster for easy retrieval. 4. Other reviews have complained that the toaster doesn't toast the bread very well on the darkest setting. The twist knobs to control the darkness of the toast are backwards from what you would expect. To toast darker, turn the knob all the way to the left. Then it will work just fine. I like my english muffins extra toasted, so I just push the defrost button when I start the eggs and (unfrozen) muffins, which will run the toaster setting a little longer. 5. The reservoir that you pour the water into to steam the eggs can get a little grungy after a few uses. For easy cleanup, pour a little water into the reservoir and push the "egg" button to start steaming the water. Before it has evaporated, push the cancel button and let the water cool off. Then simply wipe it out with a sponge -- all the grunge loosens off when the water heats up -- no scrubbing necessary. 6. This thing makes the greatest hardboiled eggs ever. The shells peel right off and the yolks don't have that weird green shade that they do if you boil them on the stove too long. A tip to keep the occasional egg from cracking while you are using the hardboiled egg steamer function -- put all of the eggs with the pointed end up in the steamer rack. Once I figured that out, I haven't had a single one crack during the cooking process, and there's no need to use the little puncturing needle that's included to keep the shells from cracking. I like this toaster so much that I bought a second one as a backup in case this one ever stops working. If you like Egg McMuffins, you will love this toaster as much as I do.