All posts filed under: Side dish

Cooked black beans in an orange bowl with a jar of chipotles behind it

Instant Pot Chipotle Beans

Published by Mike Vrobel

When I’m not busy being a food nerd, I’m a Science Fiction and Fantasy nerd. (I’m sure this is a shock to all of you.) One of my favorite authors is Ursala Vernon; her Clockwork Boys series were , and she mentioned “Chipotle Beans” on Twitter a while back. I immediately thought “What a great idea!” Instant Pot Chipotle Beans, here we come. So I made a batch – saute some aromatics, add chipotle, cook the beans in my magic bean cooker, the Instant Pot. They were fantastic…and it looks like I’m not the only one to think so. It turns out, Ursula’s husband Kevin got the recipe from the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook. Which, I’m ashamed to say, has been on my Kindle for over a year now, but I never got around to opening it up. In other words, special thanks to Laurel Randolph’s cookbook for indirectly inspiring this recipe… What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below. Related Posts Instant Pot Pinto Beans Pressure …

Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake

Published by Mike Vrobel

Reader Ray needs an Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake recipe. I can’t let him down, can I? Of course not! I started researching recipes, which broke down into two major techniques. The first is all-ricotta-cheese cakes, usually with the egg separated, the egg whites whipped and folded into the cake. In other words, a ricotta soufflé. The other kind are Italian-American hybrids, using both cream cheese and ricotta cheese. That’s the kind I went with – I’ve never had much luck with soufflés, and separating and whipping seemed like too much work. After that it was pretty much my standard Instant Pot Cheesecake Technique, with ricotta mixed in. Oh, and a dusting of powdered sugar, and seedless raspberry jam as a topping. Looking for a cheesecake with Italian sprezzatura? Here it is. What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below. Related Posts Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake Pressure Cooker Salted Caramel Cheesecake My other Pressure Cooker Recipes Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? …

A red plate of bright yellow risotto Milanese sprinkled with grated cheese, with a napkin, spoon, and instant pot in the background

Instant Pot Risotto Milanese (Risotto alla Milanese)

Published by Mike Vrobel

When I say “Italy,” what starch pops into your head? Pasta, of course. But, as I found out on my trip to Venice, Italy is much more diverse than the “pizza, pasta, and meatballs” I grew up with. Northern Italy is all about rice. Milan, in Northwest Italy, is famous for fashion – it’s from Milan, dahling – and for bright yellow Risotto alla Milanese, rice colored with a pinch of saffron, the world’s most expensive spice. Saffron is made of the stigmas of the saffron crocus flower, three tiny threads in the center of the bulb. These threads must be harvested by hand, and roughly 5,000 flowers yield one ounce of dried saffron threads. The half-gram jar of Saffron I bought for this recipe cost $10. (That’s right – it’s even more expensive than movie theater popcorn.) How did Milan become famous for saffron risotto? Well, there’s a great story: The legend of Risotto alla Milanese In the 1600s, Mastro Valerio of Flanders led a team of workmen, creating stained glass windows for the …

An orange bowl full of cilantro lime rice with a text block on the bottom saying: Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Published by Mike Vrobel

This recipe for Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice came from my kids’ love of Chipotle burritos. I knew I could make them at home, but the kids didn’t believe me. And…ahem…they were right. Until I got the rice right, they kept saying “these are good…but can we go to Chipotle now?” Now they ask “can you make burritos for dinner?” (I have to go on a rant here. It kills me that my kids still think of “Chipotle Burritos” when they’re really Mission Street Burritos. I even took them to a burrito joint in San Francisco, on our one trip to the West Coast, to show them where burritos as big as your head came from. They still think of them as Chipotle burritos. Not that there’s anything wrong with Chipotle; it’s the principle of the thing. San Francisco! Mission street! Authentic burritos! It goes right over their heads. I’ll remind them of the San Francisco visit, and they’ll say “Oh yeah, I loved those!”, and then go right back to asking for Chipotle.) The …

Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf | DadCooksDinner.com

Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf

Published by Mike Vrobel

My cooking mantra is “simple doesn’t mean boring.” But…I love fancy rice pilaf. A simple rice pilaf, with white rice and chicken broth? It’s boring, and I’d rather just make risotto. But give me a blend of brown and wild rice? Now I’m interested. Add some fancy rice for variety: red rice, black Japonica, sweet rice? You have my full attention. Then, stir in some dried fruit, nuts, and a little green onion, and you have a side dish that’s worth second helpings. A pressure cooker is my secret weapon for brown rice. Brown rice takes forever on the stovetop; in my pressure cooker, It is done in about 40 minutes, end to end. Looking for a holiday-worthy side dish that is easy enough to use on a weeknight? This is the pilaf to make. Video: Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf (1:48) Video: Pressure Cooker Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds [YouTube.com] What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below. Related Posts Pressure Cooker …