I pride myself on being a good cook of basic meals, not a chef by any means, nor a slouch in the kitchen. The most recent addition to my culinary tools is an Instant Pot that was re gifted. I walk with two friends/neighbors each morning and their respective dogs. They are both Jewish women and one gifted the pot to the other as an (unexpected) Hanukkah gift last December. Friend B who received the item from Friend A had little interest in cooking with what essentially a pressure cooker, albeit flashier than the one my mother used decades ago. I was always afraid of pressure cookers as it seemed that there were volcanoes of steam in them. Who knows what they could do.
A few months ago, Friend B asked if I wanted the pot. It was still in the box, unused and unlikely to be used. I said sure and I became its new owner. The pot comes with a small booklet that doesn’t entirely describe its functions, but I decided to give it a try. The first meal was stuffed peppers. The recipe I found on the official website advised using red or yellow ones and the result was much better than any stuffed pepper my husband and I had ever tasted. Who knew?
We spent a lot of time staring at the Instant Pot as it built up steam, hissed and we tried to figure out how the timer worker. Did 00:32 mean 32 minutes of cooking after the pressure built up? Yes, but the recipe called for 10 minutes, so after learning how to subtract minutes, it worked beautifully.
The next recipe, beef stroganoff was also successful.
Tonight I tried the stuffed peppers again, only to come up with a Food Burn message on the pot’s screen. Back to the small booklet which came with the pot. It tells you to investigate Trouble Shooting but there is no section in the tiny booklet on this. Apparently the Trouble Shooting information is online. I rescued the meal but adding liquid and the result was totally edible.
Of course, I cannot brag about these meals, as I usually am walking with both A, B and their dogs.
B doesn’t want A to know that she’s given away the gift. I may have to resort to saying I bought one myself. The truth will never escape my lips.
Another regrettable thing about the device is its size. Hard to store in a small kitchen, so it lives with the coats in the hall closet. I no longer fear pressure cookers and will keep trying new recipes which of course I will only discuss with my husband.
— Oxnard15
A few months ago, Friend B asked if I wanted the pot. It was still in the box, unused and unlikely to be used. I said sure and I became its new owner. The pot comes with a small booklet that doesn’t entirely describe its functions, but I decided to give it a try. The first meal was stuffed peppers. The recipe I found on the official website advised using red or yellow ones and the result was much better than any stuffed pepper my husband and I had ever tasted. Who knew?
We spent a lot of time staring at the Instant Pot as it built up steam, hissed and we tried to figure out how the timer worker. Did 00:32 mean 32 minutes of cooking after the pressure built up? Yes, but the recipe called for 10 minutes, so after learning how to subtract minutes, it worked beautifully.
The next recipe, beef stroganoff was also successful.
Tonight I tried the stuffed peppers again, only to come up with a Food Burn message on the pot’s screen. Back to the small booklet which came with the pot. It tells you to investigate Trouble Shooting but there is no section in the tiny booklet on this. Apparently the Trouble Shooting information is online. I rescued the meal but adding liquid and the result was totally edible.
Of course, I cannot brag about these meals, as I usually am walking with both A, B and their dogs.
B doesn’t want A to know that she’s given away the gift. I may have to resort to saying I bought one myself. The truth will never escape my lips.
Another regrettable thing about the device is its size. Hard to store in a small kitchen, so it lives with the coats in the hall closet. I no longer fear pressure cookers and will keep trying new recipes which of course I will only discuss with my husband.
— Oxnard15
Sounds like a plan! It is funny that you cannot say anything about your successes and experiments with the Instant Pot to A and B. Silly, but understandable. Happy experimenting! (Macoff)
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