How to Use a Pressure Cooker: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Hey everyone, this Thursday is St. Patrick's Day and although my hubby and I are too boring to go out and drink green beer, we sure do love to cook up a corned beef brisket with some cabbage and potatoes!

Now, this post is a little misleading. I normally prefer to cook my corned beef brisket in a crockpot and THEN cook the cabbage and potatoes in my pressure cooker. I've found that by doing it separately, the cabbage and potatoes don't become mushy and lose their distinct flavor. That's one thing I dislike about using my crockpot; food has a tendency to all come out tasting the same if it's cooked together over a long period of time.

I've tried cooking the corned beef brisket in my pressure cooker, but for some reason, it didn't turn out the same. It lost that "low-and-slow" flavor intensity that you can only get from slow cooking and it wasn't as tender.

So, I start my corned beef in the morning before I go to work and by the time I get home, it's nice and tender and it takes me 10 minutes to cook the cabbage and potatoes in my pressure cooker.

Kathy's Corned Beef and Cabbage

1 corned beef brisket (3 - 4 lbs.)
1 bay leaf
8-10 peppercorns
2-3 whole cloves
2-3 whole allspice berries
1 bottle of dark beer (Guinness is perfect - I had some leftover from a growler)
Beef broth
Small head of cabbage
1/2 - 1 lb. of small, red potatoes

Take out the beef brisket from the packet, rinse it off, and put it in the crockpot. If the beef brisket has its own "spice packet" go ahead and add that to the crockpot. Add the remaining spices, bottle of beer, and add enough beef broth to almost cover brisket completely. Turn crockpot on low and cook 6-8 hours.

After cooking, turn off crockpot and remove corned beef to a plate or platter. Keep warm. Reserve at least 2 cups of the cooking liquid from crockpot.

Cut up cabbage into large chunks and add to the pressure cooker. Leaving the cabbage in large chunks makes it easier to serve and keeps it from being over cooked. Take potatoes and scrub them, but leave the skins on. If they are small, leave them whole, but bigger ones can be sliced in half and added along with the cabbage. Do not fill your pressure cooker more than 3/4 full.

Add about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid from the crockpot to the cabbage/potatoes in the pressure cooker. Seal pressure cooker and bring up to pressure over med/high heat. When at pressure, lower heat to low and pressure cook for 10 - 12 minutes. After timing, remove pressure cooker from heat and perform a quick release. Carefully open pressure cooker lid AWAY from you, test potatoes for consistency with a knife or fork. If not done, bring back up to pressure and cook another 2 -3 minutes. If done, drain the liquid from the pressure cooker and serve the cabbage and potatoes with the corned beef, spicy mustard, and a yummy beer!

How to Use a Pressure Cooker: Risotto in 10 Minutes!

You know, every time I discover an easier technique for doing something, I ask myself, "Why have I been doing it the hard way for all this time?"

Such is the case for pressure cooker risotto. I was convinced, I SWORE the only way you could have creamy, tender risotto that's full of flavor, was to cook it over the stove-top and ladle-stir, ladle-stir, ladle-stir until your feet were tired from standing and your stomach was growling. So, risotto had become one of those "special dishes" that I made very rarely, and that is sad because I love it so, so much.

I tried a technique a long time ago that required me to bake the risotto in the oven and at the end, it made me want to cry. So, I've spied this technique from Lorna Sass' Pressure Perfect for years and never got around to it. I was convinced that it was going to be a flop; risotto is an art form! But I was wrong. SO. WRONG.

Friends, lovers, Maytag repairmen, I give you perfect, creamy, delicious risotto IN 10 MINUTES!

You're welcome!

Pressure Cooker Risotto in 10 Minutes
Recipe modified from: Lorna Sass, Pressure Perfect 

Mushroom Parmesan Risotto 

3 cups clean, chopped fresh mushrooms (I used shiitake)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced shallot
1 minced clove garlic
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry, white wine
3 1/2 - 4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Minced, fresh parsley

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute the mushrooms until they start to release their liquid, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in your pressure cooker over med-high heat and saute the shallot till soft, about 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add arborio rice to shallot mixture and cook over high heat for 1-3 minutes, stirring continually, making sure all the rice is coated in butter and none is sticking to the sides or bottom.

Add wine to rice mixture (it will sputtter when added) and stir continually until all the wine is absorbed. Add 3 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and the cooked mushrooms to the rice mixture. Attach the lid to your pressure cooker, seal, and bring to pressure over high heat. Once pressurized, turn heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove pressure cooker from the heating element and perform a fast pressure release. After depressurized, remove pressure cooker lid (opening away from you) and return the pressure cooker pot to the heating element. The risotto will look soupy at this point. Cook over high heat, stirring continually, until all the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. If the risotto needs more time to cook to your liking, add the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and continue to cook/stir until done. I like mine a little creamier than al dente.

