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Let the Instant Pot Adventures Begin

As you probably know, I live in a condo with a kitchen that is not big. So, when I heard about this thing called an Instant Pot that would do so much that I could deep-six my rice cooker, slow cooker and the pressure cooker, I thought, “Maybe.”

So I bought one, along with Melissa Clark’s cookbook, Dinner in an Instant, and another cookbook, Instant Pot Miracle. Then I began to use this gadget. I made risotto, a pasta dish, sautéed vegetables, and seared meat. You can even reduce meat juices into gravy, all on the same pot.

Last week I made a dish that I created myself, using the sauté, slow cooker, and pressure cooker function in that one pot. You can use any pot or pan inside the pot and I plan to make a cheesecake this weekend. The machine knows more than I do, and I will be playing with it all winter.

So ask Santa to buy one for you. Or buy one for yourself. I bought an 8-quart Instant Pot on Amazon, then I bought a 6-quart for my daughter in L.A., and another for my Minnesota granddaughter. There are many on the market, but the one I bought was created in Canada and manufactured in China. This makes sense, since the best rice cookers are Chinese. The Instant Pot has been on the market for almost a decade. There are tons of blogs and recipes on the Internet. My favorite cookbook is Instant Pot Miracle.

Red Curry with Sweet Sausage and Rice

Yield: about 4 servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound sweet sausage, cut into 2-inch slices,

1 medium onion, diced

1 sweet bell pepper (orange or yellow), seeded and diced

3 small carrots, peeled and diced

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

½ to 1 teaspoon red curry paste (a full teaspoons is pretty hot)

1 13-plus-ounce can Thai Kitchen light coconut milk

4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock or broth

3 to 4 cups cooked rice

Salt and pepper, to taste

In the stainless steel pot of the Instant Pot, hit sauté, and add oil. With the lid off, sauté the sausage until just a little pink. Remove and set aside. Place vegetables and garlic on the pot and sauté until almost translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring the veggies. Put in the curry paste and continue to stir. Add coconut milk, stock, and the sausage. Putting the lid on and sealing it, set the Instant Pot on manual to slow cook for about 3 hours (because everything is pretty much already cooked). When this is done (it should be very soupy), add the rice. Slow cook for another couple of hours. When done, add salt and pepper if necessary.