Mom's Microwave

I know what you are thinking - that is not a picture of a microwave, and your right, but when I was kid it was the fastest way to a one pot meal known to man. It's a pressure cooker and can do one thing a microwave can't and that is turn an nearly inedible cut of meat such as a chuck roast into a mouthwatering tender treat. I don't care how long you microwave a chuck roast, you are still going to need a hatchet to cut it.

Originally invented by a Frenchman who was undoubtedly looking for a fast way to cook dinner and still have time to run up his white flag before the German's showed up, it became a fixture in most American kitchens and ours was no exception.

My first recollection of the pressure cooker in our house looked suspiciously like a scale model of the first A-Bomb detonated at Los Alamos. It weighed a ton, but then I was pretty small. I am not sure if it was cast iron or cast aluminum, but it had a rough outer finish and when she started up it was time for me to vacate the kitchen. I remember all too well my dad pointing out a spot on Grandma's kitchen ceiling where years later you could still see damage done from opening the cooker a wee bit too early.

The next iteration was a stainless steel model with a little rocker on top. In fact I think you can still find them. The rocker's job was to keep the pressure at 15 pounds per square inch. To cool it down you pulled the rocker off and ran the pot under cold water, or let it cool off on it's own. There was still the possibility of opening the thing before all the pressure was released.

Truth be told I have always been a little afraid of the pressure cooker, envisioning a kitchen filled with steel shrapnel and red hot food flying in all directions - where do you hide from something like that? Once again my brother pioneered the return of the pressure cooker, dusting mom's old one off and taking it for a spin.

Shortly there after I decided to purchase one for myself. I chose a little more modern model, it has a valve instead of a rocker and a locking mechanism the prevents you from opening it and pulling the pin on a food grenade in your kitchen.

In fact I used it on a Tri-tip roast tonight, one I would normally braise for over 2 hours in under 50 minutes, along with potatoes and carrots. I won't go into a recipe for potroast as it is called because it varies with every family that has ever made one and theirs is always better than the one your family has.

Just a couple words of advice if you go to purchase one. Make sure it is sturdy, Stainless steel is best, and most important of all, read the manual before you use it, unless you want to redecorate your kitchen and scald everything within 50 feet.

Happy Cooking!