Monday, January 7, 2008

Now you're cooking with pressure

Many years ago, when I was first out on my own, my mom and I made the rounds at estate and yard sales for miscellaneous kitchen equipment to get me started. At the time, the most she was willing to part with was a dented pan--a relic from her first marriage dented from swatting cockroaches in my parents' first apartment. Needless to say, strangers' cast-offs were more appealing.

One of the things I remember seeing was an old pressure cooker. And my mom quickly warned me off it convincing me I'd never be able to use it properly and would likely kill myself in an explosion. So I've never given it a second thought.

Until I got this month's issue of Sierra Club magazine. Rice in five minutes? Rice that doesn't come in a red box in five minutes??? Yes! And not only is it a huge time-saver, it's an energy-saver (which is, of course why the pressure cooker is being featured in Sierra Magazine). So, now I'm interested in pressure cooking. Because I like rice and I am impatient.

The irony of this being a possible crock-off in the future. The question is, do I come up with some all-day dish to compete with the slow-foodies or be a total spoiler and whip up some pressured risotto or one of these tasty dishes in a matter of minutes to blow everyone away?

Blow everyone away figuratively speaking, of course (I hope).

4 comments:

Pen Ultimate said...

Pressure cookers RAWK. My granny used to make fresh-out-of-the-garden green beans that still give me shivers down my spine, thinkin' about 'em (of course, they were porked up, but...).
.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

it's a skill, no doubt. be afraid. be very afraid...

Anonymous said...

L:

Black beans come out delicious in a pressure cooker, tender, creamy and savory.

Just don't forget to read the manual "how to avoid being scalded by an exploding Victorian-era appliance", and you'll be fine

Anonymous said...

Okay I just read this, and the whole Bites exchange. I'm sorry I missed that but not sorry I was out of touch at the beach when it went down. I'd totally be up for a crock-off -- we should plan this thing at our next Blogger Lunch (to Phat Bites this time?). I cook loads of stuff from Daniel Boulud's Braise in my crock. Thinking of moving some of it to the pressure cooker, just to see...