20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good cook book, September 10, 2010
This review is from: 200 Best Pressure Cooker Recipes (Paperback)
I recently purchased my first pressure cooker and was looking for a good cookbook to go along with it. I purchased this book and The Everything Pressure Cooker book.
The recipes I have tried so far have been good and the layout and basic information in the book are very good. The recipes are easy to read and follow and there are a good set of general cooking tables in the beginning of the book.
The only thing I did not like about it, and it is mostly personal tastes, is that there are a lot of ethnic recipes, most of which I would not cook. I also found some of the recipes a bit fussy or with ingredients that I would not ordinarily have on hand. If you like a more diverse range of foods or have time for fancier fare than this book would be good fit. Overall I'm happy with the purchase and find it a good book for pressure cooker recipes.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crystal clear recipes, exotic dishes and delicious results, August 22, 2011
This review is from: 200 Best Pressure Cooker Recipes (Paperback)
This is my favorite of all the pressure cooker books I own, especially for exotic dishes. Cinda Chavich's recipes are clear, mise-en-place orderly and precise. Ingredient measurements are also offered in metric units. Steps are laid out in an easy-to-follow way that will delight beginners and experienced cooks. Most recipes fit on one page max and most involve only 3 to 5 cooking steps.
The title says it all as these really are some of the best recipes you'll find for the pressure cooker. While many tasty basic dishes are here, this is not a recipe book for the timid diner or a poorly stocked kitchen. Chavich works miracles with exotic spices and ingredients that even a novice pressure cook can easily learn to master - cardamom, garam masala, chili and curry pastes, coconut milk and more. The recipes take inspiration from North African, Mediterranean, pan-Asian, Latin American and other world cuisines with incredibly delicious results. Best of all, every recipe I've tried has been easy to prepare and fuss-free. Ms. Chavich put her skills as a journalist and food editor to good use, giving us a recipe book that's written with uncommon clarity.
The book includes many basic recipes for perfect pot roast, hummus, Sloppy Joe's, roast chicken, stews and fantastic vegetarian dishes that are healthful, easy and full of flavor. A section on beans and grains offers 29 can't-wait-to-try recipes that range from basic risotto to paella and wheat berries carbonara.
Not only can this woman cook, she can teach too as every section and recipe is accompanied by tips or serving/shopping suggestions. No garbage ingredients here, either - everything screams fresh and fantastic, including desserts from orange espresso cheesecake to lemony lavender creams.
The few pages of introductory text and cooking time tables are probably adequate for the beginner, though a PC novice will also want to absorb Lorna Sass' instructions and pressure cooking basics. As a decent home cook who's only been using a Kuhn Rikon (excellent!) pressure cooker for a few months, I found Chavich's tips and recipes more than adequate to follow and master on first try. Last night's curried chicken thighs with (whole wheat) couscous was a total home run, a one-pot dish/one-bowl meal that was fragrant, satisfying and full of low-fat nutrients. Seconds went to both a meat-and-potatoes diner and a professional chef at the table.
Get this book. The recipes are almost too good to be true. Every one I've tried has turned out restaurant-quality perfection. Whether you try basic or the more adventuresome world-cuisine dishes, you'll be amazed at how Chavich's book will make it a breeze and a pleasure for you to whip up some of the most sophisticated, delicious and unusual meals in your pressure cooker.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tasty, Interesting Recipes Including Vegetarian!, February 18, 2011
This review is from: 200 Best Pressure Cooker Recipes (Paperback)
This is probably the best pressure cooker recipe book I've found for my needs. I'm a vegetarian, and I prefer foods that have lots of flavor. This book offers 34 pages of 'Vegetarian Dishes' in addition to others in the 'Appetizers,' 'Soups', and 'Beans and Grains' sections. The recipes include Mediterranean, Caribbean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, TexMex and Indian flavors and are anything but bland. I bought a book of pressure cooker recipes for vegetarians, but the recipes were for the most part quite dull.
If you're a meat & fish lover, there are 48 main dish 'Meat' pages, 26 'Poultry' pages and 18 'Fish' pages. I imagine these recipes are as creative and tasty as the vegetarian ones. There are also recipes for puddings, jams, cakes and sauces. I haven't tried the desserts, since I've had to give up sweets.
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