Tony Silva

We bought Dan a copy of Backyard Ballistics for Christmas. Boys seem to get a kick out of seeing things explode. When the wrong thing finds its way into the microwave, mom will see the tragic results and say, "eeeeeew!" Her son will probably say, "Cool! can I try a McDonald's ketchup packet next?"

Just about anything that can retain built-up steam can explode in a microwave. The most devastating results (aside from ketchup packets) is eggs. If you'd like to cook eggs in the microwave and you don't want to turn your kitchen into the set for a B-Grade horror flick, pay a visit to What's Cooking America. They have a whole section devoted to cooking eggs in the microwave with minimal damage to your kitchen -- and your pride.

I used the poached egg recipe and discovered the solution to my earlier experiments: plastic wrap. I'm no fan of plastic wrap (I call it "wrestle wrap"), but if you plan to cook eggs in the microwave and you do it the way I do, plastic wrap can help them cook more easily -- or at least contain the explosion for easy cleanup. Using the technique from What's Cooking America, I was able to get a result that closely resembled poached eggs with only one explosion (fully contained by the handy wrestle wrap).

Oh, and one other hint: If you have a kid who thinks Backyard Ballistics is a cool Christmas present, don't tell him about the microwave.

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