pressure cooker

[friedparsley]

My kitchen just got a pressure cooker. I've never used one before and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for how I can use this thing. I am going to have to make broasted chicken with it, but other than that the thing is just going to take up space unless I can figure out some other uses for it. Does anyone have any experience operating one of these things?

The first time I used a pressure cooker I was quite literally a nervous wreck! I purchased a new pressure cooker with a new fangled safety steam value. Even though the box and two sales people assured me that my wonderful new pot would not end up exploding through my kitchen ceiling into my sons bedroom above, I just couldn’t shake the feeling! My memory brought me back to my grandmothers kitchen where she would make the most wonderful foods. These wonderful memories are often triggered by or certain scent or taste, and for a brief second I am eight years old in grandma Gertie’s kitchen. This pressure cooker too was bringing me back to grandma’s kitchen, red cabbage and absolute total sheer terror! Whenever my grandma Gertie made red cabbage, she would drag out the pressure cooker. As soon as I saw that cold metal silhouette looming on her counter, I would begin to prepare myself for the horror, which would follow. My grandmother would lovingly prepare the cabbage, vinegar, apples and bacon, adding it all into the metal pot sitting on her counter more dangerous than the atom bomb, at least to an eight year old! Then as she would slide on the heavy lid, my grandfather would round up any kids in the house and banish us from going anywhere near the kitchen! My grandmother would rattle on about pots exploding and shards of metal being lodged into the brain of a small child, terrible tragedy. From what I could gather, from the story my grandmother often told my aunt, his poor mother was never the same! In my little mind, I pictured this crazy cabbage maker blowing up and killing us all, I could picture all of the horror in my mind, and having the red cabbage flung all over the kitchen walls made the picture even worse. I would sit in absolute terror waiting for the pot to explode or the cabbage to be done. My cousins would absent mindedly peruse into the kitchen to ask for some sort of treat only to be quickly, loudly and traumatically, kicked out of the kitchen reminded of the painful death that could come to them. This went on as long as I could remember; I don’t think I ever got old enough to properly evaluate the danger before my grandmother passed away.

The first time I used my new pressure cooker, much safer than the kind my grandmother had, I couldn’t help but to be afraid. I decided to start out with something relatively quick and more benign in color that red cabbage, I settled on brown rice. I added all of the ingredients and cover the pot. The recipe I was using said to turn the pot on high for the first 5 minutes and then bring down to a medium flame. I decided to place it over a medium heat from the get go so I could avoid another trip into the kitchen. I must have broken the sound barrier removing myself from the kitchen and decided that my son and I would be better off playing in the basement playroom for the next half hour, letting the fate of the kitchen blowing up take its course without our immediate presence. I couldn’t decide if the half hour was going by too quickly or slowly, but at some point it came, and I had to go upstairs. I crept up the stairs and around the corner with my back to the wall, peeked into the kitchen, and saw the pot with its little safety valve bobbing back and forth, which I was prepared for, I read the owners manual two times. I turned off the flame and slowly opened the pot. Inside was just perfectly cooked brown rice. The entire experience could not have been more anti-climatic!

I have now thrown caution to the wind and deep-set childhood scars to rest and freely use my pressure cooker with little to no fear. Food cooked in a pressure cooker really does have a nice flavor and cooking brown rice so quickly is a blessing from Grandma Gertie I am sure. Here is a good Sauce I make when I have tons of plum tomatoes from the garden

3-Tablespoon Olive Oil
5 Cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh basil
4 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped
1-teaspoon salt

In the pressure cooker heat the oil and sauté the garlic and the basil until the basil is a bit wilted and the aroma has permeated your kitchen. Add the chopped tomatoes and the salt. Fit the lid onto you pressure cooker and lock into place. Bring to and maintain a high pressure for 10 minutes. Release the pressure on your cooker and remove the top being mindful of the steam. If your tomatoes were very ripe and juicy you may find your sauce a bit loose. If this is the case you can reduce the liquid by bringing to a boil uncovered and allowing excess water to boil off. I rather enjoy the peels of the tomato as part of the sauce and do not choose to remove them, but if you find them bothersome you can press your sauce through a food mill or a sieve.

[ June 20, 2001: Message edited by: OneSockChef ]

[Kimmie]

Bought a Lagostina pressure cooker 9 years ago or so...still in the box!!

[Isa]

Kimmie,


Is still still in the box cause you're scared of it?

I never used one. My mother has always told us horror stories about pressure cooker guess it stayed with me.

Also a great pressure cooker cookbook is cooking under pressure, which I am sure is available on Amazon

[Katherine]

I have a programmable electric pressure cooker. You can't beat it for convenience. It brings itself up to pressure, then after the set time is over, switches to "keep warm". Check them out if you're shopping for a pressure cooker.

[Svadhisthana]

LOL, I thought I was the only one afraid of pressure cookers.

[Kimmie]

Iza,

Sorry for the delay. I am absolutely TERRIFIED!!!



I guess it's all the grandmothers' scary stories...they still remain in the back of my head.

P.S. It was a wonderful read OneSockChef!

[ July 04, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

[Afra]

What's so scary about pressure cookers? I am not afraid of them, having operated one for about 7 years. I always cooked roast beef in the pressure cooker, which turned out to be very delicious after how it steamed and cooked in the pressure cooker! I don't own one myself yet, but am hoping to soon. The pressure cooker I used these 7 years belongs to my mom. I do realize that pressure cookers can be scary sometimes, but that is when you don't really know how to handle this kind of equipment. If you practice and experiment with it, you may lose the fear you have. I have never had problems with my mom's pressure cooker and I rather miss cooking with it; all the foods we cooked in that pressure cooker tasted so good!

[Pastachef]

I loved your story, OneSockChef. I don't know how I missed it. I'm nervous around anything under pressure, including the co2 tank. I'm getting better though.

[friedparsley]

I appreciate eveyone's comments about pressure cookers. However, This thing we've got is a big deep fryer(I think). I guess it's what they use at fast food restuarants.
We just had a guy come look at it and it's going to cost 500-600 dollars to fix it. I'm so angry. The owner is going to spend 500 dollars to make fried chicken in what he assured me was a "fine dining" restaurant when I told him I would run it for him, but I can't get the door on our 15 year old convection oven to shut and he doesn't seem to care about that.
There's got to be something cool I can do with this thing. Maybe some kind of tempura vegetables or crazy garnishes.
Honestly, when I think of the combination of hot oil, high pressure and a machine of undeterminate age, I get a little nervous myself.

[ July 04, 2001: Message edited by: friedparsley ]

[DaveB]

What you've got is a pressure fryer, just like they have at COlonel Saunders. Now you, too, can make fried chicken for your "fine dining" clientel.