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Can one use an electric steamer with a timer to cook a meal for Shabbat lunch?
If one puts raw food on the device and sets a timer before Shabbat for it to be activated on Saturday and start the cooking process so that it can be fully cooked for lunchtime is it permissible?
If not, is there any way one can have a hot plate for lunch?
Most poskim seem to forbid it because it lessens our respect for shabbat; while there are some who permit it. I've heard that R' Yitzchak Abadi permits such an arrangement, although I haven't seen an official psak stating so. He can be contacted through http://www.kashrut.org.
A good way to have hot food is to have it cooked before shabbat and also place it before shabbat in a crock pot or hot plate with a shabbat timer set for when you want to have the food ready (as is the practice of almost every shabbat-observant family).
See here for more information: http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/?CategoryID=160&ArticleID=4258
