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Happy New Year 2019

January 1, 2019 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2019. Sorry for the slow posting over the last week or so; first I was spending time with my family, then I got a nasty ear infection that knocked me down for a few days.

Here's a look back at some of my most popular posts from 2018, top 5 list style:

Baby potatoes in a steamer basket in an Instant Pot — Pic from Pressure Cooker Baby Potatoes with Butter and Parsley

Top 5 new recipes for 2018

Pressure Cooker Asian Zing Chicken Wings (From Frozen)
Pressure Cooker Baby Potatoes with Butter and Parsley
Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks, St. Louis BBQ Style
Pressure Cooker Oreo Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Beef Back Ribs Texas BBQ Style

Water poised over an Instant Pot cooker base without the liner — Pic from "What if I Dump Liquid Into My Instant Pot Without the Pot Liner?"

Top 5 Holiday Recipes in 2018

New Year's Day: Pressure Cooker Black-Eyed Peas
Easter: Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
Father's Day: Grilled Tomahawk Steak - Long Bone Ribeye - Reverse Seared
Thanksgiving: Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Spice Rub
Christmas: Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast

And, that's it. Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to 2019. Let's make it a good one!

What do you think?

Questions? Other favorite recipes from 2018? Leave them in the comments section below.

My Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipe List

Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner via email and share this post with your friends. Want to contribute directly? Donate to my Tip Jar, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you.

Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake

December 18, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 16 Comments

Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. A lighter tasting cheesecake with a mix of ricotta and cream cheese.

A slice of Italian ricotta cheesecake — Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake

Reader Ray needs an Instant Pot Italian Ricotta Cheesecake recipe. I can't let him down, can I? Of course not!

[feast_advanced_jump_to]

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.

Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Instant Pot Carrot Cake
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Former Fagor America employees create Zavor

December 14, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 10 Comments

Zavor Lux Edge at my local Bed Bath and Beyond

ZAVOR is the inspired creation of the team behind Fagor America. After closing its doors, the minds behind the top pressure cooker brand in the country put all their efforts into continuing the product line on their own terms, enter ZAVOR.
ZavorAmerica.com

I was worried we were losing the Fagor line of pressure cookers. Great news! I was wrong! Zavor has risen from the ashes of Fagor America.

UPDATE 2020-03-10: The original version of this post wasn't clear about the fact that Zavor America is a different company that isn't affiliated with Fagor in any way, other than a few employees that used to work at Fagor. At Zavor America's request, I have changed this post to make it clear. Here is a statement from Zavor:

Fagor America and Zavor America are 2 different legal entities and Zavor has no affiliation with Fagor. The only ties between the two are a few staff members that are former Fagor employees, and therefore Zavor America has no responsibility to cover or service Fagor products.

We understand some products look similar, but they are not the same as some of them are manufactured in different factories from the ones Fagor used and therefore do not share compatible components.
Zavor

The Fagor Duo was long a favorite cooker of mine. Zavor has released a similar model, the Zavor Duo (along with the Zavor Elite, a Macy's exclusive, and the Versa, a Bed Bath and Beyond exclusive..)

Even better is Zavor's line of electric pressure cookers, the Zavor Lux, Lux Edge, and Lux LCD, all in 4-, 6-, and 8-quart sizes. They're my favorite "Non Instant Pot" electric pressure cookers, and I'm glad they're still around to keep Instant Pot on their toes.

Zavor fixed a couple of my complaints about Fagor's old pressure cookers. They changed the gasket holder on the 8-quart lids, and they added a "Mute" feature to stop the beeping that made me crazy with the old Fagor. (Hold down both the + and - buttons to mute the beeping until the cooker is unplugged.) Wait a minute - are they actually reading my posts? No, that can't be...ahem.

Welcome, Zavor!

Website: ZavorAmerica.com

Zavor Lux Edge 8-Quart Multi-Cooker [Amazon.com]

Zavor Duo 8-Quart Pressure Cooker [Amazon.com]

Review: Fagor LUX 8 Quart vs Instant Pot IP-DUO80 - DadCooksDinner
Fagor America is Closing - DadCooksDinner
Things I Love: Pressure Cooker - DadCooksDinner
My Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes Index (Also works with Fagor cookers…)

12 Days of Christmas Gifts for the Instant Pot (2018)

December 4, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

Looking for gift ideas for the Instant Pot fanatic in your life? Want to support DadCooksDinner while you're at it? Have I got some ideas for you…

FCC disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate. Buying something from Amazon through one of the links on this page supports DadCooksDinner at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

DadCooksDinner is a labor of love. I spent 800+ hours in 2018 working on it. Over the years, the blog has gone from making no money to making…some money. Not enough to quit the day job, but enough to make filing taxes a mess. (A food blog is not the way to get a dragons-lair worthy pile of gold.)

Enough blog-economics talk. On to the gifts!

Basic Kitchen Tools

These are the reach-for-them-every-time tools I use with my Instant Pot. And, looking at my list…I have to call out that I'm not an Oxo affiliate, even though the list is very Oxo-heavy. I love the ideas their design team comes up with, and they are my first choice when I'm looking for a new tool. OK, back to the list:

Tongs are my hands in the kitchen. I don't know what I'd do without them. These tongs from Oxo are short enough for me to get into the pot and dig around:
Oxo Good-Grips 9-inch Tongs

A lot of my recipes include the instruction "scrape the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits". Mixing the browned bits into the stew adds flavor; leaving the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot lets them burn. Here's the flat-edged wooden spoon - excuxse me, "sauté paddle", that I use:
Oxo Good Grips Sauté Paddle

Pressure cooking is best with hard-working cuts of meat, from the shoulder, belly, and legs. Those cuts stand up to the high heat of pressure cooking, in part because they have fat to keep the meat moist. Don't want all that fat in your final dish? Let the pot liquid sit in a fat separator for a few minutes, and the fat rises to the surface. I pour the delicious drippings out from under the layer of fat, and I'm ready to serve.
Oxo 4-Cup Fat Separator

The Instant Pot is great for soups, stews, and braising, but it is also a fantastic pressure steamer. (Try it for hard-boiled eggs!) The rack that comes with the Instant Pot is OK for steaming, but a collapsible stainless-steel steaming basket is much better. I love this one with its easy-to-grab telescoping handle.
Oxo Stainless Steel Steaming Basket

Official Instant Pot Accessories

Want to add a few official accessories to make your Instant Pot more useful? These are the ones I reach for the most.

The Instant Pot Silicone Pinch Mitts pushed most of the potholders out of my kitchen cabinets. I reach for these cute mitts every time:
Instant Pot Silicone Pinch Mitts

(And it's an excuse to re-publish my puppeteering "skills" GIF:)

I keep a pair of spare inner pots around, in case I'm slow to do the dishes. (I'm always slow to do the dishes)I prefer the stainless steel liner for day-to-day use, but if I'm making something sticky like macaroni and cheese, I'm glad to know i have the nonstick version lying around
Instant Pot Stainless Inner Pot
Instant Pot Nonstick Inner Pot

Last but not least, when I don't want to cook under pressure, I reach for my non-pressure lid. It's also good for storing things in the inner pot.
Instant Pot Tempered Glass Lid

Cheesecake Set

I was shocked, shocked to find out that Instant Pots make great cheesecakes. You need a baking To make an Instant Pot Cheesecake Recipe, you need a 7-inch springform pan (to fit in the pot), and a way to lift it in and out without dumping the batter. Here are my current favorites:

Nordic Ware 7-inch Springform Pan

Oxo Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling

Just For Fun

Awww! So cute! I couldn't pass up the Nessie Nesting Ladles:
The Nessie Family Nesting Ladles

For the record: this next one is a Bad Idea. Messing with the pressure release valve on a pressure cooker is not recommended. Don't do this! I would never suggest you do this!
And yet…steam coming out of his ears? Ha!
Steam Mates Steam Diverter (only fits Duo models)

Dad Cooks Dinner Merch

Have a Dad in your life who loves to cook? Want to wear the official DadCooksDinner T-Shirt? Available in color logo and solid white logo versions, in both Mens and Womens sizes:
DadCooksDinner White Logo T-Shirt

DadCooksDinner Color Logo T-Shirt

Thanks again for supporting DadCooksDinner, and have a happy holiday season, however you celebrate it!

Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Southwestern Soup

November 27, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Southwestern Soup. Save the bones, and make this soup with hominy, beans, and chili powder.

Did I remind you to save your Thanksgiving turkey carcass? No? Dang it, I slipped up this year. I hope you did save the bones, though, because here's what to do with it. (I've got a spare carcass in my new freezer, so I can make another batch of soup in a month or so.)

This is my day after Thanksgiving sorta-posole, a Southwestern style soup inspired by the cans of hominy in my pantry. Hey, Thanksgiving was busy, and I wanted an easy after-the-bird soup this year. While I was in the pantry, I grabbed a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes and a can of black beans and went to work.

An aqua colored bowl full southwestern turkey soup, topped with shredded cabbage and cheese, with bowls of tortillas, limes, and shredded cabbage in the background, with the text Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup | DadCooksDinner underneath — Instant Pot Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup

You have to be willing to get rough with the turkey carcass to fit it in a 6-quart pressure cooker; I break the backbone away from the breast to get it to fit. If you have an 8-quart cooker, you can just drop it in there.

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The key to this soup is the add-ins; I crumble tortilla chips into the bottom of the bowl, ladle in the soup, and top with shredded cabbage and cheese. It's a great way to disguise turkey leftovers. The Southwestern theme takes the flavor profile away from the stuffing and gravy of Thanksgiving dinner. Or, at least my kids weren't complaining about "Turkey Again?"

🥫Ingredients

Carcass from a roasted turkey, plus a little leftover meat
Onion
Celery
Carrot
Bay leaf
Fine sea salt
Vegetable oil
Garlic
Chili Powder
Diced Tomatoes with Green peppers
Hominy
Black beans
Dried thyme
Tortilla Chips
Shredded cheese
Sliced Jalapeños

See recipe card for quantities.

🥘 Substitutions

Turkey Carcass: If you don't have a leftover turkey carcass from Thanksgiving, you can make the broth with a few pounds of turkey backs or turkey wings. Or, substitute 2 roast chicken carcasses - or a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

If you don't have turkey broth or a carcass, you can substitute homemade chicken broth. If you're desperate, you can use store-bought low sodium chicken broth - but skip the 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt with the broth, because store-bought broth is salty enough.

Onion, Celery, Carrot (for the broth): I like a mix of all three vegetables in my broth. The only thing that is essential is the onion, to add a hint of sweetness, but the celery and carrot give the broth more flavor, if you have them. You can substitute a few unpeeled cloves of garlic for the onion, or add them if you like extra-garlicky broth.

Bay leaf: You can skip it if you don't have it. I like the hint of herbal flavor it adds to the broth, but it's not essential.

Diced tomatoes with green peppers, AKA Ro*Tel tomatoes, are a spicy mix of diced tomatoes and green chilies. If you can't find them mixed, get a 14- to 16-ounce can of diced tomatoes and a 4-ounce can of diced green chilies.

If you want to cut the heat, skip the chili powder, and replace the diced tomatoes and chilies with plain diced tomatoes.

Hominy and black beans - I use canned in the ingredients list, but pressure cooking them from dried is fantastic. The problem is, that's a lot of extra steps. So, I make batches of make-ahead hominy and/or make-ahead beans, and keep them in my freezer for recipes like this one. Because homemade beans and hominy are much better than canned.

If you don't have leftover turkey, you can substitute shredded cooked chicken, or just skip it. That said, if all you have is the carcass, you'll be surprised how much turkey you can pull that's clinging to the meat. (That's where I usually get my 2 cups of shredded turkey, because the rest of the leftover turkey is being used up for sandwiches.)

Add-ins, garnishes, and accompaniments - As you can see in the ingredients list, I like tortilla chips, shredded cheese, shredded cabbage, and sliced jalapeños - but use whatever you want. Hot sauce is good, diced onion is great, and sour cream is also a favorite in my house. Think of what you'd use as taco toppings, and add them in to the soup.

🛠 Equipment

This recipe fits best in an 8-quart pressure cooker, so there. Is enough room to fit the carcass without having to break it down too much. That said, it can fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker, but you will have to break the carcass into smaller pieces to get it to fit.

📏Scaling

This recipe is too big to double in a pressure cooker - break out the second Instant Pot if you have two carcasses. You can halve the recipe easily…on the soup side. Halving the broth is possible, if by some chance you only have half a turkey carcass, but to get it to fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker you are going to have to break the carcass down into some pretty small pieces. I'd just cook the full batch of broth, freeze the broth, and make the soup in smaller batches.

💡Tips and Tricks

Breaking down the turkey carcass is the key to this recipe. I use kitchen shears and brute force. And an 8-quart pressure cooker comes in handy, because it will fit the whole turkey ribcage and keel bone without needing much work. (I once broke a cheap pair of kitchen scissors trying to cut through turkey bones - they're a lot stronger than chicken bones.)
Defat the broth: Turkey is already pretty low-fat, but if you want to completely defat the broth, store the pot of strained broth in the refrigerator overnight. (In Northeastern Ohio in November, I leave the broth out overnight - most years it is cold enough.) The fat will rise to the top and solidify into a fat cap. Lift the fat cap off of the broth and discard, and voila - defatted broth.
Straining the broth: Straining the broth is easy if you have a fine mesh strainer and a second Instant Pot inner cooking pot. Any other 6-quart or larger pot will do, but the spare inner pot is my go-to choice.

