Barbara Schieving's blog is my go-to source for pressure cooker recipes. Her recipes just plain work, and are usually perfect for my family's taste, as written. In this book she's distilled her almost-encyclopedic knowledge of electric pressure cookers so we'll always have it right at hand and given us tons of new recipes, too. Her writing style is warm and conversational, making both the information in the Introduction and the recipe instructions feel common-sensical and easy to follow. She begins with a tutorial on electric pressure cookers (ePCs), discussing the models she uses, the parts of an ePC, the various cooking modes, essential and nice-to-have accessories. There are tips for various situations, like high-altitude cooking, scaling recipes, and so on. Her advice on converting other recipes to an ePC is the best I've ever seen, and this section alone is worth the price of the book. She surprised me with tips I didn't know that will make it easier for me to convert more of my favorite recipes to my Instant Pot. Some will wonder where the timing charts are, but I've come to learn that charts never tell the whole story and I'm almost always better off to find a recipe that has similar ingredients to the ones I'll be using, and follow that timing. Barbara explains why this method works, and why it is the best way to make sure every ingredient is cooked to perfection.
The book has 150 all-new recipes, which was all I needed to know before pre-ordering it. It has some of the usual chapters, but also includes a chapter on sandwiches, wraps and tacos. Mains are broken out by cooking time rather than protein, into Shortcut Dinners, 30-Minute Meals, and Sunday Suppers. Each chapter has a ToC, with page numbers. The tips included with each recipe may give you an alternate presentation for the recipe, or advice on adjusting the recipe. Some of the new recipes I'm itching to try are Chicken Cordon Bleu "Bake", Creamy Swiss Onion Soup, San Francisco Treat Chicken, Game Day Potatoes, Sweet Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, Brown Rice Fiesta Bake and Cranberry Orange Bread Pudding. Some of my favorite recipes from her blog are included, too. Carnitas (presented as street tacos), Barbecue Bacon Meatloaf, Cilantro-Lime Rice, Chunky Potato Cheese Soup and Key Lime Pie are all here. Her recipe for Long-Grain White Rice has become my master recipe for any variation I want to make. If you're not using Barbara's technique for cooking potato salad, you're missing out on the neatest trick your pressure cooker can do!
UPDATE - I had originally given this book 4 stars, because the 1st printing lacks an index listing for Rice. Barbara wrote to tell me that the publisher created the index and she wasn't aware of the omission until she received a final copy of the book. The publisher has promised to correct the error in future printings. With this problem addressed, there's only one thing I'd have liked to see that isn't in the book, and that's total cooking time. In fairness, most other pressure cooker cookbooks don't include this information, either. At least Barbara's main dish chapters give us a clue as to total timing, so it's not such a big deal here. This book is deserving of 5 stars, and I highly recommend it.
Chicken Cordon Bleu “Bake”
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the baking dish
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup (235ml) reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup (50g) panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup (20g) shredded parmesan cheese
- ½ cup (115g) sour cream
- 1 cup (110g) shredded swiss cheese
- 8 ounces (226.75g) deli ham, diced
Tip
Stir in some thawed frozen peas or vegetables along with the ham to make this a one-pot meal.
Yield: 6 servings
A deconstructed version of chicken cordon bleu—chicken, ham, and cheese in an easy-to-make, easy-to-serve casserole—with a crispy coating on top.
Instructions
Grease a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cm) ovenproof dish with butter and set aside.
Select Browning/Sauté and add 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter to the pressure cooking pot to melt. Add the chicken. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chicken broth, dry mustard, salt, and cayenne.
Put a steamer basket in the cooking pot on the chicken. Add the potatoes to the basket. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 4 minutes cook time. While the chicken cooks, preheat the broiler.
In a small bowl, mix the panko and Parmesan with the melted butter. Set aside.When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Use a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Remove the steamer basket and potatoes from the pot.
Add the sour cream and Swiss cheese to cooking pot and stir until the cheese melts. Stir in the potatoes and ham. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Top with the panko mixture. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes until golden-brown—watch closely so it doesn’t burn.
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