Comments: People need more cooking and oven space, especially around major holidays. More people send us messages bemoaning their full planned menus and lack of warming space. Quite a few also want to keep food warm while they travel. We make sympathetic clucking noises, but there's only so much one can do – especially when they write us only hours before 23 relatives are set to arrive.

The Salter Food Warmer is an elegant solution on many levels, and it hides out of the way when you don't need it.

First of all, it is a true warmer that keeps food hot for up to 3 hours. It has three settings – low, at 140°F, medium, at 175°F, and high, at 200°F. There is a vent on top, which you can close to keep moisture in, or open, to keep crisp foods dry. There is a rack that can be placed in the middle of the warmer or near the bottom (to allow air to circulate). It will accommodate two 9-by-13-inch pans, two 16-inch pizzas, two 2-quart casseroles, or multiple 11-inch dinner plates.

We think it's a great warming oven, but there are three features that we are nuts about. First, the top, sides, back and door can come completely off, so that you can use the base as a warming tray for a buffet. (Additionally, the top, sides, back, and door can be cleaned in the top of the dishwasher (but they take up a boatload of room.) Second, the unit can be powered by an included car charger, so you can – given enough flat space in your car – keep your food warm for several hours on the way to Aunt Mildred's and Uncle Fred's. Third, the entire unit can be taken apart (once cool), folded flat, and stored in its own carrying bag. So you can store it in a small space when you don't need it, or you can carry it to Aunt M's and Uncle F's for their holiday dinner, even when you don't need to use it on the drive to their house.

An awful lot of people need a warming oven, but they're often more trouble (or large or expensive) than they're worth. This one is so useful and loaded with features that it more than makes up for the cost and the required space. If you have the space for it all the time, you'll forever be keeping pizzas, leftovers, and dinner components warm, proofing bread, and warming dinner plates.

Just don't wait until a few hours before your green-bean casserole comes out of the oven to decide to purchase one. This requires some pro-active thinking on your part.