125 Best Pressure Cooker Recipes

We have now tried 4 of the recipes and I like the book even better than I did two weeks ago.


This is a great book   September 29, 2002
 117 out of 117 found this review helpful

When I bought a pressure cooker, I wasn't sure which book to buy out of the myriad books in the store. The reason I bought this was because it was the cheapest! It just goes to show you that something cheap can be a rare and wonderful find. The recipes are just delicious and very easy to make, even for a novice cook. I've had great fun experimenting on my husband and son and nothing beats a hearty stew in the middle of a Calgary winter. What used to take me all day in a slow cooker, now takes just 30 minutes, even with the cheapest, toughest cuts of meat. Buying this book has certainly made my meat purchasing easier, because I'm saving money buying cheaper cuts but not sacrificing quality in the end result.

The desserts in here are delicious and melt in your mouth. Don't listen to people who baulk at making cheesecake in a pressure cooker. Cinda's Layered White and Dark Chocolate Cheesecake is heaven on a fork. It took me 10 minutes to prepare and and exactly 20 minutes to cook, just like the recipe says. I had compliments galore from my husband and he doesn't usually like sweet desserts! I will never go back to eating store bought cheesecake again.

Some of the recipes I would never make - like the fish recipes. Fish doesn't take that long to cook and you're not saving yourself much time that way, but the ribs and campfire beans recipes are fantastic and if you like risotto, this book is for you. Vegetarians don't miss out either. Beans and lentils are provided for and the results are outstanding. Cinda gives you lots of information about the history of the pressure cooker and safety and cleaning tips. She also gives a breakdown of cooking times for various foods in the front of the book. I use this index a lot when I'm making things like beans and lentils.

I usually follow the recipes fairly closely, but I cut corners where I can. Instead of using chicken breasts which can be expensive, sometimes I just substitute a whole chicken and the end result in the same. And the great thing about a pressure cooker is, I don't even defrost my whole chicken. I just prepare the recipe as stated and cook the chicken for 30 minutes. And you would never know it had previously been frozen solid. It's soft and moist and just delicious. Try the Coq Au Vin. C'est magnifique!

I just love this book, so much so that my copy is well worn and slightly ragged and I've only had it less than a year. This book is clearly written and well laid out and has a wealth of information. But I took one star off, because there are only a few high gloss colour photographs of the finished recipes. More photos would have been nice but that's the only bad thing I can say about it. It's the best [money] I ever spent!