Stuffed Apples

These sweet and nutty stuffed apples are a fresh alternative to rich desserts.

Soak raisins in wine for at least 30 minutes. Drain, reserving wine. Combine raisins, nuts, sugar, orange rind, and cinnamon. Core apples, cutting to but not through bottoms. Pare top one-third of apples. Place each apple on square of aluminum foil that is large enough to completely wrap apple. Fill centers with raisin mixture. Top each with one-fourth of the butter. Wrap foil around apple, pinching firmly together at top. Place cooking rack or steamer basket, reserved wine, and water in 4- or 6-quart pressure cooker. Place apples on rack. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 10 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once.

Makes 4 servings

Pork Chop Meal in One

One of the unique attributes of a pressure cooker is its ability to prepare an entire meal at one time in only one pot, saving time and energy. The cooking rack lifts the food out of the cooking liquid and separates it so each food retains its own delicious flavor.

How to Prepare:
1. Blackened Pork Chops: Season both sides or pork chops evenly with Pork & Veal Magic^® seasoning blend. Rub pork chops with 2 teaspoons oil. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 6-quart pressure cooker over medium heat. Brown chops on both sides and remove. Place greased cooking rack or steamer basket and 1 cup water in pressure cooker. Place chops on rack.
2. Pecan Broccoli: Separate broccoli flowerettes. Cut stalks into 3/4-inch pieces. Add 2 teaspoons butter and wrap broccoli in aluminum foil packet. Set aside.
3. Marmalade Apples: Core apples, cutting to but not through the bottoms. Mix butter and brown sugar. Spoon about 1 tablespoon mixture into center of each apple. Top with marmalade, almonds, and remaining butter mixture, dividing evenly. Set aside.
4. Pressure Cook: Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 3 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with the pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once. Arrange broccoli packet and apples on rack with pork chops. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 3 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with the pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once.
5. To Complete: Arrange pork chops on serving plate. Season broccoli with butter, salt, and pepper; sprinkle with pecans. Place apples in shallow dishes.

* If you prefer, substitute the following for the the Pork & Veal Magic^® seasoning blend: 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon filé powder, optional.

Makes 2 servings

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

The raspberry sauce is the perfect compliment to the richness of this divinely creamy cheesecake.

Combine vanilla wafers, nuts and melted butter. Press onto the bottom of a 6-inch springform pan. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate chips until smooth. Pour batter over prepared crust in pan. Cover securely with aluminum foil.

Pour water into a 6-quart pressure cooker. Place trivet or three canning screw bands under cooking rack or steamer basket. Place prepared pan on top of cooking rack. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 35 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord. Remove cheesecake and let cool in springform pan on wire rack. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Release and remove the rim of the springform pan. Serve cheesecake with raspberry sauce.

Raspberry Sauce

Combine raspberries and jelly in small saucepan. Cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Strain sauce. Let cool.

Makes 6 servings

What makes pressure cooking so special?

Getting a meal on the table is not as simple as it used to be. Family taste preferences need to be carefully balanced with concerns about health, nutrition, and food safety. Time is also a major factor with busy dual income households and extra activities infringing on our schedule. Although the pressure cooker is not a new concept, it’s clear why its popularity is resurfacing. It’s the answer to our time crisis, and it returns us to the quality of food we once knew — and desire to properly feed our family today.

Many post-baby boomers are bewildered by the concept of pressure cooking. A pressure cooker is simply a pot with an airtight lid that builds steam internally to temperatures higher than the boiling point, therefore allowing foods to cook in one-third to one-tenth the time of conventional cooking methods. Today’s pressure cookers are completely safe and much easier to use than ever before.

Flavorful recipes featuring meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, rice, and legumes cook to perfection in minutes. The pressure cooker even makes delightful desserts in far less time than normal methods.

The pressure cooker…

Saves Time:

Foods cook three to ten times faster than ordinary cooking methods. Whole meals can be cooked in one pot — without having flavors intermingle — saving cooking and cleaning time. Some foods can even be precooked in the pressure cooker and then finished using a conventional method, if desired…still saving time and getting a wonderful meal on the table fast.

Saves Money: Super fast cooking translates to lower energy bills. For example, using one burner for 30 minutes versus heating up the oven for 3 hours saves money! The pressure cooker turns budget cuts of meat into tender, tasty meals saving you money at the supermarket.

