REAL Cooking by Microwave

[imp]

My wife way back when, sold microwave ovens at retail for stores which sold nothing else (except accessories), Friedmans Microwave Ovens. We were in Phoenix/Mesa then. As part of the new requirement for her, she was given the assignment of becoming the stores' new microwave cooking teacher, classes being offered free to all buyers.

Before you knew it, our old kitchen stove was nearly obsolete! A blessing, in Summer, in Phoenix, AZ, anyway.

Any others "into" real microwaving, rather than heating coffee? The cakes and such that she created were amazing. So were the customers, many being "Snowbirds" from north of the border! imp

[JustJoel]

Originally Posted by imp

My wife way back when, sold microwave ovens at retail for stores which sold nothing else (except accessories), Friedmans Microwave Ovens. We were in Phoenix/Mesa then. As part of the new requirement for her, she was given the assignment of becoming the stores' new microwave cooking teacher, classes being offered free to all buyers.

Before you knew it, our old kitchen stove was nearly obsolete! A blessing, in Summer, in Phoenix, AZ, anyway.

Any others "into" real microwaving, rather than heating coffee? The cakes and such that she created were amazing. So were the customers, many being "Snowbirds" from north of the border! imp

Welcome to DC, Imp!
When I was living in Japan, my kitchen heat sources consisted of two gas burners with a “grill” in between them and a large toaster oven. I had a microwave, it was, I think, a whopping 600 watts! Initially, I only used it to heat already cooked foods. Then I discovered Barbara Kafka’s The Microwave Gourmet. What an epiphany! Real cooking in a microwave!

Alas, she never updated her book to reflect cooking times and vessel sizes for today’s much more powerful ovens.

I don’t do much “real” cooking in the microwave any more, but I don’t just heat up coffee with it either. A lot of prep can be done in the microwave, and it’s great for steaming fish and chicken. If you have some of the recipes that your wife developed, please share them!

[CraigC]

It does great for baking potatoes, bacon, steaming some vegetables and its main purpose reheating leftovers.

[tenspeed]

You need to be careful when cooking meat in a microwave.


https://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF..._Microwave.pdf


The uneven cooking in a microwave is why ATK does not think it is the best method for baking potatoes, but we've all done it, as it's fast and convenient. I've also partially cooked them in the microwave and finished them in the oven to speed things up.



https://www.americastestkitchen.com/...baked-potatoes

[roadfix]

I like my microwave. It is a convenience appliance.

[imp]

Originally Posted by tenspeed

You need to be careful when cooking meat in a microwave.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF..._Microwave.pdf

The uneven cooking in a microwave is why ATK does not think it is the best method for baking potatoes, but we've all done it, as it's fast and convenient. I've also partially cooked them in the microwave and finished them in the oven to speed things up.

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/...baked-potatoes

The key to safe, effective microwave cooking, especially of big chunks of meat like roasts, is to use an insertable thermometer without fail. Regarding BIG jobs, my wife has for years done large turkeys by microwave alone, with results that must be seen and tasted: white breast meat is juicy and tender, unlike my Mother's old long-time oven baking, where the meat required liquid with a mouthful, to swallow it!

I found an Air Conditioning service thermometer in my tools, about 6 inches long, pointed probe about 3/16-inch diameter, with a calibrated scale reading to 250` F. It reads very quickly, is stainless steel, and I find it very useful; my wife, however, does not, sticking to the "old school" fly by seat of pants...
imp

[Cheryl J]

Originally Posted by imp

The key to safe, effective microwave cooking, especially of big chunks of meat like roasts, is to use an insertable thermometer without fail. Regarding BIG jobs, my wife has for years done large turkeys by microwave alone, with results that must be seen and tasted: white breast meat is juicy and tender, unlike my Mother's old long-time oven baking, where the meat required liquid with a mouthful, to swallow it!..........

Ummm....imp, you seem to be focused on the microwave as your primary cooking method, which is all good and fine if that's your deal. Never before have I ever heard of anyone having a large enough microwave to cook a whole 'large' turkey, let alone wanting to..... Sorry...just sounds odd to me.

[Addie]

Originally Posted by tenspeed

You need to be careful when cooking meat in a microwave.[/url]
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/...baked-potatoes

I love my skin on baked potatoes to be crispy. I start the tater in the microwave, but always finish it in the oven.

[caseydog]

Originally Posted by imp

The key to safe, effective microwave cooking, especially of big chunks of meat like roasts, is to use an insertable thermometer without fail. Regarding BIG jobs, my wife has for years done large turkeys by microwave alone, with results that must be seen and tasted: white breast meat is juicy and tender, unlike my Mother's old long-time oven baking, where the meat required liquid with a mouthful, to swallow it!

I found an Air Conditioning service thermometer in my tools, about 6 inches long, pointed probe about 3/16-inch diameter, with a calibrated scale reading to 250` F. It reads very quickly, is stainless steel, and I find it very useful; my wife, however, does not, sticking to the "old school" fly by seat of pants...
imp

I hope you will put up some detailed recipes for your microwave cooking. I'm not a big fan of microwave ovens, other than warming things up, but I have an open mind. If you post up a recipe that looks good, I'll give it a try.

On the other hand, I hope you will try some other methods, too. I hope you won't just be an evangelist for microwave cooking.

As I mentioned elsewhere, my dad is an engineer, and in his 80s, has adopted my interest in cooking. I got him a sous vide set-up for xmas last year, and he loves it -- we share our sous vide cooks on the phone on a regular basis.

Go figure, artist and engineer sharing recipes and cooking techniques.

CD

[Caslon]

Originally Posted by Addie

I love my skin on baked potatoes to be crispy. I start the tater in the microwave, but always finish it in the oven.

Good idea to get the potato going in the microwave first, tho I wonder if it saves electricity (cooking time maybe). I've found that drizzling some olive oil on the potato and sprinkling coarse salt on it, then wrapping it in aluminum foils gets the skin crispy when baked.