Oh it sounds like a sermon, sorry.

I made beef stew in the pressure cooker tonight. Takes 8 minutes of
cooking under pressure, although of course the gas is on longer than
that to heat up the pot. The stew comes out flavorful and good; however
the meat could stand to be just a little more tender (maybe 8.5 minutes
next time?)

The price of natural gas is supposed to spike 70% this winter, so I was
thinking how much $ I'll be saving by using the PC to make stews and
braises.

The recipe was adapted from the manual that came with the PC (I haven't
bought any of the Lorna Sass books yet, just check them out of the
library). I used wine instead of water, added garlic and a parsnip, and
doubled the meat (and liquid) quantities. I also used a bay leaf and
have no idea if that was in the recipe or not. Next time I'll try their
trick of cooking for 5 minutes under pressure, letting it drop, then
adding the carrots & parsnip and cooking anohter 3 minutes under
pressure. The veg were too soft IMHO although hubby didn't mind. (But
he lived in England as a child)

Butternut squash - I used to bake it in the oven but it takes forever.
Now I cube it and braise in liquid on top of the stove for 5 - 6
minutes; then drain, toss in a bowl iwth butter and cinnamon (and a
little maple syrup but not tonight, we're fresh out)

Our grandparents used the pressure cooker in the old days to save on
energy bills, back when people worried about such things. We may be
worrying again this winter.

Leila

On Sat 29 Oct 2005 11:30:52p, Leila wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> I made beef stew in the pressure cooker tonight. Takes 8 minutes of
> cooking under pressure, although of course the gas is on longer than
> that to heat up the pot. The stew comes out flavorful and good; however
> the meat could stand to be just a little more tender (maybe 8.5 minutes
> next time?)

I have an old Presto electric pressure cooker that cooks only at 15 lbs
pressure. FWIW, when I use beef chuck for soup or stew, I find that the meat
takes a total of 15 minutes under pressure to become as tender as I like it.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________

http://tinypic.com/eikz78.jpg

Meet Mr. Bailey

In article .com>,
"Leila" > wrote:

> Oh it sounds like a sermon, sorry.
>
> I made beef stew in the pressure cooker tonight. Takes 8 minutes of
> cooking under pressure, although of course the gas is on longer than
> that to heat up the pot. The stew comes out flavorful and good; however
> the meat could stand to be just a little more tender (maybe 8.5 minutes
> next time?)
>
> The price of natural gas is supposed to spike 70% this winter, so I was
> thinking how much $ I'll be saving by using the PC to make stews and
> braises.
>
> The recipe was adapted from the manual that came with the PC (I haven't
> bought any of the Lorna Sass books yet, just check them out of the
> library). I used wine instead of water, added garlic and a parsnip, and
> doubled the meat (and liquid) quantities. I also used a bay leaf and
> have no idea if that was in the recipe or not. Next time I'll try their
> trick of cooking for 5 minutes under pressure, letting it drop, then
> adding the carrots & parsnip and cooking anohter 3 minutes under
> pressure. The veg were too soft IMHO although hubby didn't mind. (But
> he lived in England as a child)
>
> Butternut squash - I used to bake it in the oven but it takes forever.
> Now I cube it and braise in liquid on top of the stove for 5 - 6
> minutes; then drain, toss in a bowl iwth butter and cinnamon (and a
> little maple syrup but not tonight, we're fresh out)
>
> Our grandparents used the pressure cooker in the old days to save on
> energy bills, back when people worried about such things. We may be
> worrying again this winter.
>
> Leila

I use my pressure cooker for stew, Leila, but I nuke my squash for about
as long as you pressure-cooked yours. I stab it with a knife and nuke
it whole. Cool a bit, open, and get rid of the innards. I've been
enjoying one (I don't know the name -- maybe a Curry Squash <something
like that>) that has the color and texture of a sweet potato. As sweet
as one, too. Yum!
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 10-20-05 with a note from Niece Jo.

Leila wrote:

<snip>
> Our grandparents used the pressure cooker in the old days to save on
> energy bills, back when people worried about such things. We may be
> worrying again this winter.

Personally I reach for the pressure cooker ahead of the slow cooker or
microwave. I like the results the pressure cooker gives as well as the
time & enery savings.
>
> Leila
>

In article >,
~patches~ > wrote:

> Leila wrote:
>
> <snip>
> > Our grandparents used the pressure cooker in the old days to save on
> > energy bills, back when people worried about such things. We may be
> > worrying again this winter.
>
> Personally I reach for the pressure cooker ahead of the slow cooker or
> microwave. I like the results the pressure cooker gives as well as the
> time & enery savings.

Ditto here!
I'd gotten out of the habit of using it for awhile after mom died, but
I'm getting used to using it again.

Last thanksgiving I used it for the yams... OH MY GODS they were good!
And no messy mess dripping on the floor of the oven. :-) I'll do them
that way from now on! They were soooo perfect and so sweet.

I've also been saving power (and time) using the electric grill for
nearly all the meat I cook. If I could just use it for eggs, I'd have it
made but I still use the cast iron skillet for those. ;-)

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article .com>,
> "Leila" > wrote:
>
>
> > Butternut squash - I used to bake it in the oven but it takes forever.
> > Now I cube it and braise in liquid on top of the stove for 5 - 6
> > minutes; then drain, toss in a bowl iwth butter and cinnamon (and a
> > little maple syrup but not tonight, we're fresh out)
> >
> > Leila
>
> I use my pressure cooker for stew, Leila, but I nuke my squash for about
> as long as you pressure-cooked yours. I stab it with a knife and nuke
>

Clarification - I didn't pressure cook the squash. When it's cubed into
1" pieces it doesn't need that long in a regular pot. 5 minutes and
then I check for doneness. Pam Anderson of How To Cook Without a Book
suggests 1/4 cup water for a pound of winter squash, plus a pat of
butter, so that when the water boils off you remove the lid and
"sautee" the squash in the fat. I cooked up an enormous squash - more
like 2.5 pounds - so used more water, didn't do her steam/sautee
technique. Maybe it was six minutes braised in about 3/4 cup of water,
lid on; then drained and tossed with butter and cinnamon.

Leila