Retains Nutrients and Flavors: Because foods cook quickly with a small amount of liquid in an almost airless environment, vitamins and minerals that are normally boiled away in the cooking process condense in the pot and absorb back into the food retaining the precious nutrients naturally found in our food.

Offers Safety Features: Today’s modern pressure cookers offer multiple safety devices. A locking cover handle prevents the cover from being opened until the pressure inside the cooker has safely dropped. Most newer pressure cookers feature a visual indicator showing if there is pressure inside the cooker. In addition, secondary pressure relief mechanisms have been designed to allow steam to escape in the rare occurrence the vent pipe should become blocked.

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Cooks 3 to 10 times faster than ordinary cooking methods. Saves time, energy, and money. Luxurious stainless steel for long lasting beauty and easy cleaning. Special tri-clad base for even heating. Ideal for use on regular and smooth-top ranges. Pressure regulator maintains the proper cooking pressure automatically. Includes cooking rack and 64-page instruction and recipe book. Extended 12-year limited warranty.

Available at leading retailers.

Stuffed Sirloin Tip Roast

This recipe has tremendous flavor with a little kick!

Combine the Seasoning Mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Preheat a heavy 12-inch skillet over high heat until very hot, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add vegetable oil, onions, and all the bell peppers. Cook, stirring every 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables wilt and begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in fresh ginger, fennel leaves and 1 tablespoon of the Seasoning Mix. Cook, stirring and scraping almost constantly, until the mixture sticks hard, about 3 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of the stock. Continue to stir and scrape until the liquid almost evaporates and mixture is pasty, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Heat oil in 4-or 6-quart pressure cooker over medium heat. Brown roast on all sides. Remove from pressure cooker. With a boning knife, make a series of pockets in the top of the meat, about 3/4 inch apart. To make the pockets, insert the knife until it is about three fourths of the way through the roast, then, without enlarging the opening, move the knife back and forth to create pockets. Spoon as much of the stuffing as possible into the pockets. Return the roast to the pressure cooker. If you have stuffing left over, spread 1/4 cup on the top of the roast, and put any additional stuffing on the side of the roast in the pressure cooker.

Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 45 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord. Remove roast to serving plate. Combine flour and water. Whisk into cooker. Cook until sauce boils and thickens, whisking constantly. As soon as the mixture thickens, remove it from the heat. Slice the roast into 8 portions, drizzle some of the sauce over it, and pass the remaining sauce separately.

* If you prefer, substitute the following for Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Barbecue Magic^® seasoning blend: 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 3/4 teaspoon cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper.

Makes 8 servings

Chicago Steak Rollups

The blending of flavors is fabulous in this elegant steak rollup recipe.

Cut meat into 8 pieces and pound until 1/4 inch thick. Combine flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Dredge seasoned flour into each piece of meat. Mix together bread crumbs, onions, squash, green pepper, celery, 1 teaspoon salt, egg, and 2 tablespoons melted margarine. Spread squash mixture evenly over each piece of meat, roll and fasten with a toothpick. Brown meat rolls on all sides in 1/4 cup margarine in a 4- or 6-quart pressure cooker. Remove rolls from pan. Place 1 cup water and cooking rack or steamer basket in pressure cooker. Put rolls on rack. Close pressure cooker cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 15 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once. Remove beef rolls to warm serving platter. Pan juices may be thickened for gravy.

Makes 8 servings

New England Clambake

Old-time clambakes were a traditional extension to barn raisings and family reunions. The entire cooking process took hours to complete. However, in a pressure cooker this delicious clambake recipe is finished in less than 10 minutes.

Pour water in 6-quart pressure cooker. Add bay leaf, herbs and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add potatoes and onion. Add clams; spread them evenly. Split lobster tail in half (leave in shell), lightly season and lay over clams. Lightly season sea scallops and layer in cooker. Place thinly sliced butter over the top of the lobster and scallops. Add corn-on-the-cob pieces. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 4 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once. Serve hot in large bowls with a lemon wedge.

Makes 4 servings

HOW TO USE A PRESSURE COOKER

Getting To Know Your Pressure Cooker…

There are few fundamental differences among pressure cookers because they all work on the same basic principle. The following diagrams illustrate the basic features of most newer pressure cookers. Of course, you’ll also want to carefully study your pressure cooker’s instruction manual to get acquainted with exactly how it works.

To get started, familiarize yourself with the following key parts of a pressure cooker as identified in the diagrams below.

