Gifts for the Chef: Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi-Cooker

If anyone is the chef of the kingdom in your home this appliance is a winner. I am not a huge fan of "rice" unless of course as a small side with Sashimi. Yes...mmmm....the savory, slippery, luscious taste of sashimi, true raw fish. Not a California Roll, TRUE sushi. I think I was Japanese in another life. Moving on, the Cuisinart however is more than your standard rice cooker. As the name clearly suggests the Cuisinart is a "multi-cooker" which means you can make much more than rice in this fabulous appliance.

While I too am not a fan of crock-pot or slow cooker meals I do have my lazy moments that would make Martha Stewart shudder, for that, I am so sorry Martha. But I do not like to dirty a million pans, my pans are vey nice and I would much rather use them as art than to cook in. So the Cuisinart helps me to cut down on dishes by offering a cook function similar to that of a stove top fry pan.

I was making chili the other night and knew I had to use the Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi-Cooker with Fuzzy Logic Technology. I read a chili recipe in the recipe book that was included with the multi-cooker and the recipe was very similar to mine. A few variations but much similar to mine. So I followed the cooking instructions for the multi-cooker as to not damage the appliance nor ruin my creation.

The function that allows for cooking similar to the cooktop is Quick Cook option and I was able to brown my turkey meat and then I removed the meat and was able to saute my onions with my spices for a truly decadent taste. From there the cooker automatically shuts off based on the Quick Cook option, and I set the option for the slow cook meal of a few hours (you can adjust the time based on volume, etc) and I added my meat and wet ingredients to the cooker, shut the lid and VOILA. The cooker actually did cook my food perfectly, not too hot, not burned and not that burning ring you often see on your ceramic slow cooker, suggesting that maybe the meal got a bit too hot.

In addition to meals like chili, you can make oatmeal, risotto, different variations of rice such as sushi rice, brown rice, you can steam vegetables for wraps, dinners, and even reheat meals that were not prepared in a slow cooker. I even used my Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi-Cooker to make a fabulous Rigatoni pasta dish. (The Cuisinart Rice Plus Multi-Cooker with Fuzzy Logic Technology also has a 3-year limited warranty.)

In all honesty I was completely skeptical. I wondered about the accuracy of the cook, the ability to handle the amount of food I so desired to cook, the cleaning, the ease of use, the electronics, and the name is "rice cooker" I was skeptical that all this appliance could do WAS. COOK. RICE. I was very pleased to find that is does not just do rice alone. So if you are shopping for someone who wants a rice cooker or a crock pot type gift, this appliance is a good all around gift to cover all of those bases.