Wordless Wednesday - Bustin' out Lunch with Grab-it and Snack-it

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Life is Sweet with Corning Heat n' Eat

I figured that it was about time that I do a post specifically on the Heat n' Eat line.  They are the saviors of left-overs and a boon to the lunch eaters.  So here are all the lunch time companions.

First, and probably the best known of all the Heat n' Eat line... The 15 oz Grab-it bowl (P-150-B) with it's  Glass lid (P-150-C) released in 1977. (these also had several styles of plastic lids available) At first, these were offered as a porringer to accompany Centura dinnerware, it wasn't long before they hit the Microwave Heat n' Eat line as the ever popular "Grab-It" bowl...  These are the Chili bowls that I grew up with as a child.

The Sidekicks (P-140-B) weren't released until the next year in 1978.  They measure 6 1/2 x 4 1/2, which is just the right size for a couple sticks of Cornbread. (After all, you can't eat chili without a couple of corn sticks on the side now can you?)  Though not really available to the public until '78, these little devils had been "flyin' the friendly skies" for years as airline plates with a model number of PL003.

The Casser-ette (P-14-B) with a glass lid (P-14-C) entered the area in 1979.  It holds 14 oz of your favorite ready made meal.  I personally love these when I make things like Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini.  I'll make up several and store them in the freezer.  The only downfall of the P-14 is that no plastic covers were made; or at least none that I have ever seen, so once you have placed the lid on top, you have to wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap if it will be in the freezer for any length of time.

Suddenly there was a disturbing trend sweeping across the United States... People were eating Tomato soup out of their Grab-It bowls, instead of chili. It was utter chaos and pandemonium for the poor Sidekick just wasn't large enough to support a Toasted Cheese sandwich.  Luckily, Corningware Research and Development were on the job and by 1981, the Snack-It plate (P-185-B) appeared.  This 6 inches square and just the right size shoulder the cheese laden burden and peace and harmony were restored to the Western world.

Then the super-size craze began.  Thus in 1982, Corning released the 24 oz Grab-a-Meal bowl (P-240-B), for those who wanted a REALLY big bowl o' chili.  These were only available with glass lids (P-240-C).

As you can see, the Grab-A-Meal bowl is significantly bigger than the original Grab-It.

There were a couple of other pieces that were available here and there.  The Platter/Main Plate (P-811) which was original considered a platter for the Centura Dinnerware line, was also available as of 1977, but I am not sure how long.

There was also the larger Casserole.. as opposed to the Casser-ette.  This 1 1/4 quart round dish (P-270-B) with a glass lid (P-270-C, which also fits the M-225-B) showed up on the scene sometime in the mid 80s, but I have no idea how long it was available either.  This is an excellent Crisp/Crumble pan, if I do say so myself.  It is also an excellent "Casserole for two" dish. (I do not know if this dish has it's "own" plastic lid but the M-225-PC plastic lid fits the P-270-B casserole)

Where is your Corningware??
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Corningware Microwave Plus a Whole Lot More - M-225 Steamer & Bunt Cake Pan?

I make no bones about not being particularly partial to Microwave cookery.  I use my microwave for 2 things and 2 things only... Warming up my coffee (only once, or it tastes funny) and bringing cold butter to room temperature (there is a trick to it).  Thus, aside from the occasional demonstration of how to make a Grilled Cheese sandwich in a Corningware Microwave Browning Skillet, I hardly ever use the thing.  Because of this distaste for all things from the Nuke-u-lator, I have to laugh at myself for acquiring a myriad Corningware microwave pieces.

Even though I have prided myself in the fact that I actually use my collection, instead of letting it set around and collect dust on a shelf somewhere; after all, Corningware that doesn't fulfill its stove top destiny dies a little on the inside, those Microwave specialty pieces will be doing just that.  They will sit and watch the world go by, because I will never actually use them.

The reason I collect these pieces is purely for scholarly purposes.  They are part of the history of Corningware and, possibly even more importantly, the history of how Americans cooked.  They were a catalyst in the slow demise of Corningware from being a Stove Top saucepan to an Oven/Microwave casserole dish...  (sigh)  Sad, but true, I think.

Microwave cookery was ALL the rage once the prices dropped enough for almost every household to afford one in the 70s... By the 80s, when everything had to meet with the Yuppie's instant gratification style, it only increased the desire for Microwavable cooking vessels for quick nuke-u-lated meals. The P-series and A-series pans were perfectly capable of making the switch already, but people weren't getting it.

As a result, Corningware produced a plethora of "Microwave" cookware that, for the most part, was still perfectly serviceable on the stove or in the oven but Corning Consumer Products steered the packaging to emphasis it's ease of use in the Microwave.  Thus the "Microwave PLUS" line was born.  These are usually denoted by M-series pieces, though sometimes MR & MW series, depending on when they were made.

