Instant Pot Cooking: Mashed Sweet Potatoes

For the last blog of the quarter, I wanted to cook something sweet. I've been craving sweetness, but I'm one of those people who can't take too much of it. For example, I usually can't finish a big lollipop because of two reasons: one is that my tongue feels worn down, and two, my stomach gets tired of the flavor and sweetness. In Janet A. Zimmerman's book, Instant Pot Obsession, I cooked her mashed sweet potatoes recipe. With the marshmallows on top, it is traditionally served around the Thanksgiving holidays.

This meal was by far, the most exciting and fun recipe I have cooked in the book. My favorite part about it was mashing the sweet potatoes. I know that it's weird but I find it oddly satisfying. The butter added made the final product have a rich, creamy taste. Step 3 says, "Remove the steamer from the pot and set the potatoes aside. Pour the water out of the pot and wipe it dry. Select Sauté and adjust to Less for low heat. Pour in the [1/4 cup of] half-and-half and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter" (Zimmerman 58). The previous tablespoon of butter was used previously. 

Pressure cooking the potatoes took the longest. The sweet potatoes need time to tender in hot water, allowing you to easily mash them. Step 2 says, "Pile the sweet potatoes in a steamer basket and place the basket in the Instant Pot. Add the water to the pot. Lock the lid into place. Select Manual; adjust the pressure to High and the time to 8 minutes. After cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Unlock and remove the lid" (Zimmerman 57).  

The marshmallows added on top complimented the dish well.  I did try the mashed sweet potatoes without them and they tasted fine. I didn't think that I could eat it plain as a whole meal. After tasting it with toasted marshmallows, it added the perfect amount of sweetness for me to handle. Overall, I loved the taste and consistency of this dish, and I sure am going to make it for the holidays later on in the year!

The knick-knacks I need to know to work the Instant Pot are almost mastered. After a couple more times of cooking with it, I'm sure I'll know how to work it without being clumsy, taking a long time, or just having no idea what I'm doing. Cooking with the Instant Pot really expanded my experience and knowledge about working in the kitchen. But the most important thing about it, is that the Instant Pot helped me. It saved a lot of my time in the day. Work smarter, not harder.

Do you like mashed sweet potatoes? With or without marshmallows? Also, do you have a sweet tooth?

Instant Pot Cooking: Cinnamon-Apple Strata

You wake up at 6 in the morning every weekday and today, you're extra exhausted. You drag yourself out of bed and go through the usual routine: brushing your teeth, washing your face, and getting dressed. When you go to the kitchen, you pour yourself a lousy bowl of cereal and milk. The only reason you make yourself this every time is because you're lazy and don't have enough time to cook anything. Cooking with an Instant Pot makes it way easier and faster for you. You don't even have to cook the typical breakfast such as eggs, bacon, and such. For this blog, I cooked cinnamon-apple strata.

Cinnamon-apple strata is a breakfast food. It reminds me of a casserole. It contains lots of bread, whatever you prefer: English muffins, waffles, or even plain wheat. "In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, then add the milk, salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and whisk to combine" (Zimmerman 44). You core and chop the apples, then create layers, changing from bread to apples and raisins.

If you want this recipe to work, you have to allow the bread to absorb the custard. After you finish preparing it, you have to lay aluminum foil over the top to keep moisture off the top. You don't want to crimp it down because the dish will expand. Using the Instant Pot, in my opinion sort of made it harder for me to cook it.

When you pressure cook the dish, you have to do a lot of technical procedures with the Instant Pot. You have to pour water into it, place a trivet with handles in the pot and put the dish on top, lock the lid, select Manuel, adjust the pressure to high, quick release, then lastly unlock and remove the lid (Zimmerman 45). In my opinion, simply putting a tray of the strata in the oven would be quicker and more efficient for someone clumsy like me. But I looked up online how long a normal apple strata would take to cook, and it said around one to one and a half an hour. The cinnamon-apple strata in Janet A. Zimmerman's book, Instant Pot Obsession, only took around half an hour. Instant Pot really does save up a lot of your time.

