Old School

I don't cook in the microwave. Save for a convenience meals like a soup-at-hand or lean-cuisine, I generally use the microwave to reheat and thaw stuff. I do think the microwave is faster and super handy and I definitely could not live without one. But when it comes to cooking, actually cooking, I really prefer to do things old school and use the stove and/or oven.

For example, when I make chex mix, I bake the batch in the oven. I opt to stick my head in the oven (Sylvia Plath style w/out the suicide intention) and stir every 15-20 minutes instead of popping it in the microwave for 20 minutes and walking away. Yes, it takes for-ev-er. And for all I know, it taste the same. But you just can't get the right crunchy/crispy texture from the microwave.

Also, when I was "martha stewarting it up" and made peppermint bark (the same bark I scolded my dad for eating) I did everything stove top. Every recipe tells you pop the chocolate in the microwave and stir to evenly melt. But I prefer to baby it and watch it melt over a double boiler. And get this, I don't even have a double broiler (because I honesty don't need it except this time of year), so I do it super old school and put a bowl (metal or glass) over pot of boiling water. Though microwave process would probably take 15 minutes max from start to finish, and taste exactly the same as the old fashioned way, I prefer to spend the better part of an hour at the stove playing with melted chocolate.

I've made 2 Chex mix batches and 4 batches of bark this holiday season (2 peppermint, a rocky road and now cranberry almond. Jealous? You should be). And I've done it oven/stove style every time. Because the microwave feels like cheating.