Good Woman's Chicken Pot Roast from "Ready and Waiting" by Rick Rodgers |
I’m a late-in-life convert to slow cookers. I was given one
as a bridal shower present decades ago, but was too snobbish to consider using
it for anything other than mulled cider at Christmas time. I associated it with
the types of casseroles that showed up at community events, glued together by
cream of mushroom soup and topped with the world’s greasiest potato chips.
Then I stumbled across Lora Brody’s "Slow Cooker Cooking,"
and was intrigued enough to give some of the recipes a whirl. Beef
bourguignon and cassoulet in a crockpot sounded almost too good to be true, but
worth a try. Definitely worth a try, and worth repeating, and buying that
all-important larger second crockpot with the countdown timer.
Here are my top reasons I now love my slow cooker:
1. Homemade broth
with less fuss. I’ve blogged about this one before, so I’ll send you to that
post here for the full recipe, but suffice to say, mastering this has been
transformative.
2. Cooked beans so
easy and so tasty that make you wonder why on earth you buy the canned
versions. I got the recipe from Kitchn.com here.
In my experience, the beans are done much earlier than this recipe would
indicate; I would check them after four hours, especially if you want to use
the beans in a salad.
3. Caramelized onions.
This ridiculously simple and tasty version comes from Lora Brody’s book. Slice
up as many onions as your slow cooker will hold. Cut up a stick of butter in to
chunks. Cook on low for at least 12 hours. Unbelievably, they turn a caramel
brown, and taste like heaven on pasta, pizza, burgers or sandwiches.
I use a mix of whatever color onions I have on hand. |
After 12 hours, the onions have cooked down and browned. |
4. Make ahead and
hold mashed potatoes. Cooking, ricing and larding your potatoes up with
dairy goodness in advance makes any holiday event so much less hassle. Just
make sure to get your potatoes a little on the runnier side than you would
ordinarily serve them so when they dry up a bit in the slow cooker, they’ll
wind up the right consistency.
5. Good woman's
chicken pot roast from “Ready and Waiting” by Rick Rodgers will definitely
make you feel like a good woman when you leave this meal waiting. One browned
cut-up chicken placed over top a bed of potatoes and browned carrots and
onions, flavored with French herbs and topped with a cup or so of good chicken
broth, and cooked for 5 to 6 hours on low and you’re almost there. Put the
chicken and veggies on a platter and reduce the sauce on the stove top and
you’ve got weekend-style comfort food on a weeknight.
Honorable mention:
Beef bourguignon from Lora Brody’s “Slow Cooker Cooking.” Not quite as good as
my favorite version from Saveur November 1998, but definitely less trouble and still
tasty.
Guilty pleasure:
Sausages and kraut slathered in honey mustard and cooked in beer. Judge if you
must.
Favorite slow cooker
cookbooks:
1. “Ready and Waiting” by Rick Rodgers. I thank former co-worker Jarrett for clueing me
in to this gem. Good enough to convert the creamed canned soup crowd.
2. “The French Slow Cooker” by Michele Scicolone. French-style slow-cooked dishes translate
perfectly to the slow cooker treatment. She’s also written an Italian version
I’m considering.
3. “Slow CookerCooking” by Lora Brody. Not every recipe in here is a winner, but the
caramelized onions alone are worth it.
Favorite accessories:
Slow cooker liners:
Especially for those old-school models that don’t have a removable crock, these
greatly speed cleanup. Plus, I can just lift out the leftovers in the bag and
transfer them to a container to store.
A crockpot carrier:
For those of us who find ourselves having to frequently transport these for
family meals, this is a big winner. It certainly beats having to listen to the lid rattle
in the back of the Outback for four and a half hours.
Beef bourguignon and cassoulet in a crockpot sounded almost too good to be ... crockpotcarrier.blogspot.com
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