Lastly, I removed the foil and sprinkled extra cinnamon-sugar over the top! As a bread choice, I chose Eggo waffles because I wanted to see what role waffles would make in a dish like this. Overall, I loved the strata. It was a wasn't too much sweetness for breakfast, but it was way better than a sugary, cheap cereal.

What do you eat for breakfast and how many times do you eat it a week? If you eat it for more than half a week, what would you like to try as an alternative?

Instant Pot Cooking: Creamy Corn Chowder

As the weather gets colder throughout January, the more my desire grows for hot food; in this case, chowder. In the book, Instant Pot Obsession, by Janet A. Zimmerman, it looks the perfect recipe for a creamy corn chowder to fulfill my needs. This expanded my experience by letting me chop a bunch of vegetables and more; which I hadn't really done before. When I tasted the final product, I could taste each of the individual ingredients that harmonize together.

First, I made sure I had all the correct ingredients in the correct measurements such as the small detail as, "1½ cups of frozen corn" and "1/4 cup dry white wine" (Zimmerman 132). Then, after a few times using the Instant Pot, I have gotten used to the procedures when cooking. For example, I had trouble adjusting the pressure from high to low, quick releasing, and even unlocking the lid. But I'm glad to say I have gotten used to it... more or less. It's still a little tricky, but cooking the chowder, I had to stir and add a lot therefore I didn't have much trouble.

The hardest thing about it, in my opinion, was mixing in the flour. The flour overall thickens the chowder from a liquid to a thick substance. "Stir in the flour and cook until it turns a very light tan color, 2 to 3 minutes." Stirring the flour with the scallions not only hurt my arm, it also felt as if I was stirring more than just a few minutes. The milk added afterwards made it much more easier to incorporate everything together. 

The potatoes and the corn took the longest to cook due to the time the potatoes need to tenderize and the time the corn needs to thaw out. In the book it says, "Add the potatoes and corn. Lock the lid into place. Select Manual; adjust the pressure to High and the time to 5 minutes. After cooking, naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Unlock and remove the lid" (Zimmerman 133).

Overall, the chowder was very creamy and warmed me up inside. The taste makes me feel as if I'm eating in a very fancy restaurant in an expensive city.

What food do you like to eat when the weather gets colder?

Instant Pot Cooking: Crème Brûlée

Now that it's coming to an end for 2017, I realized I have not made crème brûlée yet. Therefore I think it's time. Unfortunately I did not have a kitchen torch to create that crisp, brown, sugar top, but nonetheless, it was amazing! Last time I cooked something savory, pot roast, so this sweet dish is something different.

Crème brûlée is very easy to make. In the book, Instant Pot Obsession, by Janet A. Zimmerman, it provides us with a slightly different recipe than I'm familiar with. You need: egg yolks, vanilla extract, sugar (granulated and brown), heavy whipping cream, and water (Zimmerman). Baking it doesn't take too long compared to hours of chilling.

In the picture on the right are different size ramekins filled with a creamy mixture of yolk, cream, vanilla, and sugar. After I mixed all of these ingredients together, I stacked the ramekins in the Instant Pot. I then cooked them on high for 6 minutes and released the pressure for 10 minutes. An important part is the patience you have for them to cool. If you don't let them cool for the adequate amount of time, the top won't be stable enough to hold out the sugar for you to torch it. To avoid that, I chilled them over night just to be safe.

The tricky part about crème brûlée is the top. The cooling plays a part of it, laying a strong, even foundation for the sugar. For example, I got rid of the air bubbles by simply taking a napkin and tapping them. Once I placed a pile on sugar on each, I made sure that it was even throughout. If I had a kitchen torch, I would try and create a beautiful, brown top to break through to the creamy inside. "Watch them carefully, as they can go from browned to burned quickly" (Zimmerman 210). Burning the top takes away from the delicate tone of the dish.

Using the Instant Pot let me realize that there are so many ways to cook crème brûlée other than burning yourself with the hot water-bath fresh out of the oven. I'm excited to create more dishes using the Instant Pot!

Have you ever made or tried crème brûlée? If not, explain why and put it on your 2018 New Years Resolutions list!