☃️ Storage

This recipe makes extra broth on purpose - there is usually enough for a second batch of soup. I freeze any broth I'm not going to use immediately in 2-cup and 4-cup containers, usually canning jars. It will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

The broth can be made ahead before making the soup - refrigerate or freeze as I explain in the previous paragraph - and then start the recipe with the "rinse the lentils" step when you are ready.

The soup stores beautifully - refrigerate in 2-cup containers for a couple of days, or freeze for up to six months.

Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup
Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Vegetable Turkey Soup (From the Carcass)
Pressure Cooker Turkey Soup with Rice
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes

Amazon Black Friday 2018 Sale: Instant Pot Duos

November 23, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

First Look at the 8 Quart Instant Pot IP-DUO80 — 6 Quart IP Duo on the left, 8 Quart IP Duo on the right

FCC Notice: I am an Amazon affiliate. Any purchases through my Amazon links give me a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting DadCooksDinner by buying through my Amazon links, especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

---

It's a Duo sale! In the USA, the big sale is on the big Instant Pot Duo 8 Quart for only $69.99, down from $139.95 (That's half off - the best price I've ever seen on an 8 quart cooker!). If the 8 quart is too big for you, there's also a sale on the Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart, at $59.49, down from $99.95.

Which one should you get? I have thoughts:

Also, my favorite Instant Pot, the Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart Plus is on sale for $87.95, down from $129.95. That's a good price for the step-up model, but not quite the barn burner deal that you get for the Duo.

If you want a pressure cooker, don't dawdle - in the past, Amazon has sold out quickly.

Instant Pot Duo 8 Quart [Amazon.com]

Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart [Amazon.com]

Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Quart [Amazon.com]

If you're a Canadian reader, there are also Black Friday deals on the ~~Instant Pot Duo 8 Quart~~ ~~and~~ Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart. [UPDATE: 8 quart already sold out in Canada!]

Instant Pot Duo 8 Quart [Amazon.ca]

Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart [Amazon.ca]

As always, any Amazon purchases through my Amazon links support DadCooksDinner - not just the Instant Pots. Thank you!

Country-specific Amazon links, if you want to help out DadCooksDinner:

Amazon.com (USA)

Amazon.ca (Canada)

Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)

Giving Thanks 2018

November 22, 2018 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Charlie Brown: I can't cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal, and maybe toast.
Linus: That's right, I've seen you make toast.
[Charles M. Schultz, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving]

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Thanksgiving Timeline 2018

November 20, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 6 Comments

Planning is everything, the plan is nothing.
Dwight Eisenhower

[UPDATE 2018-11-20]: I wrote the "Thanksgiving Countdown" plan, below, over the last couple of days. This morning I checked on the frozen turkeys thawing in my basement fridge, and found out...the fridge died. Everything in the freezer was room temperature, and my refrigerator thermometer says it's 50°F in there. My no-longer-frozen birds are now in the trash, and I have to brave the last-minute Thanksgiving rush at my grocery store to replace them. (Not to mention the freezer full of now-room-temperature food that has to go.) Worse, this basement fridge is my staging area, where I dry brine the turkeys and stash the make-ahead ingredients. Looks like I'm going with the "back porch freezer" approach: a bunch of coolers and a high temperature of 36°F between now and Thanksgiving. Sigh.

Back to what my plan was...before it fell apart.

It's the Final Countdown!

Europe, 1986

Thanksgiving is coming! Are you ready?

Thanksgiving is not about recipes; it's about schedules. I can have the best turkey, gravy, and stuffing, but without a plan, I have nothing. Cooking for a large crowd - I'm serving 17 this year - is not a cooking challenge. It's a logistical challenge.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Here's my Thanksgiving game plan:

Shopping Saturday: Shopping - stock up on everything I need. (Lord help you if you try to go shopping on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.) Put the frozen turkey in the bottom level of the fridge to start thawing. I cook two 12-pound turkeys - smaller turkeys are easier to cook - and I can't resist the doorbuster sale at my local grocery store: "Only $0.69 a pound? SUCH A DEAL!" A frozen turkey thaws at about 3 hours per pound, so my 12-pounder will be ready on Tuesday, just in time for dry brining.

Stock Sunday: Make a batch of chicken broth for the gravy and stuffing; freeze in 2-cup containers. Homemade broth makes a huge difference, particularly for the gravy. And, it's easy with an Instant Pot and a package of frozen chicken backs from the grocery store.

Dessert Monday: Cook the pies and cheesecakes; store in the refrigerator for T-Day. Mental note: Threaten the kids with a fate worse than death if they touch the dessert before Thanksgiving. (Worse than death? Taking away their cellphones. Muahahahah.)

Dry Brine Tuesday: Pick up the fresh turkey. To counteract the cheap grocery store turkey, I'll usually make this one a Natural turkey from my local health food market. The USDA guideline: turkey is safe for up to 2 days in a home refrigerator, so this is the earliest I can get it. (And conveniently, this is when my frozen turkey should be done thawing.) Rub the turkeys with a dry brine, set on racks over roasting pans, cover with plastic wrap, and stash in the bottom of the refrigerator.

Prep Wednesday: Make the gravy, whisking up a roux and using the stock from Sunday. Sauté all the ingredients for the stuffing. Store everything in snap-lock containers in the refrigerator. Eat a light supper.

The Big Day

My goal is serving at 4 PM, between the football games, because it's easier to pry certain uncles away from the TV set if the game isn't on.

10:00 AM: Threaten the kids with a fate worse than death (cellphones, gone!) if they don't clean their rooms. Set up Mario Kart for the cousins racing series.

11:00 AM: Turkeys out of the refrigerator to take the chill off. Put zip-top bags full of ice on the turkey breasts to even out the cooking. (See Step 2, here)

11:30 AM: Start the charcoal grill

11:45 AM: Start the gas grill

High Noon: Put the turkeys on the grills. I use my grills as outdoor ovens, leaving the oven itself for side dishes. Note: My gas grill turkey always runs fast, and my charcoal grill turkey always runs slow, so I put the charcoal grill turkey first.

12:15: Relax for a little bit with the football game. (The Lions are behind already? I was only out there for 15 minutes!)

1:00 PM: Peel and dice the potatoes, leave covered in water. (Grab any nearby kids and hand them potato peelers - it makes the process go quicker.) Toss the stuffing ingredients, pour into the serving pan, cover with foil, and stash in the refrigerator for later.

2:00 PM: Guests start arriving. Say hello to everyone and enjoy a tasty beverage.

2:30 PM: Stuffing into the oven; change the water for the potatoes and put them over high heat on the stove. Time to start checking the turkeys; I want 160°F in the deepest part of the breast, measured with an instant-read thermometer. As I said before, one turkey is always running ahead, and one is running behind; this is where I figure out which is which. And, it gives the anyone who's interested an excuse to stand around the grill with a tasty beverage.

3:00 PM: One hour to go, and things start to move quickly. The turkeys should be done. (Ha!) Bring them in the house, set them on cutting boards, and cover with foil for a little rest. Drain the mashed potatoes and dragoon someone into mashing them. (There's always someone hanging around, asking if you need help - hand them the masher.)

3:15 PM: Reheat the gravy on a back burner set to low. Sort out all the volunteer side dishes - who needs a burner, who needs the stove, who forgot to bring their spatula, and get them organized. (This is where my Instant Pots stand in for stove burners - I use the Sauté or Keep Warm modes as needed.)

3:30 PM: Carving time! Uncover the turkeys and start slicing. Take the stuffing out of the oven and pop the dinner rolls in for a minute.

3:45 PM: Suppertime! Herd everyone towards the table - the kids' table is over that way - and then serve yourself another (well earned) tasty beverage. Then load up your plate - I want mashed potatoes and stuffing, doused with gravy, and a drumstick that I can wave around. Enjoy!

No plan survives contact with the enemy.
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

We have met the enemy, and he is us.
Walt Kelly

The thing about a plan is…nothing ever goes according to plan. You'll note that my "Dinner is at 4" schedule ends at 3:45…but I'm wildly optimistic. The turkey is always running late, or the gravy is scorched, Aunt Edna will forget to reheat the green bean casserole. That's OK. I got enough stuff ahead of time that it will all work out. Even if I have to say, (like I usually do): "The turkey's running late - looks like we'll eat at 5 PM. Have some more wine."

Finally, remember what you're really giving thanks for. Thanksgiving is about the people, the chance to celebrate with friends and family. The point of the plan is to clear mental space, to get enough out of my head so I can be there with my family and enjoy the holiday. No one will remember the minor disasters. (There will always be minor disasters.) If I don't make a big deal out of it, no one will even notice. And, if there's a major disaster? At least it will be a story that lives in family history: "Remember when we found Fido on the table eating all the pumpkin pies?"

Happy Thanksgiving!

PS: Don't forget to save the Turkey carcass for Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup...

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Thanksgiving Q&A 2017 - DadCooksDinner
Thanksgiving Q&A 2016 - DadCooksDinner
Thanksgiving Q&A 2015 - DadCooksDinner

The Instant Pot Max is Here

November 15, 2018 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Look what was waiting on the front step when I got home - my Instant Pot Max!

They're in stock at Amazon with immediate shipping. (Much to my surprise. I didn't know it was coming until I opened the box; I missed Amazon's "we're shipping" email on Sunday.)

From my couple of minutes with the Max: It doesn't have the twitchy knob that the Ultra (hooray!). It feels substantial, with heavier weight and higher build quality. And...that's all I've got in the few minutes I've played with it.

More to come once I've had time to put it through its paces, but for now...my new toy is here. Whee!

Instant Pot Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce

November 13, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

Marcella Hazan's three-ingredient tomato sauce is famous, and rightfully so. Butter, onion, and canned whole tomatoes make a simple, yet fantastic sauce. Let's try it in a pressure cooker with Instant Pot Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce.

The only tricky part of this recipe was getting the timing down. 30 minutes under pressure is the Goldilocks zone: a balance of breaking down the tomatoes into a sauce without overcooking and losing the bright, tomato flavor.

Marcella recommends Italian San Marzano DOP tomatoes, which are fantastic…and expensive. I get good results with American brands of canned plum tomatoes, which are less than half the price of San Marzano tomatoes. (I usually go with American canned tomatoes.) The big difference between Italian and American canned tomatoes was the amount of salt in the can. Italian tomatoes don't have salt; they need some, or the sauce comes out tasting a little flat.

Looking for a simple tomato sauce that replaces hours of simmering with 30 minutes of pressure? Try this one out. Thanks, Marcella!

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Italian Meat Sauce
Pressure Cooker Umbrian Lentils and Sausage
Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
Instant Pot Short Rib Ragu
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes

Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake

November 6, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 5 Comments

Caramel Apple Cheesecake on a wood table, in front of a jar of caramel topping and a bowl of apples with the text Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake - DadCooksDinner — Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake

"Caramel Apple Cheesecake"

That's it!, I was googling for a Fall cheesecake idea; the moment I saw the name, my mind immediately jumped to images of apple picking at nearby orchards, and I knew what I was going to make. Instant Pot Caramel Apple Cheesecake, here we come.

Making my own caramel topping is fun, but I took the easy way out this time and bought it at the store. (Look for it in the ice cream toppings aisle.) The only downside to store-bought topping? No extra caramel candies lying around for me to munch on. My sweet tooth wasn't happy…but my calorie counting app was.

Springform pan with graham cracker crust and apple topping

That is, except for the cheesecake itself. Hey, I deserve a treat!

This is my standard cheesecake technique - and yes, I don't cover my cheesecake with foil. (I always get a question about that in the comments, from people who have read my New York Cheesecake recipe.) After pressure cooking, I pat the cheesecake gently with the edge of a paper towel to soak up any condensation. There usually isn't much, and the cheesecake cooks so much more evenly without the foil cover.

Other than that, there are only two other tricks to pressure cooker cheesecake. The first is the pan - you need a 6- to 7-inch springform pan to fit in the pot. The second is gently lowering the cheesecake into the pot. The silicone baking sling I shared last week makes it easy, but I made my own slings with aluminum foil for many years, so I included instructions on how to do that in the recipe.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Salted Caramel Cheesecake
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Things I Love: Oxo Pressure Cooker Baking Sling

November 1, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

FCC Notice: This is not a sponsored post; I bought the Oxo baking sling with my own money. I am an Amazon affiliate and get a small commission on any Amazon purchases you make through my Amazon links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Oxo's silicone Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling is an excellent add-on for my Instant Pot. It's taken the place of Instant Pot's Silicone Steam Rack in my cabinet, which itself was my favorite replacement for the wire rack that comes with the Instant Pot. (It's silicone racks all the way down.)

Oxo's sling is sturdy and substantial, with the hex pattern in the base making a solid rack out of flexible silicone. It's also an ideal fit in the 6 quart Instant Pot, and wide enough to comfortably hold my favorite Nordic Ware springform pan for Instant Pot Cheesecake. And, once again, Oxo design comes through with an awesome touch: the handles make themselves into a solid sling, using a tab on one handle and a hole in the other. Fold the handles over, press them together, and voila - the handles stick together, making an easy-to-lift sling.

If you use the rack in your Instant Pot, you should take a serious look at this rack as a replacement. It's much nicer than the one that comes with the pot. And, if you enjoy Instant Pot Cheesecakes, you need this Oxo baking sling - it's so much better than making aluminum foil slings to lift the cheesecake in and out of the pot.

