Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes

Rating:
Summary: A Big Mess
Review: Although Finlayson's book is well-laid out and beautiful to look at it, it has major problems. She seems to have overlooked the need for liquid in many of her recipes. The split pea soup has NO liquid listed, leaving me to guess at the amount. The recipe for short ribs in black bean sauce ended up a burned disaster. I will not use this book again.

Rating:
Summary: The most "gourmet" of the slow cooker cookbooks.
Review: Finlayson has managed to create a cookbook of slow cooker recipes that are so savory and intriguing that you really could use many of them for more formal dinners than what "crockpot cookery" usually suggests. Tortilla Soup with Corn and Chilies, Mixed Mushroom Soup with Creamy Goat Cheese, and Chicken Mulligatawny Soup are just a few of the outstanding soup recipes. A very well-seasoned Curried Lamb with Apricots, a Cuban-Style Flank Steak (shredded and served with cheese inside tortillas), Sausage and Barley Jambalaya (with Shrimp added at the last minute), and African-Style Braised Chicken in Peanut Sauce would satisfy even the most discriminating palates.

Readers should be aware that this type of gourmet cookery comes with a price--you will spend more time in preparation for these meals than the "dump-everything-in-the-pot-and-open-it-up-ten-hours-later"-type of slow cookery. Some recipes call for two cooking sessions, one to slow cook the meat, and an additional 3 - 4 hours the next day when you add the vegetables and other ingredients. Nearly all recipes require you to partially cook some ingredients in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker, and quite a few call for ingredients which may not be part of one's ordinary pantry--dried ancho, New Mexico, and pasilla chili peppers, in addition to a wide variety of fresh chili peppers (usually available in large supermarkets and ethnic food stores) and fresh herbs and spices. Many of the recommended meat cuts are very high in fat, though the fat can usually be skimmed off after cooking.

Dessert recipes look intriguing, including a cheesecake which is put into a springform pan in the slow cooker with 1" of water used to steam it, but unless you have no oven available, I can't imagine using these recipes in preference to the tried and true favorites. All in all, this is for the cook who wants really outstanding taste and is willing to do the extra preparation that these slow cooker recipes require. Mary Whipple

Rating:
Summary: "Upscale Crockery Cooking"
Review: Finlayson has managed to create a cookbook of slow cooker recipes that are so savory and intriguing that you really could use many of them for more formal dinners than what "crockpot cookery" usually suggests. Tortilla Soup with Corn and Chilies, Mixed Mushroom Soup with Creamy Goat Cheese, and Chicken Mulligatawny Soup are just a few of the outstanding soup recipes. A very well-seasoned Curried Lamb with Apricots, a Cuban-Style Flank Steak (shredded and served with cheese inside tortillas), Sausage and Barley Jambalaya (with Shrimp added at the last minute), and African-Style Braised Chicken in Peanut Sauce would satisfy even the most discriminating palates.

Readers should be aware that this type of gourmet cookery comes with a price--you will spend more time in preparation for these meals than the "dump-everything-in-the-pot-and-open-it-up-ten-hours-later"-type of slow cookery. Some recipes call for two cooking sessions, one to slow cook the meat, and an additional 3 - 4 hours the next day when you add the vegetables and other ingredients. Nearly all recipes require you to partially cook some ingredients in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker, and quite a few call for ingredients which may not be part of one's ordinary pantry--dried ancho, New Mexico, and pasilla chili peppers, in addition to a wide variety of fresh chili peppers (usually available in large supermarkets and ethnic food stores) and fresh herbs and spices. Many of the recommended meat cuts are very high in fat, though the fat can usually be skimmed off after cooking.

Dessert recipes look intriguing, including a cheesecake which is put into a springform pan in the slow cooker with 1" of water used to steam it, but unless you have no oven available, I can't imagine using these recipes in preference to the tried and true favorites. All in all, this is for the cook who wants really outstanding taste and is willing to do the extra preparation that these slow cooker recipes require. Mary Whipple

Rating:
Summary: "Upscale Crockery Cooking"
Review: I usually never review books, but with this one I couldn't resist! I agree that the recipes are a bit more time-consuming than other crockpot recipes, but this book has the advantage of allowing you to prepare meals in advance that are good enough to serve to your dinner guests. I have made the following recipes with GREAT success & everyone I've made them for has raved: Red Lentil & Carrot Soup with Coconut, Beef & Sausage Chili (using chorizo & ground beef), and Sausage & Barley Jambalaya. There is also an entire section devoted to vegetarian main meals, and the book also contains some vegetarian appetizers and soups. As a warning, most of the desserts included in the book require a 5-qt or larger oval slow cooker. But if you have this size, the desserts look delicious and include: Chocolate Flan with Toasted Almonds, Rich Chocolate Cake, Apricot Almond Pudding, & Pumpkin Chocolate Marble Cheesecake to name a few. Try this, I don't think you (or your guests) will be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Neither Delicious nor dependable
Review: I've tried 2 or 3 slow cooker cookbooks, and this one raised my hopes only to dash them again. I'm an experienced cook and a pretty good one. Of the three recipes I tried from this book, two resulted in dried out meat or chicken, with a watery and unappetizing sauce. I don't know what she did to have her result look like the delectable photos, but it didn't happen for me. The third recipe came out okay, but I could just have cooked it conventionally.

I've found that most slow cooker books fall into the canned/dried soup additive
group of recipes, or the "lots of work for little result" category. IMO, this book is in the second category.