When done, remove pot from heating element, add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and stir till mixed well. Garnish with parsley and additional grated Parmesan if desired.

Pour yourself a glass of wine and dig in!

Herb Roasted Tomatoes

I can tell by my page view stats/history that you all have been very busy figuring out what to do with all your tomatoes and summer produce that's pouring in right now.

You've also been doing some cooking!

My most popular blog posts this past month have been:

• How to Quickly Peel Tomatoes
• Roasted Red Pepper Spread
• Thai Basil Pepper Jelly
• Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce
• Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce
• Annie's Salsa
• How to Grill Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts Without Drying them Out

But I'm about to drop another winner in your laps. Ladies and gentlemen, friends and lovers, I give you Herb Roasted Tomatoes:

What to do with all those tomatoes that you just don't have the time or patience to can or preserve right now? Imagine sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, BUT BETTER!

I could barely stop myself from eating these right off the cookie sheet!

I discovered this recipe from Alana Chernila and immediately set to work. She says that you'll "end up with something slightly shriveled, released juice, a little bit dehydrated, caramelized at the edges. It’s totally delicious right away; you could just pour the whole tray over spaghetti right away."

I couldn't agree with her any more and that's exactly what I did last night for dinner.

Whatever is left over will be tucked away in the freezer for future dinners of pasta, sauces, grilled chicken, casseroles, hell warmed up and eaten with bread and a glass of wine!

You're welcome!

Herb Roasted Tomatoes. 
Recipe Source: Alana Chernila

Approimately 7 lbs. of fresh tomatoes, any kind
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
Dried or fresh herbs (I used Penzey's Italian Herb Blend)
Garlic powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 275°. Clean tomatoes and slice in half. Arrange on a cookie sheet flesh-side-up. Give tomatoes a hearty drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on salt, pepper, herbs, and garlic salt to your liking.

Place cookie sheet in the oven and slow roast approximately 3-5 hours, depending on the size and thickness of your tomatoes. You want them to be significantly shriveled reduced, but not dehydrated and tough. I roasted mine, which were a blend of medium-sized beefsteak tomatoes, for 6 hours.

Eat right away, if you can control yourself, or freeze in a container or Ziplock bag.

How To Use a Pressure Cooker: Beef Stew

Imagine having fork-tender-from-cooking-all-day beef stew in less than an hour total! 

If you live in the Northeast today, I hope you are safe and warm from last night's blizzard. I am thankful that many didn't get it as bad as they predicted and I am thoughtful of those who are in the mess of it.

In the Washington, DC area, we had a dusting, some ice, and basically cold, cold weather. Perfect for beef stew, amiright?

This recipe is a little involved in the preparation, but it's worth it and it makes a lot of stew. So, with that in mind, let's make some stew!

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

1-3 lbs stew meat, cut into chunks
Flour, salt, and pepper for dredging beef

Vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
1 sweet potato, cut into chunks
2-3 cups beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Cornstarch for thickening if needed

Preheat sautee pan over medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. While heating, dredge beef chunks in seasoned flour (amount depends on how much beef you use for the stew) and set aside. When the oil is hot enough, brown the beef chunks on each side until light brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove beef from pan, set aside, and continue browning the rest of the beef. Add more vegetable oil for each batch if needed.

When all the beef is browned, add the beef and all the remaining ingredients to your pressure cooker, lock the lid, and heat over medium high heat until the cooker comes to pressure. Once at pressure, start timing to cook for 25 minutes. At 25 minutes, move he pressure cooker to a cool burner on your stove and let depressurize naturally for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, release the pressure manually via the manual pressure release valve on your cooker. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the stew needs a little thickening, place the opened cooker over medium heat and heat to a simmer. Make a slurry with a little cornstarch and stew gravy, then add to the beef stew. Stir till thickened to desired consistency. Serve over cooked rice or mashed potatoes!

How to Use a Pressure Cooker: Curry in a Hurry

August and September are such pivotal months. The kids go back to school, so your schedule completely changes. Football season starts. The weather cools. Christmas decorations go up at the stores…..GAHHHHH! ....PANIC!

It just seems like a downhill, whirlwind slide into December from here.

Fortunately, this is the best time to whip out your pressure cooker to help make your schedule a little less stressful. Pressure cooking can take a slow-cooked main course that would normally take hours to cook on a Sunday afternoon, to being able to cook the same meal in under an hour during the workweek. Slow-cooked dishes like soups, stews, pot roasts, bean dishes, chili, sauces, you name it, can be all be prepared during the week with a pressure cooker. In addition, the cold, dark fall and winter evenings simply beg for a hearty slow-cooked meal.

