Customer Reviews

Microwave Gourmet

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book deserves all of the praise it has earned. In addition, the section on time-consuming (because you have to keep checking the steam bath) Steamed Puddings - fabulous, moist cake-like English desserts, including Chocolate, Pear, a spiced pudding, and Papaya - is invaluable, and my initial reason for buying the book. One might want to resist baking conventional cakes in the microwave, but cakes are included, and several I tried emerged exactly as promised. Frostings, too. In addition, there are reduction sauces that you can prepare in minutes, and beautiful soups - Caribbean Fish Stew, cream soups, and much more. The ingredients lists are refreshingly straightforward and do not demand obscure ingredients. Kafka has got microwave cooking completely figured out, she is generous with her know-how, she is an innovator, and best of all - offers great food in this very useful book.

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.

I recieved this book as a graduation gift from my aunt. This book, which I revere as a bible, saved me from eating endless meals of delivery pizza and spagettios. Some of the meals are a little too gourmet for a college student, but this book made me the most popular girl in my wing! I highly recommend it to any college student or anyone else.

I've had Barbara Kafka's "Roasting" cookbook for several years and will never part with it, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that "Microwave Gourmet" is a keeper, too -- but who would have thought that microwave brownies could be so GOOD?! That recipe alone is worth the price of the book. I can make a pan of fudgy raspberry-laced brownies in 20 min. start to finish (I've been known to make them during commercial breaks).

From a classic mac-&-cheese that my five year old loves (good-bye fake cheese packets!), to cakes, cookies, and preserves, from Szechuan green beans to her famous risotto, Kafka covers an amazing amount of culinary territory (did you know you can deep-fry in the microwave?). I still have to remind myself to turn to this book when I'm looking for traditional recipes, the ones I normally wouldn't micro-cook; but whenever I look up a dish or a main ingredient I always find something tasty and fast.

The Dictionary section at the back is full of useful information for the cook, and there are lists and diagrams of the cookware you'll find most suitable for the recipes as well. Kafka clearly explains how to follow any special micro-cooking directions (making a seal with cling wrap, for example). And as always, her great humor shines through.

I've only had the book about 2 months, so I've barely scratched the surface, but so far everything has turned out exactly as described. On my next trip to the states I plan to pick up some glass souffle dishes (I can't seem to find any in Taiwan that don't cost a fortune) so I can try out more of her recipes. Personally, I would never have the patience to experiment with a microwave recipe again and again until it came out right, but thankfully, I don't have to -- Kafka has done all the work, and I get to have all the fun.

Introductory chapters excellent for understanding how this media works. Last sections alphabetic quick guide to cooking all sorts of things. Recipes are superb--and truly gourmet. Try her home-made mango chutney with home-made curry powder (seeds roasted in the microwave and all!!) As we say in Hawaii: "ONO!!" meaning "the greatest" or "excellent." Heartily recommend this book.

This cookbook joins other cookery bibles like Fanny Farmer and Joy of Cooking on my bookshelf -- all dogeared and written in and soup spattered. Have used it for years, and it's superb -- so superb that I had to buy another copy when the old spine gave out and the book fell apart!

Don't cook in the microwave without this book. Transversely, if you don't have this cookbook, then you will miss out on many wonderful things you CAN cook in the microwave with superior results. Don't be fooled, the finished product will be truly delicious. I was highly sceptical of many of the recipes in the beginning but they turn out perfectly every time. Have relied on these recipes for many years. You will cook more often, quickly and easily, (saving you money as well) when you use this cookbook.

This book is beautifully organized and has excellent recipes for everyday cooking in various quantities as well as gourmet meals. I find I refer to it constantly, especially for fish, vegetables and wonderful rice dishes. I've never had one fail me yet, but often need to add a little more liquid to some of the rice pilaf dishes.

Plenty has been said about how great this book is. I purchased the hardcover edition in 1987 and when it came out in paperback I purchased 20 copies and gave them to friends as gifts. In those days microwave wattage was 650 - 700 watts. Today the average wattage on a microwave is 1200 - 1300 watts.

I cook all the recipes in the book at 70% power in my 1300 watt microwave and that does the trick. No need to adjust the times, just the power level to approximate the lower wattage ovens. Experiment with your oven. If 70% power is too hot, try 60%. Alternatively try 80% power if foods are not getting done. Once you reach the right power setting, all the recipes will work for you.

Positives:
* This book is very thorough, with approximately 450 pages packed with recipes, plus an extensive dictionary after that. You can find recipes in it for a vast variety of foods, all microwavable.

* It was written in the mid 80's, when people still took the microwave seriously and it wasn't relegated to reheating coffee and making popcorn. The foods ARE a lot more interesting than standard heat-and-eat microwave fare. The author IS making a serious and credible attempt to treat the microwave as a real cooking device.

Negatives:
* It was written in the mid 80's, so the recipes assume you have a then-standard 650 to 700 watt microwave. Ordinary microwaves these days frequently have power levels approximately twice that, so all of the cooking times will be MUCH too long if you have a contemporary microwave, so you'll have to adjust all the cooking times. This will be rather awkward, since as the book itself points out, microwave cooking times aren't always terribly linear: you can't just say "oh, it's twice the power, so I'll have the times" and expect perfect results. You will therefore have to either monitor the food carefully to determine when it's actually cooked properly, or experiment to find correct cooking times.

* The author recommends that there is never really any reason to cook anything on less than 100% power. That may have been true with the underpowered microwaves of the time, but if you try that with today's more powerful units you'll terribly overcook many things, and others will be done on the outside but raw in the middle. I know from experience that lower power settings are very important to allow heat to more evenly distribute through the food. The author consequently can't cook anything very large in the microwave, like a large roast.

* There are NO PHOTOS AT ALL, and very few illustrations, almost all of which seem to just show you how to place the food on the dish so that it will cook evenly. Aside from the fact that this assumes you're comfortable with general cooking technique (which I am, but not everyone is), this also means there isn't much to get you excited about any of the recipes; you're not going to thumb through it and think "oh, that photo looks delicious!" and feel inspired to cook it. In other words, while this book may make a good reference of useful recipes, it's not a joy to just sit down and thumb through like, say, a Julia Child cookbook is. (Oh, if only Julia had written a microwave cookbook!)

* It suffers from a common problem with cookbooks designed around a single technique or device: it wants to make EVERYTHING in the microwave even though some things are better cooked with other methods. Really, I'd be happier if it simply acknowledged that some things are better done in other ways and concentrated on the particular strengths of the microwave. For example, it gives a full page description of how disgusting and awful baked goods from the microwave are, and then proceeds to give several recipes for cakes. (I'm not kidding, it really does this.) Why not skip this pointless exercise and focus on giving me either more recipes for things that work better, or more interesting, attractive, and informative descriptions of some of the other existing recipes? Indeed, I'd even find it helpful if the author simply provided a list of "things best not to cook in the microwave", rather than providing recipes for questionable ways of doing so.

* None of the recipes use the capabilities of the microwave/convection combination units available today, and the author recommends against them, saying that you can only use the microwave and convection aspects of the unit sequentially, not together. This wasn't true even when the book was published in 1987: I had such a unit that could do both at the same time in 1985. Thus, it leaves out and even recommends against some of the best, most useful microwaves.

I'm not unhappy that I spent a few dollars to buy a used copy of this book, but I would recommend against getting too excited about buying it. It's out of date and somewhat boring.