Instant Pot For Two By Shon Brooks — A Review

One of the reasons I started adapting recipes for one or two is because I couldn’t find a cookbook for one or two that I actually liked. Most cookbooks for one or two suffer from the recipes either being so simple they are insulting or being full of so many expensive ingredients they are beyond the budgets of most cooks. So when I ordered this cookbook I wasn’t expecting much. I hoped I would be surprised. Unfortunately, I was surprised but not in a good way.

First, let me say, I really wanted to like this cookbook. On first look, the recipes were every thing I want in a cookbook.

1. There is a great variety of recipes.

2. The recipes used ingredients I could find at any grocery store.

3. The recipes weren’t so simple as to be insulting but not so complicated it would take all day to cook them.

When I started cooking from the cookbook I began to find many subtle problems.

1. The ingredient lists weren’t specific. The first recipe I tried was for steel cut oats. The cooking time said to cook them for 3 minutes. I have made 20 pounds or more of steel cut oats in the pressure cooker over the years so I know they take 12 -15 minutes under pressure to cook. I looked through some timing charts and saw quick cooking steel cut oats take 3 minutes to cook but nowhere in the ingredient list or directions did it say anything about quick cooking steel cut oats. This type of thing happened in many other recipes through out the book.

2. None of the recipes in the book state what kind of release to use. Since the type of release used can effect the outcome of the dish that is a major problem.

3. There are obvious typos throughout the book that should have been taken care of with careful editing before the book was ever printed.

These are just a few of the problems with this cookbook that make it unreliable for the average cook. This cookbook was a great concept but poorly executed. If you are looking for an good Instant Pot for Two cookbook this isn’t for you.

24 Hour Omelette

Some people get emotionally involved in books. Some people get emotionally involved in movies. Apparently, I get emotionally involved in cooking shows. At 5:30 this morning, I was yelling at my tv because the technical challenge on The Great British Baking Show was angel food cake and someone greased the fucking tin!!! Other people didn’t whip their egg whites to stiff peaks and still others didn’t cool their cake upside down!!! It drove me crazy.

I guess its because if I had a signature dessert, it would be angelfood cake. Its my favorite cake. Years ago, I spent my whole summer learning how to make it from scratch. I made at least a dozen angel food cakes that summer and many more since. I am the best egg seperator on the planet so if you need eggs seperated give me a call.

What does this have to do with a 24 Hour Omelette?  Well, it does have eggs and you do bake it.  Other than that, nothing.  It’s just the my random ramblings.  I do suggest you try this recipe.  Don’t let the title fool you into thinking it’s a complicated recipe or takes a long time to make.  I put the omelette together before I went to bed one night, 5 minutes of work and baked about 6 1/2 hour later while I was getting ready for work.   It  is   a really good bake.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

1 TBS butter, softened

2 slices hearty white bread

3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 tsp dry mustard

Salt and pepper

Grease a 3 cup baking dish. Spread butter evenly over one side of the bread and tear into 1 inch pieces. Spread half the bread cubes in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese. Repeat with the remaining bread and cheese.

Whisk the milk, eggs, onion, mustard, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread and cheese. Using your hands to gently sumerge the bread to help it soak up the egg mixture. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at leat 8 hours up to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake, adjust the rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cover and bake until puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour, roatating the dish halfway through cooking time. Let cool slightly before serving.

Chicken And Rice Round Up

Yeah, it’s another recipe for chicken and rice. I told you chicken and rice is my favorite. This recipe is a little more complicated and takes a little more time then most chicken and rice recipes I have posted here because you marinate the chicken and it cooks for 70 minutes but it is definitely worth the time and effort.

I have included links to all my chicken and rice recipes on A Solitary Feast.

Arroz Con Pollo

Indian Inspired Chicken and Rice

Chicken Skillet Dinner

Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice

Chicken an Rice

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From Koolaid Moms

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 1/2 tsp paprik

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp salt

Rice:

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBS oil

ve oil

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch black pepper

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

1 cup white rice

1/2 tsp black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and coat each piece with the spice mixture. Marinate at least 30 minutes.

In the casserole dish, combine the onion, garlic, oil, salt, pepper and broth. Add the rice and stir to combine. Place the chicken over the rice. Cover with foil and bake 50 minutes. Remove foil and cook 20 -30 more minutes.

Kelly’s House Seasoning

The rain has totally zapped my energy today. I was going to run errands all over town but I took one step out in the rain, turned around and went back inside and took a nap.

The bright spot in an otherwise dreary day, was my masala dabbas came today. I wasn’t expecting them until tomorrow.

If you aren’t familar with masala dabbas, they are stainless steel spice containers used in Indian households to hold their favorite combination of spices.

Last week I went through my spice drawers and threw out anything I haven’t used regularly or had no aroma. No aroma means no taste. The clean out seriously dented my basic spice pallet. I decided to buy 2 masala dabbas, each holding 7 spices, and only replace the 14 most used spices in my home.

It was a challenge to go from over 30 spices down to 14 but I think I did it.

This recipe is for a really good general seasoning blend. It doesn’t make a huge amount but is easily doubled. I put it on a lot of things instead of just plain salt

• Difficulty: Easy
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From Kelly Hendrix Fields

4 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp caynne pepper

1/2 tsp dill

1 tsp parsley

Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Store in an airtight container. Note: If you have a spice grinder, give the mix a buzz. It helps incorporate the rosemary better which keeps it from being so strong.

Balsamic Salad Dressing

One of the best things about my new job is that it came with a considerable increase in pay. That means occasionally I can afford to treat myself to ingredients I couldn’t before.

Right, now I am treating myself to some very lovely balsamic vinegars that I found at a local kitchen specialty store. I never knew that really good balsamic vinegar is thick and slightly sweet, not thin and slightly acidic like grocery store balsamic vinegar. Not that the balsamic vinegar you buy at the grocery store is bad. Its just really different from the really good stuff.

I have bought 3 different flavors so far, barrel aged, sweet basil and fig. They are going in everything and over everything I can possibly think of.

My favorite is the barrel aged balsamic. I love to use it in a vinaigrette. I usually use a mix of spring greens, pecans and dried cranberries for my salad but it would also be good with a mixture of spinach, and straeberries.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From Elizabethrider.com

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp mustard

1/8 tsp salt

Pinch of black pepper

Place all the ingredients in a small jar. Close the jar and shake until combined.