a p p a r e n t l y

After weeks of research and deliberation over whether to introduce a new appliance to our smallish kitchen, I bought a slow cooker. And then I promptly sent it back. The reviews I’d been too hasty to read said that the model I’d purchased has a tendency to shut off randomly, and the last thing I needed (other than a new hobby – stay tuned for that post) was some random thing to worry about, like whether my slow cooker was actually consuming electricity.

In the interim, I pored over two books I’d ordered, The Gourmet Slow Cooker and The Indian Slow Cooker. I was intrigued by the idea of making a soup or stew without constant attention or stirring. And I’d read enough recipes to understand that the slow cooker is not magic; it’s basically a very hot metal box – not unlike an oven – that uses heat plus liquid to simmer delicious food. So a decent amount of prep work can be involved in a good recipe. This is not the 1970s, when one dumped several cans of soup and vegetables into the pot and was rewarded with a mushy bowl of “stew.” I could see that a lot of searing would be involved in producing anything newsworthy.

The new slow cooker, a 6-quart oval Crock-Pot, arrived last week. And my home has never smelled so good as it has during the past three days.

On Day One, I made the Provençal Beef Stew from The Gourmet Slow Cooker. Mr Apparently is still talking about it, and we’re racing to see who can claim the leftovers first. It was without a doubt the best stew I’ve ever made. Browning three pounds of beef at six turns per cube is a lot of work with the tongs, but the results were worth every moment. I wish I’d thought to take a photo. I remembered this for the next experiment:

Whole chicken, before cooking

One Day Two I discovered Harvestland chicken on sale on my local grocer, and so a whole chicken went into the slow cooker. I used an amalgam of various recipes found on the web as follows:

1. Remove skin and excess fat from the chicken. (The Ghost of Apparently Past, who was a vegetarian for twelve years, still can’t quite believe I did this.)
2. Place halved new potatoes on the bottom of the pot to prevent the chicken from stewing in its own fat.
3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Place sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top of the chicken and slices of lemon on top. Quarter an onion and place it on the cavity. Distribute whole cloves of garlic around the chicken. (I had only a bit in the house, and so have been referring to this recipe as “Chicken with Five Cloves of Garlic.”)
4. Cook on high for four hours.

The chicken was tasty, if a little boring. I like Maillard reaction, crispiness and burnt-sugar flavors, and so while the chicken tasted quite good, I was vaguely underwhelmed by eating it as a meal along with some wild rice and fromage d’Affinois. I’d be more interested in using the cooked chicken in another dish, such as tacos or pulled chicken sandwiches, or perhaps chicken noodle soup. I think the next chicken foray will involve sauce.

Whole chicken, after cooking

Day Three: Oh, if you could only smell my kitchen right now – it’s like being in a bakery. I took three egg rolls (not the fried Chinese kind, but rather the eggy sort of bread), a day-old baguette and some plump raisins and dried cranberries and more or less followed this recipe for Slow Cooker Bread Pudding. It’s taking all of my resolve not to stick a fork in it right now, but I want to take a pretty photo when it’s done.

Just before the "lid ajar" step

Update: OMG, incredibly yummy bread pudding. But, the edges burned to a crisp during the first ten minutes of the “set the lid ajar” phase. I’d recommend either not following this instruction and letting it sit for a few minutes before serving, or just keeping a close eye on the dish while the steam escapes. I’d also recommend trying to keep any dried fruit away from the edges. Burned raisins are not so delicious. But the fruit in the center? Perfectly plump and redolent of milk and vanilla.

My favorite part of this whole adventure – other than the actual eating of the Provençal stew, which was really most delectable –  has been the three distinct moments when I thought, “What’s that delicious smell? Oh, it’s the slow cooker. And I’m not even in the kitchen!”

So, what’s your favorite slow cooker recipe? I’m ready to try it.

Tags: cooking, crock pot, slow cooker

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 at 4:13 pm and is filed under food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.