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Cooking Under Pressure
By Julie Takamatsu
“Do not be afraid of cooking, as your ingredients will know and misbehave. Enjoy your cooking and the food will behave; moreover it will pass your pleasure on to those who eat it.” – Fergus Henderson, chef/owner St. John restaurant, London, UK from the book The Whole Beast Many of you know from reading my blog that I can't cook, but I've been actively taking classes as part of the Culinary Arts Program at the local community college. Each experiences has been rewarding and I am one step closer to my goal of being a good cook in the Takamatsu's household. Each of the classes is challenging and entertaining as we learned new techniques for the kitchen. This past Saturday class was title Cooking Under Pressure. It's not what you think and there is no Iron Man Chef Competition, but just using the pressure cooker to cut our time in the kitchen. Initially, the class had to be rescheduled due to a tsunami warning for all Hawaiian Island. I was a bit worry for our instructor, Alyssa Moreau, because she would have lot ingredients sitting in her fridge. Luckily, she was able to used most of the ingredients in her cooking. As our environment continue to change, the demand for both parents to work leave us little time to stay in the kitchen and cook a 6 course meals. The introduction of pressure cooker allows any busy person to get supper on the table in a hurry. All type of foods can be cooked in a pressure cooker without adding any additional fats or oils and because of the “closed” system, very little nutrients are lost resulting in food that are a lot more healthier. In addition, vegetables keep their natural colors better because they are not exposed to much oxygen. Before we went over to the kitchen to start cooking, Alyssa, went over some useful tips in the classroom on taking care of the cooker, safety features, how to familiarize yourself with your pressure cooker, what kind of food is best in the pressure cooker, different types of pressure cookers, what size pot is the most versatile and finally, how to troubleshoot. Although the information was overwhelming to a newbie like me, I really appreciate it that she took the time to explained all of this to us and even provided lots of handout so that we can always reference back at a later date. Her attention to details and friendliness always make for an enjoyable class. In addition, Alyssa also had 3 other senior culinary student to assist us when needed. My partner, Deb, and I prepared a total of 4 dishes. I am extremely grateful to be paired up with Deb again as she is an excellent cook and also someone who is very patience. Never tried of the endless questions that I asked her, she would stop and answer everyone of them. Even bringing in her very own pressure cooker for us to used. Deb provided great cooking advice to me and even told me to head over to Macy's to purchase the pressure cooker. “And make sure you buy it on sale”, she added. Indeed, she is quite thoughtful and probably read me like a book as I only shop on the 1st and 2nd floor of Macy's. Yup! That's the clothing and accessories floors. Hardly ever went up to the 3rd floor as I did not find a need to purchase any cooking utensils, but now I do. My favorite dish that we made is the Maple Walnut Rice Pudding. It can also be a good dish to eat in the morning as breakfast, but knowing me, I have a sweet tooth therefore I probably will be eating it all the time. Below is our instructor, Alyssa's receipt: Maple Walnut Rice Pudding
T=table spoon, C=cup, tsp=tea spoon 1 T Butter
1 C Arborio or long grain white (Jasmine) rice
1½ C Milk
2½ C Water
1/3 C Raisins (Opt)
Pinch salt
¼ – 1/3 C maple Syrup
½ C toasted walnuts, chopped coarse
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract Heat Butter in the cooker. Stir in the rice, taking care that all the grains are coated with the butter. Immediately, stir in the milk, water and salt. Lock the lid in place and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat to maintain pressure and cook 8 minutes. Quick-release under cold running water. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow excess steam to escape. Add in the maple syrup, raisins and walnuts. If the rice is too chewy to your taste, replace the cover and let it continue to cook in the residual heat for another minute or two, (and stirring in a few tablespoons of water at a time if the mixture seems too dry). When done, add in the vanilla. Adjust flavors to taste. Serve warm. Serves 3-4. Additional things you can add in: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, other dried fruits Enjoy! Comments?
Julie loves to learn, has the desire to cultivate more friendships and enjoyed going on fun-fill journeys which are the motivation behind starting her blogs. Come join her as she tackle the daily adventures of life and share your thoughts with her. Provide a comment or 2. 
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Orange Braised Butternut Squash with Ginger and Garlic
Vegetarian Paella
Our cooking Instructor, Alyssa Moreau
Pressure Cooker
Arborio Rice
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I can remember when pressure cookers were all the rage, Julie. Then people started looking for the fast food and the cookers got replaced with calories. Let's hope that people will start to rally around the properly prepared meal again.
Best to you.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Yup! Yup! Let's hope so. ;)
I love my pressure cooker! My husband would like any type of rice pudding so I may have to try this sometime.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
It's really good. I just had some for breakfast today. ;)
I remember my mother using a pressure cooker but I believe that was for canning.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
**smile**
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This intel was contributed by Jufi
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