Set It And Forget It…Yes, Seriously!
Perhaps I better explain my serious-ness of seriously.
I can’t believe I have let January come and go without talking about HER.
Who? Her?
The Queen!
No, not Elizabeth.
The tiny petite Queen….Victoria, of course.
Have you watched it yet?
It is on PBS, at 9 EST, 8 CST on Sunday evening!
Oh my gosh!
Not since Heathcliff and Cathy walked together in the moors in Wuthering Heights, has there been such an interesting story to tell.
And it is not fiction, but a real life story about a very young Queen who wears her hair a bit like Princess Leia on Star Wars.
I’m talking about the braids down the sides of her head. hmmmmm…not quite digging that, but I didn’t like Princess Leia’s hair either.
However, Queen Victoria makes up for her hair style by her pretty little face.
In the history books I have studied….in the olden days, the Queen was portrayed as a rather plumpish older lady wearing a lace doily or veil on her head.
Not soooooo in this British series.
I am not going to give you details of the story….just in case you haven’t gotten around to watching this seven part series.
But the synopsis is this:
“As a new queen, the young Victoria struggles to take charge amid plots to manipulate her. Her friendship with the prime minister leads to a crisis in Parliament. The seven-episode drama follows Victoria (Jenna Coleman) the age of 18, when she became queen, through her relationship with Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell), and her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert (Tom Hughes).”
Ok, I will tell you this. Lord M or Melbourne to those of you who are not Royalty….is very good looking and a bit of a take control kind of guy.
In other words a strong Rhett Butler kind of guy.
Yep, this series is a good one and I will race to watch it (or one of my sports games) which means that dinner prep sometimes gets left behind.
Except….
Yes, except when I plan ahead and use my pressure cooker.
Now, I know there are some of you who are a bit leery of using this high pressure way of cooking, but I believe in it so much that I have 3 pressure cookers.
Why 3?
They are all different sizes and one is a top of the stove pressure cooker while the other two are electric.
So I am prepared for pressure cooking whether it is for a crowd or just 2 people.
And the food tastes soooooo good because all the flavor is there, sealed in.
I have two pressure cooker recipes to share with you today.
One is using Turkey breast and the other is using chicken thighs, which is what I like to use but the recipe calls for a whole chicken, cut up. I have used 4 thighs and 2 breasts in place of a whole chicken.
Both are delish and if you ever try this method of cooking, I am sure you will like it.
The handy dandy printable recipes are below.
Have a great day….
- 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large (about 2 pounds) boneless turkey breast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (or broth, but the wine gives so much flavor and the alcohol cooks right out)
- 2 cups of turkey or chicken broth
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- In a pressure cooker, melt butter over medium heat.
- Season turkey breast with salt and black pepper and brown on both sides right in the pressure cooker with the lid off. (follow instructions in manual) Remove chicken to a plate.
- Add chopped onion to pressure cooker and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent (for about 3 minutes). Stir in mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 4 minutes.
- Pour in dry white wine and add thyme sprigs. Stir well to scrap any browned bits up off the bottom of pressure cooker as wine simmers. Pour in chicken broth. Return cooked turkey breast and any accumulated juices to pressure cooker.
- Close pressure cooker and lock the lid. Set burner heat to high pressure. When cooker reaches high pressure, reduce heat to low. Set timer to cook for 35 minutes.
- Open pressure cooker, using Quick Release method. Using tongs, transfer cooked turkey breast to a large platter, reserving cooking liquid.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/2 tablespoon water. Whisk well. Bring the mushroom sauce still in the pressure cooker to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about a minute or until sauce thickened. At this point, turn off and unplug the pressure cooker. Pour sauce over turkey breast.
- Serve immediately, garnishing with fresh rosemary sprigs.
- 1¼ cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 chicken, cut into parts, or 6-8 pieces of your choice
- 1½ cups fresh pearl onions, peeled
- 3/4 pound button mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon loosely packed fresh sage leaves, minced
- 1 tablespoon stemmed fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 small bunch seedless grapes , washed and halved
- In a small bowl mix the chicken broth and the flour until smooth. Set aside.
- In a pressure cooker, melt butter over medium heat. Add half of chicken pieces. Cook, turning once, until golden (for about 3-4 minutes).
- Using tongs, remove cooked chicken from pressure cooker. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat untill all pieces are nicely browned on both sides.
- Add onions to pressure cooker and cook, stirring, just until translucent (for about 3 minutes).
- Stir in mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring, until they have reduced the liquid which will take abou 5-6 minutes.
- Stir in sage, thyme and garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute.
- Pour in dry white wine. Scrape up any browned bits in pressure cooker as wine comes to a simmer.
- Stir in the broth mixture and return cooked chicken pieces to the sauce. Pour accumulated juices from the bowl over chicken.
- Close pressure cooker and lock the lid. Pressure cook for about 20 minutes.
- Open pressure cooker, using Quick Release method. Using the tongs, transfer cooked chicken pieces to a large serving bowl, reserving cooking liquid.
- Bring reserved sauce to a simmer and stir in heavy cream and seedless grapes.
- Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
- Pour sauce over chicken.
- Serve with garden salad and rice if desired.
Please comment, I'd love to hear from you.