Slow Cookers: A Freelancers Dream, by Tatiana – In The Mix #10
February 19, 2009 Tatiana EL-Khouri 14 Comments
As a self-proclaimed foodie and huge book fanatic, I just added a few great books to my collection over the weekend in a visit to the bookstore where I spent the bulk of the time the cookbook section. As I walked through the surprisingly crowded Barnes and Nobles at the Grove, I was curious what my stack of books said about myself. I was on a mission to pick up some great Slow Cooker recipe books to feed my new obsession. My search was complete with Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook and The $7 a Meal Slow Cooker Cookbook.
Combine a somewhat cold winter for Los Angeles with my love of soups and stews, along with the recession and my interest in spending wisely; the Slow Cooker fit the bill. The thing I really have come to enjoy about the cooking technique is how well it fits with my packed schedule as a freelancer. When I’m working on a project that I love or am in the middle of a painting, I find it hard to pull away for anything even the simplest of needs- food.
Often times at the point of overwhelming hunger, stopping the flow of my work to create a meal- be it 30 minutes or an hour- is out of the question. Once the nagging tug of hunger wains over me, my first thought is to eat whatever is most convenient. The dollar menu at the various local fast food restaurants were the easiest and immediately fulfilling solution. But deep down inside I knew the extra pounds and lethargic feeling were no exchange for a home cooked meal.
My Freelance schedule works like this:
- Wake Up
- Snooze, Snooze, and more Snooze
- Check iPhone for any pressing emails that need immediate attention
- Reply to Emails
- Start a Slow Cooker Meal
- Eat Breakfast
- Work, Work, and more Work
- Sprinkle in a meeting or two
- Work, Work, and more Work
- Dinner Hot and Ready via the Slow Cooker!
– Also my first real break for the day
- After an hour or two, Back to Work
- Work until the wee hours of the Morning
- Eat some more Slow Cooker meal
- Sleep and Repeat!
So I urge you take out that Slow Cooker that has been gathering dust in the kitchen closet since the 70s and revive it. Or buy a new one, they have really come a long way- you can even bake bread and make cakes in it now. The recipes has vastly improved from the mystery stews of the past to flavorful meals and desserts such as Lamb Osso Bucco to Apricot Honey-Glazed Chicken to Steamed Persimmon-Ginger Pudding with Pecans. With the economy going downhill, I like that my Slow Cooker keeps me frugal and well fed without sacrificing quality or my precious time.
Mike Gold
February 19, 2009 - 9:48 am
I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat, but I rarely use a slow cooker. It seems to undermine the mad scientist experimentation part of cooking that I enjoy the most — I rarely prepare the same meal the same way twice. But I should fuss with it more; that apricot honey glazed chicken sounds wonderful.
Maybe you should add an open recipe column to michaeldavisworld!
Vinnie Bartilucci
February 19, 2009 - 10:25 am
I became a devotee of the slow cooker relatively recently – maybe three years ago, but it’s become a vital part of our toolbox. I discovered that pot roast can actually be delicious. Corned beef, pork roasts (cooked in pork and beans – the magnificent) all have made their way into the pot of crock and into our waiting mouths. One of the best cooking implement investments we’ve made, next to the electric counter top griddle and the brownie pan that you put dividers into so they come out pre-cut and comes in two pieces so you just push out the bottom onto the cooling rack that I bought the wife for Valentines Day.
Recently we tried making our own baked beans and pork and beans. I searched the interwebs and our collection of cookbooks for a good slow-cooker recipe for them. Amazingly, almost ALL of them suggested starting with a store-bought can of pork and beans, and just add stuff to it to make it better. The hell? I eventually found one that started with dried beans, salt pork and among other things, Dr. Pepper for flavor (which I immediately improved by using the far superior Mr. Pibb). It was good enough, but I’d still love to find a solid tomato sauce-based pork -n- beans recipe. Any ideas?
Tatiana
February 19, 2009 - 10:34 am
@ Vinnie- There is a recipe for Maple Pork and Beans in the “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook.”
It uses dried navy beans, salt pork, brown sugar, maple syrup, and ketchup. Do you want me to send you the recipe?
Tatiana
February 19, 2009 - 10:56 am
@ Mike Gold- “I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat, but I rarely use a slow cooker. It seems to undermine the mad scientist experimentation part of cooking that I enjoy the most.”
We are in the same boat there! I’m not sure if you have noticed at conventions, but I eat every 2 hours.
It took a few recipes for me to get the hang of the proportions for the Slow Cooker. Once I realized that steam is the main catalyst in the cooking process, I’ve been creating my own recipes too. I rarely cook a recipe the same way twice either.
