a microwave three course meal?

[epabella]

hello all. if you had to cook a starter, main and dessert with fresh ingredients but with only just a MICROWAVE, how would it go? i need ideas and could use some help. TIA.

here's my lame meal:

corn and leek soup.
braised beef short ribs and mash potatoes.
alton brown's microwave caramel desert.

[Emme]

depends on the prep you can do... were it me?

1) steamed/nuked artichokes with garlic butter or aioli
2) poached chicken in garlic broth (with fajita veggies and tortillas or with a fruit salsa or a roasted garlic paste (slice top of head of garlic and put in the poaching liquid with your chicken then mash and use as sauce...)
smashed butternut squash or sweet potatoes
green beans lightly cooked with olive oil and tossed with sliced almonds and lemon
3) slice and microwave strawberries with balsamic and black pepper, mash a little and serve over shortcake biscuits with some whipped cream or creme fraiche or ice cream

[nomadchowwoman]

Once spent several days in a small lake cottage, kitchen equipped w/only a microwave, a blender, and a coffeemaker, no stove. We did have an outdoor grill.
We made soups in the microwave--asparagus and even a french onion (although I don't recall how the woman who owned the place browned the onions, but I do remember she "cooked" the onions somehow in the microwave). She also steamed broccoli, asparagus, and carrots very effectively in the microwave. I was surprised. But what I remember being most surprised at was a lasagna she made: the tomato sauce was cooked, w/garlic, onion, and herbs in the microwave, and later layered with cheese, sausage that had been grilled outside (but you could probably cook loose sausage in the micro wave), and no-boil noodles, and then the whole thing nuked 'til bubbly. It was very good.

[RGC1982]

Since prep work is probably disallowed in a server room (check your security policy), I think you should just punt and bring in pre-cooked, frozen entrees like everyone else who works in IT. If you want to try something else, go with soup or ramen noodles, etc.. You will be far better off keeping your cooking to reheating, for both practical and esthetic reasons. Are you really going to be bringing in ingredients, opening them, cutting them, measuring them, seasoning them etc,? If I ran your shop, I would hit the roof given all the possibilites of spills and other unsavory possibilities (like mice).

One more thing -- it wouldn't be the first time that these supposedly "power stable" environments experienced dips and surges because someone wanted to heat up a bagel. This happens all over New York City, so it is not a myth. We used to put monitors on power lines for extended periods in order to discover the culprits, so you really should keep the MWing to a minimum, even though they'll swear that the electrical source is independent.

[Kajikit]

To answer your question, I'd be inclined to take along a FROZEN casserole and just thaw/heat it in the microwave... actually cooking from scratch in there sounds rather problematic.

[c oliver]

And to cook three course meals from scratch is going to require all sorts of ingredients and utensils, etc. And while there are plenty of things to cook in a MW, most or many of them are going to be better prepared at home and brought in.

[epabella]

no, it's not - this is only problematic if a person is convinced it is.

actually we do come in with prepped veggies and marinated meats. we sometimes do our and mise en place in the office pantry (also limited to just a microwave) and 'assemble' the dish in the server room - forgot to mention we also have a nice krupps that i sometimes use to make 'boiled eggs'.

[c oliver]

This is really beginning to interest me. So does an individual work, say, 24 hours on and then some period off? So someone is there for two and three meals a day? But you have no fridge and no freezer (I like ice!). And no toaster for breakfast. The issues seem much greater than trying to cook three courses in a MW. I also wonder why a MW is okay but not other appliances that I'm guessing don't exert the same surge/pull of electricity that a MW does when in use.

And, RGC1982, you sound knowledgeable about this; if it's an independent electrical source, then why allow a MW and not all manner of other things. I'd be bringing in my FP for sure and maybe the KA stand mixer to fix fresh pasta :) Exaggerations,for sure,but still....

[cocktailhour]

Barbara Kafka published 2 microwave cookbooks "Microwave Gourmet" and then a healthy/low-fat one. Probably in the early 90s. Lots of good ideas and techniques in the books, if this is not a one time only thing.

[epabella]

certainly not a onetime thing, thank yoou very much for your input!

i'm googling Barbara Kafka right after posting this.

