The Chef and the Slow Cooker: A Cookbook

Be forewarned: This is not necessarily the slow cooker book for which you are looking. These are recipes for those who love slow-cooked foods, but want the convenience of stepping away from the kitchen when they need/want to. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here, but it is not suited for everyone's lifestyles, commitments and time constraints.Do you normally work ten-hour days, with an hour commute-home? Needing to put a healthy meal on the table soon after you walk back in the door, so your kids can grab a bite before heading out to some school activity? Looking for recipes that allow you to work quietly in the darkness before dawn, plopping ingredients in the pot with one hand while you are brushing your teeth with the other? (I've been there, done that for way too many years, so I know.) If that is your situation, this is NOT the cookbook you are looking for. The slow cooker is a "convenience" appliance, but these recipes are not for the kind of convenience described above.These recipes are not necessarily streamlined. If you are extremely pressed for time, these recipes might very well look daunting, and you should probably pass this one by....Or, better yet, put it on your wish list for a future, slower time in your life. Or, even better, think of someone who loves, loves, loves slow-cooked food and still needs (or wants) to cut a few acres of grass, or loves the outdoors and spends hours in the garden or with the chickens or in the orchard or pecan grove. You get the idea. This is an ideal cookbook for someone who knows about and wants the flavors of slow cooked meals, but has hobbies or obligations or practices that take up hours during the day.This is a cookbook for those who want to slow cook, but want or need to step out of the kitchen for a few hours here and there. These recipes use "convenience" in a different way. And I love it! They are not complicated recipes and do use familiar ingredients. (I mention this because the author is a very knowledgeable chef, and you know how their cookbooks can sometimes be a more than a bit hoity-toity.)I have marked so many of these recipes! But what really stands out--for me and what and how I cook--are his slow-cook/slow-braised seafood, bean, and veggie dishes:--The Catfish Stew is worth the price of the book. (To be honest, I do have a LOT of catfish in my freezer.....)--Grits--in a slow cooker!--Butter Bean Minestrone--with a broth-y-ness that is light and thin-ish, despite the dried butter beans. (Tried it; recipe worked; it was tasty)--Slow-cooked green beans, a four-hour cook time. And slow-cooked collard greens with a five to seven hour cook time. (Tried it; recipe worked; it was tasty)--Tomato Confit is a major keeper--using plum tomatoes! (Tried it; recipe worked; it was tasty)--Buttere -Braised Cabbage is another major keeper and so easy to get underway, and let it ride for the afternoon. (Tried it; recipe worked; it was tasty)--There is a Southern Shrimp Pilau that I want to try.--And there is a gumbo that I attempted, gave up on, and went back to my old way of doing it. Stubborn, maybe. But you may have a more open mind.--The poached fish recipes are keepers: Cod in a vermouth broth, and a halibut in a sherry and pimento broth.--Definitely want to try the lima bean, sausage, calamari stew.--I am looking forward to using beef cheeks for something other than my usual barbacoa. This one is more like a pot roast, but with a parsnip puree and apple slaw.And stocks--managed with complete abandonment--are cornerstones. If you do not have one already, you will be wanting to buy an upright freezer for your garage, to stash your goodness. So little work; just a slice of your food budget.Each recipe suggests a cooker capacity, oftentimes four quarts, but on up to six-plus quarts. Cooking time range from a few hours up to "leave it on as long as you need to".Plenty of pictures--at least one for every dish. Page layout and type style and size are easy on the eyes. Some fun, vintage-looking artwork, too.If you have a recent slow cooker that allows for sautéing in the pan, plus gives a simmer setting below the low setting, (check out the Cuisinart cookers), a lot of these recipes will be even easier for you.I'm happy to have this book on my library shelves. So glad I picked it up. It will be a lot of fun and adventure this Fall/Winter season 2017-2018.

Let's just get one thing out of the way first: I love the design of this book. Sure, it has all the requisite mouthwatering food photos. But it's also cheeky and fun. And has Acheson's original illustrations. I love it when cookbooks are fun to look at and not just informative. Still, that's not why you're here, so - onto the meat...The Chef and the Slow Cooker starts out with a great intro that includes tips for making your food zing, along with some basic life philosophy for embracing the now (every cookbook worth its salt makes you a better person, right?). From there you jump into basics - the broths and stocks you will need as a base for many of the recipes, or, as Acheson calls them, the Jacuzzi for the main ingredient. Take my advice and make a few of these ahead of time to store - it will cut lots of time off your prep in the future.From there we are off to the races with bean-based dishes. The White Bean Soup is DTF and I made it entirely in the slow cooker (no skillets or pans required). Then it's on to my personal favorite - the soups. Finally, a recipe for Pho that tastes like my favorite restaurant. Maybe better. And the Chicken Soup with Chiles, Coconut Milk and Lime... my mouth is watering thinking about it. Hang on, I have to go reheat my leftovers.Right. So, then there is a chapter on veggie-based meals. I haven't tried any yet, but they look great (butter braised cabbage, spring stew, yum). Then there's seafood - if you don't put the Miso-braised salmon in your face ASAP, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Then on to the poultry. My husband made the Kimchi Chicken for dinner yesterday and it was out of this world. It was also stupid easy. The next chapter finally answers the question "Where's the beef" (it's here, in this book). I haven't tried any, yet, but my mouth waters just flipping through the chapter. Finally, we have pork and then lamb/goat, and ending with sweets.Most of the recipes give you at least 4 hours of freedom, though a few are shorter or longer, so be sure to check how much free time each recipe gives you before you commit. There are also things you can do to cheat a little if you want to skip a step. For instance, the Hoppin' John calls for soaking peas overnight, but you could always use canned peas and cut down the prep time.Some of the dishes - not all - call for a good some handling. These recipes are not all set-it-an- forget-it types, but rather, recipes that utilize a slow cooker to its maximum advantage. You can cut out some of the steps that take place outside of the slow cooker if you have an Instant-Pot type machine where you can sear right in the pot if you are looking to simplify. There are also lots of recipes that are just toss ingredients in and forget it, but if you ONLY want those types of recipes, I'd probably get one of the beginner-type slow cooker cookbooks. There are several awesome ones to choose from. This is targeted at a more gourmet audience.The recipes are nothing like the standard slow fare out there and your guests will never believe you used that old crockpot from the '70s to make such amazing food. This isn't the standard mushy slow cooker fare of yore. There are, of course, the classics, like brisket, but jam? Beef cheeks with apple slaw? Lobster tacos? Poached eggs? Freakin' breakfast in the slow cooker? Oh yes.The bottom line is this: this is a slow cooker recipe for the slightly more adventurous and for those who want a more elegant end product. It's a slow-cooker book from a Chef's perspective (as the book's title implies). The recipes are clear and easy to follow, but they sometimes include ingredients that may be harder to find and many of the recipes include some searing in a pan/chopping/prep before you dump everything into the slow cooker. Some even have some legwork during or after the cooking. The extra work gives you a far superior flavor, but if you only want to dump everything in without any prep, this book isn't your jam. If you are more of the type who loves to cook and has already mastered the basic slow-cooker recipes floating out there (or has been scarred by your mom's slow cooker meals from when you were a kid), pick this up yesterday.