This is for everyone who ordered an Instant Pot on Cyber Monday, and also, somewhat selfishly, for myself. It's all the links, references, and resources I've collected in eager anticipation of the delivery of my new 9-in-1 rice cooker killer.

Let me start by saying, my road to the Instant Pot hasn't exactly been straight. I like to think I shy away from of-the-moment appliances, and instead, have collected a good number of donabe, flameware, and other clay cooking vessels that I cherish and cook with regularly. But I've been increasingly intrigued by sweeping Instant Pot mania (couldn't be later to the party, I know). Some of my favorite cooks are making magic, or at least dinner, with them. One of them even released Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot. I buy every Melissa Clark book. Every one. So, it seemed like the time to pull the trigger here and have a little fun. Also, the newest Instant Pot has a yogurt function. And eight other functions - pressure, slow cooker, rice cooker, egg cooker, sauté mode, steamer, and on and on. Oh, and people are baking cakes in them? Woah.

My first impression stepping into this world? It's a lot. My guess is that many of you are either looking for instruction and inspiration (like me), or you are way ahead, and have your own favorite resources. So that's what this post is about. I'm going to include my list here, as I start feverishly googling, including anything that catches my attention, anything I don't want to lose track of - and I'll try to keep this list updated over time. But, please, if you're seasoned in the Instant Pot arts, with ideas, favorite tricks, inspiration, and whatnot - please (please!) leave a comment.

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THE BASICS
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- This is the Instant Pot I purchased: Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Qt 9-in-1 Also! Note, there are over 1000 questions answered on this page. A lot of good questions, a lot of good answers.

- Alternative: I initially bought the Breville Fast Slow Pro. And I bought it for a few reasons. It slow cooks, it pressure cooks, and it aesthetically sparks much more joy than the Instant Pot. Also, I found a refurbished one deeply discounted on Amazon, which put it striking distance (price wise) of the Instant Pot I was considering. But it arrived and looked like someone took a sledgehammer to it. This gave me some extra time to rethink the Instant Pot (and its yogurt feature!), and read more reviews and comments. So I switched my order and ordered the Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Quart 9-in-1 instead.

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OFFICIAL INSTANT POT
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This is the official Instant Pot site, it has videos, updated information related to the different models available, FAQs, and a recipe database. There is also a lively Facebook community, and Pinterest page.

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THE GUIDES & REFERENCES
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- How To Use an Instant Pot: A Guide by Melissa Clark (NY Times)

- The Instant Pot manual has tables with timing recommendations, this site has more.

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LOVE STORIES
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- Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot? I Bought One to Find Out (NY Times)

- The Instant Pot Cult is Real (TASTE)

- Send Help: I'm (Kind Of) Falling in Love With the Instant Pot (Food52)

- I Tried The $99 Kitchen Gadget That Everyone's Obsessed With (Buzzfeed)

- After Cooking All My Meals in an Instant Pot for a Week, I Get What All the Hype Is About (Self)

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RECIPE INSPIRATION
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I want to make amazing thali plates with this thing. That's my personal holy grail of Instant Potting.

- Ministry of Curry Instant Pot Recipes

- Ten Instant Pot Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less (The Kitchn)

- Detoxinista / Instant Pot Recipes

- Cook With Manali / Instant Pot Recipes

- Five One Pot Indian Stews (Tasting Table)

- I'm excited about the concept of layering (or, pot-in-pot cooking)! For example, you use racks and containers to cook multiple recipes, like this one. - An explanation of PIP (pot-in-pot) cooking. And here's another one. And a great comprehensive video.

- Instant Pot Hot Sauce (Simply Happy Foodie)

Continue reading The Instant Pot Starter Guide for Me and You...