[epabella]

WOW!!!! she's a james beard awardee!!! us sysads never had it so good, thanks for your info again!!! her site is great!!!

http://www.bkafka.com/

[csils]

Using "steamer bags" there a number of things you can cook (chicken, fish, vegetables, potatoes etc.). They turn out surprisingly well for microwave food. As far as dessert, I came across a microwave choco cake recipe that I've meddled with here and there...not half bad.

4 tbls flour, sugar
3 tbls, oil, milk and chocolate chips (or other add-ons)
2 chocolate powder (i like to sub some for cappuccino mix)
1 egg

in a coffee mug, mix the dry ingredients, mix in the egg, then mix in the wet. toss in the microwave for 3 or 3.5 minutes (depends on your microwave)

maybe throw on a scoop of ice cream...done!

[epabella]

nice!!! will do this in around two hours if they can bring me some steamer bags. thank you very much.

[thew]

if you get chinese food delivered (or take out) in those black or white plastic containers w the clear tops - they make excellent MW cookware.

[thew]

fish steams beautifully.
chicken thighs poached with tomatoes and herbs works
veggies with a little salt and butter in 45 seconds
potatoes
so many many choices

[epabella]

thanks alot, thew. about the chicken thighs: they all go in at once or do i add the tomatoes and herbs after par-cooking the thighs? you post is proof that the microwave can really be a boon when used with creativity and a bit of open-mindedness.

[thew]

people have a real attitude about the MW, as if somehow this one method of creating heat in food was somehow verboten. Just like i wouldn't boil a steak, i wouldn;t try to roast a chicken in the MW. not every cooking method is good for everything. but when i hear people say the MW is no good, they always seem to give examples of things i wouldn't use it for either. It would be like saying one's blender is useless because it doesn;t make good mashed potatoes.

when my kid was about 3 i would poach chicken thighs in water or stock for about 8 mins. a good moist poached thigh, with good flavor (salt needed of course).

i would just add everything all at once, and let it go. tomatoes or only one option of course. anything flavorful and wet can work (caveat i never use dairy in that sort of thing - so i don;t know how it would work or not - that said - i will be soon trying with dairy, because now i need to know)

other option is bacon - works great in there

as mentioned already barbara kafkas book has some great ideas (and some i probably will never try)

[c oliver]

I'd like to turn this back to you if I may. WHY do you need to do this? And how on earth are you going to braise short ribs in a MW? And the corn and leek soup, to me anyway, presupposes at least a certain amount of sauteeing. We went through a complete house re-do including kitchen a few years ago and my two burner hotplate got constant use. Again, why please?

[epabella]

because a microwave is the only cooking appliance allowed in the server room. good enough? nuked on low, short ribs will take on a braised quality. i've accomplished a 'sauteed' effect on nuked onions also. it's not the same as normal cooking and it will never be the same and i realize this is not for everybody. i'm just wondering if there are other wacky and adventurous cooks like me.

[c oliver]

What's a server room? Not familiar with that term.

[jmckee]

It's a work term. It's the room where all the computer servers are stored / running / maintained.

I'm surprised food is allowed in there at all.

[c oliver]

HAHAHAHA. I was thinking "server" as in a room for people who serve food. But then that seems even more weird to me. Why would anyone want to actually cook in a room like that and, as you mention, I'm surprised it's allowed. Seems very risky more than wacky and adventurous :)

[epabella]

sysads aren't stuck-up and the higher-ups aren't closed-minded and know that we have to eat. given that we stay in this room almost 24/7, it's healthier and more economical to 'cook' decent food in the microwave as opposed to ordering pizza or takeout everyday. believe me, it's riskier when stuck-up people cross the street.

[Kajikit]

I'm a bit surprised that you're allowed to eat in there at all... my father's been in the business since I was a toddler, and the rules were always super-strict about keeping anything potentially mess-making away from the equipment. They had a little glass-walled (sound-proofed) breakroom to eat in and to give their ears a break from the racket... but I'm sure things are very different nowadays.

[RGC1982]

Smaller servers don't require the old raised floor environment, under which miles of thick cabling was laid, However, the same rules should apply in terms of what you should be doing in there.

Did I read 24 x 7? Hopefully they are working in normal shifts.

[epabella]

it's the playground/sanctum-sanctorum of the systems administrators. it's also the room where all the servers (as in big computers) are kept.