Link: Oxo Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling [Amazon.com]

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Key Lime Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake
My Pressure Cooker Recipes Index

Instant Pot Goulash

October 23, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 25 Comments

Instant Pot Goulash. Hearty Hungarian beef and paprika stew, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.

A bowl of beef goulash with egg noodles and paprika in the background — Instant Pot Goulash

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Beef Goulash is a classic recipe from Hungary, chunks of meat stewed with paprika and vegetables, usually served over noodles or with dumplings. An Instant Pot Goulash recipe is a natural, replacing the long stewing time with pressure. Here is my take on Certified Angus Beef's Goulash Recipe: Hungarian Goulash

Thank you to my friends at Certified Angus Beef® Brand for sponsoring DadCooksDinner. Please check them out at hashtags #BestAngusBeef and #SteakHolder for more beef recipes, or join them at the Certified Angus Beef Kitchen Community on Facebook.

One thing is still bugging me. We have a lot of great Eastern European restaurants here in Northeastern Ohio, and I've been eating Goulash and Paprikash for years. But I have a question.

What's the difference between Goulash and Paprikash?

Both goulash and paprikash are Hungarian dishes, meat stewed with paprika and served with noodles or dumplings. The only consistent difference I could find is that paprikash has sour cream stirred late in the cooking process, and goulash doesn't. (The sour cream is served as a topping at the table with a goulash.) Other than that, the recipes were all over the place. A goulash usually has beef cubes, and a paprikash usually has pieces of chicken…except when they don't. If anyone is of Hungarian descent and knows the difference, please let me know in the comments.
Whatever it's called, goulash is the definition of old-world comfort food and is easy to make in a pressure cooker. The Instant Pot recipe makes short work of the total cooking time, replacing hours of simmering with minutes under pressure.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
Butter
Beef Bottom Round Roast
Fine Sea Salt
Onions
Paprika
Caraway Seeds
Beef Broth (Homemade or Low-Sodium Store Bought)
Petite Diced Tomatoes
Water
Cornstarch

How to Make Instant Pot Goulash

Season and sear the beef: Heat the vegetable oil and butter in an Instant Pot over medium heat (Sauté mode set to medium in an Instant Pot) until the butter stops foaming. Sprinkle the beef cubes with 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Sear the beef in 3 batches, and only sear each batch on one side. (Don't crowd the pot, or the beef will steam). Move each batch to a bowl after it is done searing.
Sauté the onions: Add the onions to the pot and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 8 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of beef.
Everything in the pot: Stir in the beef and any juices in the bowl. Sprinkle the paprika and caraway into the pot and stir to coat the beef. Stir the beef broth and tomatoes into the pot.
Pressure cook for 15 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. ("Manual" or "Pressure Cook" or "Pressure Cook - Custom" mode in an Instant Pot), Let the pressure come down naturally for at least 15 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.)
Thicken, season, and serve: Whisk the water and cornstarch together to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the stew. Stir in salt and pepper: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Also, add ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Serve over egg noodles with a spoonful of sour cream on top. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Goulash is a simple recipe: beef, onions, paprika, and tomatoes. Take the time to brown the meat and sauté the onions, because they add complexity to the dish.
The caraway seeds are traditional but also optional. If you don't have them, skip them.
Store-bought beef broth can be very salty; that's why I have two different salt amounts at the end of the recipe. Of course, Homemade Beef Broth is best, but Homemade Chicken Broth is also good, and store-bought broth comes after that. (Or you can use water, but the broth adds body to the stew liquid.)
The cornstarch slurry makes up for the thin sauce we get from pressure cooking. There's no evaporation, so the sauce doesn't thicken as part of the cooking process. It is also optional; skip it if you don't mind a thin sauce.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

More Instant Pot Recipes

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Provencal (Beef en Daube)
Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew with Certified Angus Beef Bottom Round
Pressure Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup - DadCooksDinner
Instant Pot Sausage Ragu
My complete Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Recipes list

Road Trip: Brand The Barn with Certified Angus Beef

October 18, 2018 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Road Trip! I was invited to the Brand The Barn event by my friends at Certified Angus Beef® Brand. For their 40th anniversary, they've been painting barns across the country. The last one was at Atterholt Farms, just down the road from me in Loudonville, Ohio. It sounded like a fun event...and a great lunch from Chefs Michael Ollier and Gavin Pinto - how could I pass it up?

Just to make you drool a little...they had beef two ways for lunch. First was Beef, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches. Ribeye roast, slow-smoked to 110°F, chilled, thin-sliced, then seared on a flattop over an open fire. The beef was piled on a bun with tomato chutney and arugula.

Even better were boneless beef short ribs, smoked, then cooked sous vide for 36 hours until tender. Then they were sprinkled with rub, then grilled over a wood fire until crusty on the outside. Oh, my.

Thanks again to my friends at Certified Angus Beef for inviting me down to Loudonville - it was a fun time!

This is not a paid post for Certified Angus Beef® Brand, but they do sponsor posts on DadCooksDinner.

Instant Pot Risotto Milanese (Risotto alla Milanese)

October 16, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 10 Comments

Instant Pot Risotto Milanese. The classic: a bright yellow Milanese risotto, seasoned with butter, cheese, and saffron, the world's most expensive spice.

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.

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

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:

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The legend of Risotto alla Milanese

In the 1600s, Mastro Valerio of Flanders led a team of workmen, creating stained glass windows for the cathedral of Milan. Valerio nicknamed one of his workers "Saffron" because he added a pinch of saffron to the pigments used to color the stained glass. After years of this nickname, Saffron got even. At Valerio's daughter's wedding, he convinced the chef to add a little saffron to the risotto. The wedding party thought the mound of bright yellow risotto was a joke - and they were right. But they tried it anyhow, and rice was a hit. The idea spread, and risotto "alla Milanese" was born.

Is this legend true? Probably not - saffron has been used in cooking throughout Eurasia for centuries; nearby Spain uses it in paella, and Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise demands it. But it's such a great story. I had to share.

Now, on to cooking the risotto. Of course I'm using my Instant Pot - pressure cooker risotto was one of the first "killer recipes" I learned when I got my stovetop PC years ago. No carefully stirring in ladles of broth - cooking under pressure releases the starch in the rice, thickening up the dish nicely. And quickly, of course - it's done with only five minutes under pressure. (For more pressure cooker risotto, see my Instant Pot Shrimp Risotto recipe, Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto, or Instant Pot Risotto with Pork and Cinnamon.)

🥫Ingredients

Chicken Broth
Saffron
Butter
Onion
Arborio rice
Pecorino Romano

See recipe card for quantities.

🥘 Substitutions

You can skip the saffron. It is eye-wateringly expensive. It won't be authentic Risotto alla Milanese without saffron, but it will still be a good, simple risotto.

Arborio rice is my default for risottos, because it is the easiest one to find at my local grocery stores. I prefer Carnaroli rice for pressure cooker risotto, when I can find it. It stands up to cooking a little better than Arborio or Vialone Nano, and I don't mind having a little extra cushion when I'm pressure cooking.

If you use store-bought broth, watch out for "regular" chicken broth - it's loaded with salt. If you can't find low-sodium chicken broth, use water.

But, please, try homemade chicken broth. If you have an Instant Pot, you will love it.

Grated pecorino Romano is more traditional in this recipe, and tends to be cheaper than grated Parmesan, so that's what I use. But, if you have grated Parmesan, it will work too.

This recipe can be vegetarian if you are OK with butter and cheese; use vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth. (And, again, if you're using store-bought broth, try to find low sodium broth.)

🛠 Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker. Pressure Cooker risotto converts a lot of people to pressure cooking - no tedious stirring needed, just a few minutes under pressure.

📏Scaling

This recipe doubles easily in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker.

💡Tips and Tricks

Pressure cooking is the key to easy risotto. No need to stir for 30 minutes, carefully ladling broth into the pot. I can lock the lid on my Instant Pot, set it to cook for 5 minutes, and have a fantastic risotto without all the extra work.
Homemade broth is another key to this recipe. I know, I know, it's extra work. But it is SO GOOD. Make it ahead, freeze it in 2-cup containers, and you'll always be ready to make a fantastic risotto or chicken soup.

☃️ Storage

According to the USDA, Leftover risotto is good for up to three days in the refrigerator, or three months in the freezer, as long as it is refrigerated (or frozen) within an hour of cooking. (I portion out my rice in 2-cup containers before I put it in the fridge or freezer.) Also, be sure to reheat the rice all the way through - to be precise, an instant read thermometer should read 165°F in the middle of the rice.

Pressure Cooker Asparagus Risotto - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Risotto with Edamame - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco) - DadCooksDinner
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Risotto
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

DadCooksDinner T-Shirts are Back

October 11, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

The DadCooksDinner color logo t-shirt in heather gray

Back by popular demand: DadCooksDinner logo t-shirts!

…um, for some definition of popular demand. My brother asked if he could buy one after last year's limited run ended - that counts as popular demand, right?

(OK, OK, I confess. They're back because I need a new t-shirt. My old one is wearing out.)

Too much info about T-Shirts…

This section is inside blogging info - or should I say, inside t-shirt printing info. Skip ahead to find out about the shirts if you want.

Still reading? Here we go. There are a lot of different services that will print and ship T-Shirts for you; upload your artwork and they do the rest. As a part-time blogger, I don't have the bandwidth to print, stock, and ship t-shirt orders, so a print and ship service was an obvious choice.

Last year, I picked Teespring because they print the shirts for a favorite podcast of mine. Yes, that was the only research I did - "Hey, who printed this shirt I wear all the time?" Teespring only sells shirts through limited time sales - when the time expires, they print the number of shirts ordered during the campaign. And, the campaign wasn't a roaring success. I bought most of the t-shirts that I sold. (Not that there's anything wrong with that; I wanted those shirts.)

This year, I wanted a t-shirt I could keep on sale. (Re-opening campaigns every few months is more trouble than it it is worth.) I did a little more research into t-shirt printing this time around, and found Merch by Amazon. A couple of different "how to print and sell t-shirts" sites recommended them as a good choice. Now, I'm already an Amazon affiliate. My paper cookbooks are printed by CreateSpace, and most of my e-books sales are the Kindle editions. Adding another arm of Amazon to make my t-shirts was an easy choice. I can keep the shirts in stock, and if you're an Amazon Prime junkie like me you even get free shipping.

I was torn with the design - I love the color logo, and wanted it on a dark gray shirt. But I also wanted a white logo on a black shirt. Turns out, I can do both, in colors ranging from…Black to Navy to Gray. (I wasn't real creative on the colors. If anybody's itching for an Orange or Baby Blue shirt, let me know.)

The shirts

The shirts are available in Men's sizes from Small to 3XL, and Women's sizes from Small to XL.

The DadCooksDinner Color Logo Shirt:

Link: DadCooksDinner Color Logo Shirt [Amazon.com]

And, the DadCooksDinner B&W Logo Shirt:

Link: DadCooksDinner B&W Logo Shirt [Amazon.com]

So, buy a shirt, and show your support for DadCooksDinner. Thank you!

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Instant Pot Steak Chili

October 9, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 44 Comments

Instant Pot Steak Chili. Chili with bite-sized cubes of chuck, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.

When I make Chili, I go big or go ground. My Texas Red Chili uses big chunks of beef - 1½-inch to 2-inch cubes. Or, I use ground beef for wimpy weeknight chili with beans.¹. This Instant Pot Steak chili splits the difference, with small cubes of beef.

A bowl of steak chili sprinkled with shredded cheese and green onions — Instant Pot Steak Chili

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I got the idea from Chef Michael Ollier when I visited Certified Angus Beef® Brand to make chili live on their Facebook channel. Much to my surprise, Chef Michael uses small, ½-inch cubes of beef in his Game Day Steak Chili. I filed the idea away for later…and promptly forgot about it.

I remembered it when I was planning my annual work ChiliFest potluck. It has a few advantages over my real-deal Texas Red chili. The smaller chunks of beef cook quickly under pressure, and the shorter cooking time lets me add cans of beans without turning the beans to mush. (Yes, I add beans to this chili. If this offends you, don't go any further - check out the Texas Red Chili recipe mentioned above. I warned you. There are Beans ahead.)

All that said, this is my standard Instant Pot chili technique. It will look very familiar if you've made any of my other chili recipes, like my Instant Pot Ground Beef and Bean Chili, Instant Pot White Turkey Chili Recipe, or my Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Chili.

Ingredients

Beef chuck roast
Fine sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Vegetable oil
Onion
Garlic
Jalapeño peppers
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Dried oregano
Brown sugar
Beef broth
Canned black beans
Canned chopped green chiles
Canned petite diced tomatoes

See the recipe card for details

How to make Instant Pot Steak Chili

Use this section for process shots, alternating between the step and image showing the step. Users don't like seeing process shots cluttering up the recipe card, so include your process shots here.

Beef cubes searing in an Instant Pot — Sear the beef

Sear the beef (on one side) in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot over Sauté mode set to high until the oil shimmers. Sprinkle the beef cubes with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper. Brown the beef in 3 batches, only on one side; each batch will take about 3 minutes. Move each batch to a bowl as it finishes browning.

Onions and spices sautéing in an instant pot — Sauté the onions and toast the spices

Sauté the aromatics, toast the spices, and deglaze the pan: Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño to the pot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen any browned bits of beef. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and brown sugar, and cook for 1 minute to toast the spices. Add the beef broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking.

An instant pot full of beef, broth, chiles, and beans — Everything in the pot

Stir everything into the pot: Add the beef and any juices back into the pot. Stir in the black beans, chopped green chilies, and diced tomatoes.

