Just to set the record straight… No, I wasn’t given one of these units to test and make nice about… No, I wasn’t contacted by QVC or Cooks Essentials to test their cooker… No, Left to my own devices, I probably would not  have ever considered buying one of these things… It all started as an innocent text message from a friend in Taiwan; thinking he could use it to make braised pork belly. “What can you tell me about these things… have you tried it?” Not only had I never heard of it, the whole idea of nuclear cooking and highly pressurized impact plastic frightened me ….  more than a little. But, being the gadget whore that I am, I decided to buy one and see what it would do. The Basics Considering a decent stove top cooker will run you $45.00 to $65.00, the $50.00 price tag (including tax, shipping, and that worrisome “handling”) for the CooksEssentials thing will hit you right at fifty bucks. It comes in a variety of colors. I bought a …