This is one of my favorite pieces from that Era.  It's the M-225 Microwave Plus Steamer.  Evidently, the plus part is that it's also a Bundt Cake pan...  Yeah, weird.  Luckily, the base can be used on the stove top and the plastic steamer basket is safe up to 400 degrees.  Then again, I refuse to cook in plastic, so I will probably never use it... But it is a neat little item of interest so I decided to add it to my growing collection of strange and interesting things Corning came up with over the years.

Introducing...  The M-225 Microwave Steamer & Bundt Pan?

The concept was neat; I just wish they had made the steamer part out of Pyrex Glass or Pyroceram instead, of that really hard and somewhat brittle "microwave" plastic material that they used to make Microwave Bacon Grills. 

I have no idea when this was produced, nor how long it was on the market....  My guess is that it was in the mid to late 80's.

It has the same lid as the P-270 from the Grab-It line (the one I made Rhubarb Crumble in a while back)

It even has the plastic storage lid, in case you have too many steamed veggies left over.  The nice part about that, is that it will also fit my P-270-B. 

The weirdest part is the cone.  My immediate assumption is that this is for baking Bundt cake.  Though I could be wrong.  I do not have any instructional materials with this piece.

I bake, A LOT, and I have made Bundt cakes many times before...  I am not really sure how well this will work as a Bundt pan.  (if that is even what the cone is for)  While a Bundt pan has a cone in the center, it is a hollow cone that allows heat to come up through the cone to bake center of the cake. This has a solid bottom and the cone just kind of sits in the middle.

I have a feeling that the cake would not get done around the cone because there is no heat rising through the cone.  But I may be willing to give it a try and see if it works. Stranger things have happened. Then again, I won't eat the cake, cause the cone is made of the same plastic material as the steamer insert.... Maybe if I wrap it in foil or something.  Hmmmmmmmm.......

So here is a list of all the parts to the Microwave Plus Steamer/Bundt Pan

M-225-B - 2 1/4 quart Bottom Dish - Stove top, Oven, Broiler & Microwave safe.

P-270-C - The same lid that was originally used on the P-270 (1 1/4 quart)

M-225-PC - Plastic Cover for storage which also fits the P-270-B

M-225-R - Hard Plastic Steamer Basket - Microwave and Stove Top safe (when used with the M-225-B).  Made of the same type of hard plastic as the old Microwave Bacon racks.  No doubt this type of plastic has been shown to cause cancer in the last decade or so.

M-225-RC - Hard plastic Cone for baking Bundt cake (evidently)  Made of the same plastic as the Steamer Basket

Cone fits over the "bumps" in the bottom of the M-225-B which keep the cone from slipping around when pouring the batter and baking the cake.

All the plastic pieces (aside from the storage lid) are supposedly safe to 400F degrees in the oven.  And the plastic basket can be used to steam vegetables on the stove as well as in the microwave, just be sure that it doesn't touch the stove element directly.

And there you have it... One of the weirdest pieces I have collected over the years.

Where is your Corningware??
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Enchaud Perigordine - Pork Roast a la Corningware

I think it's time to take a trip back, not too far, but far enough I should think.  Back to a time when the dinner table was not complete without a huge roast as the centerpiece of the table.  Maybe my perception is slightly skewed about this, but I personally, hardly, if ever, roast roasts.  I mean, it's usually only me, myself and I for dinner, and all of us put together can't possible eat our way through 3 lbs of meat.  Not gonna happen, my friends.

That is why it's so nice to have people over for dinner.  You get to exercise your "large portions" muscles.

Let's face it, a well executed Roast makes for a stunning table.  Tonight, I decided on a classic French Pork Loin Roast in the style of Perigord.  Though I cheated again.  I didn't have a trotter (pig foot), so I used the recipe from America's Test Kitchen that I had seen on the PBS which utilized Gelatin to thicken the sauce, since there would be no gelatin cooked out of the foot.  (I knew there was a reason I had saved that to the DVR).

Usually, and by that I mean "Classically" this roast is slow cooked in a big old enameled cast iron dutch oven. (as well as being stuffed with sausage and truffles, but HEY, who has truffles?)  WELL, lemme tell ya somethin'....  A 4 or 5 quart Corningware Dutch Oven works JUST as well, if not better, than a big, fancy $250 Le Creuset or Staub pot. I'm just sayin'.  Personally, I think it's easier to clean too.  But that is probably because I am a little bias. (but I really DO hate cleaning my enameled cast iron skillet)

Corningware actually made several versions of the Dutch Oven or Large Casserole/Saucepan, whichever you prefer to call it.  There is the original 4 quart P-34-B, (some later ones were marked as 5 quart, but the size is the same)

the 4 quart P-84-B, (That I just used for Boiling Ravioli)

and later there was the 5-liter A-5-B. (Shadow Iris)

I think there might even be an A-4-B, but I have not seen one in person, and I don't collect A-series pieces.

