Graubart - Slow cooking for two : basics techniques recipes

Slow Cooking for Two

Basics, Techniques, Recipes

Cynthia Graubart

Photographs by Christopher Hornaday

Slow Cooking for Two

Basics, Techniques, Recipes

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2013 Cynthia Graubart

Photographs 2013 Christopher Hornaday

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-3384-6

My husband, Cliff Graubart, is a prince. Without him we would not have had meals to eat while I was writing, or a clean kitchen while I was testing. To Nathalie Dupree, I owe a debt of gratitude for her generosity, and for the idea of Double Dinners. Catherine Fliegel, my first co-author and friend, is a wonderful proofreader. Photographer Christopher Hornaday, food stylist Nan McCulloch, and assistant Jill Heiser made my maiden voyage in food photography an absolute pleasure. My editor Madge Baird suggested this book and I couldnt have been more delighted to work with her again. The mistakes here are all my own. And thank you to Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, and Rival, for the slow cookers used in testing.

It was 1974 when the avocado-green Rival brand Crock-Pot entered my life and became a boon to our family. My mother was working full time and attending nursing school part time, and the mere thought of dinner preparing itself was enormously liberating.

Rooting around the dark corners of the kitchen cabinets several years later as I headed off to college, I pilfered the Crock-Pot. It turned out not to be so handy: the meals served far too many portions and I hated having leftovers for days at a time. The crock itself was attached to the base, so washing the inside without getting the appliance wet was a nuisance.

Years later, raising my own family caused me to revisit the concept. I replaced the green beast with a new 6-quart model with modern features, like multiple heat settings and an auto-switch-to-warm setting. I even included a chapter on slow cooking in my first book, The One-Armed Cook, co-authored with Catherine Fliegel, and touted it as a much more useful choice for a baby shower registry gift than a baby wipes warmer!

So steadfast was my devotion that I continued to slow cook even as my children left the nest, but I found myself right back in that leftovers for days quandary. Life was just as hectic as ever, and I needed those days when I could leave something to cook unattended.

Enter the newest addition to my kitchen, the 3-1/2-quart slow cooker! I can now prepare reasonable-quantity slow-cooked meals while I go about my busy day.

This book is intended for newlyweds, empty nesters, small apartments, and unusual spaces where a slow cooker might be the only appliance available for cooking (vacation cabin, boat, RV). The recipes do not call for browning or other additional preparation steps requiring another appliance such and a stove, oven or microwave. Each recipe is designed for 2, with a little leftover for lunch or perhaps a second light meal or a third drop-in diner. All of the ingredients can be found in your local grocery store, without an extra trip to a specialty store. And although this is not a Southern slow cooker book, my Southern cooking bias is surely evident.

Slow cooking is an ideal cooking method to tenderize tough cuts of meat. Its also a boon to the busy cook who could benefit from a recipe that cooks unattended. A slow cooker uses about the same amount of electricity as a 75-watt bulb.

Slow cookers are available in many sizes, from just 1-quart all the way up to 7-quart. For a typical family, a 5- to 7-quart size is ideal, but still too large for cooking for 2. I found the best size for me is the 3-1/2-quart slow cooker. There are a few choices in that size range; I like one with these handy features:

All the recipes in this book were tested in the Cuisinart brand 3-1/2-quart slow cooker, which has all the above features.

Read the manufacturers guide that came with your slow cooker. It contains information unique to your slow cooker.

Never use an extension cord to plug in your slow cooker. The cord is purposefully short to prevent accidental turning over of the appliance.

The outside of a slow cooker gets hot, so keep it away from children and pets, low-hanging cabinets, and walls.

Do not wash a slow cooker insert until it has cooled or the pot might crack.

Double DinnersMost cuts of beef and chicken parts are sold in packages designed to serve 4 or more people. Since I dislike having a large quantity of leftovers, Ive designed Double Dinners. These recipes call for using slow cooker liners as separate cooking bags to cook two different recipes in the same slow cooker at the same time, using the total package amount of meat. For example, the smallest chuck roast available in my local grocery store is 2 to 2-1/2 pounds. By cutting the roast into two equal portions and following two separate recipes, I have two completely different dinners from the same roast, cooked at the same time in the same slow cookerone for dinner tonight and one for a future meal thats not a leftover! (see the Double Dinners chapter).

These items can be found in a well-stocked suburban grocery store, obtained at your local cookware shop, or easily ordered online: