At the Anyday Test Kitchen, we're not just heating up leftovers; we're pioneering the future of microwave cooking. Our mission is to empower you to cook delicious food in your microwave, and to turn skeptics into believers — one perfectly cooked in the microwave dish at a time.

 

We take recipe development really seriously, putting our ideas to the test before they even make it to your screen. We take ideas from our Facebook community, what’s trending at the moment, or recipes we just straight-up love, and see if it will work in a microwave. We also play around and experiment a lot — more on that later!

 

What’s the result of all that work? An extensive library with over 250+ microwave recipes to explore! We put out new recipes every week and our blog is jam-packed with everything you need to know about microwave cooking. Browse our Anyday Basics, where we’ve been perfecting cook times for all kinds of veggies, grains, and proteins. Once you learn the building blocks of making good food in the microwave, you’ll try cooking just about anything in this magic machine.

 

Ultimately, you are the most valuable asset to our recipe development process. We are constantly validating cook times based on your feedback and looking for ways to make our recipes even better. Need help with lowering your power level or looking for a recipe that we don’t offer yet? Reach out to us at testkitchen@cookanyday.com — we’d love to hear from you!

 

Read on to learn more about the Anyday Test Kitchen and our recipe development process, and meet our Test Kitchen team!

 

The Anyday recipe promise

We have a set of guidelines that we use to develop every recipe. Here’s what we promise, every time you try a recipe:

Our recipes work (and work well).

We put our ideas to the test! Our Test Kitchen in Napa, CA houses more than 18 different microwaves, allowing us to try recipes across unique models with different wattages and inverter features. We test each recipe a minimum of 3 times, adjusting cook times and power levels accordingly, to get the best-tasting dish in the least amount of time.

 

“I will never forget the first time we cooked salmon in the Anyday. It was perfectly cooked, it did not smell, and took a fraction of the time I would usually spend on the stove. Game changing!” says Aldana, our Test Kitchen Lead.

 

As for the type of recipes we develop: We look out for approachable recipe ideas that rely on boiling, steaming, or braising; recipes that need a crisp or fry factor are better suited for the stovetop.

Our recipes save time.

Every second counts in the kitchen! Our recipes will always aim for the shortest cook times and fewest steps possible, leaving you more free time to take care of everything else in your busy life. We’re constantly challenging our culinary know-how to see if we can find a faster, easier way to get to the ideal result.

 

“I had no idea how much time I was wasting in the kitchen, when the microwave was there all along! Now, I cook more efficiently and make fewer dishes,” says Rachel, Recipe Manager.

 

Our recipes help you become a better cook.

With handy visual reference points and clever tidbits that teach you the secrets to better cooking, we write recipes with you in mind. Before you know it, you're not just cooking in the microwave — you're mastering it.

 

Our recipes help you cook with Anyday dishes

Our recipes are specifically developed to work with Anyday microwave cookware. We recommend the best dish to use for every recipe, making sure you get the best possible result. Each dish was designed for specific recipes in mind: For example, rice and grains work best with a high-sided Deep dish. The Shallow dish is best for recipes that need a lot of surface area, like crispy bacon or chicken pot pie.

 

“When we started Anyday, our challenge was clear: help people see the microwave as a tool for cooking from scratch. It’s tough since it’s such a foreign concept to most!” says Steph, Founder/CEO. “Well-tested and truly delicious recipes that work are the most integral piece of that puzzle. So we put a ton of effort designing a website and developing recipes that would allow people to have the best possible cooking experiences with their microwaves.”

 

Our recipes are as smart as our dishes! When you choose your microwave’s wattage, the recipe will update the directions accordingly. Look for the ‘Choose Wattage’ button to make sure you’re getting the most appropriate directions for your machine. Looking to make more? Use the drop-down menu to adjust the recipe for larger serving sizes.

 

Meet the Team

Aldana (Test Kitchen Lead)

Aldana Iturri boasts nearly 20 years of experience in both savory and pastry. Born in Argentina and raised by an Italian and Basque family, Aldana began her culinary journey in Europe, sharpening her skills at Mosimann’s Club in London. Her expertise as a sous chef brought her to Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro and Bakery. After nearly two decades in restaurant kitchens, Aldana transitioned to developing recipes for the Meyer organization, including Hestan Cue and Anyday.

 

Rachel (Recipe Manager)

Rachel has worked in food media for more than a decade, contributing recipes and photography for restaurants and publications across the country. Her first cookbook, Unicorn Food, was published in 2018 and published by Sterling Epicure (Barnes and Noble). You can find more of her work in Cooking Light Magazine, Bon Appetit, The Progressive Farmer, and Real Simple, among other outlets.

 

Steph (Founder/CEO)

Steph Chen is the founder of Anyday and also someone who feels like she's winning life when cooking food that is very high on the delicious scale and very low on the effort scale. Having done food-related stints at Eat Just and Chez Panisse earlier in her career, she found herself incredulous at the unexpected power of the microwave and decided the world needed to know.