Thursday, October 05, 2006

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!!

13 comments:

Betty Carlson said...

I'm in the market for a new pressure cooker, so I will look into this model. It looks great. I've always had your basic French SEB version. I was pleased with my last one but forgot to put liquid in it once and burned it to death...

Guy said...

Hey,

Did it make that spifting steamy sound when cooking?

Biggles

Anonymous said...

My brother and my friend Ilene both swear by their pressure cookers for beans and soup. I've been considering one, but I think I'd want a couple of more special uses out of a big piece of equipment like that.
Can you use them for preserving, or do you need a special pressure canner for that? I usually do very small batches of jam, so the size wouldn't deter me too much, if you think it would work?

Banlieue Blog said...

Hi Biggles!
It made a weird whistling sound....then I took it off the heat!

Lindy, My directions say you can preserve in this, BUT...I haven't tried that yet. I just did a small batch of Freezer Jam, that is my experience for jam making! Check out that site I mention, Miss Vickey, for more info on preserving, I know she has a chapter on that!

Brilynn said...

New toys for the kitchen are always fun!

Guy said...

Gotcha. Jess wonderin'. I'd love to have one, but I don't believe I could fit one more pot or pan in to my kitchen.

Biggles

Banlieue Blog said...

Hey Biggles, you are right about one thing, not being able to fit pots and pans in the kitchen, the pressure cooker is staying in the 'guest room' at the moment!
tale care!!

Anonymous said...

Oooh! I have always been scared of pressure cookers for the same "explosive" reason...nice to know it is working for you :) I'll stay tuned for more...

Anonymous said...

Great timing my pressure cooker got broke a week ago..I'll checking this model once I go to our houseware store..

Banlieue Blog said...

Hi Cliff.....good luck with buying a new one! Sounds like you liked your a lot!

Anonymous said...

Excellent! I'm always excited to hear when people try new cookware and utensils.

Anonymous said...

It's always great to hear about someone joining the pressure cooker revolution! To solve the storage problem, you could always get rid of some other pot and use the pressure cooker bottom with a normal lid, so it does double-duty. They always have a nice, heavy bottom, so things don't scorch.

For lots of pressure cooker recipes, check out http://www.foodiegazette.com/cat/recipes/pressure-cooker/

Halime said...

My French SEB pressure cooker has seen better days. I am trying to find one to buy but no luck so far. I wonder if anybody knows where I can buy one.