The Instant Pot is an all-in-one kitchen wiz that's been taking the cooking world by storm for a few years now. It's quite the machine: a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and sauté pan. Surprisingly, it does all of these things quite well. One of my favorite things to do with the Instant Pot is make chicken stock. What traditionally takes 8 hours of simmer time is ready in an hour (not counting time needed to chill the stock at the end). You want a time saving technique? Look no further.

Things You\’ll Need

• 3 to 4 pounds raw chicken wings

• 2 yellow onions, quartered

• 2 ribs celery, halved

• 2 carrots, halved

• a handful of fresh parsley

• 5 to 6 black peppercorns

• 2 to 3 garlic cloves

• Instant Pot

Step 1: Gather your ingredients and tools.

Chicken wings are an excellent option for stock because they're full of collagen. Collagen is what makes homemade stock different from what you'll find packaged for sale in stores; it gives sauces a rich, gelatinous quality. However, you don't need to use wings. Any raw chicken bones will work. The remaining ingredient quantities don't need to be exact. You can omit the garlic, add some leeks or bay leaves… the only thing you definitely don't want to add is salt. Stock should always be free of salt so that the recipes you decide to use it in (soups, sauces, stews, etc.) can be seasoned to taste.

Step 2: Place ingredients in the Instant Pot.

Place the wings in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Top with the onions, celery, carrots, parsley, peppercorns and garlic cloves. Fill to the max line with water.

Step 3: Set for 60 minutes on manual.

Close the lid, making sure the top valve is set to "Sealing." Turn the Instant Pot on and press the manual button. Adjust the time to 60 minutes. Allow the stock to cook. Once it's finished, you can either release the pressure from the top valve or allow it to release naturally, which will take another 20 minutes or so.

Step 4: Strain the solids.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Strain the stock and discard the solids.

Step 5: Chill to separate the fat.

Cover the stock and place in the refrigerator to chill. This will allow the fat to rise to the surface. If you're in a hurry, you can speed up the process by using several smaller bowls.

Step 6: Skim the fat from the surface.

Once the stock is cold, use a ladle to skim and discard the fat from the top.

Step 7: Use or store chicken stock.

Transfer the stock to storage containers. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, the freezer for 3 to 4 months, or it can be pressure canned indefinitely. Note: pressure canning is not the same as water-bath canning.

Freeze creme anglaise to make your own premium ice cream. Image Credit: Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Starches are some of the most useful thickeners for cooks. They provide a relatively quick and reliable way to produce thick sauces and fillings. Custards are much more problematic, relying on the gentler thickening power of egg proteins to create a delicate gel. Creme anglaise, a basic vanilla-flavored custard sauce, is the most basic example of the technique. It refrigerates readily for later use, but freezing it can be another matter.

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How Custards Work

If you've ever watched eggs in a skillet, you have a basic understanding of how heat affects their proteins. As they become warmer, the proteins set into the familiar firm texture that's the signature of a properly fried egg. If you dilute your scrambled eggs with cream, it prevents the proteins from bonding as tightly and makes the eggs softer. Custards take that a step further, diluting the eggs with enough cream that they can only form the softest and most delicate of gels. Custards only hold their form within a narrow range of temperatures, quickly separating if they're frozen or overheated.

Creme Anglaise

Creme anglaise is the most basic of custards. It's made by whisking eggs together with sugar, then gradually stirring in hot cream to dilute the mixture. The combination is heated gently, usually over a double boiler, until the egg proteins "set" the custard to a thick texture similar to heavy cream. You may add vanilla extract and sometimes butter at the end of the cooking time, or infuse the cream with a vanilla bean while it's heating. Pour the sauce over hot or cold desserts, and keep it refrigerated for three to four days.

Freezing and Thawing

Like any liquid, creme anglaise freezes easily. The difficulty comes with thawing the custard. Almost invariably, it will separate into a mixture of thin, milky liquid and thicker clumps of egg. If you don't have the ingredients to make a fresh batch, you can sometimes salvage your sauce with an extra egg yolk. Use a mixer or "stick" blender to recombine the sauce, then whisk an egg yolk in a separate mixing bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the thawed custard to your yolk and combine, then place the bowl over a double boiler. Whisk in the remaining custard and heat the mixture gently until it rethickens. The new egg yolk will return the other ingredients to a texture almost as fine as the original sauce.

Ice Cream

The best reason to freeze leftover creme anglaise is to produce ice cream. Pour any leftovers into the bowl of your ice cream maker and let it churn until the custard freezes. If you don't have an ice cream maker, let the custard freeze in an airtight container, then beat it vigorously for a few minutes with the paddle of your stand mixer. Return the mixture to your freezer to solidify once more. The plain frozen mixture can be eaten without whipping, but its texture is denser.

Variations

Tweak a basic creme anglaise mixture to make other sweet treats. Vary the number of whole eggs and egg yolks to produce relatively firm baked custards, such as the beloved Latin "flan," or softer custards such as creme brulee. Incorporate cornstarch or flour into the mixture to create a more stable custard called pastry cream. Pastry cream is often used as a filling, and the filled pastries can be frozen for later baking.

You don't need to dive into the ocean to find precious treasure—just do some baking. These cupcakes decorated as oyster shells displaying pearls will be a hit at your next summer social, beach gathering or even mermaid-themed party. They may look fancy, but they're surprisingly easy to assemble. The shells are made from madeleine cookies, and the pearls are sixlet candies. Of course, the oysters and pearls may not be worth millions of dollars, but the reactions of your family and friends will be priceless.

