Pressure Cooker Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens (Hardcover))

Rating:
Summary: Good Everyday Recipes
Review: I am a big fan of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks - the recipes are pretty traditional and rarely call for exotic ingredients (i.e. things that are not readily found in my pantry!). This book does have a good variety or recipes. The chapters are: Pressure Cooker Basics; Soups, Stews, Chiles and Chowders; Poultry and Meat; Vegetarian Main Dishes; Vegetable Side Dishes; Desserts.

I *think* that this 2000 hardcover edition is exactly the same as the 1995 edition - the copyright date inside mine says 1995. So unless Amazon shipped me the wrong one, it's the same book. The hardcover is nice - it's spiralbound inside so it will be easy to cook from. But if you're looking to save a few bucks you can get the same recipes from the 1995 paperback edition.

Rating:
Summary: Good Everyday Recipes
Review: I am a big fan of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks - the recipes are pretty traditional and rarely call for exotic ingredients (i.e. things that are not readily found in my pantry!). This book does have a good variety or recipes. The chapters are: Pressure Cooker Basics; Soups, Stews, Chiles and Chowders; Poultry and Meat; Vegetarian Main Dishes; Vegetable Side Dishes; Desserts.

I *think* that this 2000 hardcover edition is exactly the same as the 1995 edition - the copyright date inside mine says 1995. So unless Amazon shipped me the wrong one, it's the same book. The hardcover is nice - it's spiralbound inside so it will be easy to cook from. But if you're looking to save a few bucks you can get the same recipes from the 1995 paperback edition.

Rating:
Summary: Not Specifically For Programmable Pressure Cookers
Review: I bought the Better Homes and Gardens Pressure Cooker Cookbook at the same time I ordered the Faberware FPC400 Programmable Pressure Cooker. I was under the impression this cook book would be specific to the programmable pressure cooker but it's not. I've used a stove top pressure cooker for the past 20 years so I didn't need to add another cookbook to my collection for that type of use. I'm very disappointed with my selection because it is not what I expected. Does anyone have information about where I can get a cookbook for the Faberware FPC 400 programmable pressure cooker?!?

Rating:
Summary: Not Specifically For Programmable Pressure Cookers
Review: I bought the Better Homes and Gardens Pressure Cooker Cookbook at the same time I ordered the Faberware FPC400 Programmable Pressure Cooker. I was under the impression this cook book would be specific to the programmable pressure cooker but it's not. I've used a stove top pressure cooker for the past 20 years so I didn't need to add another cookbook to my collection for that type of use. I'm very disappointed with my selection because it is not what I expected. Does anyone have information about where I can get a cookbook for the Faberware FPC 400 programmable pressure cooker?!?

Rating:
Summary: Basic and not very imaginative - and has at least one error
Review: My mom had a pressure cooker when I was growing up in the '50s, and because she worked and had to get dinner on the table pretty fast, a large percentage of our meals were prepared in the pressure cooker. I particularly remember goulash and stews. And Mom's warnings about using it correctly so it wouldn't explode.

I got one many years ago, but was always intimidated by it so rarely used it as anything other than a cooking pot. Recently, though, I decided to start experimenting. I'd bought this recipe book - how can you go wrong with BH&G? - so I hauled it out and waded in.

The recipes are pretty basic - stews, pot roasts, variations on the chicken theme, some soups, and so on. I was looking for a pot roast, so I selected that recipe as my first. And immediately discovered a MAJOR goof in the recipe: It tells you to brown the meat in oil and then remove it before adding the vegetables and seasonings. Then it tells you to put the top back on and cook it under pressure for eight minutes. But it never tells you when to put the meat back into the pot! If I hadn't studied it carefully before I began cooking, I would have cooked the veggies without the meat and the meat would never have cooked. So I improvised and put the meat back in on top of the veggies before securing the lid.

I'm an experienced cook, and I know that it's always a good idea to read a recipe through first. For newcomers, though, a mistake like this could spoil the experience for them. Pressure cooking is supposed to be an fast and easy way to prepare nutritious meals, and it is, IF the recipe is correct!

So while I don't condemn the entire cookbook, I do suggest that you be sure to read the recipe through carefully first, and make sure it makes sense BEFORE you start cooking!