Saturday, January 1, 2011

Microwave Cooking: Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Cinnamon Honey Biscuits

[1987]

What need for an oven when one has a wood-paneled microwave? Throw away that outdated appliance! Embrace the future of microwave cookery. Excelsior!




Dang, their plate is tiny.




NOTE: Every single step in these recipes has a corresponding instructional picture. These I have omitted. As with all the recipes on my blog, if you are confused at any point, let me know and I will help you out. However, if you need help with these particular recipes, I will feel sad. I'm not saying you can't still ask, I'm just saying that you will break my heart. Do what you think is right.

Scrambled Eggs, Family Style

Makes 3-4 servings

You Need:
6 eggs
2 tablespoons of margarine
1/2 cup (79 ml) of milk
1/2 cup (50 g) of your favorite cheese, shredded

Get out: [Right now. Run! Run!]
2-quart (2 L) casserole dish
Wire whisk or large fork
Wax paper

1. Break 6 eggs into a 2-quart (2 L) glass casserole dish.
2. Mix in 2 tablespoons of margarine and 1/3 cup (79 ml) of milk
3. Whisk all the ingredients together well or stir them briskly with a large fork.
4. Cover the casserole dish with wax paper.
5. Microwave on MEDIUM HIGH for 6 to 8 minutes. Stir the mixture every 2 minutes.
6. Mix in 1/2 cup (50 g) of your favorite shredded cheese.

Bacon
Makes 1-2 servings

You Need:
4 strips of bacon

Get Out:

Oblong glass baking dish
3 to 4 white paper towels
Fork
Serving plate

1. Place two paper towels on an oblong glass baking dish
2. Arrange four strips of bacon on the towels.
3. Cover the bacon with one paper towel.
4. Microwave on High for 2 1/2 minutes or until the bacon is crisp.
5. Place one paper towel on a serving plate. Remove the bacon from the glass dish with a fork. Place the bacon on the plate.




Cinnamon Honey Biscuits
Makes 8 rolls

You Need:

8 refrigerator buttermilk biscuits
1/4 cup (60 ml) of honey
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup (25 g) of crushed nuts
Margarine

Get Out:
9-inch (23 cm) glass pie plate
White paper towel
Measuring cup
Small mixing bowl
Measuring spoons
Wax paper

1. Spread some margarine on the bottom of a pie plate. [With a butter knife, in the picture. This seems futile.]
2. Place 8 buttermilk biscuits in the pie plate. Cover the pie plate with a white paper towel.
3. Microwave on MEDIUM HIGH for 3 minutes.
4. Mix together 1/4 cup (60 ml) of honey and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.
5. When the biscuits have cooked, remove them from the oven.
6. Drizzle the honey mixture over the biscuits. Sprinkle 1/4 cup (25 g) of crushed nuts over them.
7. Cover the pie plate with wax paper and return it to the oven for 3 minutes on MEDIUM HIGH.

Verdict:

Scrambled Eggs, Family Style: As you can see in the picture, these are anemic and in no way scrambled. The key is to cover them with cheese so you can see neither of these facts. My microwave is probably more powerful than a 1987 microwave though, so that could be why they didn't have time to get scrambled. Husband thought they were good, and said they were better than army eggs. I was flattered momentarily, before realizing that I had hit a point wherein I was pleased that food I had made was a notch above military mess hall.

Bacon: This bacon recipe is strangely similar to Rachael Ray's recipe for Late Night Bacon. A more suspicious-minded person might accuse Ms. Ray of plagiarism. Hmmmmmmm.

Cinnamon Honey Biscuits: You can cook biscuits in the microwave, who knew? Can you cook them well? No. No you can't. A few minutes after leaving the microwave, they hardened into rocks. I gnawed off about half of one, then licked the honey sauce off the bottom before chucking it.

All together: Maybe you shouldn't throw away your oven just yet. There are some things, many things in fact, that are just better (and just as easy) in the oven.

As a bonus, here is a recipe for hot chocolate. I have not tested it, but it seems like it will be okay. Be sure to follow the directions carefully.

Click to enbiggen

6 comments:

Kathleen said...

I am totally going to try out the hot chocolate recipe. That looks delicious and easy!

Jana said...

I encourage you to do so. Follow the directions carefully, though!

Crescent Moon said...

WOW! I had no idea there was ever a microwave cookbook that my mother didn't have, but I've never seen that one before. My mom used to teach microwave cooking classes in the late 1970 and early 1980's. My first real job was demonstrating microwave ovens at a Sears store ( 16 years old until 19 years old).

Jana said...

Ooooh! I hope your meals were more delicious than this one. Those sound like really fun jobs, actually...

Ophiucha said...

I made a cake in the microwave once. It was a little dry, but considering that I made it in less than ten minutes, it was more than satisfactory.

Jana said...

There is much to be said for cake in 10 minutes.