An Instant Pot set to pressure cook for 12 minutes — Pressure Cook for 12 minutes with a Natural Release

Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a natural release: Lock the lid. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes ("Manual," "Pressure Cook," or "Pressure Cook - Custom" mode set to 12 minutes in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally, for about 30 more minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away to avoid the hot steam.

A ladle of chili lifted out of an instant pot — Season, thicken, and enjoy!

Season, thicken, and serve: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Whisk the water into the cornstarch to make a slurry, then stir it into the chili. Serve and enjoy!

Substitutions

Other beef cuts: Bottom Round and boneless short ribs are also good cuts of beef for this recipe; they cook the same as chuck roast.
Mix in some pork: If I want to save a little money, I replace half of the beef with pork shoulder. I like the mix of meats, and pork shoulder is usually cheaper than beef chuck roast at my local grocery stores.
No beans: Don't want beans? You can leave them out.
More beans: Want more beans? Go ahead and throw in another can or two. They'll work in the recipe.
Dry beans: Want to use dry beans? Sort and rinse 1 cup of black beans, pinto beans, or small red beans. Soak the beans overnight, covered with water by a few inches. Increase the amount of beef broth in the recipe to 2 cups. The rest of the recipe stays the same, including the cooking time.

Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker

Scaling

This recipe doubles easily, but you need an 8-quart pressure cooker for it to fit. Cut all the ingredients in half, and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change; it takes the same time to cook the chili, no matter how much you're cooking. (The cooking time is determined by how long it takes to cook each individual piece of beef and bean. So, the cooking time is determined by the size of the beef chunks, not how many there are in the pot.)

Storage

Chili makes excellent leftovers and, if anything, tastes better if it's reheated the next day. I store chili in 2-cup containers, which last for a few days in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Then I can pull out a container for a lunch-size portion, to top chili dogs, or for a chili spaghetti or chili mac dinner.

Adapted from: Game Day Steak Chili - CertifiedAngusBeef.com by Michael Ollier

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Texas Red Chili - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Quick Chili with Canned Beans - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Chili Verde (Green Pork Chili) - DadCooksDinner
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Instant Pot 5 Ingredient Chili
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes

I say "wimpy" with love - ground beef and bean chili is what I grew up with. ↩

Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew with Certified Angus Beef Bottom Round

September 13, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 11 Comments

White bowl full of beef stew and carrots on a table with rolls, bowls, and towels in the background. — Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew - photo courtesy Certified Angus Beef® Brand

Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew. Recipe created for the Certified Angus Beef® Brand. Check them out at hashtag #BestAngusBeef and #SteakLover for more beef recipes, or join them in the Certified Angus Beef Kitchen group on Facebook.

Certified Angus Beef asked me to write an Instant Pot easy beef stew recipe using Bottom Round. I don't usually cook with round - I'm a chuck man, Chuck - but their request made me ask: why? Why do I reach for the chuck, and avoid the bottom round?

Bottom Round Roast [CertifiedAngusBeef.com]

Pressure cooking works best on tough pieces of beef from hard working parts of the steer. The chuck (from the shoulder), and the round (from the rump) are the traditional long-cooking cuts. They need extra cooking to tenderize the tough meat, and are used in pot roasts, braises, chilis, and stews.

Chuck roast has more collagen, connective tissue, and fat. Cooking breaks down the collagen and melts the fat, turning a tough piece of chuck into a tender pot roast. Round roasts are leaner, with less collagen and connective tissue. They don't make as good of pot roasts, because a big piece of round will tend to dry out. But, testing this recipe, I found out that cubes of bottom round work great in a stew, where small, lean bites of beef are precisely what I'm looking for.

In other words, round is a great cut for a beef stew. It looks like I learned something!

What should you serve with this beef stew? Try my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.

Certified Angus Beef's version of the recipe: Instant Pot Easy Beef Stew

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Looking for some fancier beef stews? Try my Instant Pot Flemish Beef Stew, Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Provencal (Beef en Daube), or Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms.
For some other pressure cooker recipes with beef in them, try my Pressure Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup or Instant Pot Beef Tips Recipe.
Or, check out all my recipes at my Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Recipes Index.

Rotisserie Grilling cookbooks now available on Walmart eBooks

August 30, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

Big news in the eBook world: Walmart teamed up with Kobo to make the Walmart eBook store!

Walmart and...Kobo? Who's that?

In the US, Amazon is the elephant in the eBookstore, with the vast majority of the market. Outside the US, Toronto-based Kobo is giving Amazon a run for their money, making them a close second in global eBook sales. Kobo is a subsidiary of Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce giant. Rakuten also owns OverDrive, which most libraries use to loan out eBooks. In other words, Kobo has some eBook muscle.

Walmart and Kobo are a fascinating pairing that could give Amazon serious competition. Kobo has a reputation for well-made e-readers as well as the usual reader apps for iOS or Android, and a vast eBook selection to rival Amazon's Kindle store. Walmart is...Walmart. You may have heard of them?

As an eBook author, I love the idea of e-readers promoted in every Walmart in the country. That means, at least indirectly, my books are now sold in Walmart!

As an eBook reader, I like the competition. Hopefully Walmart and Kobo will push Amazon to make the Kindle better, and vice versa.

To entice you to try Walmart eBooks, Walmart and Kobo are offering $10 off an eBook when you sign up: Walmart eBooks

My books are already available

If you're looking for a way to spend that $10, my Cookbooks are available in the Walmart eBook store (hint, hint):

What do you think?

Would you buy a Kobo eBook reader from Walmart? Are are you a Kindle loyalist, or a paper book lover?¹ Let us know in the comments below.

Paper? It's this amazing technology - the batteries never run out. ↩

Ten Years of DadCooksDinner

August 28, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 10 Comments

Ten years. Holy cow.

In 2008 I was a food fanatic with a seven-year old, a five-year old, and a three-year old, and a brand new blogspot account. Now I have a high school senior, a daughter itching to get her learners permit, and a just-turned teen. And a successful food blog.

It's easy to get caught up in the rhythm of posting every week. Stepping back, seeing where I am now, and how much I've grown in ten years? That's harder. I'm wired to worry about today's problems, not to sit back and reflect. But, ten years is such a big, round number that I can't let it slide by. So, here are a few thoughts about ten years of writing DadCooksDinner.

What have I learned?

Get better by doing the work. How did I learn to cook? I cooked dinner every night for my family. How did I learn to write? I wrote ten years worth of blog posts. I was a hobbyist photographer back before I had kids, but the improvement in my pictures after ten years is startling. Do the work. Day after day, year after year, I built up to where I am now.
Follow your obsessions. Pressure cooking? Rotisserie? Sous vide? Cast iron? I love all of them. But, you can tell from the blog's name - I thought I'd write mostly about home cooking, getting dinner on the table for my family. What caught people's interest was the more offbeat stuff. I went down rabbit holes, often because I couldn't find the information myself, and that's what everyone wants to read about.
Illegitimi non carborundum. Living online attracts interesting characters. To paraphrase Mel Brooks: You've got to remember these are just simple folks. People of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know…morons. Now, to be clear, I don't have big troll troubles. Food blogging doesn't attract online mobs, baying for blood. But I do get nasty comments. That's what the delete button is for. My website, my rules: if I invited you over for dinner, would you make that comment? If not…it's gone. (As a bonus, deleting makes it hard to respond and escalate the situation.)
Learn from mistakes, but don't obsess over them. This is related to both the "Delete" and "Get better by doing the work" topics above. I'm not perfect, especially if I'm learning by doing. So, If someone is complaining, do they have a reason? Do I need to be clearer? Did I copy and paste and forget to fix something? (Copy and paste will be the death of me.) Being Wrong on the Internet happens. I should admit I was wrong, correct the issue, and not beat myself up about it.
Comparing myself to others is poison. Do I have a Food Network show, a cookbook deal, a fanatic Facebook following? No. And yet, I am a successful food blogger, with millions of page views a year. Imagine that! If I went back in time, and told past me I'd have millions of page views, I'd be ecstatic. (After asking future me why I didn't bring a sports almanac, of course.)
Keep learning. I've been writing for ten years - but I can always get better. My pictures can pop more, my videos can tell more of a story, my writing can get tighter. Food is an endless topic. There's always something new to discover. Keep learning!

A few building blocks along the way

Here are the milestones that stand out from my ten years of food blogging:

August 23, 2008: Chipotle in Adobo Puree First post! I leave this one up to remind myself how far I've come. It's…well, it's not good. The pictures, the writing, the fact that it's not really a recipe, even… But, even so, it's how I got started.

Pressure Cooker Short Ribs | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Short Ribs

January 2009: Rotisserie Cornish Game Hens and March 2010: Pressure Cooker Short Ribs. My first recipes to get ranked on the first page of Google's search results. Suddenly, I had readers who weren't friends and family - random strangers on the internet were reading!

June 2009: Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Mediterranean Herb Butter. I win the Akron Steak Cook-off with one of my recipes!

May 2012: Rotisserie Grilling Cookbook(s). I self-publish my first cookbook, which continues to sell well for me on Amazon. (My follow-up books, Rotisserie Chicken Grilling and Rotisserie Turkey… not so much. I'm proud of them, but they're not selling anywhere near as well as the original. Too niche of a niche.)

October 2012: The Instant Pot I was a stovetop pressure cooker snob for years, but the Instant Pot slowly pulled me over to the electric side. I bought a 6-quart LUX in October 2012, and fell head-over-heels in love with Instant Pot when I got the Duo in early 2014.

I had to include my amateur puppetry somehow...

February 2014: Oaxaca, Mexico - My first major road trip (paid for by the blog itself!) I spend a week in cooking classes, and still dream about mole coloradito.

December 2014: How To Rotisserie a Prime Rib video. This one should really be dated about 6 months later, when YouTube's algorithm decides it likes my video, and it takes off. It's currently approaching 3 million views on YouTube.

December 2015: Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese - my first recipe that really blew up, and a sign of the Instant Pot wave to come.

December 2016: Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs - my other long-running Instant Pot favorite.

Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast | DadCooksDinner.com

February 2017: Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast - I love sous vide for medium-rare beef, and this recipe took off over Christmastime

January 2018: Pressure Cooker Asian Zing Chicken Wings - My most popular post from this year (so far)

Thank you

Thank you to Diane for all the love and support.

Thank you to Ben, Natalie, and Tim, who make me proud to be a Dad who cooks dinner.

Thank you to my family and friends for the years of unexpected recipe testing.

Most important: thank you for reading. Writing for a decade is a lot of work; without you, I would not have made it. Thanks for following along on my journey, and let's chat about it again in another 10 years!

Mike Vrobel, August 2018

What do you think?

What's your favorite post? Anything I should talk about during the next 10 years? Tell me about it in the comments section below.

Instant Pot Sloppy Top Round Sandwiches with Certified Angus Beef® Brand

August 16, 2018 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Instant Pot Sloppy Top Round Sandwiches
Photo courtesy of Certified Angus Beef® Brand

Instant Pot Sloppy Top Round Sandwiches. Recipe created for the Certified Angus Beef® Brand. Check them out at hashtag #BestAngusBeef and #SteakLover for more beef recipes, or join them in the Certified Angus Beef Kitchen group on Facebook.

Sloppy Joes? Shredded beef? Why not both? My friends at Certified Angus Beef® Brand commissioned me to write Instant Pot recipes using their fantastic beef, starting with these sloppy top round sandwiches. "Sloppy Tops," as Chef Gavin Pinto calls them. Their version of the recipe is here: Instant Pot Sloppy Top Sandwiches [CertifiedAngusBeef.com]

I also spent the a day at Certified Angus Beef® Brand headquarters (just down the road from me in Wooster, Ohio), doing a professional photo shoot of my recipes. I got to see how photographer Mark Merryweather worked with food stylist Bonnie, Chef Gavin, and Chef Michael Ollier to plate, style, and photograph these fantastic sandwiches. Thanks again for the pictures, and enjoy the recipe, everyone!

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Instant Pot Shredded Beef
Pressure Cooker Barbecued Beef Top Round Sandwiches
Instant Pot Flank Steak Tacos
Pressure Cooker Beef Back Ribs Texas BBQ Style
Instant Pot Beef Tips with Gravy
My other Instant Pot (and Pressure Cooker) Recipes

Instant Pot Flageolet Beans with Lamb

August 14, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 14 Comments

Instant Pot Flageolet Beans with Lamb. A French farmhouse staple, bean stew with a lamb shank from my Instant Pot.

I got a bag of flageolet beans in my Rancho Gordo bean box and immediately thought of France. Instant Pot Flageolet Beans with Lamb, here we come!

This recipe is in memory of Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence. He is a large part of why I'm writing this blog; I vicariously visited the south of France through his books, dreaming of lavender and sunshine. Ten years ago I got to live that dream, traveling to Provence and Paris, and taking cooking classes. Six months after that, energized by the trip, I started writing Dad Cooks Dinner.

A teal colored bowl of cooked flageolet bean stew with chunks of lamb and carrot, sprinkled with thyme, and the text "Instant Pot Flageolet Beans with Lamb" below it — Instant Pot Flageolet Beans with Lamb

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Unfortunately, Mr. Mayle passed away last month at age 78. His last book, My Twenty-Five Years in Provence, is sitting unread on my bedside table. I don't have the courage to open it yet. Au revoir, Mr. Mayle, and thank you for the inspiration.

Flageolet beans (pronounced Fla-zhoh-lay) are small beans, some white, some pale green. They remind me a lot of navy beans and are as Traditional French as you can get without wearing a beret and smoking unfiltered Gitanes.

