After years without one, I am learning to like this device.

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Some personal news: I have a microwave oven this week! I haven't had a microwave oven since my second year of university. At that time, I shared a small kitchen with my roommates. We used it to popcorn and heat cold coffee about 10 times a day. I didn't see the meaning of having one after that.

But after my parents visited on Thanksgiving, they continued to buy me one as an early Christmas gift. The first thing I did was to mix some eggs with seaweed soup to make Eric Kim's microwave oven steamed eggs, topped with a little maple syrup and soy sauce. They are beautiful, with the cheeky shaking of Chinese Zhengshuidan, Japanese Chawan Steamed or Korean gyeran jjim. I am very happy to get this subtle consistency in just five minutes without staining any extra plates.

I don't know how often I will use my microwave, but it is interesting to dig through the archives, where there are many recognitions of it from chefs I trust. Nigella Lawson uses a microwave oven to melt chocolate evenly and quickly. Julie Sahni uses it to make perfect rice and gajar halwa, a carrot-based dessert I eat around the holidays, stuffed with sliced ​​almonds and golden raisins.

Harold McGee has a gorgeous crispy recipe made in a microwave (you can use any raw nuts or seeds you like), and Martha Rose Shulman uses this device to quickly make a bowl of oatmeal and thrush breakfast cereals filled with dried fruits , Roasted nuts and a little cinnamon. Through all these recipes, especially delicate recipes like steamed eggs, I learned how important it is to pay attention to wattage and power levels-a small adjustment can make a big difference!

Barbara Kafka (Barbara Kafka) wrote "Microwave Food" as early as 1987, recording the microwave oven to make high-quality lemon sauce and stuffed tomatoes. After reading her old recipe for simple broccoli rabe and white bean salad, I am going to steam some vegetables in the microwave, but I might add some lemon zest, chile slices and crispy bread deep-fried in yellow at the end Crumbs. Can you...fry bread crumbs in the microwave? To be determined.

I want to introduce you to my team’s amazing collection of holiday cookie recipes. This is an enjoyable, instructive, and extensive project, and I cannot get enough experience. I really like brown butter toffee sandwich cookies and torticas de Morón filled with lime zest—I do like citrus-flavored cookies—but wow, I want to make them both. (If you want to receive new cookie recipes in your inbox every day before Christmas, please sign up for our daily cookie newsletter.)

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