Dynamic Duo

This recipe is interesting for multiple reasons. Firstly, it suggests a combination of foods cooked at the same time, and secondly, it involves the use of three different cooking methods. With both the pie and the chicken, the food is only initially prepared in the microwave, achieving a bit of quick-cooking before switching to an oven or barbeque respectively. The purpose of this was to show that the microwave can work in tandem with other kitchen appliances to make tasty meals. The cookbook makes specific note that the microwave is only being used to speed up the cooking of these two foods, and hints that the cooking could be done with just one non-microwave cooking method if one is willing to sacrifice more time to cook. For the pie, it is noted that the oven is needed to brown the crust, suggesting it is something that a microwave cannot achieve. The pie recipe also finishes off with the reassertion that “it took you half the time it normally would.” The chicken spends a bit more time in the microwave, and the cookbook notes that “popping” sounds are to be expected while it is cooking. A specific note is made that the chicken will be underdone after the microwave process to avoid people thinking that they can skip steps 3 and 4 and eat the chicken right away. With the chicken being finished off on the grill for 20 to 25 minutes, it is questionable how much time this cooking combination saves, but it is not likely to be significant enough for this to be a practical option.

Coq Au Vin

This recipe is for a food that would not traditionally be cooked in a microwave. Coq au vin is a complicated dish and was likely included in this cookbook to help prove that microwaves could do what a traditional oven can do. Compared to a more modern recipe, the use of instant chicken bouillon sticks out as untraditional, but may add some much-needed flavour and moisture that is perhaps lost in the microwave. Other than the bouillon, this recipe does not appear to cut corners at all and seems like it would create a tasty meal based on the ingredients alone. To prepare the meal, it is suggested that a glass-ceramic skillet is used for cooking the bacon, putting it on high for 4 ½ to 6 ½ minutes. This instantly jumps out as a long time to cook just five slices of bacon, as for modern microwaves only one to two minutes is needed. This is likely an indicator that microwaves of the 1980s were significantly less powerful than the ones we now have today. The remaining portions of the recipe suggest 40 to 42 minutes of cooking, which also would likely dehydrate this recipe in a modern microwave. Finally, it is somewhat notable that the instructions say to cook until meat cut near the bone is pink, which is extraordinarily hard to do in a microwave. There are often too many factors to nail the perfect cook on a meat in a microwave.