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Things You\’ll Need

• Cupcakes

• Frosting

• Blue and red frosting dye

• Piping bag

• Open star piping tip

• Disposable piping bags

• Gold sanding sugar

• Madeleine cookies

• Pearl sixlet candies

Step 1: Bake the Cupcakes

Using a box mix or your homemade recipe, bake cupcakes in paper liners (I used a confetti cake mix). Fill the liners about two-thirds of the way with batter, and the cake should rise just to the rim.

Step 2: Prepare the Frosting

Whip up a batch of frosting with your favorite recipe, or purchase a tub of prepackaged frosting from the supermarket. I find that homemade frosting not only tastes better, but it also spreads more easily and pipes beautifully.

I made a basic buttercream frosting mixing two sticks of butter, three cups of confectioner's sugar, two tablespoons of heavy cream, one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Divide the frosting in half, and add one or two drops of blue frosting dye in the first batch. Blend in the dye until you get a bright ocean blue. Add more drops of dye if necessary.

Tip

Frosting dye, available at party or crafts stores, will color your frosting without adding more liquid to it.

Add one or two drops of red dye to the other batch of frosting and stir to create a pleasing pink hue. The blue frosting will be for the ocean waves, while the pink frosting will be for the inside of the oyster.

Step 3: Frost the Top of the Cupcake

While you can just spread the frosting with a spatula, I recommend using a piping tip and bag. It's easier than you would think and gives you professional-looking results. Place an open star piping tip on the end of a disposable piping bag. You don't necessarily need a piping coupler to attach the tip to the bag, but I like how the coupler locks in the piping tip.

Fill the bag with the blue frosting, not going past the fill line indicated on the bag.

Squeeze the piping bag to release frosting through the tip, making swirls on top of the cupcake to look like cresting waves. It's a good idea to practice on a piece of wax paper first to figure out your design.

Step 4: Sprinkle Some Sanding Sugar

To give the suggestion of a beach, sprinkle some gold sanding sugar on one side of the cupcake. The gold sugar creates a sparkling sand.

Step 5: Prepare the Madeleines

Madeleines make perfect "oysters" because of their shell shape. If your local supermarket or bakery does not have madeleines, any flat, round cookie like a vanilla wafer will work, as well. You will need two madeleines to make each oyster—one for the top and one for the bottom.

Madeleines typically have a hump on the back. Cut off one of the humps with a knife, but leave the hump on the second madeleine intact. The hump will help prop up the cookie so the oyster remains open.

Slice off about half an inch on the narrow end of the madeleines so the shells won't be so long. Now they look perfect.

Step 6: Assemble the Oyster

Place the madeleine that has the hump on the cupcake. The hump should be facing up.

Prepare a new piping bag for the pink frosting, and squeeze the frosting onto the madeleine. You don't need to cover the entire cookie with the frosting–just a small oval in the center is enough.

Position a pearl sixlet on the frosting toward the front tip of the madeleine cookie. Sixlets are candies usually used for weddings and showers. They are available in many colors at party stores.

Place the second madeleine on top to finish the oyster. As you can see, the hump from one madeleine props up the other one, and the frosting acts like glue to keep the two cookies together.

With cupcakes like these, the world is your oyster.

You don\’t need to churn all day for this coffee ice cream treat. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

Homemade ice cream hits the spot in the summertime, and you don't need an ice cream maker to make it. Using a variety of milks, sweeteners and fresh ingredients, you can make ice cream to please your own personal taste and to fit your dietary restrictions. This no-churn coffee ice cream turns out sweet and creamy, with plenty of coffee flavor, and the best part: It requires only 5 ingredients and no more than 10 minutes of prep time!

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Things You\’ll Need

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled (or 2 tablespoons dry instant coffee)

• 2 tablespoons coffee grinds (optional)

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Measure out all of your ingredients before you begin. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

Prepare for the recipe by measuring out your ingredients. You will need 1/2 cup of strong-brewed coffee, which can be saved from your morning pot of coffee. If you do not have brewed coffee on hand, you can use 2 tablespoons of dry instant coffee.

Tip

Coffee grinds are coffee grounds that have been brewed. You may omit these from the recipe altogether if you don't have a brewed pot of coffee on hand.

Step 1: Blend Ingredients

Combine all of your ice cream ingredients. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

Pour all of the ingredients for the coffee ice cream into a blender. Blend the ice cream base until well-combined.

Blend the ingredients until smooth. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

Step 2: Pour Into Freezer-Safe Container

Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

Transfer the ice cream base to a freezer-safe container, such as a loaf pan. If you'd like, you can line the pan with parchment paper.

Step 3: Cover and Freeze

Freeze the ice cream until solid. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. Place in the freezer and freeze for 5 to 6 hours, or until ice cream is solid.

Step 4: Thaw and Serve

Scoop up your coffee ice cream and enjoy. Image Credit: Julia Mueller

When ready to serve, remove the container of ice cream from the freezer and allow it to thaw 5 to 8 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop and serve ice cream.

Tip

For a lower fat recipe, substitute a portion of the heavy whipping cream with half and half. Note: The ice cream will not turn out as rich and creamy.

To make this recipe dairy-free, replace the heavy whipping cream with full-fat canned coconut milk and the condensed milk with canned coconut cream. Note: The ice cream will turn out much harder with this method, so using an ice cream maker rather than a blender is recommended. You also can replace the dairy with 2 cups of soaked cashews and 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk: Blend these ingredients well to a completely creamy consistency.

Make this recipe refined sugar-free by replacing the sweetened condensed milk with another 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (or 1 14-ounce can of coconut cream) and add 1/2 cup of a natural liquid sweetener, such as agave or pure maple syrup.