The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book

The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough is filled with five-hundred recipes that are made with electric or stove-top pressure cookers. The book caught my eye because being that I now live in Costa Rica the pressure cooker is a main kitchen tool. Granted, the first time I saw one I had no idea what it was, then when I saw the steam pouring out I thought for sure it was going to explode! Yet, no worries if you're like me and had never seen a pressure cooker which ultimately caused you to fear for your life- or at least for some serious burns; the whole first half of the cookbook is dedicated to people like us.

The first half includes an introduction on what a pressure cooker is, the different models that are available, and fantastic advice on making sure to read the instruction manual that comes with your pressure cooker because every model is different. Trust me, after reading the introduction I found myself much more at ease that I could cook with a pressure cooker without burning myself with steam or blowing my house up (maybe a slight exaggeration but hey when you're scared you imagine crazy things). 

Anyways, once you get that confidence boost from the first half of the introduction you can move on to the practical advice in the second half on cooking. They recommend how much salt, liquid, even how big the vegetable pieces should be cut to make sure they are all evenly cooked. It contains great practical advice which is very specific depending on           whether you have a stove-top model or an electric model. 

The recipes are broken down into seven main sections: Breakfast, Soups, Meat, Poultry, Fish and Shellfish, Vegetables, Beans, and Grains, as well as, Desserts. These main categories are divided further into sub-categories, such as, chicken, turkey, beef, main course soups, and vegetable or grain soups. 

Overall, a very thorough and practical book on using what should become a main staple kitchen tool. It allows for delicious meals in a much quicker amount of time- think in terms of the results you would get from using a slow cooker all day but now in the time of about 30 minutes. 

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."