Microwave Cooking

[nakji]

It just came to me that my mum makes butternut squash in the microwave. She halves it, scoops out the seeds in the middle, and adds brown sugar and butter to the cavity in the middle. She nukes the whole thing until it's soft, and mashes the squash together with the butter/sugar mix, and serves it in the shell. Nice, and when you're making Sunday dinner, it doesn't take up another burner on the stove.

[Doodad]

Keller's powders from TFL cookbook all employ the micro. Thinly sliced items placed on parchment and nuked to dryness, then ground.

I would like to know how to make that micro angel food cake that was demonstrated for Bourdain in Spain. He seemed uncharacteristically speechless at the demo.

[Blether]

I've said it around here before, but it's worth looking up Nick Nairn's (?) microwave steamed pudding at the BBC's food site: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, marmalade and a delicious pudding in 5 minutes after you finished mixing them. In other posts I've talked about making a golden-syrup-or-equivalent version.

[nakji]

Oh, god, microwaved steamed pudding. That's an excellent idea. With custard sauce. My intrepid mum used to have a recipe for gingerbread in the microwave, with hot lemon sauce. I'm going to e-mail her to see if she still has that recipe lying around.

[heidih]

Along the line of the butternut squash above, I scrub the squash and set it directly into the microwave for three to four minutes. I then let it cool a bit. It makes cutting in half so much easier. After scooping out seeds, I then roast if that will enhance the final dish, or just continue nuking till soft to my liking.

[syoung68]

I would like to know how to make that micro angel food cake that was demonstrated for Bourdain in Spain. He seemed uncharacteristically speechless at the demo.

I think you are referring to the use of an ISI Cream Whipper and the Micro. You make a normal cake batter, put in the whipper, charge it with a couple of N2O canisters, squirt it into a ramekin and micro for a minute or so. Ferran Adria calls it "the lightest, fluffiest cakes you will ever eat."

It is sad, I have all the equipment and have not tried this yet.

You can also make Troll Cream (Vauquelin)

[zoe b]

maggiethecat--

Erin, I recommend Barbara Kafka's "Microwave Gourmet" written way back when she was "Vogue'"s food critic I believe. Micros were newish back then, and it's a very intensive look at the cooking possibilities of the new gizmo.

I agree! This cookbook is excellent.

Her risotto is wonderful--I make it for microsnobs all the time to convince them about its usefullness.

Another wonderful recipe is for Szechuan green beans--addictive.

Other uses--

corn on the cob--delicious--stays crisp as it cooks.

potatoes--I finish in the oven, though, as I think they are gummy in the mike.

squash--I cook for a minute or two to soften them so i can cut them up easily--also easy to skin, then.

a few years ago I made a lot of veggie chips--sweet potato, beet, carrot, turnip--pretty good sub for potato ships.

drying herbs.

yes, cooking almost any veggie--I have a tupperware steamer that works well.

Zoe

[qrn]

You can't do this in all MW's, but I pre heat steaks before grilling. Takes about 3 1 minute sessions on LOW.(as I said all MW's don't go low enough) it gets the steak about 110ºevenly warm, and then rests for 15 mins or so.. then off to a very hot, heavy steel grated grill, for the very quick final sear,,to 129º Its esentially SV..Without the bags etc..

Bud

[FoodMuse]

@Zoe B

Can you give me the gist of the Szechuan green beans? Would love a quick asian side dish.

Grace

[Blether]

Three minutes. Yes. A couple of weeks back, I gave a litre-of-milk-in-its-tetrapak straight from the fridge three minutes on high before putting it into bechamel. It was nicely warmed, but not so much as to create problems putting the remainder back in the fridge afterwards. I'll do that again.

[gwl]

Spaghetti squash cooks great in the MW. Face down in a glass dish, covered with film, just a little water. Cannot remember how long it takes, but it works very well.

[velveeta]

In a cooking related use: plate warming. Put a bit of water in between plates. Sometimes I cover with a towel. Microwave carefully. Dry off slightly.

They can get too hot very quickly and of course it is dependent on the type of dishware.

[Blether]

Velveeta - yes, though my pwn plate warming, if it's not heating the food in the actual serving dish, will be sitting the cooking container on the plate(s) or the plate(s) on top of the cooking container.