"I was hoping this would be good for when there's just a small something to be heated (non-microwave) like rolls or breaded chicken cutlet, or, as i said melted cheese or toasting pine nuts. Does that sound like a reasonable expectation?" It would be fine for either, and for a MW it has a great deal of space (we use it for popovers on a 10.5"X13.5" muffin tin which can turn on the carousel). We use the dual convec/MW for faster baking, roasting and more even and faster defrosting than MW alone. It's turned out to have more uses than we'd anticipated, and we use it more than our larger gas range oven--less energy, lower heat output and faster preheat.

Yeah - I saw your other post. They have it plugged in - I don't know if I can bring food in and try it out. It is a table top model that can also be built-into a cabinet using a trim kit. Search amazon.com for AK-1200S. It has gotten good reviews from users. It is not plumbed. It has a small container for water. You put water in it and insert it into its slot (kinda like the water container in a pump espresso machine). There is a drain tray in the bottom that needs to be emptied periodically and they recommend you wipe it off after use. It comes with all the trays, and grills. It also comes with cookbooks. It is only a 700W microwave but apparently it works well. The table top model costs $920 on amazon. The trim kit is another $200+. The trim kit makes it a 30" wide device. I wanted to just get a 27" oven and 27" advantium. I have pretty much decided to do that. Since the sharp can be used as a table top, we might still get it sometime in the future and lay it somewhere! If it is really useful, I guess we would regret not putting that into our cabinet, but I think we will be happy with the advantium also. One other thing people told me is that the steam works well for reheating left overs - it prevents drying out and also preserves the just cooked taste.

Haven't used the Silver Spoon, so I won't say anything pro or con concerning it, but let me throw in another vote for Hazan's book 'Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking'. It's fabulous. Two of the recipes from that book, Roast Chicken with Lemons, and 'Pork Loin Braised in Milk Bolognese' have been posted on this forum. The link is to the pork loin recipe, and I'm reposting the roast chicken recipe. IMHO those two recipes alone are worth the price of the book. Since I discovered Marcella Hazan's technique of roasting chicken, I haven't done it any other way. It involves putting a couple of small lemons in the cavity to provide moisture to the bird as it cooks. I'm amazed at how simple and good it is: If this were a still life its title could be "Chicken with Two Lemons." That is all that there is in it. No fat to cook with, no basting to do, no stuffing to prepare, no condiments except for salt and pepper. After you put the chicken in the oven you turn it just once. The bird, its two lemons, and the oven do all the rest. Again and again, through the years, I met people who come up to me to say, "I have made your chicken with two lemons and it is the most amazingly simple recipe, the juiciest, best-tasting chicken I have ever had." And you know, it is perfectly true. For 4 servings Ingredients # A 3- to 4-pound chicken # Salt # Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill # 2 rather small lemons Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Wash the chicken thoroughly in cold water, both inside and out. Remove all the bits of fat hanging loose. Let the bird sit for about 10 minutes on a slightly tilted plate to let all the water drain out of it. Pat it thoroughly dry all over with cloth or paper towels. 3. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and black pepper on the chicken, rubbing it with your fingers over all its body and into its cavity. 4. Wash the lemons in cold water and dry them with a towel. Soften each lemon by placing it on a counter and rolling it back and forth as you put firm downward pressure on it with the palm of your hand. Puncture the lemons in at least 20 places each, using a sturdy round toothpick, a trussing needle, a sharp-pointed fork, or similar implement. 5. Place both lemons in the birds cavity. Close up the opening with toothpicks or with trussing needle and string. Close it well, but dont make an absolutely airtight job of it because the chicken may burst. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying it at both knuckle ends. Leave the legs in their natural position without pulling them tight. If the skin is unbroken, the chicken will puff up as it cooks, and the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin. 6. Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast facing down. Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so you need not fear it will stick to the pan. Place it in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken over to have the breast face up. When turning it, try not to puncture the skin. If kept intact, the chicken will swell like a balloon, which makes for an arresting presentation at the table later. Do not worry too much about it, however, because even if it fails to swell, the flavor will not be affected. 7. Cook for another 30 to 35 minutes, then turn the oven thermostat up to 400 degrees, and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time for each pound. There is no need to turn the chicken again. 8. Whether your bird has puffed up or not, bring it to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved and opened. The juices that run out are perfectly delicious. Be sure to spoon them over the chicken slices. The lemons will have shriveled up, but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze them, they may squirt. Ahead-of-time note: If you want to eat it while it is warm, plan to have it the moment it comes out of the oven. If there are leftovers, they will be very tasty cold, kept moist with some of the cooking juices and eaten not straight out of the refrigerator, but at room temperature. Here is a link that might be useful: pork loin braised in milk

OK, here's the Shrimp and Spring Vegetable Risotto. This is the only Kafka recipe I have. It was given to me. Shrimp and Spring Vegetable Risotto Barbara Kafka "Microwave Gourmet" This dish is so beautiful that when The New York Times asked me to provide a microwave recipe that would be photographed for their entertaining issue, this is the one I chose. Italians use ambra rice rather than arborio in this recipe, both for its pale golden color and for its lighter, less glutinous consistency, but arborio can be substituted. Serves 6 as a main course, 10 as a first course. 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter 3 Tbsp. fruity olive oil 1/2 cup chopped scallion (white part only) 2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped 1/2 cup (packed) chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 cups ambra rice 4 cups Fish Broth, Clam Broth, Chicken Broth or canned chicken broth 3/4 pound asparagus, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut in half crosswise 3/4 cup shelled fresh peas or frozen peas, defrosted in a sieve under warm running water 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 cup chopped scallion (green part only) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Heat butter and oil in a 14" x 11" x 2" dish, uncovered, at 100% for 3 minutes. Add scallion whites, celery, parsley, and rice and stir to coat. Cook, uncovered a 100% for 4 minutes. Stir in broth and cook, uncovered at 100% for 12 minutes. Add asparagus, shrimp, and peas and stir well. Cook, uncovered, for 12 minutes more. Remove from oven. Stir in salt and pepper. Cover loosely with paper toweling and let stand for 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with scallion greens and cheese, and serve. My Note: I used Goya medium-grain rice and it works very well. I also used two jars of clam juice and one can of chicken stock. This recipe is also very good without the shrimp (and just using chicken broth) as a side dish.