This new edition has been redesigned and features a new cover and 25 all-new recipes.

The pressure cooker is indispensable for the busy home cook simply because most foods cook in one-third the time of conventional cooking methods, saving time and energy without compromising the quality of the food. Many food writers and other foodies have embraced it as the kitchen tool of the millennium.

Cinda Chavich provides an incredible variety of recipes that range from everyday meals to dishes for entertaining, and specifically include vegetarian options. For example there is one recipe for hands-free risotto cooked to creamy perfection in 6 minutes. Recipes for almost instant homemade stocks and broths are infused with the flavors usually available only from hours of slow cooking. A tender beef and red wine stew cooks in only half an hour with inexpensive cuts of meats that usually require long, slow cooking that takes hours. The pressure cooker truly shines when it comes to preparing beans and whole grains in these recipes for sumptuous Indian curries or black bean soup.

Here is a sampling of some of the vibrant and flavorful recipes that can be created in minutes:

• Wild Mushroom and Potato Bisque, Cajun Black Bean and Sausage Gumbo
• Beef Short Ribs in Barbecue Sauce, Perfect Pot Roast, Kansas City Pulled Pork Butt
• Wheat Berries Carbonara, Risotto with Mushrooms and Shrimp, Coq au Vin
• Orange Espresso Cheesecake, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Strawberry Jam.

In addition there are great tips throughout the book for pressure cooking essentials, preparing beans and making stocks. There is also a handy table of cooking times for vegetables, fruit, meat and poultry.

Cinda Chavich is an award-winning food journalist and author of The Girl Can't Cook, Double Dishing: Women Entertain and other books A former food editor and senior feature writer, she now writes for several newspapers and magazines across North America Her food, wine and travel pieces have appeared in Cooking Light, Wine Spectator, Avenue and WineAccess

Cinda Chavich's profile page

[Review of previous edition:] The title tells it. A good starting place for easy and nourishing meals that can be made in record time.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette