Customer Reviews

Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Having purchased and thoroughly enjoyed Cooking Under Pressure and The Pressured Cook, it was a no-brainer to purchase Lorna Sass's latest offering for the pressure cooker. For persons new to pressure cooking and even for us 'old hands', this may be her best work yet.
The first twenty-two pages are a primer for pressure cooking. Ms. Sass demystifies this cooking genre and guides the reader through what she calls, 'The Language of Pressure Cooking'. She reassures the novice of the safety of today's pressure cookers and generally provides all the information that the reader will need to be successful.
What I really liked about this book (besides the recipes) are the 'extras': Variations, Transformations and Pressure Points. The variations suggest alternate ingredients, the transformations explain how to modify the recipe to create other dishes and the pressure points provide information, techniques and suggestions specific to different sized cookers. This is particularly useful as electric pressure cookers are now becoming popular and recipes don't always work the same as for stovetop models.
But, you buy a cookbook in order to make great food! Pressure Perfect won't disappoint. I admit to being a poultry lover and the pressure cooker can turn out mixed results. The Chicken Cacciatore recipe was my first choice and it was a keeper! Subsequent recipes, all highly recommended were Spanish Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Beef, Mushroom and Barley Soup and Chicken Noodle 'Casserole' with Mushroom Sauce. I'm still experimenting and at least for now, every recipe has been outstanding.
If your pressure cooker has been in storage, drag it out and dust it off. Buy this book, read through the first two chapters and get ready for a wonderful culinary experience. You will be very pleased with your results...I know that I am!

Lorna Sass's "Pressure Perfect" really is that, I believe.She starts with a clear, but not stupidly oversimplified guide to pressure cookers and pressure cooking. To me, this section is almost worth the price of the book.I have an older, American made "jiggle top" pressure cooker, and these recipes work flawlessly in my cooker.The dishes range from very standard "American" dishes like chili and pot roast and excellent mashed potatoes that are very nearly as fast as instant, to rissottos, to a really delicious Chicken Biryani.The timing charts for meats, vegetables, and grains are presented twice, which is very handy. They are presented first in each section, and again at the end of the book, before the clear and concise index.None of the ingredients are impossible to find, and even the ones that are not common, can be mail/phone ordered. Sass includes contact information for stores and pressure cooker manufacturers.Wild rice is one of my favourite grains, and until I got this book, I rarely had wild rice beacuse of the lengthy conventional cooking time. I have it a lot more often.This is a well written, easy to use, friendly book.

Lorna Sass' passion for cooking is in every recipe description and comes through in the resulting food. I was blown away by the Curry in a Hurry and her method of cooking rice in a serving casserole on top of the curry (or other recipe). What a time saver and its much easier on the clean up too. I took this combo to a pot luck and just had to tell everyone how to do it. Also delicious and quick was the Beef Stew to which I added a bottle of Guinness!
Lorna gives so many wonderful variations which entice you to personalize the recipes. It's also a great introduction to using a pressure cooker with so much information on how they work.
This book is versatile, organized and imaginative and its going to get very dirty!

I got an electric pressure cooker and Lorna Sass's book for Christmas (yes, yes, I asked for a pressure cooker... ) The electric pressure cooker is great and very easy to use. I really didn't want to spend time watching the pressure cooker on the stove and trying to figure out how high to keep the flame so that the cooker stays at high pressure. My pressure cooker came with this little flimsy booklet and would've been virtually unusable without this book. The book great for a beginner and explains in great detail how each model (i.e. stove-top or electric) of the pressure cooker operates. The recipes are excellent and each recipe has ideas on replacing ingredients. I think the most valuable parts of the book are the cooking charts. I've been able to modify my regular recipes for use in the pressure cooker just on the charts alone. Overall, this book is a must-have in order to start using your pressure cooker.

I'm a big Lorna Sass fan, and I fell in love with pressure cookers when I bought my very first cookbook of hers (Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure). I couldn't believe then how easy it was to use a pressure cooker, and I was bowled over by the results. This cookbook is no exception. We don't eat a lot of meat, so I really like all the variations that this cookbook offers. Each recipe includes any number of variations, and many of the meat recipes have vegetarian versions. It's wonderful to be able to do different things with a single recipe, depending on your mood and what ingredients you have on hand. And the desserts? I was pretty sceptical when I thought about doing a cheesecake in a pressure cooker, but I was blown away by the results. By far the best cheesecake I've ever made. Yum! I'd highly recommend this cookbook, along with any of Lorna Sass' other cookbooks.

If you are looking for a good cookbook for the pressure cooker, look no further! With charts for cooking meat, and fabulous recipes, this is the one to buy! Every recipe I have used out of this book has been excellent. I have not purchased the author's other books, but they are definitely on my list of possibles... I took this book out of the library, and loved it so much I purchased my own copy!

Lorna Sass is a master at creating delicious 1-pot meals you can pull together on a busy week night. Pressure Perfect may be her most innovative pressure cooker book yet. I never dreamed I could make pasta with meat sauce all in one pot in 5 minutes! Or lamb shanks with white beans in 28 minutes! If you shy away from traditional recipes that require hours of simmering followed by lots of clean-up, this book will put menu planning is a whole new light. And you'll never tire of it. Each recipe offers not only variations, but complete transformations. The book is extremely well organized and user friendly. It's full of timing charts and useful tips for great results.

This cookbook is a pleasure to use. The author has all sorts of creative uses for how to use the pressure cooker, like spaghetti and meatballs (everything cooks together in the pressure cooker), and even desserts. Most of them are so fast, you'll hardly have time to make the salad before the main course is finished. The book is also filled with timing charts for things like beans, grains and vegetables in the cooker,to give you general guidance in using your pressure cooker. The recipe instructions are very clear, and the author's voice is good- natured and humorous. I'm impressed with Sass's broad knowledge of cooking ingredients. The recipes I've tried in the book are all reliable-- the results are quite good. This cookbook has really sold me on the utility and versatility of the pressure cooker.

I have owned and occasionally used a pressure cooker for the past 7 or 8 years. I decided to purchase a pressure cooker for my single working daughter whose life is very busy but loves to cook. I saw Lorna Sass' cookbook listed as something other customers had purchased and I decided to buy one for each of us. I have enjoyed reading the first 22 pages of introduction which has been helpful even after owning and cooking under pressure for years. I decided to spend some time today testing out Cooking Under Pressure (so that I could tell my daughter a few to try). I made 4 of the recipes and they were all fantastic. The Curried Coconut, Chicken, and Sweet Potato Soup (I did substitute butternut squash) is amazing - 7 minutes cooking time - what a winner. If you buy this book you must try the Meatloaf with Cheddar-Smashed Potatoes, everything cooks together and I can't even describe how moist the meatloaf was and how flavorful the potatoes come out. The Mocha Chip Cheesecake is cooling in the refrigerator so I haven't tasted it but it looks wonderful and took no time to make. I have a huge library of cookbooks, consider myself a gourmet cook and occasionally teach cooking classes. This is my new favorite cookbook. I'm anxious to test out the recipes that have been recommended by other reviewers.

This book is great for the experienced cook who's fairly new to pressure cooking.

I love to cook and use lots of different cooking equipment, but the pressure cooker was a little bit intimidating at first, I guess because of the stories you hear about the old ones blowing up. The new pressure cookers have many safety features that eliminate the need for concern.

Every recipe that I tried turned out beautifully. The directions were clear and concise, and there were many varied and unusual choices. I have 3 of Lorna Sass' pressure cooking books and love them all.

For anyone who wants to make great and interesting food fast, this is a must have.