Though I’ve had my share of buyer’s remorse — food dehydrator waaay up high on the shelf collecting dust, one-day-sale griddle that’s never been heated up — the pressure cooker isn’t among those mistakes. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Everyone knows about the mythic speed of the pressure cooker, how it transforms a raw block of meat into a roast inside of an hour. It’s a savior to folks with long days who struggle to put a home-cooked meal on the table at a reasonable hour. That’s me.
Though it operates on the opposite concept, the slow cooker assists the same demographic of busy people. You can have dinner percolating while you spend a few hours doing something else, somewhere else. It’s the ultimate tool of the multitasker. That’s my friend, "By Request" columnist Betty Shimabukuro.
 HOW TO ORDER
>> Pre-order: Order online at mutualpublishing.com. Cost is $10. Books will be ready for pickup at Mutual Publishing on Oct. 16, or delivered for $3 per book. Call 732-1709.
>> Brick-and-mortar shopping: The book will reach stores in November; retail price is $15.95.
>> Bonus: A portion of sales will be donated to the Star-Advertiser’s Good Neighbor Fund.
NEXT WEEK
>> "A Korean Kitchen": Joan Namkoong’s cookbook launches a new Star-Advertiser-Mutual Publishing partnership to feature ethnic cooking, local style.
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All this is a prelude to introduce our new cookbook, "Hurry Up & Wait," filled with local-style recipes for the pressure and slow cooker. Here you’ll find roasts, stews, curries and soups — dishes these appliances are known for producing well — but our recipes carry an isle-style spin. Pork roast with miso, for example, and beef stew with poi.
But we also share ideas for taro cake (pressure cooker), honey-garlic chicken wings (slow cooker), stuffed tofu (pressure) and stuffed pasteles (slow), opah with black bean sauce (pressure) and Chinese-style steamed fish (slow).
Then there’s dessert: Did you know you could make zenzai in the slow cooker? Prune mui in the pressure cooker? Yes, you can.
For purposes of demonstration, here are two versions, one slow, one fast, of an island favorite, bread pudding. You’ll find both of these in "Hurry Up & Wait."
HURRY UP!
Two local favorites, sweet bread and macadamia nuts, make for a mellow and rich bread pudding that works well with add-ins such as chocolate chips and dried fruit.
The dessert is cooked in a 7-inch round glass bowl or casserole dish, which is placed on a trivet in the pot. But first, devise a way to retrieve the dish from the hot pressure cooker: Cut two long pieces of aluminum foil, fold into strips and lay each over the trivet to form an X, so there are 4 strips coming out of the pot. Place dish on top of the strips. Tuck ends into the pot, cover and seal. When bread pudding is done, straighten out the strips and grab them to lift out the dish.
PRESSURE COOKER SWEET BREAD PUDDING
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons butter, softened
8 to 12 slices sweet bread, cut into 2-by-4-inch pieces
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Diced macadamia nuts, for topping (optional)
In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Using butter, grease inside of bowl or dish. Set aside.
Butter pieces of bread. Set aside.
In bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Whisk in half-and-half, brown sugar and salt.
Coat bottom of bowl with 1/4 cup egg mixture. Place 4 to 6 pieces of bread into bowl. Pour about a third of egg mixture over bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Repeat layers twice.
Fill pressure cooker with 2 cups water and insert trivet. Place foil strips across trivet and put bread pudding on top of strips. Secure lid, bring to pressure on high, and lower heat. Cook 20 to 25 minutes, depending on how much bread is packed into dish.
Remove pot from heat, allow pressure to come down naturally, about 10 minutes. Remove dish from pot.
Top with macadamia nuts. If desired, brown bread pudding in a 350-degree oven 5 to 10 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
Approximate nutritional information (based on 8 servings and including 2 tablespoons chopped mac nuts): 600 calories, 27 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 135 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 78 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 33 g sugar, 13 g protein
WAIT!
An ensemada is a pastry with Spanish origins, best known in Hawaii in its Filipino version — an oversized, soft bun slathered in butter and sugar. It has no nutritional value — in fact it has negative value. So how about we make it even worse by adding chocolate! and eggs! and more sugar!
SLOW COOKER ENSEMADA BREAD PUDDING
4 to 5 ensemada buns broken in pieces to make 4-1/2 cups
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
>> Sauce:
1-1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Spread ensemada pieces out in baking pan and let dry overnight, turning once. Grease a 2-quart slow cooker (see note). Line with foil, letting foil extend above the rim to help remove cake from the cooker.
Place ensemada pieces in mixing bowl and toss with 1/4 cup chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
For sauce: Heat coconut milk on medium (do not boil). Add chocolate and sugar, stir to dissolve. Add cinnamon and vanilla.
Whisk eggs in separate bowl. Add spoonful of milk mixture, whisking to warm eggs. Slowly add remaining milk, whisking to combine so eggs do not curdle. Pour mixture over bread pieces and toss to coat. Spoon into crock. Cook on low 3 hours, until firm. A knife inserted into pudding should come out clean except for a possible smear of chocolate. Turn off heat, remove lid and let cool 30 minutes.
Use foil to lift bread pudding onto serving plate. It will be firm enough to slice in wedges like a cake. Serves 8.
Note: If you don’t have a minicooker, this pudding can be cooked in a 2-quart baking dish that fits inside a 6- or 7-quart slow cooker. Or, double the recipe and cook it in a larger crock. Cooking time may be an hour longer.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 550 calories, 30 g fat, 16 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 65 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 32 g sugar, 10 g protein