As with all my beans, the Instant Pot is my secret weapon. I sauté a mirepoix of onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, then cook the flageolets with a lamb shank and some thyme. In about an hour I've got a fantastic French bean stew or a hearty side dish. Wishing you were back on the Champs Elysees? Here, have a bowl of flageolets.

🥫Ingredients

This is a simple dried bean recipe, so the ingredients list is pretty basic

Dried flageolet beans
A lamb shank
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Thyme
Chicken Broth

See recipe card for quantities.

🥘 Substitutions

Navy beans are a good substitute for the flageolet beans, and cook in about the same amount of time

A smoked pork hock, beef shank, or pork shank make good substitutes for the lamb shank.

Don't have homemade chicken broth? You really should make some - Instant Pot Chicken Broth is amazing. But, you can substitute store bought low-sodium broth if you cut back a little on the salt in the recipe. Or, just use water - the dried beans will add a lot of flavor to the broth.

🛠 Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker. Pressure cooker dried beans are one of the reasons I became a pressure cooker convert, and love my Instant Pot. Try them - you'll never go back to canned beans. (OK, maybe you will, for convenience - but see the Storage section for tips on make ahead freezer beans.)

📏Scaling

This recipe scales down easily - cut everything in half if you don't need as many beans, or have a 3-quart pressure cooker. Scaling up runs into space issues; if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker, you can double this recipe, but it's too much to fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker.

🤨 Soaking flageolet beans?

I get the "to soak, or not to soak?" question all the the time. I don't soak my flageolet beans. They are small enough that they don't need an overnight soak, and cook to tenderness with 35 minutes at high pressure.

That doesn't mean you can't soak the beans. They turn out fine, though the bean broth isn't quite as full bodied. Soaked beans cook much quicker, 12 minutes at high pressure. I use that when I'm cooking the beans with other ingredients, where the shorter cooking time keeps me from overcooking the whole dish just to get the beans tender.

💡Tips and Tricks

Watch the size of the lamb shank - the long bone can make it hard to fit the shank in a 6-quart Instant Pot. Try to get a shorter shank if you have a choice.
Salt your bean water! "Salt toughens beans" is a myth. Salting before cooking helps season the beans all the way through as they cook.
Try to buy beans from a store with lots of bean turnover. Beans dry out as they age, which makes them a little tougher to cook.
If your beans are still tough when the cooking time is over, especially any "floaters" at the top of the pot, you probably got some old beans. Give the pot a stir, lock the lid, and pressure cook the beans for another five minutes.
Simmer to thicken: If you have the time, and want thicker bean liquid, simmer the beans for 20 minutes after pressure cooking. I set my Instant Pot to Sauté mode adjusted to low, set the timer to 20 minutes, and leave the lid off to let the broth evaporate.

☃️ Storage

This recipe freezes well, in 2-cup containers, for up to 6 months.

Pressure Cooker Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic
Pressure Cooker French Green Lentils (Lentils du Puy)
Pressure Cooker Beef Stew Provencal (Beef en Daube)
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Do Not Wash Chicken Before Cooking!

August 9, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

A question from a reader:

Marinating chicken...contained in a bag, in a baking dish to catch any drips

Is it best to wash the chicken off after removing from package or not? I hear conflicting advice on this. Some say to wash off any germs from packing and some say it's doesn't matter b/c the germs are cooked off.

Should I wash chicken?

No! Please, no. Do NOT wash poultry before cooking. (Or any other meat for that matter.) Washing chicken doesn't rinse away bacteria; it splashes it around. The bacteria is still on the chicken…and now it's been sprayed onto the sink, countertops, arms, clothes, and anything else nearby. The safest thing to do is take chicken directly from its packaging to the stove.

Now, I don't take chicken directly out of the package and to the stove. I usually have to mess with it first - seasoning, cutting it up, that kind of thing. I treat chicken juices like a biohazard - because they are, until they're cooked - and try to contain the mess as much as possible. Here are the steps in my chicken cooking process:

Remove the chicken from its packaging on a plastic cutting board (if I'm going to cut it) or a rimmed baking sheet (if I'm going to dry brine it)
Cut up the chicken (if needed), pat the chicken dry with paper towels (if needed), and season the chicken
Any marinating, brining, or dry brining happens in a deep bowl, baking dish, or baking sheet - to catch any drips
When it's time to cook, transfer the chicken from the cutting board to the cooking surface (Pan, grill, Instant Pot)
Put the cutting board (and any utensils that touched the raw chicken) in the dishwasher
Wipe the sink, countertops, and any chicken juice spills with bleach wipes
Wash my hands with soap and water
Get back to cooking with cooking with a fresh set of utensils (tongs, usually)

I know this is almost a religious war for people, but…if they're rinsing their chicken, they're doing it wrong. Please, don't wash your chicken!

Food Safety Resources:

Washing poultry can spread pathogens [Barf Blog] - Food safety experts

Don't Wash Your Chicken [Drexel University]

What do you think?

Questions? Leave them in the comments section below. (Note: all comments are moderated, especially for topics like this one.)

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

August 7, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

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 Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker) makes quick work of cilantro lime rice. I know it's not hard to make rice on the stovetop, but the set it and forget it Instant Pot version makes this a side dish I can slap together while I assemble the rest of the meal. It's not just for burritos - cilantro lime rice goes well as a side with any Mexican or Tex-Mex dish. (It's also good with Thai curry - cilantro and lime are common flavors in Thai cooking.)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Quick Chicken Tacos - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Quick Pork Tacos - DadCooksDinner
Pressure Cooker Refried Black Beans - DadCooksDinner
Rice in Pressure Cooker
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Lake Erie Vacation 2018: There’s a Storm Coming

July 24, 2018 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Week 2 of vacation...watching a storm out over the lake.

(There were better lightning strikes after sunset, but my phone battery ran out. Next time!)

Lake Erie Vacation 2018

July 17, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 5 Comments

I’m on vacation, spending a week at my family’s cottage on the shores of Lake Erie. Then, the week after that I’m recovering from hernia surgery. (Fun!)

In other words, posting will be sparse for the next two weeks. (Cell coverage and wifi are spotty out here.) I’ll be back to my regular schedule in August. See you then!

PS: Amazon’s Prime Day Instant Pot Duo for $58 deal is still on through the end of the day today. Did you get one? Let me know in the comments.

Amazon Prime Day 2018 - Instant Pot Deals? (Yes, on the IP-Duo)

July 16, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

Looking for a deal on an Instant Pot? You’re in luck - it’s Amazon Prime Day! I’m an Amazon affiliate, and I get a small commission on anything you buy through the Amazon links on my site. Thank you!

Why is Prime Day such a big deal for Instant Pot fans? Because Amazon traditionally has a fantastic Instant Pot deal on Prime Day for Amazon Prime members. Their lowest prices of the year are on Prime Day and Black Friday.

(Side note: Prime “Day” is now Prime Day-And-A-Half, starting at 3 PM EST July 16 (today), running through the end of July 17.)

Which Instant Pot is on sale for Prime Day?

~~I don’t know yet, and I’ll update this post when I find out.~~

The sale is usually on one specific model; 2015 and 2016 were on the IP Duo 6-Quart, and 2017 was the IP Duo 8-Quart. What will it be this year? I think it will be one of these six Instant Pots:

[UPDATE 2018-07-16 3PM] The sale is on the Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart in the US, and the 6- and 8-Quart in Canada. The Duo is not the latest and greatest, but it’s a very good cooker - it was my daily driver for years. And it’s on sale for its lowest price ever, !

Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart SALE! $58.99 (Regular price: $99.95)

Instant Pot Duo 8-Quart (Currently $139 .95)

Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-Quart (Currently $129.95)

Instant Pot Duo Plus 8-Quart (Currently $159.95)

Instant Pot Ultra 6-Quart (Currently $149.95)

Instant Pot Ultra 8-Quart (Currently $179.95)

(~~Me? I’m hoping for a sale on the 8-Quart Duo Plus or Ultra; my 8-Quart Duo is lonely, and could use a friend.~~ UPDATE: Darn. The 6 quart Duo is great, but I already have one.)

Instant Pot Prime Day Shopping Tips

Don’t dawdle! The Instant Pot deals are usually time limited, or numbers limited, and sell out. I get hate mail every year from people who see this post too late and miss the sale. If you see the deal, act now.

Don’t get picky! (Unless you’re picky.) My favorite Instant Pot right now is the IP-Duo Plus 6-Quart. I prefer the size to the 8-Quart models, and the interface to the “plain” duo and the Ultra. That said…the family resemblance between these pots is strong. And, Amazon will probably only have a deal on one of them. If the deal is important to you, don’t worry, get the one that’s on sale.
The Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart is great - as I said, I used it for years. It’s not the latest and greatest, but you’ll love it.

That said...If you have your heart set on a specific model, and you know that’s the one you want, get it. (Or wait for Black Friday, and hope it’s on sale then.) You’ll still love it, even if you don’t get a deal.

I hope this helps, and may Prime Day be with you, always!

(Ahem. Sorry.)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Bought a new Instant Pot? Here are my Instant Pot Pressure Cooking Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Instant Pot Wasabi Deviled Eggs

July 10, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 3 Comments

These Instant Pot Wasabi Deviled Eggs went from a change of pace to the star of the show. With my Instant Pot Hard Boiled Egg technique pinned down, deviled eggs were my next target.

Because…I can't resist them. My brother-in-law¹ makes fantastic deviled eggs. When he brings them as a holiday appetizer, the temptation is too great. I keep finding myself in the dining room thinking "Just one more" until the platter is empty.

Instant pot wasabi deviled eggs arranged in a circle on a purple plate — Instant Pot Wasabi Deviled Eggs

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How hard can deviled eggs be? Yolks, mayonnaise, mustard (for deviling), and maybe some pickle relish. Should be easy, right? Well, my traditional deviled egg recipe isn't working out yet. It's not bad…just kind of bland. (I'm consulting with my brother-in-law to find out what my recipe is missing. More news to come soon.)

Luckily, I wanted some other devilish ideas to go with the classics. I'm not a deviled egg purist; there are all sorts of variations, and I love them all. Especially these deviled eggs from Pam Anderson with wasabi and pickled ginger. I made a variation on Pam's recipe as my backup, to compare to my "normal" deviled eggs.

The wasabi eggs were the runaway hit with my kids. I was shocked. The taste test didn't start out well. I was peppered with questions about the ingredients:

Wasabi: "Is it going to be too spicy?"
Pickled ginger: "Ew, I don't like pickles."
Kelp sprinkle: "What are those green flakes?"
Black sesame seeds: "…and those black things?"

They even wanted to know if the wasabi turned the eggs green. (No. And, darn! I started quoting Green Eggs and Ham...and the yolks came out bright yellow. Sigh.²)

When I passed the platter around, I had to tease and cajole to get them to try the wasabi eggs. But, after trying one, they reached for another. And then another…I had to pull the plate away to have enough for everyone to test.

I know what I'm bringing as an appetizer to my next potluck: these Instant Pot wasabi deviled eggs.

🥫Ingredients

Eggs
Wasabi Powder
Pickled Ginger
Mayonnaise
Furikake seasoning
See recipe card for quantities.

🥘 Substitutions

Wasabi powder and Pickled ginger are both found in the international aisle of well-stocked grocery stores.

If your store has wasabi paste instead of wasabi powder, use it instead. Paste is a 1 to 1 substitute for the wasabi powder.

Furikake seasoning adds an extra layer of flavor and crunch to the eggs, but it is optional because it can be hard to find if you don't have a well-stocked Asian market nearby. Substitute sesame seeds (preferably black sesame seeds) if you can't find Furikake seasoning.

🛠 Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker. And, because we're using the pressure cooker as a pressure steamer to cook the eggs, a steamer basket to hold the eggs above the water.
A quart sized zip-top bag to use as a piping bag, and a pair of scissors to snip off the tip of the bag.

📏Scaling

This recipe can be doubled or halved. Keep the 1 cup of water in the pressure cooker the same, and double or halve the rest of the ingredients. When I'm making deviled eggs for a potluck or party, I always double the eggs in the cooker, so I can make two different types. I have gone as high as an 18-pack of eggs in my 6-quart pressure cooker.

💡Tips and Tricks

The key to Instant Pot eggs is the 5-5-5 timing. Five minutes at high pressure, five minutes of natural pressure release before quick releasing any remaining pressure, and five minutes (at least) in an ice bath. Perfect eggs every time.
Pressure Cooker eggs are easy to peel if you don't rush the chilling step. The colder the eggs, the easier they are to peel. Peeling under cold running water also helps, but isn't absolutely necessary.
The tricky part of this recipe is cleanly slicing the eggs in half. I use a sharp, thin paring knife. I clean it after every egg by dunking it in a glass of warm water and then wiping it clean with a paper towel. The other key is to be decisive - make one clean, continuous slice through the egg. He who hesitates is lost…or at least has eggs with zig-zag edges.
The final trick is using a zip-top bag as a pastry bag. It gives you a lot of control when piping the mashed egg filling into the eggs. A cheap plastic bag with one corner snipped off stands in for the pastry bags used to make fancy frosting decorations on cakes. Or, in this case, fancy towers of egg filling.

☃️ Storage

Once you have halved the eggs and mashed the filling, you can store them, covered and refrigerated, for up to a day. This is how I take them to a party - I put the eggs in a single layer in a gallon zip-top bag, and the filling in its own quart zip-top bag. Then, I keep everything chilled until it is time to serve, and pipe the filling into the eggs at the party.

