Wendy Louise - The Complete Slow Cooker Cookbook: Essential Recipes for Hearty and Delicious Crockery Meals, Menus, and More

Copyright 2008 by Wendy Louise

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Originally published in 2003 by Champion Press, Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Louise, Wendy.

The complete slow cooker cookbook : essential recipes for hearty and delicious crockery meals, menus, and more / by

Wendy Louise.

p. cm.

Includes index.

1. Electric cookery, Slow. 2. One-dish meals. I. Title.

TX827.L695 2008

641.5'884dc22

2008027158

Printed and bound in the United States of America.
RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For
Betty and Lucile
Joanie and Mikey
Brook and Sam

A heartfelt thank you goes out to my editor, Sara Appino, and to those at
Sourcebooks who have made this book possible. It takes a special community to
build a book and I thank you all.

W elcome to the world of slow, moist cooking. Like most good ideas, the concept of slow cooking has been around for a long, long time. Tried and true, it has simmered and braised meats to fork-tenderness, root vegetables to perfection, and even desserts to savory sweetness.

From the marmite pot to the bean pot, the Chinese clay pot to the colonial Dutch oven, succulent meals have been cooked slowly for centuries. Perhaps the first slow cooker was fashioned from an earthen pit lined with heated rocks or smoldering embers, piled high with wild game and gathered vegetables wrapped in moistened corn husks or huge banana leaves. Covered over with a mound of earth, the food cooked, unattended, while people went about their daily tasks of survival. With the advent of the electric slow cooker in the 1970s, slow cooking was raised to a modern art form. Based on ancient concepts (i.e., good food, easily prepared), the slow cooker brought economy, convenience, and flexibility to the modern-day kitchen.

But that was 1970, and this is the twenty-first century, you say. Well, just think about it for a minute. Wouldn't it be nice to bypass a stop at the deli, the drive-in, the take-out and come directly home (your time and budget intact) to a wonderful meal, completed to perfection in your very own kitchen? Just imagine the instant gratification of returning after a long day at work or school, opening the door, and taking in those first comforting aromas of your awaiting meal. With a little advance planning and prep work in the morning, your family can sit down to an economical and nutritious meal in the evening. And won't you enjoy it more, knowing clean-up is a breeze when the meal is over!

With the mastery of a few basic concepts and a little creativity, you, too, can enjoy the benefits of slow cooking. This book is meant to provide you with just such ideas and to entice you into the delicious world of family-style, slowly cooked crockery meals.

Getting Started

Slow cookers come in a variety of sizesfrom one-quart capacity for singles and small recipes to six-quart capacities for six persons plus and larger-style cooking. To take full advantage of your slow cooker, the recipe should fill the pot at least half- to three-quarters-full for maximum cooking performance. You may find that you will want to have more than one slow cooker, perhaps in varying sizes, to enhance your cooking capacitya small one for that dip you are serving at a party, a large one for that whole chicken, soup, or stew, and even a medium-size one for a side dish or dessert.

Most commonly, slow cookers have two settings: the low setting, which cooks at approximately 200 F and the high setting, which cooks at approximately 300 F. The low setting is great for all-day and unattended cooking, allowing for flexibility of timing. It's also great for holding food with little worry about its drying out or scorching your meala perfect solution when you are caught in traffic after work or the boss has you stay late to meet a deadline. The high setting is great for Saturday and Sunday meals, when you might want to cut your cooking time in half. Throw in a couple loads of laundry or craft in your scrapbook; go to a movie or sit down and watch a football game; play baseball with the kids or go to the gym; take a quick shopping trip to the mall; or put your feet up and read a good book. Before you know it, your meal is done, and you have been far afield from the kitchen! The general rule is that one hour of slow cooking on high is equal to about 2 to 2 hours of slow cooking on low. In layman's terms, one hour of cooking time (out of the kitchen) spent at the gym is equal to 2 to 2 hours of cooking time spent (out of the kitchen) watching a good movie. Sounds good to me! How about you?

There are a few basic safety rules that you should meticulously follow when using your slow cooker. After cooking and serving your meal, the remaining food should not be stored in or reheated in the slow cooker. Foods left to cool to below 185 F for any extended period of time are greatly susceptible to bacteria growth. So promptly transfer your leftovers to a container for the fridge and do your reheating in a microwave, on the stove, or in the oven. If you are assembling your dish the night before and storing it in the refrigerator, do not mix in any raw meats. Add them in the morning just before you start the cooking process. Any raw marinades should be discarded if not incorporated directly into the cooking process.

Slow cookers are designed for just that, slow and gentle cooking. To avoid cracking, do not subject your crockery liner to extreme and abrupt changes of heat. If you have assembled your dish the night before and are transferring it from the fridge to the heating coils, do not attempt to preheat the base unit to speed up the process. Put the chilled and filled liner into the base unit and turn it on low. It will warm up gently and simmer all day. Likewise, when cleaning your crockery insert, make sure to treat it with the same gentle respect, avoiding abrupt temperature changes. Avoid using abrasive cleaners, as they may scratch the glazed surface of the liner. Spraying your liner with cooking spray before assembling and cooking your dish also makes for quick and easy clean-up. And, obviously, do not submerge the electrical portion in water.