Magnificent or Mediocre? A Microwave Dinner that is Both.

I haven't written in a while because the gas in our apartment building has been (and still is) shut off.  There was a gas leak...the soonest ConEd could come fix it was in 4 months...we are getting new electric stoves in the meantime...but when?  Who knows!  
I have missed blogging and cooking, so I decided to try a microwave dinner.  I wanted to make things that you wouldn't usually think of making in the microwave.  You will have to read on to see how it went...

Drink...

White Wine (Pinot Grigio)

I Googled what drinks go best with risotto and all that came up was wine.  So, I thought...well, if that's the best...that makes it easy for me!
However, this choice did not turn out quite as boring as I thought it would be.  There ended up being a story to this wine...
Just a couple days before, Doug and I had a conversation about how, due to some strange law, you can not buy wine at a grocery store in NYC (only beer).  When I went out shopping for ingredients I was annoyed.  We had already been to one store, I was on my way to another store, and then I would have to go to the wine store (that's the other thing about NYC - you can not get all the ingredients you need in one store - it requires you going to at least 2-3).  So, here I am walking around Food Emporium (store #2) and there I see it...wine!!  I was so excited that I would not have to go to another store and I could prove Doug wrong at the same time, so I bought the wine.
I started cooking with it and Doug asked for a glass.  So, I poured him a one and he said, "Wow, this wine is really sweet."  I thought, oh, that's good.  I like a sweeter wine.  Then he said, "No, really it tastes like juice."  He proceeded to go in the fridge and look at the bottle.  That's when we found out it was not wine, but "a wine product."  It had alcohol in it, but a very low percentage and it tasted pretty disgusting, even to someone who likes sweet wine.  Moral of the story:  Do NOT buy "wine" at a grocery store in NYC.

Dinner...

Asparagus Risotto and Chicken with Pesto Sauce

Chicken with Pesto Sauce (Mediocre)
This chicken was not bad...just nothing to write home about. 
Ingredients:

• 2 boneless breaded chicken breasts (I used Trader Joes pre-cooked frozen ones)
• 2 tbs. pesto sauce
• 1 tbs. butter

Directions:

1. Microwave chicken breasts for 2 1/2 minutes. 
2. Melt butter and mix with the pesto sauce.
3. Top the chicken breast with pesto.

Asparagus Risotto (Magnificent)

*Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com
This recipe was amazing to me.  It was almost like magic the way it cooked in the microwave.  Believe it or not, I have never had risotto before.  But, I must say this tasted pretty good to me!
Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cooked, cut asparagus
• 2 Roma tomatoes

Directions:

1. In a large microwave safe bowl combine butter, garlic and onion. Place dish in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes.
2. Place chicken broth in a microwave safe dish. Heat in microwave until the broth is hot but not boiling (approximately 2 minutes).
3. Stir the rice and broth into the bowl with the onion, butter and garlic mixture. Cover the dish tightly and cook on high for 6 minutes.
4. Stir wine into the rice. Cook on high for 5 minutes.  Add the asparagus and tomatoes and cook 5 minutes more. Most of the liquid should boil off. Stir the cheese into the rice and serve. 

Dessert:

Mini-Moist Vanilla Cake (Miserable)

*recipe from: Delicious Microwave Recipes
This cake sounded too good to be true.  I mean, how can you make a cake in the microwave?  But, it looked so good in the picture on the website, I just had to try it.  I found out that some things are not meant to be made in the microwave.

I had high hopes for the cake 

as it started rising in the microwave.

The taste of the cake was ok, I guess.  But it was a very strange texture.  Also, even though it's vanilla cake, it turned out brown.  I think maybe I overcooked it.  But. it did not seem done after the amount of time the recipe said.  Here's the recipe in case you want to see how weird it was.  Or, maybe you will have better luck than me!
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar 
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 can of chocolate frosting

 Directions:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, milk, vinegar, applesauce, baking soda, and vanilla extract together by whisking vigorously, until smooth. 
2. Next, beat in the egg. 
3. Spray a large cereal bowl with non-stick cooking spray, and pour  the smooth batter into the cereal bowl (may fill more than one bowl, just pour into multiple bowls until mix is gone).
4. Baking one bowl at a time, place it in the microwave on high for 2 to 4 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  
5. Let cool before serving or frosting!

 And the Results...

One thing I made in the microwave was really good and I would probably make it again (especially in the summer when you don't want to heat up the house by using a stove or oven).  But, I am not converted to a microwave chef and hopefully I will be back to cooking with a stove/oven soon!