Cooking With Dishwashers And Coffeepots Brings Dorm Room Cuisine To A New Low
Posted by: Leonora Epstein
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3:00PM, Saturday August 29th 2009
For those who live in cities, cramped quarters necessitate some creative maneuvering in the kitchen. Especially if you don’t have one. Over at gadget blog Gizmodo, one writer has taken it upon himself to test out, um, alternative means for cooking. The first experiment involved making a chicken dinner in a coffeepot (just the thought is hard to stomach), by poaching a chicken breast. To accompany, couscous, also prepared in heated water. The results are a bit surprising: “The coffee maker did a perfectly fine job of it. The chicken was moist and the texture was about right, and it is an incredibly easy way to make a meal. I could see this recipe being useful if you’re stuck in a hotel room somewhere—and just happen to have a raw chicken breast on you.” Yeah, and then having bird-flavored java in the morning. Mmmm.
For his next trick, the MacGyver Chef attempted to dishwasher-cook a fish fillet by steaming a piece of salmon wrapped in tinfoil (on the regular wash, not the pots and pans cycle). In two trials, one version came out overcooked with the other was far undercooked.
Interesting ideas…but we gather you’ll probably be sticking to your ramen noodles. [Gizmodo.com]
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
_jsw_
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 02:22 pm: [report]
My favorite of theirs was the making of beef jerky using air filters and a box fan. As it so happens, I have air filters and a box fan. Hmmmm.
Alison Wonderland
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 02:28 pm: [report]
Chances are if you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher you probably have other appliances, like a stove for instance. Or, gasp! a microwave. Interesting though.
Alejandra Ramos
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 02:41 pm: [report]
Actually, cooking fish in the dishwasher is not that new of a concept. Bob Blumer (“the surreal gourmet”) has been doing that for about 15 years (successfully, i might add). It’s a popular trick among quirky chefs and a riff on cooking sous vide (under pressure). There are entire cookbooks dedicated to this. I even saw a movie where the guy impressed his girlfriend with that trick. When done well, it makes for a surprisingly moist and well-cooked fish.
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 02:41 pm: [report]
Wow, you totally ganked this story straight from Gizmodo. Way to go.
writergirl
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 03:46 pm: [report]
I think I saw one of the chef’s on the food network—Giada DeLaurentis maybe?—making salmon with veggies of some sort in the dishwasher. It looked good when it came out. I’ve never tried it, though, and have no desire too. Something about using the dishwasher grosses me out.
retro chic
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 04:11 pm: [report]
@writergirl – I saw it too on Today, if that’s what you’re thinking of, but not sure about Giada, they have so many guest cooks/chefs. It was a poached salmon. And for the same reason – using my dish *sanitizer* to embed fish vapor residue in the vents and inside surfaces – did not appeal to me either.
writergirl
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 04:48 pm: [report]
@retro chic—I don’t remember where I saw it, honestly. And I haven’t seen the Today show in over four years. *Sigh* I miss the Today show.
I didn’t think of the fish vapor residue—I was more concerned with bits of food from the previous wash—or worse—bits of detergent/rinser getting on the fish. But the residue is a *very* good point.
retro chic
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 07:00 pm: [report]
@writergirl – (out for awhile) Y’know, I didn’t think of it the other way around! But yeah, with the rank bits and detergent/rinse cycling on the fish… ew to that too. I can see why this is just a TV novelty or dorm thing. I don’t know anyone who’s actually done it – assuming they’d admit to it.
writergirl
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 07:04 pm: [report]
@retro chic—LOL…funny how we both thought of two different sides of the same coin.
retro chic
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 07:19 pm: [report]
@writergirl – Yeah, I think any way you slice it *thumbs down.* There’s something unholy about the abuse of your kitchen appliances. And… gee, a regular ol’ convo with 2 viewpoints on a thread that hasn’t a chance of being hijacked. Imagine that, haha. *le eye roll*
_jsw_
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 07:32 pm: [report]
I think you could get past the risk of fish bits and smell by encasing it all in a big ziplock bag, tightly sealed and with the air removed as much as possible (to make sure the air doesn’t insulate the fish too much). But yeah… too much effort and too variable meaning too much wasted fish before you get it right.
Some nice cooking tips on LifeHacker.com, for those interested. I’m sure you chefs know most of them, but maybe not all.
mountain_laurel1183
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 08:48 pm: [report]
We used to make cheese quesadillas with our irons. Just fill the tortilla with cheese and spices, wrap it in tin foil, and iron it out.
Our school was super strict about appliances. We weren’t even allowed coffeepots.
joyy
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 09:44 pm: [report]
If you ran clean water through the coffee pot into the decanter to make the poached chicken, then thoroughly cleaned the decanter afterwards, I doubt you’d actually end up with chicken-coffee. I’ve thought about poaching eggs at work in my electric kettle, using the egg-in-plastic wrap tip so that it would stay clean, but I have a real kitchen and love using it so I have yet to bother.
Coral
wrote on August 29 2009 @ 10:37 pm: [report]
I’m just gonna sneak in an electric griddle when I move in to my dorm shortly. I will be able to cook eggs, bacon, pancakes, vegetables, grilled chicken, meat..nearly anything. And an electric griddle is so harmless, no one will ever find out. Hopefully.
writergirl
wrote on August 30 2009 @ 04:45 am: [report]
@Retro chic—I KNOW! LOL.
@Coral—when your RA smells bacon, you’ll be found out. But, like most college students, s/he will probably be so starved for a “home cooked” meal, that as long as you feed him/her, too, you should be able to keep it.
Coral
wrote on August 30 2009 @ 12:09 pm: [report]
@writergirl: Well that’s true that an RA probably won’t care and will be desperate for some food, but since microwaves are allowed, the smell of food isn’t really gonna tip anyone off.