Deviled eggs will last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, [according to the USDA]. Yolks don't freeze well, so eat those eggs. (This is not a problem in my house.)

Hi, Travis! ↩︎
I would not, could not, in a tree! Not in a car! You let me be! ↩︎

Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker? What do you search for?

July 5, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 32 Comments

Collage with picture of a kuhn rikon pressure cooker on top and an Instant Pot Duo on the bottom — Pressure Cooker vs Instant Pot

I’m an old school pressure cooking fanatic who loves his Instant Pot…but right now, I’m feeling more “old” than school.

I’ve called my pressure cooking recipes “Pressure Cooker…whatever” for years, back since I published my first pressure cooker recipe in December 2008. I became an enthusiastic Instant Pot convert after I bought a 6 quart LUX model back in 2012. In my head, pressure cooking and Instant Pot have been synonymous ever since.

Over the last year, I’ve noticed a shift. It feels like Instant Pot became the generic term for pressure cooker, the way Crock Pot is the generic term for slow cooker. And, Google’s search data bears this out:

Instant Pot vs Pressure Cooker searches, 2016-present

Data from Google Trends, Trends.Google.com

Instant Pot (the blue line) starts to creep up in 2016, occasionally peaking, but it surges way into the lead in the summer of 2017, and never looks back. Searches for “Instant Pot” take over completely during the Instant Pot craze of late 2017. Now, they’ve come back down towards earth, but they’re still way ahead of pressure cooker searches.

My dilemma

So, should I hold the line, “No school like the old school” style, and stick to Pressure Cooker in the title? It’s been working for years. Or do I shift with the times, and start calling out the Instant Pot specifically?

Why do I want to know? Again, because of Google. Most of my traffic, even with you loyal readers, comes from Google searches for recipes. Google cares about the title - really, really cares - and Pressure Cooker titled recipes are being pushed out of Google Search by Instant Pot titled recipes. I feel like I need to shift with the tide, but I want to check…

Do you search for Instant Pot recipes? Or Pressure Cooker recipes?

Which do you search for? Instant Pot <whatever> or Pressure Cooker <whatever>? Let me know in the comments. Thank you!

Instant Pot Fingerling Potatoes with Herbes de Provence

July 3, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 9 Comments

An overhead picture of a blue bowl full of multicolored fingerling potatoes, coated with herbs, with a jar of Herbes de Provence and a bottle of olive oil on the side, with a text box below saying Instant Pot Fingerling Potatoes with Herbes De Provence — Instant Pot Fingerling Potatoes with Herbes de Provence

Instant Pot Fingerling Potatoes do double duty at my kitchen table. They are an easy side dish, and they take me back to my cooking class in Provence. (Ten years ago? Really? Oh, my.)

These fingerling potatoes are the "fancy" version of my pressure cooker baby red potatoes. Like most recipes, once you know the basic technique, the world of cooking opens up. Learning how to pressure steam small potatoes in my Instant Pot (or other pressure cookers), lets me play around with ingredients and flavor profiles. It's like jazz, learning to improvise around an underlying theme.

In this recipe, I swap in fingerling potatoes for the baby potatoes, and then take a trip to Southeast France for the flavors: olive oil instead of butter, and Herbes de Provence instead of parsley. See? Simple.

A digression about fingerling potatoes. I've always called them French fingerling potatoes, probably because that's what the sign at the grocery store said, way back when. But…the yellow skinned fingerlings I always thought were French are actually…Russian banana potatoes. French fingerlings are red skinned. (And, the purple ones you see in the pictures are probably purple Peruvian. My bag multicolored fingerling potatoes crosses continents!)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Baby Potatoes with Butter and Parsley
Pressure Cooker Smashed Garlic Red Skin Potatoes
Pressure Cooker Chicken Potato Soup (From Scratch)
Instant Pot Potato Soup
Quick Baked Potato
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Pressure Cooker Quick Pork Tacos

June 19, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

Pork taco topped with salsa, shredded cheese, and shredded lettuce on a teal plate, above text saying Pressure Cooker Quick Shredded Pork Tacos — Pressure Cooker Quick Shredded Pork Tacos

It's taco night! Pressure Cooker Quick Pork Tacos are a regular at our dinner table. When I'm in a rush, I make them because I don't have to think. Pork sprinkled with spices, in the Instant Pot with a cup of water and a can of Ro*Tel tomatoes. Done. But, this is not just a desperation dinner; it's also a family favorite, one that I make when we have time for a relaxing sit-down meal.

The difference between the frantic weeknight feeding and the leisurely Sunday supper are the accompaniments. When it's crunch time, taco toppings come from the refrigerator or pantry: flour tortillas, salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, shredded Mexican cheese, shredded lettuce, and pickled jalapeños. I spread the toppings out on the table and let the kids go to town.

When we have time for a leisurely dinner, Diane and the kids make homemade corn tortillas while I pressure cook a side of beans. We serve the pork with shredded cabbage, tomatillo salsa, crumbled cotija cheese, chopped cilantro, and hot chipotle sauce. Or, I top crispy tostadas with a layer of refried beans and a layer of this pork, then sprinkle on chopped onions and a few dollops of guacamole.

But, that's my family. What are your favorite taco toppings? Pile them on top of this easy pork and let your family dig in.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Instant Pot Birria Tacos
Pressure Cooker Quick Chicken Tacos
Pressure Cooker Boneless Beef Short Rib Tacos with Dried Chile Sauce
Pressure Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas Recipe
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Things I Love: Collapsible Steel Steaming Baskets

June 15, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

Steaming Baskets - with my favorite hiding in the back

One of my oldest kitchen tools is a stainless steel steaming basket, the kind that flips open and closed, its metal petals folding in on themselves like a flower.

Every time I take it out, I have to flip it open and closed a few times. It’s my version of a fidget spinner. Flip, flop. Flip, flop. Flip, flop, flip.

My generic basket lasted for decades, but it finally fell apart a month ago, when a couple of petals came loose. I suspect the kids in another kitchen murder…but it was old enough that the cheap stamped metal probably just gave up due to age.¹

After a moment of respectful silence, it was time to go gadget shopping!

The kitchen silicone revolution has replaced my spatulas, oven mitts, and pressure cooker racks. I assumed the same would be true of steaming baskets, so I bought two silicone steamers with good Amazon rankings. Almost as an afterthought, I added an Oxo collapsible steel basket so that I could compare the silicone to the old-school stainless steel.

Silicone does not make good steamer baskets.

The killer feature of steel steamer baskets is how they adjust to the sides of a pot. When I lower the basket into, say, my pressure cooker, the basket adapts to precisely fit in the width of the pot. After cooking, the basket lifts out easily, expanding to full size once it clears the top edge of the pot.

My only problem with my old steel basket was the handle. If you can even call it that; there was a cheap metal ring attached to a short post in the center of the basket. Getting a grip on that tiny ring when it was wet and buried in the middle of a bunch of steamed vegetables was frustrating.

Oxo’s stainless steel collapsible basket adds a large plastic handle on a telescoping neck. This is an excellent addition to the classic design. No more slippery metal ring; now I have a big handle to grab.

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Then came the silicone baskets. They have one useful feature - easy to grab handles. Big silicone loops stick up from the sides on both baskets I tried, easy to grab even when wet. This is why I wanted to try them - it would solve my biggest problem with my steel basket.

But...

Silicone is sticky and not as strong as metal, so the silicone baskets can’t use the same sliding flower petal design as the steel baskets.

The Skoo Vegetable Steamer basket does not try to adjust to the sides of the pot. It is smaller with solid sides, built to fit in an Instant Pot with space to spare. And...it is too small. The basket could steam a couple of servings of green beans, not a whole batch of baby potatoes.

The Oxo Silicone Steamer is big enough to be useful. It is built like a cross between a colander and a coffee filter, with thin, fluted sides next to the handles. Those flutes let the sides fold in, and the steamer squeezes itself into my Instant Pot. After cooking, the grippy silicone handles are easy to grab and lift. Unfortunately, the grippy silicone also grabs the sides of the pot. Every time I try to raise the basket, the steel Instant Pot liner comes with it. The basket will not let go of the pot, no matter how much I twist and pull the handles.

Summary

My new favorite is old faithful, a collapsible stainless steel steaming basket, updated with a big, easy-to-grab plastic handle. And I can flip it open and closed when I need to fidget in the kitchen.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Things I Love: Pinch Bowls
Things I Love: Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer
Things I Love: Flat Edged Wooden Spoon

I didn't do it. Nobody saw me. You can't prove anything. ↩︎

Pressure Cooker Venetian Pasta and Beans (Pasta e Fagioli alla Veneta)

June 12, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

A red bowl full of pressure cooker Venetian pasta and beans, brown beans and pasta garnished with a sprig of rosemary and a sprinkling of grated white cheese

Pressure Cooker Venetian Pasta and Beans (Pasta e Fagioli Alla Veneta)

Why am I making Pressure Cooker Venetian Pasta and Beans? I already have a Pasta e Fagioli recipe, the classic Italian-American version with white Cannellini beans and small tubes of ditalini pasta. I was in for a Verona surprise my writing workshop in Italy.

We're in the kitchen at Enoteca Della Valpolicella to learn how to make pasta. A massive pot on the side of the stove catches my attention, and I ask "what's that?" The chef says "Pasta e Fagioli" and lifts the lid so we can peek. Through gallons of clear water, I see a layer of tan beans, dappled with white. Brown beans in Pasta e Fagioli? Not Cannellini? What's going on? This is my introduction to regional pasta and beans, Venetian style.

The Italian-American version came from the south of Italy. We're used to Naples style, Pasta e Fagioli Alla Napoletana. The big wave of Italian immigration to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s was from Southern Italy, and Naples was one of the major ports of departure. That's where the "Pasta Fazool" name comes from, too - Fasule is Neapolitan for beans.

I'm not in southern Naples, though. I'm in Verona, far to the Northeast. Pasta e Fagioli Alla Veneta is the comfort food of the former Venetian Republic. Here they make it with brown cranberry beans and thin, wide egg noodles.

This humble pot of beans and pasta is why I had to visit Italy. There's nothing wrong with Italian-American food. It's fantastic, a regional variation on Italian food, shaped by immigrants adjusting traditional recipes to the bounty of their new homeland. Italian-American food inspired my journey, so I could compare it to Italian cooking in its birthplace. And, like so many things, what I learned is...I have so much to learn. Comparing Italian-American to Italian food is not possible. I'm comparing Italian-American to Neapolitan, Venetian, Tuscan, Roman…so many regions, each with their own local treasures. So many reasons to go back to Italy!

Back home, I make my own pressure cooker version of the recipe, reliving my visit. The instant pot works its bean magic, and I learn what gondoliers have known for ages: Venetians know their Pasta e Fagioli. Here is my recipe for Pressure Cooker Venetian Pasta and Beans, Pasta e Fagioli Alla Veneta. Enjoy!

An instant pot behind a cutting board covered with ingredients, bowls of diced onions carrots, and celery, diced pancetta, a bag of cranberry beans, and a sprig of rosemary. — Ingredients ready to cook

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Looking for some other Italian bean soups from your Instant Pot? Try my Instant Pot Minestrone Soup, Pressure Cooker Pasta and Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli, aka Pasta Fazool), or Pressure Cooker Tuscan Bean Soup.
If you're looking to top pasta with a ragu, try Pressure Cooker Italian Meat Sauce.
Looking for something else? Check out my Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Recipes Index.

Road Trip: Italy Food and Wine Writing Workshop 2018

May 31, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 13 Comments

These are my memories about the Food and Wine Writing Workshop run by Demet Guzey and Dianne Jacob in April 2018. To paraphrase Ruth Reichl, “Everything here is true, but it may not be entirely factual.” I took copious notes during the classes and tours, but not during the writing sessions. (I was too busy writing.) I am sure I confused times and people, so I apologize in advance.

Write about our visit to Quintarelli winery. I'll give you…30 minutes.

Demet starts the session with wine writing advice, then turns us loose on our notebooks. 30 minutes? That’s it? I’ve learned to shut off the Editor Voice and write, but I’m not sure 30 minutes will be enough for something I have to read in front of the whole group. Don’t worry, just go. Keep the pen moving on the page.

I write about grandpa Giuseppe Quintarelli and his quest for quality. Giuseppe moves his vineyards from the valley to the hillside, making the vines work harder. Hard-working vines produce less wine, but better wine. Quintarelli uses the appassimento technique, air-drying the grapes for a few weeks before crushing to concentrate the flavors. In time, Quintarelli Giuseppe becomes the standard bearer for Valpolicella wines.

I describe Giuseppe's soft-spoken grandson, Francesco, leading us on the winery tour. Francesco lines up the tasting glasses, pours a little wine into the first one, and then ever-so-carefully works down the line, pouring and swirling from glass to glass. This is avinamento, preparing the glass with wine instead of rinsing it with water.

When Demet says “five minutes,” I surface from the flow of writing. I thought I had plenty of time left! I go back and do a quick read-through, then cross out the first two paragraphs. As usual, I spent some time “clearing my throat,” as Dianne later calls it, and didn’t get to what I wanted to say until the third paragraph.

I try to use the writing advice Dianne gave us on the first morning. General is the enemy of good writing, so be specific. Limit adjectives. Verbs push people through a story. Use simile and metaphor. And, it’s OK to worry about all this in the revision. Get what you want to say down first, and edit it later to improve the writing.

