Table of Contents
This book is dedicated to David Krimm and Peter Bradley, the best almost-brothers a woman could have.
Introduction
Its really easy to make great food in a slow cooker. You fill it up, plug it in, turn it on, and walk away. Then voil! You walk back into the kitchen or the house hours later to be greeted by the luxurious aroma of the delicious, homemade dinner that awaits you. Its not magic, but it sure seems like it if youre harried and stressedand hungryat the end of a busy workday. Or for those times when you have an enjoyable day of leisure, now you dont have to feel tied to the stove or feel guilty that your pleasure precluded a home-cooked meal for your family. With the slow cooker, neither work nor play requires sacrificing a nutritious dinner.
Theres no question about it: slow cooking has a role in our fast-paced lives. As time has become such a precious commodity, our dinner tables are increasingly filled with cardboard boxes from nutritionally bankrupt fast-food chains. Slow cooking provides the alternative. It does take some advance planning, but that becomes almost second nature once youve started using this simple electric appliance.
The recipes in this book are real food. Theyre not made with convenience products that list more chemicals on their labels than words recognizable as foods. A slow cooker doesnt need modern magic. The principles of slow cooking go back centuries.
Economy is another benefit of slow cooking. Its the less-tender and less-expensive cuts of meat that are best suited to a slow cookers low heat. They become incredibly tender after a few hours in the slow cooker. And foods like dried beans, the basis for a treasure-trove of dishes, are just pennies per serving.
Slow cooking is also easy, and this book assumes only the most basic cooking skills. Many of the recipes take no more than 15 minutes of hands-on preparation time, and Ive included many tips for how to accomplish most, if not all, of the work the night before you cook the food. Because few cooking skills are required, readying food for the slow cooker can even be a job parceled out to young family membersand why not make meal prep family time?
The slow cooker solves another of the societal quandaries we face today. On nights the family cant eat together, dinner can become a catch-as-catch-can feeding frenzy rather than a well-balanced meal. Problem solved with the slow cooker. When the slow cooker has completed its work, it can keep dinner hot for a few hours. That means one member of the family can eat before a sports practice and another can enjoy the same quality of food after a movie.
The slow cooker is not a miracle machine. It cant do everything. It will never produce a crispy french fry or a fluffy angel food cake. But when you know what it can doand learn that what it does, it does very wellthe slow cooker will become part of your cooking regimen.
How This Book Is Organized
The book is divided into seven parts:
Part 1, A Fast Course in Slow Cooking, teaches you all you need to know before turning on a slow cooker for the first time. Sections explain how slow cooking works, giving facts about food safety, tips for using the slow cooker, and how to modify your favorite recipes for slow cooking. I also include slow cooker versions of basic recipes for stocks, rice, beans, and more.
Part 2, Stellar Starters, showcases one of the slow cookers many strengthsmaking delicious hot dips for parties. You also learn the range of other appetizers the slow cooker can create, from satiny, rich spreads to toppings for pizza.
Part 3, The Bountiful Bowl: Soups as Supper, will convince you that soup is food for the soul. The recipes in this part run the gamut from a wide range of vegetarian and bean soups to meals in a bowl made with seafood, poultry, and meats.
The title of Part 4, Stews to Savor, says it all. But the only common denominator of the recipes in these four chapters are that all the foods are cut into bite-size pieces. There are vegetarian stews and ones made with fish and seafood. On the meat side, theres a chapter devoted to poultry stews and another starring all sorts of grazing greats.
Part 5, Main Dishes for All Times of Day, demonstrates the slow cookers versatility in creating delicious main dishes. The recipes in this part are for large fish steaks and fillets, whole poultry pieces, and meat roasts cooked whole or as chops. Completing the section are dishes appropriate for breakfasts and brunches.
Part 6, The Side Show, focuses attention away from the center of the plate. In this part, you find recipes for those all-important supporting players. Theres a chapter on vegetables and another on beansboth hot and as bean salads. Carbohydratespotatoes, rice, and other grainsare stars of another chapter, and theres a group of little touchesthe sauces and jams that can make meals special.
Part 7, Grand Finales, includes dozens of homey desserts that are as delicious as they are easy to make. Included are recipes for healthful fruit dishes that glorify the best of the produce department, and also decadent chocolate and other rich concoctions that satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth.
After the dessert chapters come some useful appendixes. Theres a glossary to add to your knowledge of cooking lingo, and tables to aid in converting measurements to the metric system.
Extras
In every chapter, many boxes give you extra information thats either helpful or just interesting. Heres what to look for:
Crock Tales
Check out these boxes for tidbits of food history and amusing quotes about food. Theyre fun to read and share with friends, and theyll make you sound like a real gourmet.
Cooker Caveats
Its always a good idea to be alerted to potential problems in advance. Cooker Caveats provide just such a warning, either about cooking in general or the recipe in particular.
Slow Speak
Cooking has a language all its own, and some of the terms and ingredients can be intimidating if you dont know what they mean. Look to these boxes for technique and ingredient definitions if you dont want to flip to the glossary.
Slow Savvy
Slow Savvy boxes are full of cooking tips. Some are specific to the recipe they accompany; others boost your general cooking skills or give you ideas for food presentation. These tips are meant to make your life easier and your time in the kitchen more pleasurable.