Today, I am making Curry in a Hurry from Lorna Sass’ book Pressure Perfect. I mentioned before that if you are looking for a good pressure cooking cookbook, this is it. As mentioned in this recipe’s description, it’s almost too easy and too good to be true, so let’s warm up with some curry shall we?

NOTE: I am using boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe; however, Lorna says you can substitute for 3 lbs of bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, OR 2 lbs of boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, OR 2 lbs boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, OR 2 lbs of boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Pressure Cooker Curry in a Hurry
Recipe Source: Modified from Pressure Perfect

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup of water OR coconut milk (for flavor) OR half water/half coconut milk
4 T of Patak’s Mild (or hot) Curry Paste (curry powder does not produce the same results)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1 cup plain yogurt (regular, low-fat, or even sour cream)
1 ½ cups frozen peas
3 T chopped, fresh cilantro
Salt

Pour the water or coconut milk into a 4-quart or larger cooker and blend in the curry paste. Set over high heat and add the onion and chicken. Lock the lid in place, set the heat to high, and bring your cooker to pressure. When at pressure, lower the heat to med/low, and time to cook for 8-10 minutes (for lamb 12 minutes). After cooking for 8-10 minutes, move the cooker to a cool burner and allow the cooker to depressurize naturally for 4 minutes, then do a manual pressure release (if using other kinds of meat, allow to depressurize completely. Do not do a manual release).

Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape. Place cooker back on a burner and bring to a low simmer. If necessary, skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Blend the cornstarch and yogurt into 1 cup of the broth, and then add to the meat in the cooker (Note: avoid cooking yogurt under pressure as it tends to sink to the bottom of the cooker and scorch). Stir until thickened. Add the peas to the meat and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the cilantro and salt to taste.

Serve with cooked, jasmine rice.

Additions/Variations:

• Add 1/3 cup raisins after pressure release; add when adding yogurt
• Garnish with raw or roasted cashews
• Toast one or more of the following spices and stir into the curry with the yogurt:  1 T black mustard seeds, 1 tsp whole fennel seeds, and 1 tsp of whole cumin seeds. 
• Vegetarian version: Scrub or peel 1 ½ lbs of potatoes and cut into 2 inch chunks. Prepare in the same manner except there is no need to allow time for natural depressurization; you may depressurize manually.

How to Use a Pressure Cooker: Mashed Potatoes in 10 Minutes!

Whoa! How is it November already?? It seems like this fall has flown by like nobody’s business. Well, since we’re here and it’s only THREE WEEKS AWAY (!!!), let’s start talking turkey…specifically the holiest of all holy days for foodies: Thanksgiving.

And what is one of the number one side dishes for any Thanksgiving Day feast?

Mashed potatoes.

White potatoes, sweet potatoes, either way they have to be cooked first. This post really isn't about a recipe, per say, than it is procedure.  I love using my pressure cooker for making mashed potatoes, and I can have them ready from raw-to-gravied in 10 minutes flat! From scratch! Let’s face it, stove and oven real estate on Thanksgiving Day are very valuable, so anything that can help me free up time and stove top space is a win-win for me.

If you are not comfortable using a pressure cooker, mashed potatoes are probably one of the easiest things to practice on. Be sure to follow the cooking directions for your particular pressure cooker and you’ll be fine.  So, let’s get to mashin’!

First, start out with raw, peeled, and cut Russet potatoes. You can use other types of potatoes, but Russets (or Idaho) potatoes have a higher starch content and less moisture, which then give you a fluffier mashed potato. I cut mine up rather large, as smaller pieces absorb more water, plus it’s easier.  I do not fill up my pressure cooker more than ½ - ¾ full, as per my cooker’s instructions.

Next, I add about 1 cup of water to the pot. I don’t remember what my cooker’s instructions say for water amount, but 1 cup seems to ring a bell (check your cooker’s instructions). When you pressure cook, the little bit of water at the bottom of the pot turns to steam, which is really the cooking agent behind pressure cooking.  If you ‘d like more information regarding the physics and engineering behind pressure cooking, check out Miss Vickie’s site.

I then lock the lid on my pressure cooker, set the burner to med-high, and let the cooker come to pressure. Once the pressure indicator pops up on my pressure cooker (yellow button), I turn the burner heat down to med-low and start timing. After 10 minutes, I do what’s called a “quick release” to vent the steam.

The quick release method is great for dishes that don’t have to depressurize naturally, unlike my Lima Bean Soup. There are many dishes that call for the quick release method, which really makes using a pressure cooker a time-saver.

