I make a point of distrusting blurbs by friendly (and probably compensated) colleagues and self-congratulatory comments on the covers of all books, especially cookbooks, where the criteria for quality are often a lot more objective than for fiction, memoirs, or criticism, for example. In rare cases, an especially strong or unexpected blurb can turn my head. With this book, the combination of distinguished cookbook author Barbara Kafka and front cover blurb source Maida Heatter combined with the very prosaic subject of the microwave has definitely turned my head. Ms. Heatter says `Don't even think about using a microwave without Microwave Gourmet'. Maida Heatter is rarely wrong about anything.
The microwave seems to be the iceberg lettuce of kitchen appliances. It is the device that many culinary writer / TV hosts love to malign, or at least ignore. Sara Moulton seems proud of the fact that she does not even own one. The microwave so prominently visible on Rachael Ray's set of '30 Minute Meals' rarely gets any use. Gadget king Alton Brown has, in about sixty shows I have seen, used it but once or twice. He at least did us the favor of explaining how it works on one occasion.
Some prominent culinary author whose name escapes me at the moment has said the microwave is good for melting chocolate, baking potatoes, and cooking bacon, and that's about it. That statement actually did me a favor, as I didn't even give it credit for doing those things. I regularly do baked potatoes and bacon in the microwave now. On the other hand, I have had a long history of failures and accidents with using my microwave, all entirely due to my misunderstanding its capabilities and limits. Using it to soften butter often leads to greasy messes. Using it to defrost chicken often leads to frozen breasts with toasted edges. Using it to roast garlic leads to dry, useless cloves. Even my successes with the microwave such as a really very nice catfish stew from Shirley King's book `Fish The Basics' end up being something of a nuisance, as they involve constantly opening and closing the microwave and pealing back the plastic wrap to stir and add ingredients.
Barbara Kafka has done us all the service of eliminating any excuses for microwave mishaps. I strongly agree with Ms. Heatter's advice and the subtitle claiming that this is the only microwave cookbook you will ever need.
In the opening chapter `The Oven', Kafka explains how a microwave works and all the whys and therefores about what works and what doesn't work and what kind of machine you should buy. She especially agrees with Alton Brown that a microwave without a rotating plate should be donated to the Smithsonian. All the little details of working with microwave dishes and plastic wrap are explained with excellent line drawings. The serious, detailed instructions continue in the `Microwave Basics' chapter. One of the most important lessons in this chapter is the explanation that special consideration has to be given to multiplying quantities in recipes, and Kafka explains why this is true, based largely on the fact that microwaves work to a much greater extent on asymmetrical molecules like water and proteins than they do on symmetrical or non-polarized molecules such as fats. The remaining chapters are:
First Courses, especially preparation of cold, make ahead salads, pates, and cooked vegetables.
Soups, one of Kafka's specialities, as she has written a complete book on the subject.
Good Grains, Pasta & ... especially rice. The risotto recipes reveal one of the true difficulties of microwave cookery. This is the need to often open and close the door and restart the oven. On the plus side, the microwave does give especially good control of these operations with the built-in timer.
Fish and Seafood This is where the microwave shines, as both fin fish and shellfish cook very quickly, especially in the microwave.
Fair is Fowl No surprise here that the most successful microwave cooking methods for chicken are poaching and braising, as neither depend on browning for their appeal. If browning is needed, the recipes typically call the broiler into service.
Mainly Meat opens by entering the very rocky territory of chili recipes. Ms. Kafka's recipe is very toney, as it calls for cubing beef and including a bit of chocolate. Very Aztec. Traditional daube recipes contribute much here, as the method specifically prepared red meat without browning.
Vegetables are a natural for the microwave since they cook so well in water, steam, or water-based sauces. They are doubly applicable to frozen vegetables. Broccoli is a feature in this chapter, as the author takes if from simple to complex recipes.
Savory Basics covers something I would never have thought of connecting with microwave cooking. This basically gives you techniques for making small quantities of broths, stocks, and funets quickly with a microwave. Other cooking staples such as roux, duxelles, and infused oils are covered as well. The article on breadcrumbs turns a generally nasty microwave property of drying food into a virtue.
Desserts, especially based on poached fruit, are done here. Chocolate and caramels are also prominent.
Jams & ... covers many common pantry preparations with fruits and pickling.
The best section in this overall very good book is the `Dictionary of Foods and Techniques'. It is the section to which I refer whenever I crack the microwave for anything except heating water. It will give me comforting reassurance when I do bacon and good estimates of cooking times for all sorts of fruits and vegetables.
There is no question that microwave cookery cannot do everything and it can do some things not as well as conventional cookery, but it has its place. It is probably great for very small kitchens and excellent in hot weather when cranking up the old Hotpoint just seems too unbearable for words.
Very highly recommended reference for something we all have anyway.