We read our stories to the group - only if you want to - and I go first to break the ice. Now that I’m looking for it, I can see my writing style. Verbs drive my writing forward, and I share a lot of information. My sense of humor comes through. And, thanks to Dianne’s prompting, I work in a metaphor or two. (Or a simile? I’m not clear about the difference.)¹

As the workshop goes on, and we do more writing exercises, the flow continues. I keep coming up with articles in 30 minutes. It hits me after a few days: I can write. I can get out of my own way and create the core of a story.

This shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. I’ve been writing this blog for ten years, and I have learned a few things. I see the improvement when I look at old posts. (Yikes.) But I feel stuck, and that feeling drove me to take this workshop. (I also go because the workshop is in Italy. Who wouldn’t go on a writing tour of Italy?)

Writing for the workshop, really paying attention to the words, I see that I missed the forest for the trees. I used to say “I’m not a good writer, I’m average. It's good enough for the blog,” That’s not true anymore. It hasn't been true for years. Gradually, sometimes imperceptibly, my writing got better and better.

What I learned is: I am a good writer. It took a workshop in Italy for me to realize it, but I’m not a hack, not a fake. I can write, and write well. Now, I can always improve my writing, and the workshop gave me tools to hone my craft. I need to practice with those tools, develop my skills. But I do have skills, and I’m a lot farther along than I was willing to admit.

Francesco pouring our tastes of Quintarelli wine

Should you be writing a cookbook?

My one-on-one consultation with Dianne is not what I expect. Dianne doesn’t pull punches; she’s an editor and calls it as she sees it. I assume it will be a kick in the pants and a pat on the back, tough love about focus and pushing through procrastination. Maybe criticism of my writing and what needs to change for it to improve.

We start with my goals for the workshop, which I admit are kind of vague. I want to kick-start my cookbook, revive my stagnant writing. Dianne listens to me ramble. Eventually, I wind down and wait for “constructive feedback” (as they call it in management training classes at my day job.)

You sound burned out. Are you sure you should be writing a cookbook now, on top of everything else? When are you supposed to fit it in? You have a day job and a family. You write your blog and make videos.

And, there it is, staring me in the face. I powered through my rotisserie cookbooks by getting up an hour early and writing, month after month, squeezing in recipe testing and photo sessions on the weekends. (The family was sick of rotisserie chicken for a while.)

I tried the same process for my new cookbook. For a few years now, on and off, I have set my alarm for 5AM…and then went back to sleep. I can not get myself up that early anymore. It just isn’t working.

Also, I’m doing more for the blog now, especially video. I enjoy making videos, but they are a lot of work. Shooting and editing always take longer than I think, leaving me behind schedule. It makes me feel like I’m slacking. If I just worked harder, spent less time relaxing, I’d be able to do everything.

I think the book can wait. Do you have to do it now? Or can you put it off?

Also, the book is giving me imposter syndrome. "Who am I to be writing a book? I have to test new recipes and re-test old ones. If it’s going in a book, it has to be perfect. I can’t trust anything I’ve done."

Guess what? I’m not perfect. I’m human, and I’m stretched thin. Dianne’s right. Can I fit the book in without making myself crazy? No, I can’t.

Now, I’m stubborn and push back…some. I won’t let myself give up on the book entirely. But, after talking it through, I pull back on my expectations. Instead of a wholly separate set of research and recipes, testing and pictures, I can integrate the research into a series of blog posts. Also, I can spread the work out, and forgive myself if I’m not working on the book all the time. And, I’ll take a step back to keep perspective: I am doing a lot already. I need to give myself credit for all the work that I am doing.

Everyone has a voice

It was a dream that I had. At age 37, I decided to open a restaurant. I didn't know how to cook, had never worked in a restaurant. But I wanted to uncover the recipes of my childhood.

Ada Riolfi, owner, Enoteca Della Valpolicella

Starting a restaurant at 37, with no experience? There’s the inspiration for today’s writing session. I write about Ada, creating a restaurant out of dreams and memories. About Angela, working at the restaurant for 21 years, kneading dough with the forearms of a boxer and shaping tortelli with the fingers of a close-up magician. I write about David, 24 years old, working alongside Angela. They both show us how to fold tortelli, Angela teasing David about how she’s been doing this since he was a toddler. They twirl their fingers, and tortelli appear; we ask them to do it again, slowly. I talk about their patience, walking us through the steps, demonstrating where to put our fingers, helping us get a feel for shaping pasta.

When the time comes, I volunteer to read first. I like what I wrote. My story weaves together the history of the restaurant, the funny quotes I overheard, the frustration of my fingers not being as agile as Angela and David’s. I use verbs, keep adjectives to a minimum, and have a couple of nice metaphors. (Or are they similes?) My story could use an ending, and I want to keep writing, to find out where it goes. But I feel proud of what I put together in a short 30-minute burst of writing. So, who’s next?

Lisa volunteers to read next. “It was a dream I had. At age 37, I decided to open a restaurant…”

Oh, no. No, no, no. ”She’s going to tell the same story, and do it better.” whispers the small, scared voice in the shadows of my hindbrain.

And then a funny thing happens. Lisa tells her story, inspired by the same idea: at age 37, it’s not too late to follow your dreams. But…it’s not my story. Lisa’s story is full of intricate descriptions, her eye for design and her self-deprecating sense of humor shine through. I can’t compare the stories. Mine is not better, hers is not worse, because they are entirely different.

This is when the cliche of a writer “finding their voice” sinks in. My voice and Lisa’s voice contrast each other. They’re built on our strengths, experiences, and perspectives. We couldn’t write the same story if we tried.

Then Lori shares her story. When we visited the restaurant kitchen, there was a big pot of Pasta e Fagioli on the stove…and Lori got lost in memories. Her dad’s nickname for her and her sister was “Pasta e Fagioli.” He used it an all-purpose phrase, packing it with meaning by changing its rhythm. Her story is about love and family, and it is so personal that she asks Pauline to read it for her.

Another voice, another perspective.

Later in the workshop, Cathy shares a story, also about memory and the relationship between parents and children. Cathy turns a writing prompt about candy into memories of trick-or-treating as an expatriate American raising children in France. Those kids are now in their 20’s, young adults, facing their own struggles in the world. Cathy’s story is about memories layering over today, about being a parent with adult children.

Both Lori and Cathy tell stories about the love between parents and children. But they are individual stories. They have their voices, different from Lisa’s, different from mine.

The villa we stayed at for the workshop in San Pietro de Cariano, Italy

Food people are the best people

"We're at dinner, and I'm having the horse."

"…Is that a euphemism?"

Text exchange between Jillian and her husband after she ordered Filetto di Cavallo, a Verona specialty. (Which she kindly shared, so now I can say I've tried it).

Thank you to everyone at the Food Writing workshop. It was a great group, just the right number of people, and just the right people. It left me feeling energized and ready to face the world again. (Unfortunately, the world was lying in wait and jumped me as soon as I got back, so I’m only getting around to writing this now.)

Thank you to :

Cathy for the stories about being an American expatriate in France and Japan, and for convincing me to join her on the Campanile St. Marco bell tower tour in Venice
Jillian for the stories about working as a personal chef, and for somehow fitting us in during her finals
Julie for the in-depth knowledge of Italy, and for actually reading the workshop booklet ahead of time
Lisa for the stories about producing her video series, and the encouragement to keep at what I'm doing
Lori for the Social Media crash course. "This is how you make an Instagram story. Swipe right…"
Pauline for the stories about Dublin, and for asking "how many times do you have to say Ciao" before hanging up?"

Thank you to Andrea, our driver (and the origin of Pauline’s “how many Ciaos?” theory).

Thank you to Owen, Dianne’s husband and general fixer on the tour. I enjoyed the tech talk. (He’s an Android guy, I’m an iPhone guy, but we got along fine.)

And, of course, thank you to Demet Guzey and Dianne Jacob for the writing workshop. It was fantastic, and it has inspired changes in my writing and my work.

Mike Vrobel
May 2018

Links

Demet Guzey [DemetGuzey.com]
Dianne Jacob [DianneJ.com]
Jillian Fae - Personal Chef [JillianFae.com]
Lisa Marie Todd - An Appetizing Life [AnAppetizingLife.com]
Lori DeFinis - [Music2MyMouth.com]

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Road Trip: Seasons of My Heart Cooking School in Oaxaca
Road Trip: A Week In Provence
Road Trip: Everything Food Conference 2016

Both similes and metaphors compare things to other things, but similes use the word "like." In other words: Similes are like a metaphor. (Yes, I stole that.) ↩

Instant Pot Vegetable Broth

May 24, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 9 Comments

I'm not a veggie, but I do make Instant Pot Vegetable Broth from time to time. Sometimes I need something for the veggies in my life; sometimes I have a recipe where a meat broth would be too heavy, but it does need the extra flavor of a broth. (See: Asparagus Risotto.)

Close up of jars of vegetable broth on a wood table — Pressure Cooker Vegetable Broth

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Homemade vegetable broth - this shouldn't be hard, right? Homemade chicken broth convinced me to keep my pressure cooker beyond the "new kitchen gadget" phase. It's so easy, so much better than store bought broth, and so flexible. I thought vegetable broth would be the same - chuck some vegetable trimmings in the pot, pressure cook for a while, and strain out liquid gold.

I started with the "use up the scraps" technique that I use with with chicken broth. (I was hoping to save money, and use up odds and ends.) I froze trimmings from vegetables in a gallon zip-top bag. All my recipes seem to begin with "dice a large onion," so I had a lot of the onion skins and outer layers, plus some carrot peels, the leaves from celery, leek greens, and a few potato skins. The bag was full, and it was time to make broth.

That broth tasted like mud. It looked like mud too - it had an odd brownish-orange color. I thought "I must have thrown in the root ends of something - let me try again." I kept my trimmings clean, just the good parts of onions, celery, leeks, carrots…but I had the same results. Freezer to pressure cooker to...pour it down the drain.

How did I fix this? I used fresh vegetables. For more details, see the Recipe Tips section, below.

So, here it is, my pressure cooker vegetable broth. It's not hard, and it's a lot quicker than the recipe I started with, but it's not where I expected to end up.

Ingredients

Onions
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Parsley
Peppercorns
Fine sea salt
Water

How to Make Instant Pot Vegetable Broth

Everything in the pot: Put the roughly chopped vegetables (onions, carrots, celery), the garlic, and the parsley in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. Sprinkle the peppercorns and salt over the top, then pour in the water.

Pressure cook for 5 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high pressure for 5 minutes in both electric and stovetop pressure cookers. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook- Custom mode with an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally, about 30 more minutes. (Water holds a lot of heat, so it takes a while for the pressure to drop. If you are impatient, you can quick release the remaining pressure after 20 minutes.)

Strain the broth: Scoop the big pieces of vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard. Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Use the broth immediately, or portion into 2 cup containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Recipe Tips

Lesson #1: Use fresh vegetables.

A kitchen island with two instant pots, a pile of vegetables on a cutting boad, a chef's knife, and an iPad in the background — Testing Pressure Cooker Vegetable Broth

No more vegetable scraps. Let's start our vegetable broth recipe with fresh vegetables. I'll use the trinity of onions, carrots, and celery as the base. After my experience with the trimmings, I peel them before using, and it seems to help. I add a little garlic, parsley, peppercorns, and salt for seasoning. After 10 minutes under pressure, I have a tasty broth. I'm on the right path. But my next question is: how long under pressure?

Lesson 2: Don't overcook - 5 minutes under pressure.

My pressure cooking bible, Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass, says 10 minutes, and that's what I've been using. But…a recipe I bookmarked from Mark Bittman's Minimalist column says 30 minutes. Jill Nussinow, The Veggie Queen, who I consider the expert on Vegan pressure cooking, says 5 minutes. That's quite a range!

Time for some tests. I start with 5 and 10 minutes¹, figuring I can move up from there if I need to. It turns out the Veggie Queen knows her stuff. The 5-minute broth is lovely - bright, sweet, and fresh. (My tasting panel prefers the 5-minute broth, too.) The 10-minute broth is fine, but it tastes muddled next to the 5 minute broth. No need to keep increasing the time - we have a winner!

Lesson 3: Don't skimp on the vegetables.

The last thing to test: how much vegetation do I need? Michael Ruhlman's Ratio recommends a stock ratio of 3:2 water to ingredients by weight. That said, I don't use that ratio with chicken broth; it's not enough water. I go with a chicken broth ratio of 2:1 and love the results.

When I tried a 2:1 vegetable broth, it was weak stuff. (Get that weak stuff out of here. <Smacks it off the table.>) A 3:2 ratio of water to vegetables gives me much more flavor.

Storing Leftovers

Broth freezes beautifully, so I always make a big batch and store it for later. Broth will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer. I portion the broth into 2-cup containers (usually pint mason jars), so they're easy to pull out and thaw in the microwave for other recipes.

More Homemade Broth Recipes

Looking for a non-veggie broth? Check out my Instant Pot Chicken Broth made with chicken backs, or my Instant Pot Ham Broth made with a leftover hambone, or my (rather involved, but fantastic) Browned Beef Broth.

What is the difference between vegetable stock and vegetable broth?

That's an excellent question. Technically, Broth means "cooked with meat on the bones", and stock means "almost all bones". So, how does vegetable broth fit in? I don't really know, but I tend to call what I make Broth instead of Stock, so I kept that naming convention with this recipe.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Asparagus Risotto
Pressure Cooker Browned Chicken Broth
Pressure Cooker Green Beans
Instant Pot Lentil Curry
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

With a natural pressure release. That keeps the flavor in the pot, instead of spraying it out into the room. ↩︎

Onion Size, or How Big is a Large Onion?