After the steam has vented and the pressure indicator drops down, I unlock and open the lid AWAY from me. I give the potatoes a poke or two with a fork to make sure they are done (if not, bring back up to pressure and cook a few more minutes). If they are done, I prop the lid back on the cooker allowing for a gap to drain the water and drain. After draining, the potatoes are ready for mashing in whatever way you are used to.

I’m old school and use a hand held masher, leaving a few lumps. Add some butter, cream/milk, salt and pepper, and I’m ready to eat in less than half the time it would have taken me to boil/steam the potatoes to old fashioned way.

Yummy!

How to Use a Pressure Cooker: Lima Bean Soup

Now that the weather has cooled off.

MUUU-WWAhh-HAA-HAA-haaaaaaa….

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’m in Florida, remember? It might have slipped down into the 70’s today, but that’s because there is a hurricane out in the Gulf of Mexico. This IS cool for us!

Ahem, as I was saying…now that the weather has cooled off, it’s time for some stick-to-your-ribs soups and stews. One of my most favorite kitchen gadgets to use when making heartier meals is my pressure cooker.

Back in your grandmother’s or even your mother’s time, a pressure cooker was the modern kitchen convenience gadget du jour. It was the original microwave oven. It cooked fast, used little energy, and didn’t require a lot of cooking know-how to turn out a good meal.

Unfortunately, pressure cookers have a bad rap for being unpredictable and dangerous. My husband often remarks about when his mother used to yell at him and his siblings to stay out of the kitchen when her pressure cooker was hissing away on the stovetop. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt in case the thing exploded, incapacitating a helpless bystander with molten beef stew.

Yes, pressure cookers did explode back in the day, but thanks to many years of ingenuity and manufacturing, today’s pressure cookers couldn’t be safer. Most pressure cookers have 2, 3, even up to 4 overpressure valves, o-rings, and seals that prevent even the most careless accidents from happening.

So, with that, let’s makes some soup! I use a 6 + quart Fagor Rapida pressure cooker, which is perfect for today’s dish, Lima Bean Soup. I have mentioned this soup in the past, and it’s one of my favorites.


All right, let’s have some introductions. Most pressure cookers have two pieces, a lid and a pot. My Fagor lid has an operating valve (the black knob), a pressure safety lock (the green switch), and a pressure indicator (the yellow pop-up button). So, let's get our ingredients and get cooking!


Pressure Cooker Lima Bean Soup
2-3 cups chopped, precooked ham
1 chopped onion
2-4 chopped celery stalks
3 cloves of garlic
16 oz bag of dried, large lima beans
4 cups of chicken broth
4 cups of water
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
Seasoning of choice


First, I sauté the ham till it releases a little fat, and then throw in the onions, celery, and garlic. Saute till vegetables are soft, add the beans, water, chicken broth, seasonings and most importantly, the olive oil.


Dried beans have a tendency to foam when they are cooking and the oil helps prevent that. Foaming beans are BAD and could potentially clog one of those overpressure safety valves, which at the most would make a huge amount of noise when the thing blew. No one would get hurt, but it would scare the living daylights out of you.


Once all the ingredients are in the pot, I line up the lid and close it. My Fagor has indicator lines that guide me to seal the cooker. If a seal is not made, I would know by the amount of steam escaping from below the lid. Switch the operating valve to "close".


After sealing, I lock the lid by switching the pressure safety lock from “unlock” to “lock”. Notice how the little yellow indicator button is depressed?


Turn the stovetop burner to med-high and wait for the contents of the pressure cooker to heat up. When the cooker is sufficiently heated and pressurized, the indicator button will pop up like this.


At this point, lower the heat to low and start timing. For my Lima Bean Soup, I looked for guidance in Lorna Sass’ book titled “Pressure Perfect” and set the cooking time for 30 minutes. If you are serious about trying this pressure cooker thing, get this book! It’s basically the pressure cooking bible.

Once the soup has cooked for 30 minutes on low heat, move the pressure cooker to a cool burner and let it depressurize naturally. Don’t try to rush it, don’t switch the operating valve to “open” and do what’s often called a “quick release”. Some recipes do require a “quick release” to allow for steam to escape, which makes the cooker depressurize much faster, but that’s for another recipe and time.

When sufficiently cooled, the indicator valve will pop back down again. Unlock the lid and open it AWAY from you as there will still be a lot of steam inside the cooker. You don’t want an instant Lima Bean Soup facial!

Now, it’s soup! Taste the soup and season accordingly (salt, pepper, etc.). If, for whatever reason, the beans aren’t cooked through, bring the pressure cooker back up to pressure and cook an additional 5 minutes and depressurize naturally.


See, wasn’t that easy? If I were to cook this dish “traditionally” in a pot on the stovetop, it would have taken a good hour or two (or more) in order for the beans to cook to the desired tenderness.