Handy Kitchen Gadget

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fast cooking, easy to use, comes with good recipe ideas

Cons: Tricky to clean, non-stick surface wears off quickly

The Bottom Line: 
Great to cook for one, or if you don't want to mess with pots and pans. Comes with lots of recipe ideas. Could be used for every meal, plus dessert.

Author's Review
I don't usually fall for the gimmicky gadgets I see advertised on TV, but something about the Xpress 101 commercial sucked me in. The foods they were making actually looked pretty good, and as someone about to move in with her boyfriend, it seemed like the perfect tool for making quick meals for one or two. So imagine my delight when my mom bought it for me as a sort of housewarming gift!

Although the two cooking wells are great for making a small meal for each of us, the Xpress 101 really comes in handy when I'm home alone and want to make myself a full meal. My favorite is putting some rice, chicken broth, and frozen broccoli in one side, and rolling up thin-cut beef and swiss cheese around a few stalks of asparagus and cooking it in the other side. (Both recipes can be found in the accompanying cookbook.) I've also used the Xpress 101 for breakfasts, like eggs and bacon in one half and potatoes in the other. And it bakes beautiful muffins and little cakes.

The Xpress 101 is easy to use - just plug it in, put in your food, and take it out when it's done. It heats up completely within minutes, and cooks everything pretty quickly. The recipe book that comes with it has lots of great meal ideas, and will probably inspire many more. And the semi-circle spatula is the perfect tool for scooping out whatever you've cooked.

I have two major complaints about this product. Number one, it's difficult to clean. Although you're not supposed to submerge the machine in water, I have sat it in the sink several times and let water run over it to help clean it out. It would be perfect if the cooking surfaces were removable, and I could soak them in some detergent. This is mostly due to problem number two: the non-stick surface wears off quickly. The first few times I used the machine, it was easy to wipe out whatever was left inside. However, after a few uses, I noticed that food was sticking to one particular spot on the top side of the cooking surface. After a few more uses, I was able to see specks of silver peeking out from under the black non-stick coating. I still use and enjoy the Xpress 101, but now I make sure to take the extra step of spraying it with a non-stick cooking spray before using it.

Besides the two problems mentioned above, I would recommend the Xpress 101 for singles or couples. If you don't cook much, it's the perfect tool to inspire you to make your own meals. And if you just want a break from all the pots and pans, it makes cooking and cleanup (relatively) easy.