May 17, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 7 Comments

Onions, lined up by size from small to large — What Size is my Onion

I don’t sweat onion size. Most of my recipes are flexible; if I call for a large onion and you use a medium onion, you’ll be fine. In other words, size doesn’t matter.

Except when it does.

I’m working on my vegetable broth recipe, and I want to get the right ratio of onion, celery, and carrot to water. (3:2 water to vegetables, and 3:2:1 onion to carrot to celery.) To do that right, I need to do it by weight; to give you instructions, I need to know what “2 large onions, chopped” actually means. Testing time! I went to the store, bought a range of onions, and got out my kitchen scale. Here’s what I found.

How much does a Small onion weigh?

5 ounces or less, averaging 4 ounces

How much does a Medium onion weigh?

5 to 8 ounces, averaging about 6 ounces

How much does a Large onion weigh?

8 to 12 ounces, averaging about 10 ounces

How much does an Extra-Large onion weigh?

12 ounces and up, averaging 16 ounces

Onion Sizes (By Weight)
Onion	Average	Weight	Sports Ball
Size	Weight	Range	Comparison
Small	4oz / 115g	5 oz or less	Racquetball
Medium	6oz / 170g	5 to 8 oz	Baseball
Large	10 oz / 285g	8 to 12 oz	Softball
Extra-Large	16oz / 454g	12oz or more	Shot Put

Most of the onions at the store are large to extra-large onions (in the onion bin) or medium (in a three-pound mesh bag.) I buy large onions - I want to pick good-looking ones from the bin. (That’s why most of my recipes call for large onions.)

What do the Feds have to say?

The USDA has a different grading standard, based on size instead of weight:

Onion Sizes (By Diameter, USDA Size Classifications)
	Diameter
Size Designation	(in inches)
Small	1 to 2.25
Repacker	1.75 to 3
Medium	2 to 3.25
Large	3 and up
Colossal	3.75 and up

Resources:
United States Standards for Grades of Onions (Other Than Bermuda- Granex-Grano and Creole Type) [USDA.gov]

And, there you have it. (“It” being one large onion, minced.)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Ingredient questions that I get asked a lot:
A Stalk of Celery vs a Rib of Celery?
Salt by Weight
Thai Curry Paste - Weight vs Volume

Pressure Cooker Key Lime Cheesecake

May 15, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 5 Comments

Sweet and sour, tart and creamy, pressure cooker key lime cheesecake is a fantastic balance of flavors. I had doubts about that. I worried I was making the Sour Patch Kids of pastry, something only a lemon-head would love. Turns out, that balance of tart and sweet is why key lime pie is a classic dessert.

And, thanks to my pressure cooker, key lime cheesecake is easy to make, even for a dedicated non-baker like me. My wife, the chemistry teacher, is the baker in the family - she’s precise about measuring. I’m a close enough is good enough kind of cook. I have to focus when I’m baking, continually reminding myself to measure the ingredients. Even then I feel like I forgot something. (Did I add the vanilla? Yes, I did. Phew.) That's why I'm such a fan of pressure cooker cheesecake - it is hard to mess it up too badly. Much to my surprise, friends and family are asking me to bring dessert. That's right, Mr. I Don't Bake is now known for cheesecake. How did that happen?

Now for the question I know is coming in the comments: “You do some cheesecake recipes covered with foil, and some without. Why is that?”

Because, covering the pan with foil seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was a mistake. I don’t cover my pressure cooker cheesecake with foil anymore. Sure, the foil does its job, protecting the cheesecake from condensation. It also “protects” the center of the cheesecake from heat. That’s not good - it results in longer, less even cooking. If you read my original cheesecake recipe, you’ll see me complaining about how varied my cooking times were - that was the foil getting in the way. I gave up on the foil, and my cheesecakes immediately improved.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Pressure Cooker Oreo Cheesecake
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Pressure Cooker Baby Potatoes with Butter and Parsley

May 8, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 7 Comments

A bowl of cooked baby potatoes sprinkled with parsley, with the recipe name in print below it — Pressure Cooker Baby Potatoes with Butter and Parsley

Starchy side dishes are the weak part of my weeknight meals. They're an essential part of the "protein, veg, starch" meal trio, but they're also kind of dull. In my mind, the protein is the star of the show, the vegetables are offbeat supporting actors, and the starch is a straight man for the other two.

Starches are boring, but essential. Meals need that base, something calming and comfortable, for the exciting parts to shine. That's where potatoes come in. (In my head, meals are zany comedy movies. Explains a lot, doesn't it?)

These baby potatoes are so simple they're barely a recipe: pressure steam potatoes until they're tender, drain, toss with butter and sprinkle with salt and parsley. Done. They also show how versatile an Instant pot (or other pressure cooker) can be. The hands-off cooking of a multi-cooker lets me make these baby potatoes:

While I'm out back, grilling a steak
On the kitchen island if the stove is covered in pots for a dinner party
Next to another pressure cooker that's making the main dish (like a pot roast)

The last example is why I have many instant pots - what if I need to cook a side dish? I must be ready!¹

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Smashed Garlic Redskin Potatoes
Pressure Cooker Champ (Irish Mashed Potatoes)
Pressure Cooker White Rice
Fast Baked Potato
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

It has nothing to do with my compulsion to buy every new pressure cooker that comes out - nothing at all. Nope. Nothing. ↩

Is Instant Pot Delay Start Safe to Use?

May 3, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 9 Comments

Instant pot control panel with Delay Start button lit up — Don't push that button!

Can you safely delay cooking for any length of time without Bacteria growth? Say I want to fill my Instant Pot with Chicken and delay it's cook time to my return home 9 hours later. That chicken just sits at room temperature all day. What is the guideline so I don't make my family sick?

- Question from Commenter Christian

Is Instant Pot Delayed Start Safe?

Don’t use delayed start to cook meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or produce. In other words, any food that needs refrigeration.

Who Says So?

The Feds. The US Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation for food storage is:

Stick to the "two-hour rule" for leaving items needing refrigeration out at room temperature. Never allow meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or produce or other foods that require refrigeration to sit at room temperature for more than two hours-one hour if the air temperature is above 90° F.

Are You Storing Food Safely? [FDA.gov]

In other words, food that needs to be refrigerated for safety...needs to be refrigerated for safety. Leaving it out at room temperature for more than two hours is a Bad Idea.

Details, details

A little more information for you in case you’re still thinking about delayed cooking. Bacteria love temperatures between 40°F and 140°F; that’s where they multiply. The warmer it is, the quicker they multiply. That’s why, at 90°F, the safety zone is only 1 hour.

Also, these times are all about risk management. Are you going to be fine if you leave food at room temperature for two hours, but at 2:01 suddenly you get The Death Bacteria? No, of course not. Maybe you’ll be fine. But the odds turn against you after 2 hours. Do you feel lucky?

And, if you want to delay cooking for less than two hours for convenience reasons, you’re probably fine. (I start cooking immediately and let keep warm mode do its job, but that’s just how I roll.)

Won't Pressure Cooking kill all the bacteria in the food?

It depends, and it’s complicated. (Isn’t it always?) I read up on pressure cooker sterilization and foods. My research took me down two paths; medical sterilization and food canning.

Medical journals say: If you need to sterilize surgical tools, and you don’t have a steam autoclave available, a home pressure cooker can do the job. Pressure steaming sterilizes medical tools after 30 minutes at 15psi. (They explain this with wonderful terms like “Thermal Death Time”.)

Canning meat is also well studied - according to the National Center for Home Food Preparation, you can preserve quart jars of cubed meat by pressure canning at 11psi for 90 minutes.

Hmm. The numbers look like they should work in an Instant Pot. Electric pressure cookers run at roughly 12psi, so I can sterilize 1 quart of food after 90 minutes at high pressure, right?

Problem 1: Not long enough

I’m not cooking 1 quart of food. If I am, I’m not cooking it for anywhere close to 90 minutes. I’m not going to kill all the bacteria that multiplied while the food sat for hours in the danger zone.

Problem 2: Not consistent enough

Electric pressure cookers (like the Instant Pot) and small stovetop pressure cookers have another problem - they’re not as consistent as pressure canners. Pressure canners have pressure dials on top, to monitor the pressure and make sure it never drops below the minimum (11psi). Electric pressure cookers use 12psi as their target, but don't hold pressure at or above 12psi. Picture a sine wave centered on 12psi, cycling up and down; sometimes the pressure is above 12 psi, and sometimes it is below. The National Center for Home Food Preparation recommends not pressure canning with pressure cookers - only with pressure canners designed for pressure canning.

Even if your electric pressure cooker says it does canning, the NCFHP says USDA tested pressure canning in home pressure cookers back in the 80’s. (Back then, the rule was “add 10 minutes in a home pressure cooker to do pressure canning.) The USDA tests were inconsistent…which meant sometimes the food was underprocessed. That’s Bad. In the late 80’s, they withdrew the “add 10 minutes” recommendation and switched to “Only pressure can in a dedicated pressure canner.”

Problem 3: Spoilage Bacteria

Now, here’s another problem. Let’s say you get lucky, and pressure cook the food long enough to kill all the bacteria in it. You’re good, right? Well, yes…from a safety point of view.

The problem is: we have to worry about more than just illness bacteria. Spoilage is also caused by bacteria, multiplying away on room temperature food. The rancid smell and awful taste of food that’s gone bad? That’s from spoilage bacteria. And that rancid smell and awful taste don’t go away, even when the bacteria is killed. Spoiled food is spoiled food, and the longer it sits in the danger zone, the more likely it is to go bad.

I hate to say spoilage is the real issue with leaving food out all day before cooking. Food-borne illness is Bad News, and I don’t think you should play 3-Card Monte with your health. But…in the comment above. I’m pretty sure chicken left at room temperature all day is going to taste off, no matter how long I pressure cook it.

Please, don’t do it. Let’s be careful out there.

What can I cook in my Instant Pot with Delay Start mode?

If you delay starting (for more than an hour), it has to be something that doesn’t need refrigeration. That sounds like…beans, potatoes, and rice. And not much else. Even then, if I soak beans overnight, I drain the soaking water and replace it with fresh water. And soaking potatoes and rice seem like they’ll just give me a soggy mess. Maybe if you put vegetables (like green beans) above the level of the water, in a steamer rack? Beyond that…I can’t think of anything where a long delayed start is safe or useful.

Personally? I don’t use Delay Start. I don't use a Crock Pot for the same reason. I’m not a morning person. Slow cooking and delayed start cooking mean I have to get out of bed a few precious minutes earlier...and that's not happening. I love my Instant Pot because pressure cooking fits my lifestyle. I get home from work and the pressure cooker squeezes time for me, fitting a long-cooked stew in before dinner.

What do you think?

If you use Delay Start, tell me about it in the comments. How are you using it? What are you cooking with a delayed start?

Resources:

Are You Storing Food Safely? [FDA.gov]
Canning in Electric Multi-Cookers (not supported by USDA canning processes) [nchfp.uga.edu]
Using a domestic pressure cooker as an autoclave (abstract) [PubMed.gov]

Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks, St. Louis BBQ Style

May 1, 2018 by Mike Vrobel 59 Comments

BBQ Pork Steaks on a plate with a text description below them — Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks, St. Louis BBQ Style

Pork shoulder is my favorite piece of pig, and these St. Louis style Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks show it off in all its glory.

Pulled (or chopped) pork shoulder is the dominant style of barbecue in most of the Southern US. Pulled pork reigns from North and South Carolina in the east, and sweeps west until it hits the wall of beef barbecue in Texas. Barbecued pork steaks are St. Louis specialty¹, cross-cut from the shoulder into inch thick steaks.

Pork shoulder needs long cooking times. The shoulder is a hard-working muscle, full of connective tissue. Undercooked pork shoulder is tough and chewy. If you cook it long enough, the connective tissue melts into gelatin, and the shoulder turns tender and juicy. An Instant Pot (or another pressure cooker) stands in for the traditional barbecue smoker. I replace hours and hours of low-and-slow barbecue with 45 minutes at high pressure. Sure, it’s not the same as Real Barbecue™. But it is juicy, tender, and a whole lot faster.

(For the record: Yes, I know this isn’t barbecue. I don’t know why I bother apologizing; angry barbecue purists looked at the title and jumped straight to leaving angry comments. As we speak, they’re yelling at me about sullying the spirit of St. Louis. Oh well. That’s what the “Delete Comment” button is for.)

Here in Ohio, the trick to this recipe is finding thick-cut pork shoulder steaks. My local grocery stores sell pork shoulder steaks, but they always cut a half-inch thick. I have to take a shoulder roast to the butcher and ask him to cut it thick, somewhere between an inch and an inch and a quarter. Other than that, I consider this a weeknight recipe; it takes a little over an hour to cook, but only ten minutes of that is active time.

Video: Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks St. Louis BBQ Style (2:04)

Video: Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks St. Louis BBQ Style [YouTube.com]

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs
Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs
Pressure Cooker Barbecued Beef Top Round Sandwiches
Pressure Cooker Pork Western Shoulder Ribs
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

I'm already curling into a ball, bracing for the hate mail from St. Louis. "This isn't real barbecue!" I know, I know, low and slow over a wood fire, maybe with charcoal. The barbecue purists are already mad at me, and Texas thinks I messed with their chili, so...everything is normal? ↩︎

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