Let the Instant Pot help you make your holiday feast
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Holiday Baking Guide
Stories and recipes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah.
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When someone thinks you’ve lost your marbles over an obsession with a kitchen tool, it’s reassuring to see that a cook as competent as Melissa Clark is equally gaga over the same device.
Clark, the New York Times food writer and author of more than 30 cookbooks, first wrote about the growing obsession among home cooks for the Instant Pot multicooker in January. She acquired one in a quest to learn why the appliance, and similar units made by other manufacturers, “sends even mild-mannered cooks into fits of passion.”
After using the electric pressure cooker setting to turn a pork shoulder into juicy, shredable submission in a mere 90 minutes – a task that would have taken several hours in a slow cooker – she declared herself a believer.
Some of the recipes Clark offered in that story, and others published in September, are part of the collection featured in her new “Dinner in an Instant.” While millions of multicooker recipes can be found online, this follow-up to her best-selling “Dinner: Changing the Game” goes beyond basic time-savers to provide an enticing selection of simple to sublime main courses through showstopper desserts.
It should be on the top of any ardent multicooker user’s holiday wish list.
It’s also a great book to have on hand for holiday entertaining. Multi-course meals tend to tie up an oven for hours, making the scheduling of what to cook when a challenge. Making a few dishes in the Instant Pot offers greater flexibility, not to mention hands-off cooking time that could be spent with loved ones.
Celebration-worthy dishes abound in this slim volume. Beef Bourguignon or a savory lamb tagine, both cooked in under 90 minutes, could be the star of your holiday table. Maybe you’d like to give guests a thrill by serving tuna confit? No need to tell anyone that this elegant dish required mere minutes of your time.
Clark also includes creative primers on rice, grains and beans, as well as soups and sides suitable for grand or casual dining. If you roast a traditional turkey, save the carcass and follow her directions for making exceptional stock.
Of the nine tempting desserts, most of these require more time to chill than to cook, making them perfect choices for preparing the day before. In fact, her coconut cheesecake needs at least eight hours and preferably overnight to set up, giving you plenty of time to make a second one if you’re expecting a crowd.
Jill Warren Lucas is a freelance writer from Raleigh. She can be reached at 3lucases@gmail.com or via Twitter at @jwlucasnc.
Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably between 60% and 65% cacao), chopped
4 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream and milk to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the chocolate until it is melted and smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk the yolks, whole egg, sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisking constantly, pour the hot chocolate into the eggs. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl. The pudding mixture can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered and chilled.
Divide the pudding mixture among six 4- to 6-ounce custard cups, espresso cups, or small ramekins and cover each with a piece of aluminum foil. Or pour the whole amount into a 1-quart soufflé dish, and cover with foil.
Insert a steamer rack into the pressure cooker and fill the cooker with 1 1/2 cups of water. Or, if you are cooking in a soufflé dish, lower the dish onto the rack in the pressure cooker, using a sling if necessary. Cook on low pressure for 18 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, and then release the remaining pressure manually.
When the puddings are cooked, use oven mitts to remove them from the pressure cooker. Remove the foil covers to allow the steam to evaporate, and cool the puddings to room temperature. Then cover the puddings with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 6 hours and up to 3 days.
To serve, top the puddings with whipped cream if you like.
Yield: 6 servings
Reprinted from “Dinner in an Instant.” Copyright 2017 by Melissa Clark. Photographs copyright 2017 by Christopher Testani. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Coconut Cheesecake
This velvety cheesecake is made with toasted coconut in the crust plus a shaggy garnish of shredded coconut on the top. As with the classic cheesecake recipe, make sure your cream cheese is very soft before beating it. If your kitchen is cold, consider microwaving the cream cheese (removed from its foil package) for a few seconds. Cold cream cheese is much harder to beat until smooth.
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (6 to 7 graham crackers)
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (see note)
3 tablespoons coconut butter or oil, melted
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
12 ounces cream cheese, softened (see headnote)
6 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon coconut-flavored rum, such as Malibu, or 1 teaspoon coconut extract
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
Shredded sweetened coconut, for topping
Note: To toast the coconut, place it in a small skillet, set it over medium heat, and toast, stirring, until it turns golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the coconut to a plate to let it cool before using.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make the crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs, toasted coconut, coconut butter, coconut sugar and salt in a small bowl. Pat the mixture into a 7-inch springform pan, patting it all over the bottom and 1/2 to 1 inch up the sides. Bake until the crust has set and is golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool.
Make the filling: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar until the mixture is very smooth (this could take several minutes if your cream cheese is not soft). Then add the coconut cream, beating again until incorporated.
Add the rum and salt, and beat on medium speed until all the ingredients are incorporated and smooth. On medium-low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Pour the filling into the prepared shell and cover the top of the springform pan with aluminum foil.
Fill the pressure cooker with 1/2 inch of water. You can either place a steamer rack in the pot and then lower the cake pan onto the rack using a homemade sling (see note below), or if you have a rack with an attached handle, simply lower the rack and pan together. Cover and cook on high pressure for 32 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 8 minutes, and then release the remaining pressure manually. Lift the pan out of the pressure cooker and transfer it to a wire rack. Remove the foil. Note that the center of the cheesecake will still be wobbly; it will set further as it cools. Top the warm cheesecake with the shredded coconut and let it cool completely.
Cover the cooled cake with plastic wrap and transfer it to the refrigerator to chill for at least 8 hours and preferably overnight to firm up. When you are ready to serve it, release the springform sides and place the cheesecake on a platter.
Note: If your steamer rack does not have handles, it’s easy to build a sling that will help you lift soufflé dishes and cake pans out of the cooker. To make one, fold a long (about 16 inches) piece of aluminum foil into thirds so that it can sit under the dish or pan and extend up the sides of the pressure cooker pot (as handles). This will help you lift and lower the dish or pan from the cooker. Be sure to leave the sling in the machine while cooking so you can use it to lift the dish out afterward. Note that it will be hot after cooking, so use oven mitts.
Yield: 6 servings
Reprinted from “Dinner in an Instant.” Copyright 2017 by Melissa Clark. Photographs copyright 2017 by Christopher Testani. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Let the Instant Pot help you make your holiday feast."
