• beanwean on October 14, 2019

  I was browsing this cookbook and was stopped in my tracks by the statement on page 308, "Adobo is a traditional Filipino sauce, familiar to most North Americans from those cans of chipotles canned in adobo sauce." Wrong. That statement is so far off from correct that it borders on cultural incompetency. Cookbooks and articles highlighting Filipino cuisine (if current publications are any indication) are on an uptick, and the ability to find accurate interpretations of regional cuisines is literally at the fingertips of anyone with internet access.

• sck on November 11, 2018

  Black bean and kielbasa was wonderful! And easy:)

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lentil soup with carrots and cinnamon

  • Aggie92 on February 25, 2021

    I've been wanting lentil soup for a while and haven't been to the store lately either. This was perfect since I had all the ingredients. I very much enjoyed this soup with the optional spices (ground cardamom & ground coriander) and with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses. And since I love sweet & spicy, I added a minced and seeded jalapeno chile too. And as with all lentil soups, I think they need to be finished with some acid, so a squeezed half a lemon into the soup to brighten it up.

  • vikingcook on September 11, 2019

    Sweet-tart. I added the optional spices and the drizzle of pomegranate molasses. Very different flavor for a lentil soup. Will definitely make this again!

  • SenseiHeidi on April 02, 2021

    This lentil soup has a little texture since the lentils did not fully break down. I loved the flavor - the cinnamon reminded me of butternut squash soup. Delicious and nutritious!

• Road map: all-American chili

  • Aggie92 on August 08, 2022

    Really good basic chili recipe that tastes like it’s been simmered for hours, when in reality it just takes 8 minutes after the Instant Pot comes up to pressure. Used black beans and ground turkey, and substituted Mexican oregano for regular oregano. I like my chili thick so I stirred in a couple of heaping spoonfuls of masa harina after the cooker did a natural release. May slightly decrease the amount of chili powder next time, maybe 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup.

• Coddled eggs

  • CynthiasCooking on January 19, 2020

    Check the ramekins before you grease them. I was only able to fit ONE in my 3 Qt cooker, not 4 as the cookbook described. Because of this, I instead used a 2 cup pyrex dish and put four eggs and four teaspoons of cream into it. This worked tolerably well but took 5-6 minutes under pressure instead of 2 in order to cook all the way to the middle. If you do it this way, try to get all the yolks in the middle so they don't overcook by time the whites are solid - our yolks that were in the middle were perfect, the ones near the outside overdone.

• Creamy tomato mac and cheese

  • CynthiasCooking on January 19, 2020

    This recipe was my first pasta experiment in the instant pot I got for Christmas. I could not believe that it wasn't going to come out like Chef Boy Ardee (or however you spell that). Oh my goodness. It certainly did not! It was easy and delicious and the pasta as perfectly al dente. A couple notes: Since I have a 3 qt pot and therefore had to halve the recipe, I made it twice to use up the leftovers. I had been unable to get a small can of tomato puree so the first batch was made using half a can of diced tomatos. It was pretty runny, so for the second batch I used my immersion blender to puree the rest of the can of tomatoes. What a difference it made! Also, for the second batch I let the pasta cool a little, then added the cream, let it cool a little more, than added the cheese and stirred ONLY enough to incorporate it. This had a better result than the grainy separated cheese in my first batch, where I added the cheese and cream pretty much as soon as the lid came off the cooker.

• Classic sloppy Joes

  • imaluckyducky on August 03, 2019

    This recipe is a good base for a solid sloppy joe flavor, which has a slight tang and balanced sweetness, and a good stepping stone into playing with the instant pot and learning how to work magic. However, there are some issues with the recipe as written. The suggested amount of salt and apple cider vinegar is nowhere near the amount needed to really bring out the flavors. Browning the beef in the pot as described didn't do much for the overall flavor - will have to brown the beef properly in a pan on the stove before adding to the pot. The timing for reducing the liquid to a sauce (7 minutes) is hilarious- it took a good hour of simmering AND the addition of flour to get the sauce to not behave like a broth. Will likely make again because my boys demand "dude food" once a week, and will play with the recipe.

• Pork belly braised in ginger beer

  • imaluckyducky on January 19, 2021

    5 stars! Really flavorful braising liquid, and the pork belly turns out succulent. Used as a ramen topper. Will make again!

• Cioppino-style seafood stew

  • babyfork on February 03, 2021

    Dave owns this book and provided the recipe for our first-ever virtual sibling cooking get-together on Google Meet. I don't honestly think this recipe needs an instant pot and I think it's harder to get all the different seafood items cooked properly. The sauce was also very tomatoe-y. Heather thought it needed wine and I agreed. It was tasty enough, but not my favorite cioppino sauce.

• Easy spaghetti and meat sauce

  • EasyBakeThis on August 16, 2024

    Life-altering in terms of convenience. It came out great.