Either of these pots will work exceedingly well.  If, however, you are using the P-34-B, keep the stove flame a little lower during the browning process.  The walls of this original 4 quart "Dutch Oven" are thinner than the later P-84-B and A-5-B models.

OK, let's argue semantics  Technically, this is not really a "roast".  Roasting, by definition, means dry heat and this recipe contains liquid, so it's really a braise, not a roast.  Then again, we, in the U.S., refer to large chunks of meat "Roasts" even before they are roasted.  So the argument can be made that while this Roast isn't being roasted, the mere fact that it IS a Pork "Roast" makes it a "Roast", whether roasted, braised, broiled, stewed, sous-vide or deep fried.

Enchaud Perigordine

French Style Pork Loin Roast with Apple and Onion (Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

2 TB Butter, divided
10 Garlic Cloves, sliced thin
2-3 lb Pork Loin Roast (bone out)
1 TB Salt (this seems like a lot, but it's not really)
1 tsp Sugar
Black Pepper
2 tsp Herbes de Provence
2 TB Olive Oil, divided
1 Newtown Pippin Apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 Sweet Onion, chopped fine
1/3 cup Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay
2 sprigs fresh Thyme or 2 tsp dried Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
1 TB Unflavored Gelatin
optional - 1 TB Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped

2 Grab-It Bowls (P-150-B) with 1 Glass Lid
4 or 5 Quart Dutch Oven (P-34-B, P-84-B or A-5-B) with Glass Lid (P-12-C or A-12-C)

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle portion of the oven and preheat to 225F degrees. (You read that correctly, only 225 degrees - it's ALL about low and s-l-o-w)
In the Grab-it Bowl (P-150-B) melt 1 TB Butter over low flame.

Add 1/2 of the sliced Garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes, until the garlic just begins to turn golden (this is really more of a poaching, since the butter isn't super hot).

Cover with the Glass Lid and refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove the roast from it's wrappings and Double Butterfly the Roast so it will fold up like a letter or a tri-fold wallet.

Sprinkle each side with 1/2 TB of Salt and rub it in until the surface become tacky.

With the fat side down, sprinkle the top (what will be the inside after folding) with the Sugar, then remove the Garlic Butter from the refrigerator, and spread it over the inside of the Roast as well.

Fold the Roast up, keeping the fat side down.

Tie it up with kitchen twine, spacing the ties about 1 inch apart.

 

Season with Black Pepper and Herbes de Provence. (I skipped the Herbes de Provence this time)

Begin heating 1 TB Olive Oil in your 4 or 5 quart Corningware Dutch Oven...  If using a P-34-B (like I did), use Medium-Low flame, if using P-84-B or A-5-B, go ahead and use Medium flame.

Brown the roast on three sides (Not the bottom where the twine is tied) starting with the Fat side. (about 6-8 minutes total)

Remove from the Dutch Oven to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 TB Olive Oil to the Dutch Oven along with the Onion and Apple and cook for 5-7 minutes, just until the onions begin to brown.

Add White Wine and the Bay leaf along with the Thyme and the remaining Garlic.

After about 1 minute, place the Roast back in the Dutch Oven, Fat side up.

Cover with a piece of Aluminum Foil and then place the lid on top. (I found that this was not really necessary)

Move the whole thing to the preheated oven.

Grab another Grab-it Bowl (P-150-B), or wash the one you made the Garlic Butter in, and place 1/4 cup of Chicken Stock then sprinkle with 1 TB Gelatin, allowing it to bloom while the roast is cooking.

Braise for 50 minutes, then check the internal temperature to ensure it has reached 140F degrees in the center. If not, braise about 10-15 minutes longer and check again.

When the braised Roast reaches 140F Degrees, extract the Dutch Oven from the Oven (hee hee), move the "Roast" to a plate and tent loosely with Aluminum Foil.

Measure out the liquid (along with the apples and onions) in a pitcher, if you have less than 1 1/4 cups, augment with more chicken stock and add the contents of the pitcher back to the dutch oven and set over Medium-Low flame.

Add the Gelatin mixture and 1 TB Butter.

Stir until the Gelatin melts and the sauce begins to simmer.

Remove from the flame and pour into a gravy boat for passing around the table.
When the Pork Loin has rested, slice into 3/4 inch pieces.

Serve with Gelatin fortified sauce.

With Squash Streusel and Sauteed Baby Greens, your good to go.

A moist tender and delicious braised roast that is perfect for a chilly Autumn meal.

Where is your Corningware??
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