Pressure Regulator
Controls and maintains pressure inside the cooker and indicates when the cooking pressure — usually 15 pounds — is reached.

Vent Pipe
The pressure regulator fits on the vent pipe and allows excess pressure to be released.

Air Vent/Cover Lock
Automatically exhausts air from inside the cooker and serves as a visual indicator of pressure within the cooker. When pressure begins to build, the air vent/cover lock slides up, causing the LOCK PIN to lock the cover in place.

Sealing Ring
Forms a pressure-tight seal between the cover and the pressure cooker body during cooking.

Over Pressure Plug
Automatically releases pressure (if necessary, as a safety measure) in the unlikely instance the vent pipe would become clogged and pressure could not be released normally.

Cooking Rack or Basket
Raises foods out of the cooking liquid. It also allows foods to be separated so their flavors will not intermingle when they are cooked at the same time. When a blending of flavors is desired, the rack or basket is not used.

Be sure to visit our Videos page where Merle Ellis shows you the key parts of a typical pressure cooker and explains how they work while preparing a spare rib recipe.

The Pressure Cooking Method…

These easy steps serve as a simple guide to using a pressure cooker. They are not intended, however, to be a substitute for the manufacturer’s instructions that accompany your pressure cooker model.

		1. Check recipe for specific instruction and cooking time. Use the cooking rack or basket if desired. Pour required amount of liquid into the pressure cooker and add food.
		2. Before closing the cover, hold it up to the light and look through the vent pipe to make certain it is clear.
		3. Place cover securely on pressure cooker according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
		4. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. Heat pressure cooker to 15 pounds pressure using a high stovetop temperature setting. (Note: As pressure is building inside the cooker, air is being exhausted out of the air vent. Once the air is exhausted, the cover lock will rise and remain locked until pressure is safely reduced.) Depending upon your model, 15 pounds pressure is reached when the pressure regulator begins to rock OR when a slow, steady release of steam is seen or heard OR when the pressure indicator rises to the 15 pounds pressure mark. Reduce the heat setting to maintain 15 pounds pressure. Cooking time begins as soon as 15 pounds pressure is reached.
		5. If the recipe states “cook 0 minutes,” cook food only until 15 pounds pressure is reached and cool the cooker as specified. Always cook for the length of time stated in the recipe and reduce pressure as directed. When recipe states “let pressure drop of its own accord,” remove cooker from heat and set aside to cool naturally. When recipe states “cool cooker at once,” cool immediately in a sink under cold running water or by placing it in a pan of cold water until pressure is completely reduced. If your model features a quick cool release button, use according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
		6. Pressure is completely reduced when the air vent/cover lock has dropped. Remove the pressure regulator. Then, remove pressure cooker cover and serve food.

[ADVERTISEMENT]

The Presto^® Pressure Cooker is the perfect solution to fast, healthy, and satisfying meals!

Cooks 3 to 10 times faster than ordinary cooking methods. Saves time, energy, and money. Luxurious stainless steel for long lasting beauty and easy cleaning. Special tri-clad base for even heating. Ideal for use on regular and smooth-top ranges. Pressure regulator maintains the proper cooking pressure automatically. Includes cooking rack and 64-page instruction and recipe book. Extended 12-year limited warranty.

Available at leading retailers.

Baked Beans

An all-time favorite made easier and faster in the pressure cooker.

Soak beans according to the method you prefer. Soaking can be done using the traditional or the quick-soak method.
Traditional Method: Clean and rinse beans; cover with three times as much water as beans. Soak 4 to 8 hours. Drain.
Quick Method: Clean and rinse beans; cover with three times as much water as beans. Bring beans to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 to 2 hours. Drain.

Add drained navy beans and remaining ingredients except salt to 4- or 6-quart pressure cooker. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 35 MINUTES at 15 pounds pressure with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord. Season to taste with salt.

Makes 6 servings

Glazed Root Vegetables

Root vegetables normally require long cooking times, but the pressure cooker cuts the time dramatically. This healthy side dish is loaded with flavor.

Heat margarine in 4- or 6-quart pressure cooker over medium heat. Add turnip wedges and carrots and sauté for 3 minutes. Add parsnips, chicken broth, sugar, and ginger. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. COOK 1 MINUTE at 15 pounds pressure with the pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once. Sauce may be thickened, if desired; combine cornstarch and water. Stir into sauce. Heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.

Makes 8 servings