• Beef barley soup

  • EasyBakeThis on August 16, 2024

    If I make this again I really need to brown the short ribs more. I also need to stick with the recipe and not add mushrooms. That turned the dish into a gruel.

• Almond milk chai

  • SenseiHeidi on April 01, 2021

    I did not like the "cooked" flavor of this chai. The spice amount was good but rather mild.

• Absurdly easy split pea soup

  • SenseiHeidi on April 13, 2021

    Good flavor. Really absurdly easy. I used my ham hocks and 6 cups turkey broth. It did not taste like turkey. The soup was rather watery when fresh. Perfect the next day. Made this a second time a month later and added some cook time - came out perfect.

• Chicken enchilada casserole

  • SenseiHeidi on July 28, 2021

    Made 28 July 2021. Nothing special. I used green enchilada sauce, rotini pasta and red beans. Added 1 tsp chicken base and 1 tsp salt. Used Bob's Red Mill cornmeal, next time use a finer grind or masa harina since the coarse grind cornmeal was a little distracting.

  • Thegirlwho on November 02, 2022

    The great thing about this recipe is that it is easy—no searing—and turns out pretty ok. Not good enough for company, but good enough for when you just want to put something hot on the table. My only substitution was red bell pepper. It could use a touch more umami—maybe a spoonful of chipotle in adobo? The chicken breast is a little too dry for me, but the rest of the family likes dry chicken.

• The ultimate vegan chili

  • MariaSwe on January 23, 2022

    I halved the recipe because honestly 8 servings of something I might not like and can't taste as I make it is not going to happen. It was ok, a little heavy on the cumin, but otherwise fine. Very easy, just dump and cook with a quick release.

• Quinoa chili

  • MariaSwe on January 17, 2022

    This was easy to make, just stir together and pressure cook. But it was too hot for me. Maybe the chile powder and the canned green chilis I can get here in Sweden are hotter than in the US? I only used 2 tsp of chile powder instead of the called for 1 Tbsp. I also wasn't too crazy about the texture with the quinoa. Will not repeat.

• Three-lentil dal makhani

  • MariaSwe on January 20, 2022

    I used half the amount of cayenne and with the rest of the spices the dish had just the right amount of heat. I didn't have brown lentils so I used regular green French lentils instead, which worked fine. Made some naan to go with it and it was a nice meal.

• Perfect wheat berries

  • hbakke on June 28, 2022

    Easy way to cook wheat berries. I added salt to the pressure cooker to season the wheat berries as they cooked. I would cook wheat berries using this recipe again.

• Spiced applesauce

  • cmartinfirvida on October 14, 2023

    Pretty straightforward. The sugar is optional and I left it out -- really did not need it. Instead of apple juice I used unsweetened cider and it was a great sub. Also subbed apple cider vinegar for lemon juice. Pretty happy with the clean apple taste!

• Buttery marinara sauce

  • BrendaD1962 on August 09, 2023

    This was just ok. I wouldn’t make it again. Very little flavour.

• Breakfast hash

  • BrendaD1962 on August 09, 2023

    This was very good. We enjoyed it with our eggs, toast and bacon and I would definitely make again.

• Buffalo chicken soup

  • BrendaD1962 on August 09, 2023

    Not a fan of this soup. We really didn’t like it and we ended up throwing the rest away. Far far better soup recipes out there for the IP.

• Curried shrimp with rice vermicelli

  • BrendaD1962 on August 09, 2023

    We didn’t like anything about this dish. A definite no from us.

• Savory-sweet beef and tomato curry

  • Ishie1013 on April 26, 2022

    This was okay. I used Penzeys curry powder, which I like a lot. One thing though. This recipe needed a LOT of added salt. Like upon tasting it at first, I added in a full palmful of kosher salt. It also needs a bit more flavor. I used a secret aardvark hot sauce to spark it up, but on its own, it wasn't great. If you intuit improvements to it, it could take it to four stars.

• Perfect chana dal

  • Ishie1013 on April 26, 2022

    Not the best recipe. I thought it was just okay at best, and it didn't hold up to even the simplest Indian buffet. My boyfriend liked it. My mom wouldn't eat it. It recycled okay with eggs the next morning, but I'll look for other recipes. The cardamom is a saving grace, which gives it a sweetness that keeps it edible.

• Road map: tagine-style curry

  • Thegirlwho on November 03, 2022

    Seriously lacking in salt and depth of flavor. I had to season my plate afterwards with a 1/4 teaspoon. For the curry powder, I followed the recipe for the homemade version and upped it to 3 tablespoons. Despite the raisins, it didn’t taste sweet at all. Perhaps it was the brand I used. To sweeten, I threw in a handful of fresh pomegranate arils in each serving.

• Road map: a pot of mussels

  • nutrica6 on August 30, 2023

    Easy and delicious. Used frozen mussels (without thawing). Will impress anyone. Be sure to have crusty bread.