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Tom Lacalamita
Tom Lacalamita (Long Island, New York) is a best-selling author of five appliance-related cookbooks. Nominated for a James Beard cookbook award, Tom is considered a national authority on housewares and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows across the country. With a passion for food, cooking, and all sorts of kitchen gadgets, Tom is a spokesperson for various food and housewares manufacturers. He is the author of Slow Cookers For Dummies and Pressure Cookers For Dummies.
Articles & Books From Tom Lacalamita
Article / Updated 09-19-2022
A slow cooker is truly a pleasure to use. Manufacturers seem determined to outdo themselves in making slow cookers more user-friendly and convenient, so you have plenty of options when picking out a slow cooker:
Shape: Slow cookers are available in two shapes: round and oval. The traditional round shape is perfect for making soups, chilis, and stews.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-05-2022
You can cook virtually anything in a pressure cooker — from meats and main courses to rice, potatoes, and vegetables of every description, to dessert. Better yet, pressure cooking allows you to prepare foods up to 70 percent faster, on average, than conventional cooking methods do, which means you save energy in addition to your precious time.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-31-2022
You can make easy and delicious meals in your slow cooker, with some helpful tips, you can even convert your favorite traditional recipes to the slow cooker. Make sure you use the slow cooker temperature guide to cook dishes thoroughly and convert temperatures, if necessary.Tips for using your slow cookerYou can prepare great food in your slow cooker without a lot of fuss.
Article / Updated 12-14-2020
Celebrate New Year's Day, St. Patrick’s Day, or any day you need some of the luck of the Irish with traditional corned beef and cabbage. Corned beef needs long, slow cooking for tenderness, but it's easy work with a slow cooker. In the morning, put everything in the pot, and you'll come home to a delicious, hot meal.
Article / Updated 04-13-2017
Pressure cookers can save you time and money, helping you prepare delicious meals that retain nutritional values often lost in other cooking methods. Pressure cooking does require some adjustments, however. Follow these tips for the best pressure-cooking results:
Brown meats, poultry, and even some vegetables — like chopped onions, peppers, or carrots — first and then deglaze the pot for more intense flavor.
Article / Updated 04-13-2017
The suggested cooking times in the following list begin when the pressure cooker reaches high pressure. Always bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure over high heat, then lower the heat to stabilize the pressure depending on the type of stove-top pressure cooker you’re using. Your electric pressure cooker with automatically do this for you.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Pressure cooking is just what the name says — cooking foods under pressure. You cook foods at a lower temperature, but under much higher pressure than in conventional cooking. The following table translates the pressure setting on your pressure cooker to temperatures and pressure levels:
Pressure Setting
Cook
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Because many cuts of meat generally take so long to cook using conventional cooking methods, you’ll be surprised and pleased how quickly they cook up in the pressure cooker. Follow these tips, and your pressure-cooked meats and poultry will turn out tasty every time:
Always pat meat and poultry dry before seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Slow cooker recipes average 6 to 10 hours of cook time. If you want to convert your favorite recipes to the slow cooker, use the following guidelines. (You can always check to make sure your food has safely finished cooking by using a meat or instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the cooked food without touching bone or the cooking container to get an accurate reading.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Pick up a thermometer for a quick and easy way to determine if your meal is cooked to a safe temperature. Here’s a guide for using your slow cooker and cooking to a temperature that’s safe.
Food
Safe Cooking Temperature in Degrees F
Eggs
Cook until yolk and white are firm
Egg dishes
160
Ground Meat and Meat M
