Shiny New Objects

I admit it. I, too, dismissed pressure cookers as a risky tool that only my grandmother would have used. It seemed like one of those tools doomed to the heap of history.

Then two things happened. First, Iron Chef. I’ve only watched a handful of those shows, but it seems that about every contender and every iron chef uses a pressure cooker somewhere in their plan of attack. 

The second was Nathan Myhrvold, or rather his work on Modernist Cuisine. Tech guy turns foodie and has the money to back creating some serious work. Props to him. Damn if the pressure cooker doesn’t figure significantly in his kitchen.

OK, I’m in. Less that a week passes before I get my Fissler in the mail and I have a new shiny object to play with.

I’ve just used it to cook faro (parcooked once, and then straight through another time), and then Myrhvold’s basic marinara to see if at the higher temp one really can get a Maillard reaction with wet tomatoes. Seemed to work quite well – and faster than my approach of draining tomatoes, browning them and adding back the liquid. Fed my family and now they are asking what else I can make with it.

I’m sure some of you have been using this tool for years. Any great ideas you’d like to share? My family is getting hungry.