Humor me for just one instant, while we revisit the Instant Pot.
Two weeks ago I wrote about how I -- an impulse shopper with a kitchen-gadget fetish who doesn't even cook all that much -- just had to have this popular seven-function pressure cooker. Almost couldn't find one. Freaked out. Eventually ordered one. Couldn't wait to get it. Promptly forgot about it. Ignored it when it arrived. And left it unopened in my entryway for days.
I confessed in this space: "I can report that I have found an eighth function for it. Until I get around to skimming the manual, trying it once and forgetting about it again, the Instant Pot makes a great Instant Doorstop!"
Well, the saga continues.
First, I wish to thank you -- all the food-prep-fixated who took time away from watching Tasty videos, saving recipes on Pinterest and obsessing over that 60 Second Salad Maker on Kickstarter (that slatted plastic bowl that allows one to wash, drain, slice and toss salad all at once! Oh my gravy warmer, how I covet!) to write to me.
You all made me feel not so alone. One kindred kitchen spirit wrote: "I'll be keeping an eye out for you in every kitchen section of each store I go into ... especially the kitchen store in Branson (oh my, my heart is a flutter thinking about the place)."
Several who had bought the pot encouraged me to plug it in, like the reader who wrote this: "The Instant Pot will bring you delicious food in a short amount of time. Tastes like gourmet and cooked all day. If leftovers, or 'used food' as my dad called it, are your thing, then by all means clear freezer room for yourself and sit back and enjoy more evenings."
Finally, I was ready to assess its pot-ential.
I opened the box, removed the contraption and all its accessories and thumbed through the owner's manual, familiarizing myself with parts like the venting knob, float valve and anti-block shield.
Next, I was ready for the water test -- a quick run-through to heat water and generate steam. I waited. I waited some more. So much for "instant," as it took more than 10 minutes to reach high pressure in order to begin the two-minute test. Lesson learned: Cook time and overall preparation time are two different things. While the Instant Pot does cook food quickly, it requires plenty of heating time.
Having passed the water test, I was ready to give it a whirl and cook rice. Right after I posted a picture to social media to prove, yes, I finally was using the thing.
Wait, what's that in the picture? On its left side? Is that ... a giant dent?!
I was so busy studying the manual, I never bothered to study the condition of the pot. While it was anchored firmly in foam in the pristine shipping box, somehow the Instant Pot had arrived damaged. I pulled the plug and repackaged it for a return.
I'd just ship it back to Wal-Mart and exchange it. No! I'd have to wait too long (even though clearly I had been fine without it, not even bothering to open it). I elected to return it to the Wal-Mart store the next day and exchange it in person.
I did return it to the store, but I was unable to exchange as there were none in stock. Fine. I'd go back to Walmart.com and buy another 6-quart pot.
Oh no! Sold out with no estimated shipping dates available!
I'd go to Amazon.com. Again, sold out, and it wouldn't be shipped for one to two months! This impulse buyer just had to accept the fact that she just couldn't have what she wanted now and that she'd have to wait.
Nah!
Instead, I ordered the immediately available 8-quart, more expensive model that I could have in two days!
Friends teased me that it would just be a bigger Instant Doorstop. But the very day it arrived, in flawless form this time, I performed the water test and found an online meatball recipe (tinyurl.com/ipmeatballs) to try. I marveled as I used the pot to saute my own marinara and then pressure-cook meatballs, which were done -- no browning required and no kidding -- in five mere minutes. I think Instant Pot and I are going to be very happy together.
In fact, I haven't even put it away!
Not because I've used it since (I haven't). But because I haven't yet cleared enough cupboard storage space for the giant thing.
Email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
What's in a Dame is a smirk at pop culture. You can hear Jennifer on Little Rock's KURB-FM, B98.5 (B98.com), from 5:30-9 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Style on 02/14/2017