Not your Mom's Pressure Cooker

A friend told me about Les 6 Jours des BHV.....and who doesn't like a sale?? I headed off to the kitchen department....surprised?? Guess what I found......a Pressure Cooker. The price was right, and being a consciences shopper, I came home and did some internet research.
To my delight, this pressure cooker was a top choice of Cooks Illustrated. It was mentioned in the Williams Sonoma online catalogue as their only stove top model. I realized though that WMF had come out with a newer model, but I didn't find too much difference not to warrant the savings.

I do remember horror stories from my Grandma, classic stories about explosions and food dripping from the ceiling. I also remember the horrible noise and the little thing-ie dancing around letting the steam out. Needless to say I read the instructions with respect!!!!!!! I did a test drive with some water, just to see how the darn thing worked. This suggestion came from a great little web-site called Miss Vickie.

Next came some real food, Pinto Beans that made it past the TSA inspectors at DFW, you know, when they x-ray your luggage. They seem to always open my bags, but they do leave a polite 'calling card'.

I thought these beans might be a great way to start to experiment with my new toy. Nothing fancy, and nothing romantic about beans!!! After about 25 minutes I had a tender and creamy bean. WOW.....my black eyed peas have a new way to be cooked on New Years Day this year. The next experiment will be some braised artichokes, I had some in a restaurant a few years ago and they were perfectly cooked. I've tried to duplicate but they were always on the tough side. I found a recipe I'm going to give a spin! Someone told me the best chicken stock is made from a pressure cooker. We'll see!!