Guess what else Norelco used to make

What do you think of when you hear "Norelco"? I'm guessing you're thinking of electric shavers, and a quick Google search for "Norelco" not only brought up various types of shavers but also informed me that a popular question people ask when searching Norelco is "Can you use a Philips Norelco on your balls?" (Answer: "Our best ball shaver is Philips Norelco BG7030 /49.") So why am I writing about ball shaving on a vintage cookbook blog?

Yep. Norelco used to made microwaves, so they also offered this Norelco Microwave Oven Cookbook (North American Philips Corporation, 1979; mine is the second printing).

The book offers all of the head-scratcher recipes that microwave cookbooks used to promote. I mean, why bother making Tomato Beef Stew in the microwave...

...if it's still going to take more than an hour anyway? There doesn't seem to be any real advantage to this unless the cook enjoys the chance to scrape dried-up splashes of canned tomato soup off of a microwave "ceiling" (which can be accomplished with much less time and effort by simply microwaving the canned soup on its own).

The book also offers recipes for the types of specialty foods that most people wouldn't want to risk ruining in the microwave.

I mean, really, who is going to microwave whole ducks?! Especially if they still need to be broiled in the conventional oven at the end of their cooking time anyway?

But there are also some recipes that just seem odd no matter what type of cookbook they're in. Hot Chili Mexican Salad doesn't necessarily sound bad at first-- probably just another variation of the ever-popular taco salad.

I knew I was probably being a little snobby when I scoffed at the ketchup (sorry, catsup) in the recipe. A lot of these types of recipes call for a cooked tomato product anyway, and nobody cares if I'd prefer tomato paste or juice. But then I saw the next ingredient was mayonnaise. Seriously? Catsup and mayo in a taco salad variant? That's weird, microwave or no microwave.

Similarly, I wasn't surprised to see a Sweet 'n Sour Chicken recipe. I swear that nearly every '70s cookbook has one. But...

...how is this sweet 'n sour? Sweet 'n sour is usually vinegar, sugar, pineapple, and green peppers, or some variation thereof. Cream of mushroom soup with extra mushrooms, poultry seasoning, and sour cream wouldn't seem to fit anybody's definition of sweet 'n sour. I kind of wonder if this has the wrong title, but it's the only recipe on the page that goes on and on about the wonders of "thigh-legs," so that part seems to line up. Maybe the sherry is supposed to be sweet and the sour cream is supposed to be sour? Even that explanation seems like a stretch.

And now, for the final mystery: Why do you need a microwave to make these?

Wouldn't microwaving the ice cream make it too soft to scoop into ice cream cones?

Yes, it probably would, but you're looking at the wrong part of the picture if you're asking that question. It's easier to tell on the mint chocolate chip cone, so look there-- under the ice cream.

You need  the microwave to bake the cupcake part.

Yep-- Birthday Cake Cones are cupcakes baked right into flat-bottomed ice cream cones, and they're probably easier to bake in a microwave than a conventional oven because they're easier to put in without spilling cake batter everywhere. I'm being nice and ending with a fun recipe that actually does seem to kinda make sense in the microwave-- probably because I had entirely forgotten about these and have a bit of nostalgia for them. Someone in my childhood church made cupcake cones for potlucks (with icing instead of ice cream on top-- or they would have melted in the buffet line!) and I thought they were the greatest thing ever because they looked so cool. I mean, they tasted like cake in an ice cream cone, so that was fine too, but the look was what made them so fun. Thanks to Norelco for reminding me of those... and also for allowing me to start a post by writing about ball shaving.