Adventures in Microwave Cooking, Montgomery Ward Stores (365 Books, Day 165)

[rushthatspeaks]

I have no idea why there is a microwave cookbook published in 1983 in our house. I mean it. It appears to have been on the cookbook shelf for a while, and I know it wasn't me.

Anyway, I initially read this to laugh, because this sort of cookbook is usually full of candidates for the Gallery of Regrettable Food. Which, photography-wise, this one is-- it's photographed in the usual sort of fashionable-at-the-time-but-quickly-gets-dated way.

Some of the recipes are also fairly traumatic, as this cookbook seriously suggests, and I am having as much trouble believing this as you will, that you make punch for your next party by melting Cinnamon Red Hots in water and adding cloves and a little lemon juice. They call it 'Hot Pink Drink'. I just-- that is the sort of thing that one does not serve company; if a person were to like Cinnamon Red Hots that much, I am not saying that is a bad thing, but it should be kept to oneself, as with such other personal vices as Tang, the marshmallows picked out of Lucky Charms, and my own occasional craving for blueberry bagels with peanut butter and thinly sliced jalapenos.

However, as a technical manual of things you can do with a microwave... huh. It seems to think you can poach eggs in one, for one thing, and I may actually have to test that because keeping the water the right temperature on our stove is a high-wire act. It also thinks you can do the pre-baking bit of the kind of pie that needs a cooked shell before the filling goes in, that you can get water boiling to blanch vegetables (I... should have thought of that), and that you can get a substantial distance towards thawing a frozen turkey if you can fit the thing into there. And it thinks you can steam pudding (!). I reserve judgment as to whether any of that is true, as this is also the sort of book where the manufacturer thinks that the microwave is so exciting that you should invite all your friends over simply to stand about and look at it working, which I suspect was not a thing even back when microwaves were far less common. But the blanching vegetables thing is a) definitely true and b) obvious in hindsight, so maybe some of the rest of it is viable, and it's worth checking.

I am therefore totally ignoring everything the book says as to the ways one ought to combine different foods, but keeping it in mind as a thing to refer back to the next time we have to draw up the oven/stove schedule for a holiday, now that I no longer live in a situation where I have access to three ovens and eight working burners (*sob*). The toaster oven eases the load somewhat, but this seems as though it could help the stovetop crunches, which would be kind of awesome.

Comments

[oyceter]

Possibly you already know this! (I put this disclaimer on because it is obvious you cook a lot and I hate being pedantic lecturing person.) But I have been using my microwave a lot to steam stuff, after seeing tips on Food Network. I don't know if a pudding would work, but it's really great for steaming frozen buns (wrap them in wet paper towels, then microwave) and steaming edamame, though I haven't tried other stuff!

[rushthatspeaks]

I have not tried the microwave as a steamer, and we have frozen buns a lot and boiling the water is the thing that takes longest, so I will definitely be doing that. Thank you!

This book claims that for a steamed pudding, you first heat the water until boiling in a large square dish covered with plastic wrap, and then take the plastic wrap off and put the pudding mold in the water and cook it until done, rotating every so often. It's supposed to cook about a quarter of the time it would usually boil. I'm not sure I'm convinced, but it sounds vaguely plausible.

[helen_keeble]

I frequently make steamed puddings in the microwave, and it is nowhere near as complicated as that process! All one needs is a plastic pudding basin with a lid. You make your sponge pudding mix, put it in the basin with jam or syrup at the bottom, fasten the lid, and microwave for about 5 minutes (for a small 2 person pudding). Voila - steamed pudding.

The fun bit is when the lid explodes off the pudding about halfway through the cooking due to the rising mix. Makes quite a noise!

[oyceter]

I hate boiling water! That is why I was so happy when I found that the microwave was not a bad steamer! But yeah, I think I basically just wrap the bun in a wet paper towel and microwave for two minutes. Or possibly one. You might want to experiment a bit, because I always forget the right time and either undercook or scorch it to a rock-hard mess.

Huh, that's interesting! I don't know if it'd work, but I'm slightly positive, just because I do think all that water in the microwave would steam it. (I also just heat a bowl of water in the microwave when I need to clean off all the gunk inside, since the water steams up the inside and makes it easier to wipe off.)

[cyphomandra]

I have poached an egg in the microwave (although man, that was a long time ago! I think my mother took a microwave cooking class that included an egg poaching section). I have tasted better poached eggs, but it was certainly recognisable and not rubbery or exploded, so definitely plusses there.

I've always been too scared to do them on the stove, as all the recipes I've seen seem wildly complicated ("spin egg on tiny saucer in whirlpool of water"...)!

[shark_hat.livejournal.com]

I usually poach eggs in the microwave, mine takes about a minute and a half at medium power. The failure mode is that the top layer cooks first and forms a seal, and then steam builds up underneath until it escapes- aka "egg all over the microwave with a loud pop"- so don't do it on full power; if you have a choice of two cups to put the egg in, go for the one that has a wider base; pierce the yolk; and do cover the cup (leave a gap for the steam).

[dorothean]

My mother has cooked every Christmas pudding for the last 10 years, at least, in her microwave. They've come out just fine, although it's possible that the ones she buys are actually meant to be done by microwave -- she doesn't assemble them herself and there's certainly no cloth or water involved.

[deliasherman.livejournal.com]

Take it from one who regularly eats microwaved poached eggs: you can do it, and they're OK to eat, but they're not really, you know, poached eggs. They tend to the rubbery, and a second too much will congeal the yellows, especially on a fairly powerful microwave. I can't manage the stovetop traditional ones without making egg-and-water soup, but I've had great luck with the little silicone boats sold for the purpose.

On the other hand, for pre-baking things like squash (winter and summer) before stuffing, wilting greens, reheating pasta or rice without turning it squishy, thawing frozen stuff, it's the bee's knees and the cat's nightwear.

[weirdquark]

I really like Cinnamon Red Hots and I can't see wanting to melt them for a party drink.

The jar of green salsa that we get has a recipe on it for what it calls "Mexican Fudge" which involves mixing egg with the salsa,layering cheese on top and then baking it. While I had the house to myself I had a bag of chips lying around, so I decided to make it. But I was feeling lazy, so I stuck it in the microwave instead. Didn't even use the convection setting, which is supposed to be more oven-like, but it still came out rather well.

[sovay]

make punch for your next party by melting Cinnamon Red Hots in water and adding cloves and a little lemon juice. They call it 'Hot Pink Drink'.

That is distressing.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

You can use a microwave to dry pottery pieces, too. I think a fan works better and less hazardously, though.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

Hot Pink Drink sounds revolting, but thank you for putting me onto the Gallery of Regrettable Food. That was a very entertaining and lighthearted half-hour.

[angstnokami.livejournal.com]

...I like Tang...

[enleve.livejournal.com]

Boiling water in an electric kettle is probably faster and easier than using the microwave. And boiling water in a microwave is not quite the same as boiling it on the stove or in a kettle. The heat isn't distributed the same way, and in rare cases the water can get superheated.

Exploding coffee experiment, and Mythbusters on superheating
http://amasci.com/weird/microwave/voltage2.html#coffee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OXM4mr_i0