"SlowCooking" news and stories

This edible feast is predominantly about texture -- not that the artful arrangement isn't almost too perfect to disturb by consumption. This slow-cooked salmon recipe from stickygooeycreamychewy.com is salmon at its finest, attractively plated with lush, buttery layers melting, fragmenting, crumbling at the mere touch.

Tenderly cradled atop an aromatic layer of sliced oranges and onions, fennel and tarragon, the fish is baked at a low temperature for half an hour. Unlike the bland color and taste that can result from more traditional cooking methods, this unfussy recipe manages to preserve the vibrant tones of the salmon as well as its shape, while dishing up a luscious product. Plus, with the extra time slow cooking affords you, you can prepare your side or salad -- and even enjoy a glass of wine.


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Photo: ImipolexG, Flickr

The mercury's dropping which means it's time to break out that trusty crock pot for set-it-and-forget-it cold weather cooking.

Move over pot roast -- did you ever think of making cobbler in a slow cooker? The ice cream on top might be worth the extra wintry chill down your spine. Try replacing the blueberries in this recipe with frozen or canned peaches.

As much as I adore my job, I tend to get the Sunday evening blues and have found as of late that labor-intensive cooking projects prove to be wonderfully soothing. It might be a bread knead, a painstakingly crimped lard crust pie, or, as it's manifested for the second week in a row, a unexpectedly soul-stirring risotto. Emphasis is on the "stirring" part, I assure you, as two times now, I've darned near sprained a forearm muscle with the non-stop drag of the wooden spoon through the ever-thickening starch. It's worth it, though -- the constant, meditative motion -- when it suddenly, palpably, audibly even, transforms the individual rice grains into a sumptuous, silken mass. It's the sort of culinary alchemy that transforms me from a solitary kitchen wretch into someone who suddenly wants to feed everyone she's ever met.

Last week's Acorn Squash Risotto from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano cookbook was a rousing success with my husband, as evidenced by this habitual leftover-snubber's willingness to dig back in on subsequent weeknights. This week's pulled pork variation, made on a whim, was a hearty treat tonight, and I've got a sneaking suspicion the flavors will meld well over the next few days.

Try for yourself. My Pulled Pork Risotto recipe is after the jump, and if you've got any soothing cooking rituals you'd like to share, I'd be more than grateful to hear about 'em.

There seems to be no corner that the world of slow cooking doesn't reach! We already had one Jenna coin the term "crock blocked," and now another, more famous Jenna is praising the wonders of the Crock Pot. According to Ace Showbiz, Jenna Fischer (of The Office and Dewey Cox) told Self magazine:

I prepared everything the night before, threw it in the Crock Pot in the morning, set it on low and came home to dinner. My boyfriend adored it. We had more time to spend together that evening. Since we didn't have to cook, it left time for hanky-panky!

We keep hearing about all the wonders of easy slow cookin', but most don't talk about how much time it frees up for sex. With the rampant popularity of the old-school cooking method, how long do you think it'll be before Fischer is doing sexy commercials for some slow cooker?

There's an extra-stabby brand of self-recrimination that comes about when one comes home, mouth slavering for the vegetable stew, several-bean chili or pulled pork shoulder that's occupied one's thoughts all day, only to come home to an air redolent of exactly nothing. No warm waft, no indicator light all a-wink with the tease, nay, promise of a hearty, slow-cooked dinner because (shudder....sob...sigh...) one neglected to actually engage the Crock Pot's "ON" button.

Is there a term for this happenstance and/or the all-day nagging feeling that one's forgotten to flip it on, but is too far from home to remedy the situation? If not, howzabout we put it to a vote? Cast it below, or suggest a better one in the comments.



And lest anyone fret, Jeff later reported that he in fact came home to a lovely, fully-cooked chicken cacciatore.

UPDATE: Commenter Jenna has suggested "crock blocked," which I'm entirely jealous I failed to coin.

My personal favorite cold weather, no barrel smoker, slow-cooker pulled pork recipe is after the jump.