Premium styling and easy-to-use controls characterize the Cuisinart CMW-100 Stainless Steel Microwave Oven. Priced at only $149, this unit delivers your money's worth and more. It has an attractive black and silver exterior housing with brushed stainless steel trim on the door and front panel, and an all stainless steel interior. It is surprisingly compact, with dimensions of 20.5x16x12.75 inches, yet still provides a full 1.0 cubic foot of cooking space. A 12-inch glass turntable steadily rotates foods for even cooking.

One of the CMW-100's most appealing features is the touchpad control panel, which has eight clearly labeled Auto Menu function buttons for the most common actions, including popcorn, bacon, beverage, baked potatoes, rice, fresh or frozen vegetables and reheat. Within each function there are multiple selections that let you specify the food (or beverage) quantity so the microwave can determine an accurate cook time. In addition, there are six Express Cook buttons -- each corresponding to their respective numeric value. Pressing Express Cook/1 activates the microwave for 1 minute; Express Cook/2 delivers 2 minutes, etc. We loved the one-touch operation of these buttons and found them invaluable for quick heating tasks.

There are two Defrost options: auto and timed. The Auto Defrost works by using the food weight (which you must enter) to set the proper length of operation. The maximum weight setting for defrosting is 100 ounces or roughly 6 pounds. Cuisinart provides a quick and easy way to customize any setting by pressing the START/+30 sec. button, which lets you add 30 seconds to any operation (except Auto Defrost).

The CMW-100 has several advanced features, including multi-stage cooking, which lets you activate the machine at two different power levels during a single cooking cycle; and a Pre-set function, which acts like a delay timer, enabling you to set the start time up to 12 hours in advance. As you might expect with a Cuisinart product, the instruction booklet also includes cooking tips and recipes to help you get the most from your oven.


Pros: Touchpad control panel, eight Auto-Menu menu preprogrammed function buttons, six Express Cook settings, multi-stage cooking, Pre-set option to start cooking cycle later
Cons: No sensor

Warranty
3 years, limited