Slow Cooker Ready & Waiting: 160 Sumptuous Meals That Cook Themselves - Softcover

Rodgers, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 068815803X ISBN 13: 9780688158033

Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks, 1998

Synopsis

Hearty stews. Rib-sticking chilis. Tender pot roasts. The real secret is a long, slow simmer at a constant temperature, and no appliance does this better than the slow cooker. If your old slow cooker recipes disappointed you, throw them away! The Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting Cookbook is for people who love good food!

Rick Rodgers has adapted an eclectic array of American and ethnic dishes for the slow cooker. They're all here: fancy fare (Farmer's Market Lobster and Corn Chowder, Sweet and Sour Brisket, Erna's Sauerbraten), everyday favorites (Ground Beef Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings and Herbed Tomato Sauce with Parmesan Meatballs), side dishes (Potatoes Euphoria, Smothered Green Beans, Sugarbush Beans) - even desserts (Strawberry-Strawberry Cheesecake, Bourbon Bread Pudding, and Lemon-Raspberry Pudding Cake). Ideal for entertaining, the slow cooker keeps crowd-pleasing dips and holiday punches warm from the beginning of the party to when the last guest leaves.

A special section explains how to choose the right-size slow cooker for your needs, how to adapt a favorite recipe, and what can (and can't) be prepared in a slow cooker.

About this title

From the Author:

Of all my cookbooks, it is interesting how Ready and Waiting has divided cooks. I am not a "one-star" kind of guy. A paraphrase of the book's Introduction will give a clear view of what to expect:

"I asked the anti-slow cooker contingent to send me recipes. Here is an example:

Coq au Vin: Slow-Cook 1 chicken, skinned and cut up, with 3 tablespoons oil, 1 chopped onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2 cups semisweet wine, 8 ounces mushrooms, and 3 potatoes. Cook from morning to evening.

What about browning the chicken to add flavor? What about some chicken broth for the sauce? Why isn't the sauce thickened? No wonder the cook considered this recipe a failure!

For my Coq au Vin, I took the same basic list of ingredients BUT I applied the same principles of good cooking that I always use. I browned the chicken (with the skin, but removed it after cooking) in a skillet, cooked the onions and garlic in the same skillet, added herbs, and used dry red wine. After 6 hours, it was was tender but not overdone. I skimmed the cooking liquid and thickened it. The ingredients for both recipes cost the same amount of money, but the few minutes of extra effort improved the dish immeasurably."

Controversial or not, I refuse to pretend that slow-cooked food prepared by the typical "dump in the pot" method is as good as my (admittedly longer) technique. My experience as a professional cook showed that the old method is a sure way to waste groceries and time.

There are many kinds of cooks. If you judge a recipe by how few ingredients it has and how little time it takes to make it, R & W isn't for you. If you are looking for tasty, new (even gourmet) recipes, then check it out. (A title change to "The Slow Cooker Gourmet: Over 150 Recipes for Good Cooks" might be in order.) This book's longevity (over 9 years old) speaks for the amount of people who do like it.

About the Author:

Rick Rodgers is the author of more than thirty-five cookbooks, including the bestselling 101 series (Thanksgiving 101, Christmas 101, Barbecues 101) and beloved cookbooks on everything from fondue to slow cookers to comfort food. His recipes have appeared in Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, and Food & Wine and on epicurious.com, and he is a frequent contributor to Bon Appétit. He lives in the New York tristate area.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 068815803X
• ISBN 13: 9780688158033
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256