Today, I braved the last frontier. Though having heard about them, and watched other cooks demonstrate, this was my debut. I bought a Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker, and made a corned beef brisket. Doggone if it wasn't cooked to strings in just under an hour.

Really simple to do. I poured in 1 1/2 cups of water, place the meat on the rack, laid my favored spices (Cinnamon, Cloves, and Bay Leaf) directly on the meat, then closed the lid, turned it on, and waited. Next mission, Artichokes, which the booklet says will take seven minutes.

I chose this one, because the different temperature settings will let me brown before starting the pressure process, or even use it as a slow cooker. Usually, I'm a fan of Braun and Krups, but this time Cuisinart offered the most options.

What a relief! No food on the ceiling, ala Lucille Ball, just set the timer, and walk away. Okay, now you can laugh at the recipe maven for having waited so long to try this. I just had to share my news with friends who would understand the fun of it all.

Have a happy Chanukah