Hensperger Beth - Not Your Mothers Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining

The Harvard Common Press
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Boston, Massachusetts 02118
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Copyright 2007 by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann
Photographs copyright 2007 by Eskite Photography

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Printed on acid-free paper

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hensperger, Beth
Not your mother's slow cooker recipes for entertaining / Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-55832-311-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)ISBN 978-1-55832-312-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Electric cookery, Slow. 2. Entertaining. I. Kaufmann, Julie. II. Title.
TX827.H3915 2007
641.5'884dc22 2007002510

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Cover photographsfront: Cherry-Glazed Pork Pot Roast with Herbs, ; spine: Fondue Neuchtel,
; Poached Peaches with
Brandied Custard Sauce,

Book design by Ralph Fowler / rlf design
Cover and interior photographs by Eskite Photography
Food styling by Andrea Lucich
Prop styling by Carol Hacker

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Not Your Mother's is a registered trademark of The Harvard Common Press.

For Agra, who guided me into new channels of growth and was
there from the beginning through to the end of this project, providing me
with not only inspiration, but also great entertainment

Beth Hensperger

For Mom and Aunt Rowie, who introduced me
to the pleasures of cooking

Julie Kaufmann

And to you, our gentle reader, who gets as much entertainment
in the kitchen preparing the recipes as you do in expressing
the essence of graceful entertaining after the guests arrive.
Use this book often and make it your own.

The authors would like to thank everyone who contributed moral support, thoughtful guidance, and delicious recipes to this book. Special thank-yous to recipe testers Bobbe Torgerson, literary agent Martha Casselman, Nancyjo Riekse, Batia Rabec, and Vivien "Bunny" Dimmel.

Thank you to Kathy Benson, director of marketing services at West Bend Housewares; Chuck Williams of Williams-Sonoma; Susan Jones, marketing director at Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc.; and Yvonne Olson of Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc., for providing the big slow cookers used for testing these recipes.

Additional thanks go to all of our friends, neighbors, and cookbook peers who contributed ideas, recipes, and encouragementwe have acknowledged them individually in the recipes.

Thank you to our publisher, Bruce Shaw, who made it possible for you to hold this book in your hands; to Pam Hoenig, our accomplished first editor, who deserves her own byline for her sound advice and long hours of labor initially guiding this many-year, multivolume project; and to Valerie Cimino, who refined the manuscript into its final shape and voice with her own panache.

While the virtues of slow-cooking techniques are widely acknowledged and millions use the slow cooker as part of daily food preparation, the slow cooker is often seen as a humble and homey appliance. It is that, but it is so much more. The slow cooker is a kitchen appliance extraordinaire for preparing and serving foods for entertaining. Whether you are an old hand at party-giving or a nervous new-comer, there is always pleasure to be had in mulling over a menu and finding dishes that will fit the occasion, and here we present to you a book full of possibilities.

Once entertaining was synonymous with formality and setting the dining room table with seldom-used silver and china. But with changing lifestyles and a bounty of inexpensive seasonal foods, entertaining can mean anything from a backyard picnic to a kitchen gathering to an elegant sit-down dinner or a festive holiday meal. Entertaining can be one of the great joys of life and a satisfying form of creativity.

One of the keys to any type of entertaining is creating a feeling of relaxed hospitality, and one way to achieve that ambiance is to prepare recipes ahead of time. A slow cooker entre, such as a chili, stew, ragot, or braised chicken dish, needs only some store-bought bread, a piece of cheese, a nice salad, and sorbet or berries and biscotti to become a satisfying and welcoming luncheon or dinner. Slow cooker side dishes are perfect complements to outdoor grilled or indoor oven-roasted meats and fish. We also serve pasta to our guests with one of our luscious slow-cooked sauces. Make the sauce ahead of time and then just cook the pasta and toss the salad. Get ready to dish up seconds.

A fondue party? Yes, fondue is firmly back in fashion for intimate parties, and your slow cooker makes an excellent fondue pot. Having lunch afloat? Plug in your slow cooker in the galley for a simple, delicious meal that simmers below while you linger on deck. Out for an early appointment or a youth soccer game? Fill the slow cooker, turn it on, and come home later to a welcome meal that will satisfy the most finicky of young and old guests. Our recipes take easily available, inexpensive ingredients and make them worthy of any occasion. The simplest of meals is frequently just as enjoyable as one with exotic and unfamiliar recipes.

Once you have mastered the skill of cooking in a slow cooker, you can assemble and cook a dish that does not require any tending. In fact, you can leave the house or go to bed without worry. Today's heavy, fully glazed stoneware cooking vessels are so versatile and attractive that you can, in most instances, assemble and refrigerate the ingredients for a dish at night and, in the morning, fill the crockery insert and place it into the metal housing containing the heating elements. Turn on the cooker, let it cook for hours, then serve the meal directly from it. Think of it as a large oven-to-table casserole or soup tureen.

Since slow cookers are so versatile, your guests can enjoy meals that reflect the fragrant aromas and potent spices of India, Mexico, Italy, the American Southwest, or Morocco. You can highlight the fresh summer harvest with roasted summer vegetables, or stay cozy in January with a special beef stew with roots or baked beans. Bring the slow cooker outside to serve your easy-to-eat ribs and wings at a poolside party. Slow cookers prepare a great version of Elizabeth Taylor's Chili () on the hottest of days, without changing the temperature of your kitchen an iota or using the oven, to be served in the cool of the early evening with margaritas, warm tortillas, and a big salad. Slow cookers prepare succulent meals for an elegant sit-down dinner or a fancy, substantial cocktail party as easily as they do side dishes for buffets, one of the simplest methods of entertaining, where guests just help themselves.

Entertaining is not just about preparing and serving good foodit is a form of self-expression. Once you give a successful gathering of any type, you will be inspired to create more occasions. You plan an event and a meal that you yourself want to enjoy, and your confidence is evident with the way you deliver and share that meal. It is an effort that is greatly rewarded. The no-fuss assembly inherent in slow cooker dishes helps you to be efficient with your time in the kitchen and imaginative in your choice of ingredients. The slow-cooking process is worry-free after loading the crockery insert, leaving you available to handle other details or relax before your guests arrive. Slow-cooking is not just a technique, a piece of equipment, or a place in the kitchen, but a frame of mind as well.