Paul, who created this amazing looking site needs the nice looking threads for his continued advocacy of pig rights.

1. Took 1/2 bacon, cut into lardons, and rendered out the fat until I had nice little bacon bits. This was all done in the pressure cooker with the lid off.
2. Bacon bits out, chopped onions and garlic in. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. 1/2 cup of white wine to get the bits off the bottom of the pot. City folk call this ‘deglazing’.
4. Stir in 2 cups of rice.
5. Add 4 cups of chicken stock. Stir everything together.
6. Seal pressure cooker, bring up to pressure, reduce heat and let work for 7 minutes.
7. At 7 minutes, release the steam and take off the lid when it is safe to do so.
8. Stir in a cup of frozen peas, bacon bits, and cheese (the more the better).
9. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and serve.

It is true that it took 7 minutes to cook. All and all from bacon to plate was about 25 minutes. Easily half the time and 90% less work than normal. I love my pressure cooker!

I’ve been thinking about a pressure cooker for some time now. Finally, it arrives from the kitchen fairy and let me tell you, she is pretty. The first thing I did was hit the cookbook that came with it. As I digested the pages, I got more and more angry. This frigging company was making claims that it could cook things amazingly fast (i.e Risotto in 7 minutes). BULLSHIT. I don’t believe it. As my aggression grew more and more, I decided to take the most boisterous recipie and test it. You want a piece of my cookware liars, then here I am.

I went to the butchen and got a 3lb pork shoulder. You tell me that I can make a pulled pork sandwich from pressure to pull in less then 45 minutes. I spend at least 3-4 hours roasting low and slow in the over to get pulled pork. DO NOT TELL ME THIS CAN BE DONE IN UNDER 4 HOURS! Following the instructions, I  added 2 cups of fluid (in this case Strongbow Cider…Don’t judge me!) I then put the trivet in the bottom of the pot, placed the basket on top, and the pork in the basket. I had a second thought, pulled the pork out of the basket and gave it a loving massage with some of my dry rub I used in the smoker. Might as well have flavour if I’m going to end up sticking it in the smoker to finish it after the pressure cooked unfulfilled its promise.

I sealed the lid, brought it up to pressure, turned down the heat, and let it sit for 45 minutes. It released a very small stream of steam over the 45 minutes. It made the house smell like heaven. Imagine if Fabreeze had a ‘pork scent’. ..wait a second…why the hell don’t they have a pork scent? All their shit smells like flowers (vegetarians think this shit is catnip.). I digress.

After 45 minutes, I took the pot off the heat and let it naturally release pressure. It took about 10 minutes and I opened up the lid to see what I had. The roast looked good and I stuck my finger into it to see if it would give. I buried a knuckle. The meat was falling apart right in front of me. I panicked. Like a school girl wondering if the cool guy is going to ask her to prom, I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. Why me? Had the god of pork finally looked down on me and said, “Son, I have seen the love you have shown the pig. This is the WAY.” I didn’t know what to do so I tented the meat in a tin foil envelope to buy myself some time to get it together. A self directed ‘time out’ of sorts.

When I finally felt grounded I peaked into the envelope. I found 3lbs of meat so succulent and tender, I cried, my tears adding to the already salty dry rub. I quickly took the cider/rendered pork fat/pork juice/tears concoction out of the pressure cooker and added a cup of basmati rice, two cups of the stock, and sealed the pressure cooker again. In 5 minutes i had perfectly cooked basmati rice.

Finally, I reduced the sauce until it became gravy and topped the pulled pork and rice with the delicious sauce. Delicious! Now every time I look into the eyes of my pressure cooker, Queen starts playing in my head….”Under Pressure”.

I was chatting with my dad about my favorite pot and he said that he had some Le Creuset pieces from back in the 80′s in a summer house we have in Clearwater. He brought them down for me and they were in rough shape. The enamel was chipped, the lid rims were rusted. I thought about using them outside for the BBQ and smoker, but they were in too rough a shape even for that. With a tear in my eye and a heavy heart, they went in the dumpster.

To my surprise, I received a Le Creuset casserole dish today. It was for my birthday (back in March) but I hadn’t seen my dad. Long story short, this will be what my cast iron pot has been. A mainstay in my tool box of culinary exploration. It can’t do stove top (earth-ware bottom), but can easily handle temperatures up to 500 celsius and I expect it to be excellent for shepherds pies, lasagnas, and many of the other baked goods I make from late Fall until early spring each year. I thought it best I introduce you now should you wonder where this lovely vessel appeared magically from. I love Le Creuset, but don’t be misguided by her beauty. Her Chinese cousins can do just as good of a job as her. I don’t know if I would have bought one myself, but getting it as a gift is gold. The best birthday presents are something you want, but don’t need.

p.s. Paul is going to shit himself when he sees this. I make a mean $100 lasagna. I think I might use this recipe to lightly break in this yellow beauty.