An open recipe column would be cool. You have any ideas?
I make a great Mac and Cheese, I can’t wait to translate that to the slow cooker! 🙂
Martha Thomases
February 19, 2009 - 11:24 am
@Tatiana: Can you get the Mac and Cheese with the crispy crust I like in a slow cooker?
Mike Gold
February 19, 2009 - 11:28 am
@ Vinnie — Damn! Mr. Pibb! Can’t get that here in New York metro. At least, no where I shop. Whine, whine; bitch, bitch.
@ Tatiana — Yes, I’ve seen you at conventions and no, I don’t believe you eat every two hours. Either that, or your metabolism is ludicrous.
I don’t know how to do an “open” forum for recipes, but there must be a way. One way is to get a weekly recipe columnist — and I have one to recommend — and everybody can contribute recipes as comments, I guess.
Tatiana
February 19, 2009 - 11:36 am
@Martha- “Can you get the Mac and Cheese with the crispy crust I like in a slow cooker?”
Yes, you can!
The actual cooking sleeve is removable and is ovensafe. You can finish the recipe off in the oven for the crispy crust and have a great serving dish for the table or a party.
Vinnie Bartilucci
February 19, 2009 - 11:43 am
You can’t get Mr Pibb down here either, save for soda fountains at selected movie theaters and Wendy’s locations. It’s a convoluted story dealing with whether or not the local Coke bottler has chosen to produce Dr. Pepper – they can’t make both.
I scored a couple cases of Pibb in cans at a Krogers in Virginia when we went down there for a family reunion. Since I don’t drink soda as much anymore, I’ve been able to make it last for special occasions like baked bean recipes. We also got a couple bottles of a local soda called Cheerwine that Dori heard about on the Food Network show Unwrapped.
And I still want a couple of bottle of Moxie. Alledgedly it’s still available in New England.
Vinnie Bartilucci
February 19, 2009 - 11:45 am
@Tatiana – Maple Syrup? Ewww. Brown Sugar for me. And I’m still trying to find one that uses tomato sauce in much of any capacity. I’m talking pork and beans as opposed to baked beans, as well.
Carmen
February 19, 2009 - 1:32 pm
Thanks Tatiana for the column on slow cookers. I LOVE to cook and enjoy it very much but many a days I just don’t have the time.
I will dust of my old slow cooker or maybe I should just go out and buy me a new one (I bet they have a lot of new features that my dusty slow cooker from the 70’s doesn’t have).
I can’t wait to start my slow cooker going early in the morning, this way I will have a home cooked meal waiting for me when I come home tired. Home cooked meal vs Fast Food (a no brainer of which is better for you).
I love to experiment and I usually don’t ever follow a recipe to a T , I just use it as a guideline and I love to try out new recipes.
As you said the way the economy is right now we need to be frugal (but that does not mean we can’t have a good home cooked meal). I love the idea of $7.00 a meal.
M.O.T.U
February 19, 2009 - 4:08 pm
She writes a article about a damn pot and she gets all these comments. Chicks have it so damn easy…
McCarthy
February 19, 2009 - 4:28 pm
I know! I draw my heart out every week, and NOTHING.
M
February 20, 2009 - 11:33 am
I was intending to stay away from this article. Slow-cookers and me don’t mix. (I had some BAD experiences growing up)
However this article and the following comments has peaked my interest!
To that end…
Mangia! Mangia a vita!!!
John Tebbel
February 20, 2009 - 12:00 pm
The crusty macaroni and cheese Martha likes can be found at the New York Times website by searching Crusty Macaroni and Cheese. It depends on being baked in a shallow pan. It’s great, almost mac and cheese brittle. I tried it recently using the Reynolds Wrap “Release” product and I wouldn’t do it any other way again.
The same day, January 4, 2006 they ran a recipe for creamy macaroni and cheese I make alternately with ol’ crusty. The macaroni goes in raw and it would probably be easily adapted to a slow cooker.
Dick Kritchevsky
February 22, 2009 - 11:26 pm
To the guys waxing sentimental about their favorite unavailable soda pops, there is a place in Highland Park, CA called ” Galco’s Soda Pop Stop. ” I first heard about it from a friend and then had it confirmed in a big way on Huell Howser ( a complete show devoted to it. ) They have pretty much all the sodas you grew up with, your dad grew up with and before, in glass bottles which preserves the flavors. Yes, they’ve got Moxie. And the owner has contracted with small companies to make them all in their original formulas. Such as Dr. Pepper before it’s formula was altered. I have never actually gone but it’s there. I know they have a website ’cause I checked it out last year.