J.G.
Hi! I love my pressue cooker! It was hard to adjust to at first but don't dispair. It really can cut cooking times by 1/3 to 1/2 on slow cook items. Coq au Vin (A classic french chicken and wine dish) takes hours normally comes out tender and delicious much quicker. Also, stews, chilis, beans, meats still on the bone, etc. The trick to pressure cooking is that you can use a regular recipe but make sure there is enough water/liquid in the recipe to allow pressure to form to cook properly as well as stop the meal from drying out. Also don't overfill a pressure cooker or it will not work. I usually don't have a meal in the pot that is more than halfway up the sides. The exception is if I make a chicken and rice dish sometimes the chicken starts up a little higher but the rice and veggies stay lower. Use the instruction booklets cooking times as guidelines for timing your own recipes. I really like Alton Brown's version of Coq au Vin from food network and my Mom's beef stew best in the pressure cooker. Keep trying it out. On busy days the pressure cooker is a good friend, think of it like the race car version of a crock pot!
The one cookbook I own for this is "The Pressure Cooker Cookbook" By Toula Patsalis. I think I picked it up at Borders for about $17. She also tells you how to convert a recipe or cooking times on certain items. I have used quite a few of the recipes found in it and thought it was pretty good. The creole rice and beans, chicken with onion and herbs, boston baked beans, the italian stew were all good.
Good luck I hope you and your family enjoy your new meals!
