OT: pressure cooker

I'm not one to take instruction manuals too seriously but that might be a good one for you to read. Uncle Elmo had a pressure cooker and managed to explode a pot of dried beans with it. Of course, he also had a moonshine still and frequently sampled the brew to do quality control. They picked up shards of red beans all the way over to Georgia. Polly

"Janner" OK, so I treated myself to a pressure cooker on the weekend. Never

They're big in Germany. I used to do any sort of stew, except with much shorter cooking times. Use your usual recipe, preparing the veggies and browning the meat as always, then cook on medium for about

20 m>OK, so I treated myself to a pressure cooker on the weekend. Never

Janner, I bought a pressure cooker a few years ago after overcoming my terror of having a Lucy-explodes-the-meal-all-over-the-ceiling moment. The best thing I did was to buy Lorna Sass's _Cooking Under Pressure_. It's a treasure trove of wonderful recipes to make in the pressure cooker, including risotto in just minutes! Yum!

You really need to follow the directions precisely! My mother had a pressure cooker explode, and she had horrible burn scars on her chest and forearms the rest of her life. My father took the cursed pressure cooker out to the garage with a hammer and beat the living hell out of it so it could never be used again, and nobody in my family has ever used a pressure cooker since then. I do understand that pressure cookers are a lot safer these days, but they're not completely foolproof and you still need to follow the directions.

You can find loads of information on using pressure cookers & recipes at:

I have a pressure cooker, but have not used it for quite a while. Mine has a gasket, so I would definitely need to get a new gasket before using it again.

Bev in TX

I treated myself to a pressure cooker on the weekend. Never

i found these sites with recipes. a couple were mentioned in other replys already.

there were more sites but those were all off the first results page on google. i figure there is bound to be something that looks good for a few dinners. :) i was amazed to see there are even dessert recipes....who knew. i now wish dh had got a pressure cooker rather than the biiiiiig (too big for us) slow cooker. we only use it in winter, then were to store the darn thing. it is big. shrug, j.

"Janner" wrote... OK, so I treated myself to a pressure cooker on the weekend. Never owned one before, was always too nervous, so have finally got brave. Being winter, we're in to eating stews and soups, so figure that it should save me some time and cut down on energy usage.

So, what is your favourite pressure cooker recipe?

I need ideas now, so I quit staring at it and wonder what I'm going to cook in it - the family expect great things ;P)

Janner France

Forgive us, Jeanne. We meant well. I have one of those 'too big' slow cookers. Worse yet, I gave the daughters and DILS in the family those for Christmas a year or so ago. They truly are mostly useless and unworthy of the storage space they hawg. We have a friend with 4 sons who are never full; maybe she'd like to have mine? Polly

"jeanne-nzlstar*" i now wish dh had got a pressure cooker rather than the biiiiiig (too big

I have a little one! We bought it for DMiL and when she died we inherited it.

Its max. is 1-lb. meat though it will take a bit more if coaxed! I either cook the max and freeze half, or just do enough for two of us and as it is small it is quite happy with the reduced amount. Doesn't take up much room and I think its wonderful - I can put a casserole on in the morning and then have the minimum to do at normal cooking/serving time! I really resent the amount of time/electricity the oven takes to cook a casserole. The other good thing is that the liquid doesn't boil away at all.

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

Polly Esther wrote:

I had one, when I was living alone and working full time. I thought it would be brilliant. *However! I (naturally) didn't fully read the instructions, and didn't get the bit about starting the vegetables of by boiling a bit!! So, my first couple of attempts (the second time I just left it longer >gI have a little one! We bought it for DMiL and when she died we

DH 'loves' it when I put in a small roast surrounded with fresh vegetables. Potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and the like. I take a couple bay leaves and some Italian Spices (blend) a bit of fresh ground pepper then let it roll!. The size of your pressure cooker and the size of the roast and amount of vegetables will determine the amount of water you will want to add. Usually about half way. Bring it to the pressure point then let it cook. Again look at your manual for cooking times. They vary with the individual pressure cooker. We love ours. julia

On the other hand, I love the big slow cooker. The "regular" sized one was too small for a good batch of chili or split pea soup and such. Or for a crowd sized/multi meal sized "Italian" pot roast/sandwiches/ stew set up. Even for 2 of us, I use it quite a bit in the winter time. Frees up lots more time to spend at the sewing machine/computer. (Begged the ham bone from the friends where we had TGD dinner.... promised them some split pea soup in exchange. Tomorrow is shopping at Fry's day {senior citizens get an extra 10% off on the first Wed. of the month.} so will pick up the stuff I need for that and some upcoming potlucks and such. )

Pati, > Forgive us, Jeanne. We meant well. I have one of those 'too big' slow

Thanks for all the ideas and yes I will be careful. It took me so long to buy one in the first place, because I remember someone in the family having one to shoot soup out of the valve!!! Absolutely terrified me at the time, I was only about 9 or so and turning the BIG 40 next month!!!!

Will try out the pulled pork recipe and check out the other sites.

Thanks again

Janner

France

I had one of every size, I love crock pots, the ones that have the removable crockery. They took up a whole shelf.

Then, we found one with three different size crocks, two, four and six quarts! But, since I often cook two different things at the same time, I really need two slow cookers at the same time, so Jim bought another one of the three-in-ones. There are now only two on the shelf instead of five.

We serve one meal and then I put the rest in quart canning jars while it is still hot. Canning jars are heat resistant. I store them in the refrigerator, take the lid off and reheat in the microwave when we want them.

I make beef stew, chili, sauce for pasta, bean soup, chicken soup, beany casserole, vegetable soup, pot roast, and a lot of other things. These are all the types of meals that get better as they age a day or more.

We seem to like the same meals over and over again. There are always the salads, fruits and cheeses to round out these crock pot meals.

By the way they keep mulled cider at a perfect temp. for serving at a holiday get together, ahhh, the odder of mulled cider wafting through the festivities!

Bonnie, in Middletown, VA

I have three different sizes, too -- one, three, and six quarts -- and I use them all. With the two of us, I probably use the smallest one the most -- it's perfect for a few pieces of swiss steak or beef stew for the two of us. We get two meals from one "cooking". The only problem with the small one is that it only has a low heat level, so I have to make sure to get the meal started early -- no starting it on high to speed it up a bit.

The small appliance I use most for quick meals is my Foreman grill -- a great way to do chicken breasts or pork ch> I had one of every size, I love crock pots, the ones that have the

Me too, the big ones are difficult to get in the UK and expensive, I could never do double portions to save some and if I wanted to do a roast I had to hunt out a very small joint or chicken. Within weeks of moving to the US, I'd been to a thrift store and bought a big one, I don't use it very often, but it's certainly worth it for the times I do use it. I'd quite like a small one as well though as I just tried out oatmeal in it and it really is too big for that, but the oatmeal was good!

Anne