Jeffrey Eisner - The Simple Comforts Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook: The Easiest and Most Satisfying Comfort Food Ever

Foodand the stories that accompany itprovides comfort and connection unlike anything else.

As far as Im concerned, the only thing more enticing than a solid trilogy of books is one you can both read and eat through.

In my first book (the orange one), I made sure you and your Instant Pot became besties with simple, satisfying, step-by-step recipes that made you excited to cook magnificent meals like a pro. In my second book (the blue one), I took the same approach but gave you a trove of options with a lighter touch, highlighting key pointers on how to live a more conscientious lifestyle.

If something isnt broken, dont fix it. So this third book (the yellow one) will, once again, share top-notch, easy recipes with visual step-by-step breakdowns, along with suggestions to make these recipes fit into your lifestyle but in this one, were focusing on comfort food, done simply. And because I love a good, relatable, and comforting anecdote, Ive added a special storytelling touch. More on that in a moment.

Ive never been secretive about my background in cooking: I am a full-on amateur, have had no formal training, nick my fingers while slicing onions, and still cant pronounce certain ingredients properly (Worcestershire, anyone?). Regardless of my culinary flaws, I love to cook. It is both my therapy and my happy place. The ultimate moment of satisfaction hits me when I take an empty pot or pan, fill it with flavorful ingredients, follow a few simple instructions, and then get to admire the tasty meal Ive prepared. As simple as a dish is to make, there are few things that make me feel as accomplished a cook as preparing something such as my spaghetti and meatballs (). The validation that comes when we serve something weve made and get to watch peoples blissful reactions as they take the first bite? It just doesnt get any better.

When I was unhappy in my prior career of producing videos in the advertising world (filming a cowboy in Times Square singing about how toilet paper keeps his underwear clean might have been the tipping point), I would come home and cook new things as a comforting, creative outlet for myself. I have a love for gadgets and the latest and greatest household items, and so I had to get my hands on the Instant Pot in late 2016 when it was still pretty new. It would quickly become the top-selling countertop appliance, finding a home in millions of kitchens. But I soon realized that many who owned one were intimidated by it. I had a lightbulb moment, and saw an opportunity to get to know this mega-popular, yet slightly feared device like the back of my hand and then show other home cooks how friendly and game-changing it could be. I employed my producing (and performing) skills to film my own video on how to use the pot. It grew legs, Pressure Luck was born, it became my life, hundreds of recipes were written, and here we are.

As more people made my recipes, I began to receive more and more messages each daymany of which left and continue to leave my jaw on the floor. Never in a million years did I think I would receive thousands of stories from such lovely humans that would move me to tears, make me laugh, and help me realize how something as simple as a recipe I shared could make such a positive difference in ones life. These messages have taught me that every recipe has a story attached to it.

Im often asked, Jeffrey, how do you come up with your recipes? Its an easy question to answer. A recipe doesnt exist without an ensemble of ingredients. And every cook, chef, or recipe developer needs ingredients of their own to be inspired and creative. For me, your special stories are the secret ingredients that make the gears in my mind spin. Your stories are the fuel for why and how I write my recipes to share with you. Its a beautiful relationship where we feed each other, so to speak.

Weve all been through a lot in the last few years. When my first book was released in April of 2020, the very world as we knew it turned upside-down. I dont need to remind you of the maudlin details of the pandemic, but as a New Yorker living at the epicenter of all of it, and as my book entered hundreds of thousands of homes at the height of it, I quickly discovered that theres one thing we all crave: comfort. From the countless video calls with our nearest and dearest when we couldnt see them in person being the highlight of our days, to making meals (perhaps even over those video calls) to feed our souls, comfort has always helped us get through the tougher days. And the world could always use more of it.

My whole married life I made sure that my husband had lots of home-cooked meals. He came from a family of fourteen children and his mother was an absolutely wonderful cook. I was an only child so I really didnt have a whole lot of talent for cooking, but I did learn from my grandma because my mom worked. I had sixty-two years of good marriage and when my husband passed away in 2014 all of a sudden I didnt have anybody to cook for as my family lives far away. Then one day I discovered the Instant Pot, and then I discovered you, and from then on I have been eating healthy and am also able to share the extra food I make with my neighbors. Life is okayIm 84 and disabled and going blind, but I have not given up on life. The answer is to smile every day and act like its your very last day on Earth.