I've had a convection oven for about six years and I have to admit that I really never did understand how to use it. I've read about it and I've tried it; but wasn't convinced of the difference from a conventional oven until I got serious and started reviewing The Best Convection Oven Cookbook. During holiday meals I've attempted to use the oven for many dishes at one time and ended up with a juggling dance. Now I understand that with a convection oven there is no need for juggling and because of the constant circulation of air I can even bake as many as six sheets of cookies (if I had that many racks) at one time. For the purpose of this review we are asked to test out three recipes. I could hardly wait to give my first test and was open to try Tourtiere, a French Canadian dish that is very popular in Quebec. I make this dish often but was open to try this recipe and bake it convection style. The filling itself was different than what I normally make.

I only use allspice and cinnamon where this recipe called for savory, thyme, cloves and cinnamon. We like this variation as well. I cut down baking time by about 15 minutes which on busy days is a godsend. Wanting to go all out on the test, I tested Roast Prime Rib of Beef. Again, for the size of the roast, I cut down the roasting time by about 12 hour. The sauce of mustard, garlic, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce was a nice addition. I served the roast with Turnip and Apple Mash which was a great complement. Although the suggested cooking temperatures of the roast and the mash were different, it didn't make any difference.

I'm not sure if I saved any time on cooking the mash in the convection oven because it just went in with the roast. The third recipe I tested was Chocolate Almond Torte because I wanted to know if using a convection oven made any difference in a baked product. The torte itself is delicious; its rich and the orange zest adds to the flavor. From my knowledge of making other tortes and cakes, I saved about 10 minutes on the baking time. I do believe the cake baked more even and that is because of the circulating heat and the cake didn't have the hump in the middle. I give using the convection oven a "thumbs up" and am grateful I got to review The Best Convection Oven Cookbook. There are many recipes I will be making now that I've been convinced using a convection oven does save time and gives a more even heat distribution. So at this point you can tell I'm jazzed about this new find!.