PRESSURE COOKER molten chocolate lava cake

   

My Lava Cake recipe; 

Melt:

1 cup of semi sweet chips

1 stick of butter

Combine to smooth and set aside. 

In mixer: 

Whip 3 eggs until very thick and pale. 

Slowly add 

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

Beat until very thick, add chocolate mixture and fold quickly.  Divide between buttered ramekins or small dishes.
PRESSURE COOK, on HIGH
over 2 cups of water and a trivet for TEN minutes, quick release

Increase the time if you're cooking from fridge or from frozen. 

Quick, simple, delicious.  Not too sweet yet desperately chocolatey.

Here's the how to:

/enjoy

Good bye Nesco, hello InstantPot, the story of why I changed teams

I the spirit of full disclosure, I will tell you the store of why I'm jumping ship; I like to keep you all in the loop.  I have put up my Nesco Pressure cooker.  It's been a really good product up to now I've LOVED it, but a weird turn of events in my personal relationship with the company as well as a big crack happening in the lid, directly beside a screw, (a design flaw, not something *I* did)  has helped me make the decision to move on.  I contacted the company about the flaw and they did reply!  wow!  I was told I can buy a new lid for $15? plus $12 shipping?  Well, for that $30 plus my birthday money, I could get a BRAND NEW machine so that's what I did.  In my opinion, if the lid cracked at the screw once, it might again...  so I moved on.

I have been a Nesco fan since I got my first Nesco pressure cooker.  I contacted the company to ask if I could review any of their products, 3+ years ago, resulted in the company sending me a new electric pressure cooker.  I wrote recipes and used the machine almost daily since. I loved that thing.  I told everyone I knew to buy a pressure cooker, I told strangers... most of them did.  You're welcome Nesco.  I more than covered the cost of the machine sent to me in sales by friends, family and strangers all over the world

I was contacted by a representative of the company last year and asked about reviewing their entire line.  I said SURE!  We sat on the phone for TWO HOURS while he told me about their product line, asked me for recipe ideas!!?? , asked my opinion on their website and videos.  He asked me what appliances I would like to test and review.  He to send a review email listing what we'd discussed as well as a review of the machines I was going to test/review.  I did, that very day.  I said I would hold off buying any other kitchen appliances, large or small, or contacting any other companies.  I did that, I held off... for 9 months.  I have emailed, called and tried to contact that representative or any other rep of the company to find out what the heck is going on regarding the plan to test and review and create recipes...  I was going to link to them for pete's sake..well i'm glad I didn't and it doesn't matter now because I have heard nothing, nothing at all...radio silence.

FINE, I can take a hint (eventually)  There's a million companies out there that make small kitchen appliances.  Some of those I own, some I've asked to test equipment.  I always tell you if I have been given a machine to test and review.

It was my birthday last week so I bit the bullet and I bought my own InstantPot.  I have the Duo6 QT, 7-1.  I got it yesterday... already, I think there's too many buttons and there's not even a start button!! BUT I am going to give it a try.  I believe in a fair shake.  I'm going to try to use it, even with the dumbed down button chaos, and I'll write out any alterations to my pressure cooker recipes.

I'm already 1HR 43 minutes into the 8 our yogurt process, I'll report back on that one.

I am going to try to rework all of my recipes to also have pressure cooker versions.  I know a bunch of people who have bought them, on my recommendation, and the least I can do it supply some of MY recipes.

Just to be clear though, all the electric pressure cookers are the same, basically, some have a million buttons (ugh) and some have only a few  They all turn themselves of an reset to a warm mode.  They all sautee and they all are slow cookers, rice cookers and steamers.

I still think that every single person needs an electric pressure cooker on their counters.  I still think you should use it almost daily.  I just don't, anymore, think it HAS to be a Nesco.  Go, go get yourself a pressure cooker, some are cheap, some are expensive.  Get the one you can afford and come back here and I'll have even more recipes we can pressure cook!

/tracy

QUICK Pressure cooker toffee, caramel, golden love, dulce de leche, make your own

A QUICKIE for you; 

I've been cooking sweetened condensed milk in a can, on the stove top, for 3 hours, for years and years.  It's the base of Banoffee pie.  Cook a pie shell, slice bananas in the cooled shell and pour THIS all over it, chill.   

I wanted to know if my pressure cooker would do it easier and without blowing up. 
It did and it didn't.

Don't fret or freak out, all the online "recipes" are rather horror mongering about the whole thing. This is easy and you're going to go and do it now.  It keeps, unopened, in the cupboard forever and it keeps, in the fridge for a while.  Make something with it, it's SO SO SO much more than the sum of it's cooked in the can parts. 

Don't worry, just do it. 

Tracy's Pressure cooker toffee sauce, caramel, dulce de leche, whatever you call your version. 

What you'll need

1.  Can of sweetened condensed milk
2.  water
3.  pressure cooker

What you'll need to do

Remove the label from your can of sweetened condensed milk.  Put it on a rack in your pressure cooker, turn the can on it's side so it will fit without passing the FULL mark. 

Cover the can with water. Lock and load, 16 minutes
   

DING DING DING

When the cooker dings, unplug it, do not release the pressure, just leave it.  Unplug it do that it doesn't stay on WARM. 

When the pressure is gone, about 15 minutes or so, remove the can, with tongs and put it on a towel to cool

   

When the can is cool enough to hold but still warm, open it.  Stir it with a knife, don't ask, it's just how I do it, and either use it or transfer it to a sealed container (don't leave it in the can once it's opened) and pop it in the fridge.  Nuke, gently, as you need it just to loosen it up.  *I* leave the sealed can in the cupboard without incident and have left it for months!!  

  

Spread it on toast, on fruit, use it as a dip, in a pie, in a flan, in custard, on a spoon, dip bananas in it, use it on ice cream, as ice cream or did I mention, just on a spoon? 

Put it in a pie!  Make my easy press in pie crust, bake it, when it's cool, fill it with this warm caramel and shove it in the fridge. DONE!  EASY! and you'll be a ROCK star

Oh and you're welcome :D  you're going to love this. 

/Tracy