So my Cook4Me arrived courtesy of the Tefal shoot I did a few weeks back. So here is a quick review of how I’ve found cooking with it!
Well, firstly I’m really pleased with how delightful it looks in my kitchen. I do love a gadget. It’s like a shiny little electro-pot, sitting there looking high tech.
To the cooking! I’ve used it several times now, and been pretty pleased with the results. The first thing I made was the Bacon and Leek Risotto (anyone who doesn’t know, the Cook4Me has 50+ recipes inbuilt so you can just chop and chuck) I prepped everything, added a fistful of chorizo for good measure and went for it. You pre-heat the oil in the bowl, then brown some of the ingredients, before adding the rice and stock and sealing it up to do its magic.
Oh. Em. Gee. The risotto – which cooked perfectly by itself in 10 minutes, was utterly delicious. So lovely. I don’t think I’ll ever cook a risotto differently again it was that good (how annoying as a reflection on what thought were excellent risotto skills!)
Two things I would say though – the portions for two (you can choose to cook for 2,4,6 as part of the recipe) wasn’t quite enough for two hungry people. I would go with the recipe for 4, and have some left over for lunch. It was also slightly oily, I might halve the oil next time. Or not put the chorizo in…ahem.
The next meal I attempted was the bolognese. Some of the recipes ask for jars of sauce, which I tend to swerve because of all the sugar and crap in them, so I used a tin of tomatoes instead. The result was a wee bit bland, and quite liquidy but certainly edible once I’d seasoned and whacked in some Worcestershire sauce (which I put in everything!) I didn’t take a picture like a div though.
Last night I thought I would go for something completely different – lamb shanks!
I was able to brown the shanks first in the pan, before chucking in the rest of the prepped veg and tomatoes.
You have to be careful when browning – it will spit like any other pan! Then once the sauce was in it set itself to cook for 30 minutes.
The end result was really tasty. The shank wasn’t the melt on your mouth, falling off the bone you associate with shank, but it was still very tasty and tender lamb, and the tomato sauce was delicious.
I’m sure I will try more recipes over time – curry next I reckon. I’ll certainly be having the risotto once a week at the least, as it’s so quick and easy, even to do for lunch. A time saver to be sure!
this sounds like a must have for every mum! and it looks cool too. I use a slow cooker but I’m loving the speed at which that risotto cooked – mine love risotto so may look into this. Fab review lovely #triballove xx
Oh this sounds like an amazing gadget and perfect for busy famililes 🙂 I love risotto but hate the standing and endless stirring so I need to look into this 🙂
Ahhhh I want one!! So jealous. Looks awesome and sounds so easy.
Yum xx #triballove
Looks and sounds futuristic but a gadget I would love in my kitchen!
It’s amazing honestly I love it. I’m obsessed with anything kitchen-y! 🙂 x
I need this in my life for sure. And more than 50 recipes sounds great. The food also looks delicious. Yum yum X #triballove
I love the look of these tefal cook4me things! Perfect for lazy cooks like me! Looking forward to your curry next time! xx
#triballove
I need something like this! Cooking with a toddler who insists on being held 90% of the time is quite challenging. The idea of just chucking everything in appeals massively.