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I hope somebody, or the author, can explain to me how garlic will turn merely golden after a minute in hot oil. In my experience, oil that hot turns garlic BLACK, burns it, in a few seconds. I've seen this same advice (cook garlic in hot oil for a minute or two) in other reputable cookbooks. This author seems sophisticated about cooking, and she writes well. When I see this advice in otherwise good cookbooks, I wonder if the author is on some other planet where garlic takes longer to burn. In more than one recipe she says to heat oil near smoking hot, then put in garlic and cook it until it starts to turn golden. But there's one total mystery: her advice about how to cook garlic in oil. 1 TO 1 1/2 MINTUES.
It is very thorough, explains how the pressure cooker works, and is gradually helping me to get through my "beans on the ceiling" fears. Kuhn Rikon Duromatic Top Pressure Cooker, 5-QuartI bought this book to accompany my new Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker.
Good thing too, as even with the extra liquid of the tomato sauce it was almost burnt; a minute more and it would have been inedible. Book just arrived and I have only made one dish so far and it was phenomenal.I can't wait to try more of these recipes. seemed way way off. But be aware that you should follow your gut (excuse the pun) and add more liquid if necessary or keep checking to see that it's not burning.
We both ate huge bowls of pasta and sauce and kept oohing and aahing. I got this book because I was tired of cooking the same 3-4 dishes in my pressure cooker and needed more variety and wanted a more up to date recipe book.I would buy this book just for the Bolognese sauce recipe alone. I also added cream instead of milk at the end, but just eyeballed it, maybe 1/4 cup. In the future I will mince the veggies VERY FINELY (or use my mini-chopper to pulverize them before sauteeing) so that I can cook this dish faster.
fyi, I have never made a Bolognese sauce before but have tasted it many times in restaurants. But even with one I would still add the tomato sauce and cook only 30-45 mins.The only reason I can see to cook it a full hour would be to melt the carrots, celery and onion into the sauce. I rated this only 4 stars because some of the liquid measurements, cooking time, etc. I had my pressure cooker on low too, but do not own the burner plate the author recommends using.
So I added a 15 oz can of tomato sauce which made the sauce so much richer anyway, and after 35 mins my husband said "NOW, I have to eat NOW" (it smelled SO good), so I stopped. I made the Bolognese sauce and it was the BEST I have ever tasted. Nor did I think it would be something I would make; I just happened to have all the ingredients in my pantry and went with it.When I saw the amount of liquid the 2 cans of diced tomatoes provided I just knew an hour's cooking time would turn this to tar.
If you disagree with a particular recommendation (a precedure, time or temperature/pressure for example), then adapt the recipe to your liking. I read some other reviews that complained about this, that or another thing regarding this book. I wouldn't have spent the money if I didn't think it was worth it. I purchased this at a bookstore after skimming the pages to see if it was a book I'd want to own. The old saying "You can't please everyone" is true, and this book is no exception. There are lots of good recipes, suited to a variety of palates.
I like the simple life, and don't need fancy french dishes to make me happy. They have many nice receipes if you like fancy receipes with many different "hard to find" spices, etc.
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