Monday, November 03, 2008

In praise of the slow cooker

I'm a big fan of the crock pot. I made a wonderful fresh tomato sauce in it a few weeks ago. It was the first time I made fresh tomato sauce and thought the result worth the extra effort. I've tried a few times and not thought it worth the trouble until now, and I thought the slow cooking process had a lot to do with the improved final results.

My general philosophy of cooking is that too much garlic is never enough. I'm coming around to a similar worldview on that as it relates to basil and shallots, which I used in abound to make that fresh tomato sauce. I used garlic, shallots, basil, parsley, sugar, oregano, red pepper flake, a splash of red wine and of courses seeded roma tomatoes cooked for a long time on low to make a lively red sauce.

The slow cooker is always great for making chicken stock without much skimming required. I regularly also use it for cooking whole brined, chicken with stuffing, pot roasts, sauerkraut and kielbasa cooked a long time on low with some onion and a bacon slice, as well as my favorite Portuguese dish, mariscada, which I continue to experiment with. This weekend I added saffron threads to the broth and a splash of sherry.

3 comments:

KelliOnSaipan said...

The sauce sounds so good. I haven't owned a slow cooker for a long time, but maybe after the move, I can get one.

Hee Jae said...

Too much garlic is never enough, but not for those around you. HAHA.
Anyway, have you tried anchovy based pasta sauce? It gives a very rich and deep flavor. I make mine also with capers, lemon, black pepper, onions,and hot peppers. Actually, I'm going over the puttanesca recipe. Anyway, try it. REALLY GOOD!

Jeff said...

I will check into that sauce. Sounds like a good mix.