This weekend I bought a pressure cooker.
I was out riding my bike early Saturday morning when I came upon a large garage sale. The pressure cooker was listed for $3 - I asked if she would take $2 - she would, so I bought it.
I've always been afraid of pressure cookers. I think I remember my paternal grandmother cooking with one, and my mother-in-law uses one...and they have always seemed a bit scary.
The jiggling weight on top spewing hot steam...thoughts of exploding pots....
Maybe my fear comes from a teenaged memory. My mom was not home and I decided to do a little cooking...making fudge or some kind of candy and I was using a double boiler - but I think it was a homomada deal...me just putting a couple of pots together...the pots stuck together and then at some point there was a bit of an explosion...don't remember the details too much - probably so psychologically scaring that I have erased them from my memory.
Well anyway - the pressure cooker I bought was red (my favorite color so that influenced my purchase) and it came with the original instruction booklet.
I read through the instruction book (which includes some yummy recipes for thinks like beef heart and tongue) and it all sounds pretty complicated.
Anyway - I know today is Monday, but Tammy's Recipes is doing her Tuesday Kitchen Tips today....and I know tips means I should be leaving a tip - but instead I'm asking for advice.
Do people (other than my mil) still use pressure cookers? Any helpful tips you can give me on using mine? Any words of warning? Tasty recipes (that don't include tongue or organ meats).
For some kitchen tips - please visit Tammy's Recipes.
I was out riding my bike early Saturday morning when I came upon a large garage sale. The pressure cooker was listed for $3 - I asked if she would take $2 - she would, so I bought it.
I've always been afraid of pressure cookers. I think I remember my paternal grandmother cooking with one, and my mother-in-law uses one...and they have always seemed a bit scary.
The jiggling weight on top spewing hot steam...thoughts of exploding pots....
Maybe my fear comes from a teenaged memory. My mom was not home and I decided to do a little cooking...making fudge or some kind of candy and I was using a double boiler - but I think it was a homomada deal...me just putting a couple of pots together...the pots stuck together and then at some point there was a bit of an explosion...don't remember the details too much - probably so psychologically scaring that I have erased them from my memory.
Well anyway - the pressure cooker I bought was red (my favorite color so that influenced my purchase) and it came with the original instruction booklet.
I read through the instruction book (which includes some yummy recipes for thinks like beef heart and tongue) and it all sounds pretty complicated.
Anyway - I know today is Monday, but Tammy's Recipes is doing her Tuesday Kitchen Tips today....and I know tips means I should be leaving a tip - but instead I'm asking for advice.
Do people (other than my mil) still use pressure cookers? Any helpful tips you can give me on using mine? Any words of warning? Tasty recipes (that don't include tongue or organ meats).
For some kitchen tips - please visit Tammy's Recipes.
4 comments:
Hi-I just stumbled upon your blog from Tammie's blog. I use my pressure cooker all the time to cook beans. They taste so much better than canned beans! Beans must be cooked for around one hour and you use 1:2 proportions, 1 cup of beans to 2 cups of water. I also cook potatoes in mine-except you need to have them on a trivet of sorts so they don't stick to the bottom-I only use 1 1/2 c. of water and they take about 10 minutes under pressure. I have a Kuhn Rikon cooker and you may find a web site with more recipes. Hope this helps-good luck!
I use my pressure cooker to quick soak dry beans. My husband likes to use it for stew meat, but I'm not sure what his technique is... and it's a good way to cook carrots or potatoes in a quick hurry.
omTry looking up Marilyn at www.urbanhomemaker.com she LOTS of great pressure cooker recipes & such. She uses hers quite often. Good Luck!
Susan
I love my pressure cooker. I wrote a post last week that included things I use it for, but no recipes. Try the library for cookbooks. I like Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass. I love making soup in it. Check your instructions for how full the pot can be (about 2/3 full). I use 4 c. broth, 3 c. water, chopped onion, diced potato, frozen green beans, leftover chopped meat, whole zucchini or carrots (these cook quickly and are cut after cooking) and anything else you want to add. Cook for 4 minutes under pressure then release the pressure under cold water. (Check your instruction book on how to do that.) Add a little olive oil and basil, salt, and pepper to taste.
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