"SlowCookers" news and stories

The Friday Pu Pu Platter - Slashfood Ate (8)

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Nov 14th 2008 @ 4:28PM

Each Friday afternoon, I gather up an assortment of links from around the food webs for your pre-weekend enjoyment. Here's some of what's caught my eye recently.

Move over canning, root cellars are the newest (oldest), hottest method of food preserving on the block. The New York Times featured them last week and Culinate offers more on subject from expert Harriet Fasenfest.
Looking for a way to make your winter a little brighter? Plan meals with friends and family.
Like the taste and convenience of slow cooked foods but don't have an electric slow cooker? CityMama helps you use just a cast iron casserole dish and your oven to achieve the same effect.
The Wednesday Chef featured a chocolate chip cookie recipe that includes buckwheat groats for added fiber and texture. These are going on my 'must make' list for this weekend.
I bought a big bunch of kale last weekend at the farmers market. I haven't gotten around to cooking it yet, but I've got my eye on this recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes.
For those of you out there who keep kosher, it's going to be a whole lot harder to get kosher beef for you dining table. NPR reports that one of the largest Kosher meat plants in the country has shut down their beef facility.
I like pumpkin bread and I LOVE cranberry bread. Putting the two of them together? Genius!
Looking for a weekend baking project that will knock the socks straight off your loved ones? What about the Feather Boa Doughnuts that Erin made recently! Based on a recipe from 101 Cookbooks, they are a little lighter than fried doughnuts but I imagine no less delicious.

Filed under: Slashfood Ate

Chowhound cooks hash browns (among other things) with a waffle iron

COMMENTS 13

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Jun 3rd 2008 @ 11:02AM

As someone who owns an unseemly number of waffle irons, I'm always looking for new ways to use this particular appliance, in order to better justify the fact that I possess so many. A few weeks ago, I discovered (thanks to the Kitchen Chick) that you can use a waffle iron to make French Toast (I haven't actually tried it yet, but it's on my list).

Chowhound has taken the concept of multi-tasking appliances a step further, using a waffle iron to cook up brownies, hash browns and breakfast muffins, as well as a slow cooker to make duck confit and a tender, fluffy soufflé.

What's your favorite appliance that you use in a way that is different from it's designed application?

Source

Filed under: On the Blogs, Food Gadgets

Slow Cooker Chili - Get your equipment

COMMENTS 1

by Sarah J. Gim, Posted Jan 29th 2008 @ 7:01PM

There are two options when it comes to chili. You can make it on the stovetop, or you can do it in a slow cooker.

My aunt gave me my first slow cooker this past Christmas and now that I have it, I can't imagine not using it, especially for chili. The advantages of using a slow cooker are that you can prepare everything in advance, i.e. the night before; like your significant other when he's engrossed in the game, it doesn't need attention as it cooks, and you can serve your chili hot all day long straight out of the slow cooker. The advantages of making chili on the stovetop are...well, nothing. My choice for chili (now) will always be in a slow cooker.

If you don't have a slow-cooker, it wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in one now, though "invest" makes it sound like they're expensive. They're not. The one I have is a medium-sized one by Rival, which costs under $50. You can go higher end with brands like Cuisinart, but it isn't worth it to pay more for a name, If you're willing to pay more, pay for size and features.

And of course, if your slow cooker is making an appearance at a tailgate or Super Bowl Party, then there's always the ever-so-classy Pro Pots football-shaped Slow Cooker!

Filed under: Food Gadgets, Super Bowl XLII, Ingredients, How To

Food Quest: finding slow cookers at the thrift store

COMMENTS 1

by Sarah Gilbert, Posted Jan 23rd 2006 @ 7:34PM

house on 33rd and hawthorne Don't try this at home, kids.

I set out on a mission: to find a Crock Pot or off-brand slow cooker at a thrift store. I had my mental list of Places Most Likely To Carry Slow Cookers. I had a pocket full of cash (in case the negotiating bug bit me). I live in Portland, Oregon, the city of thrift, for goodness' sake, where it's cool to tell your friends that you got your hip jacket at the Bins (the Goodwill outlet - how's that for thrift?).

I started at the fabulous Lounge Lizard (SE 13th and Hawthorne), which had a display of retro dinnerware that made me drool. No Crock Pots ("no one has Crock Pots! Try the Salvation Army," she told me), but I checked out the variety of kitschy cookware before settling on a pot that the owner said was an ice bucket but I thought might work in the oven for a nice insulated casserole. Cost: a too-expensive $24, but I paid because I felt guilty about all the photos I'd snapped.

Filed under: Stores & Shopping, Food Quest, How To, Methods