Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Family Favorites

January 3, 2005
According to the authors, 80% of American households own a slow cooker. This whopping collection of 350 recipes is reason enough to unearth that Crock-Pot from the attic or invest in one of the new high-tech models. The title, however, is a misnomer, and not just because the book includes a recipe for "Mom's Beef Stew." Much of what Hensperger (The Bread Bible
) and Kaufmann (coauthor, with Hensperger, of The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook
) present is exactly the kind of comfort food typically associated with childhood snow days or family gatherings. To use the word "hearty" in describing these recipes is to state the obvious. There are more than a dozen oatmeals and porridges, ranging from Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal to Creamy Cornmeal Porridge. Soups include Vegetarian Split Pea, French Onion, and White Bean with Bacon. Twenty-four types of baked beans are mere prelude for the 14 chili options, including "Senator Barry Goldwater's Arizona Chili" (which gives new meaning to the phrase "bowl of red"). Other recipes are for poultry, meat and fish dishes, and New and Old World dishes are plentiful. The only letdown is the "Not-from-the-Slow Cooker Accompaniments" chapter, with its uninspired choices like Baked Rice, and Mixed Green Salad. But the concluding pages, full of puddings and fruit desserts, atone with sinful treats like Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake and Rum-Butterscotch Bananas.

September 3, 2007
Though this unintimidating volume (following Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook) includes many recipes that actually do sound like classic dishes from your mother's or grandmother's recipe file (Hot Buttered Rum, Scalloped Potatoes and Beef Burgundy), many-like Tequila and Pineapple Barbecue Sauce, Pumpkin-Sage Risotto, Chipotle and Orange Pork Ribs, and Lemon Cornmeal Cake in Fragrant Fig Leaves reflect a more modern aesthetic. All recipes are accessible and straightforward enough for a wide range of slow cooker users; many are adapted from other cookbooks and even the Williams-Sonoma catalog. The first two chapters, "Appetizer Dips, Savory Fondues, and Party Nuts" and "The Electric Punch Bowl," include such party-friendly recipes as Caramel Brie, Buttery Rosemary Pecan Halves, and Mulled Cider with Cardamom and Saffron. Subsequent chapters feature recipes appropriate for everyday meals: Red Bean Stew and Rice, Paniolo Beef Stew, and Tapioca Pudding. While at-home chefs seeking special occasion dishes will find some suitable ideas, this book can serve as a reliable resource whether or not there's a party going on.