Got a new kitchen gadget, and its brilliant

I've just cooked tea in my brand new steamer, which I bought following that failure of my microwave. Its brilliant. I wish I'd bought one years ago

I did salmon over rosemary in the bottom tier, brocolli and sweetcorn in the middle, and new potatoes in the top. I've had worse meals in actual restaurants. Everything was cooked to perfection and so full of flavour and texture. Brilliant. Oh, and apparently healthy too, and energy efficient.

 

I've had one for years and I love mine. I had my dinner this afternoon cooked in it thanks to OH and it was delicious!

 

Do you mean a 3-tier pan steamer that you use on the hob, or an electric steamer?

I have a 3 tier hob one and wouldn't be without it. And, as a bonus, if you can't find your colander, one of the pans will double for that too

The water in the bottom pan I often save to use as a base for stock/soups/gravies

 

Its an electric one.

 

Oh, erm, ... nice?

I prefer to live on the edge and use a hob one that I time myself

Have lots of fun playing with it

 

I prefer to live life on the edge by not spending all my time in the kitchen

 

I have an electric and a hob type steamer, what you need next is a slow cooker.

 

Got one, that's brilliant too.

 

A hob-type steamer languishes in my kitchen cupboard for lack of recipes. Suggestions, anyone?

 

Well it`s just like cooking with pans, dense veg eg; potatoes at the bottom, smaller above. I like to do potatoes, green beans, and salmon cutlet on top level, I do cook the fish in a dish for ease of serving, also I like my food undercooked rather than over. I remember when in Eire with a solid fuel range cooking bacon ribs in the bottom, next potatoes and cabbage on the top, left it all day and it was beautiful.

 

Well, the obvious are vegetables (perhaps served with a tasty sauce?)
Potatoes - especially new potatoes - cook lovely.
It is especially good for cooking fish (most types) and mussels (nom-nom-nom!).

Steamed chicken is also a healthy alternative and then ....

... we get into naughty steaming ...

• steamed sponge pudding
• steamed suet pudding
• quick steamed dumplings (could be savoury or sweet)
• Christmas pudding
• jam roly poly
• leek and bacon suet pud (pauper food but totally winter-delish!)
• bananas, stuffed with chocolate, wrapped in foil and steamed
• melting chocolate (put chocolate in a separate bowl in one compartment over the base pan filled with water and heated)

Then, of course, you can get into Chinese food (so, Chinese dumplings).

Bear in mind the tiered steamer (before electric was invented) was used to cook a whole meal because it was an economical way to do so. Mind you, saying that, fish was much cheaper then and born for a steamer!

Also consider, you don't have to put just plain water in the base pan. With the addition of wine/stock, fresh herbs and flavourings, the water heating in the base pan will (delicately) flavour the food above

A friend of mine even used her as a kind of "smoker" (but, eventually, it ruined the pan - yet, they are cheap enough for that not to be the end of the world ).

Experiment: have fun with it!