Simplify your Christmas feast with a pressure cooker

Pressure cookers aren’t serving up tasteless mush anymore. Today’s electric pressure cookers, such as the ubiquitous Instant Pot, can do it all, and with programmable settings, the options are endless. And since most homes don’t have multiple ovens or endless stovetop burners, pressure cookers can provide a useful workaround when your stove is at capacity.

Try pressure cooker mashed potatoes for tender potatoes that mash easily and won’t force you to babysit a pot of boiling water. A large electric pressure cooker can accommodate about three pounds of potatoes and cooks them to perfection in about ten minutes.

Homemade macaroni and cheese are delicious, but it’s also tricky and time-consuming. A pressure cooker can drastically speed up your cooking time and give you homemade flavor with much less effort.

If your family goes nuts for brisket, a pressure cooker can deliver tender and flavorful meat much faster than an oven or grill. The added bonus: You won’t have to get up at three in the morning to start cooking an enormous piece of meat for dinner at seven in the evening.

Traditional English Christmas pudding makes a rich and dramatic dessert (especially if you douse it with brandy and set it on fire), but most cooks decline to spend six to eight hours babysitting the pudding while it boils on the stove. A pressure cooker cuts the cooking time down to an hour and doesn’t require nearly as much supervision.

Provide a colorful, healthy alternative to sodas with infused water. Combine a pot of water with small slices of your preferred fruits, bring the pot up to pressure, and depressurize again, then drain and chill the mixture. You can dilute with plain water for a hint of flavor, drink full strength, or use it as a mixer for cocktails.