Testing, 1, 2, 3...............

This week I'm beginning to test recipes for a book that will be published in the Fall of 2012.  The photo above will give you a clue to its subject matter and although I've already written the Best Slow Cooker Book Ever, I am so excited about these new recipes and the way this book will change the way you cook in your slow cooker. 

I'm often asked how long it takes to write a book, and people are stunned when I tell them that after I've written it, the book may take 2 years in production before it's published. 

Cookbook authors have very little control over what happens once the recipes are submitted.  Every author wants a book with photographs, but whether photos are a part of the book is an editorial decision by the publisher, not the author.  Since photos are expensive, it has to make economic sense to include them; I know that many people complain that the author didn't include photos, but it is not the author's decision.  I get to see the photos, make a few comments if need be, and I have in one instance said I thought that the food looked like dog food, and the food was shot again.  I'm not much of a prima dona but when something isn't right, I'll call it.  

Beginning this week, I'll be testing three days a week, and writing the rest of the time.  I'm hoping to be done testing by the end of February and the book is due at the publishers May 1.  I've got my work cut out for me, and I'll snap a few photos during the testing---not everything is a home run, so I will include the goofs as well. 

Slow Cooker Gospel

Today in San Diego, the temperatures at the coast are hovering in the 90's;

I'm not complaining, we've had a colder than normal summer, and we can tolerate a bit of heat for a few days as long as there aren't any fires. 
Most of us look to our slow cookers during the cooler months, dust it off, bring it out to make soups, stews and all manner of braised stick-to-your-ribs fare, but the slow cooker is also a great low and slow oven to use during the hotter months of the year. 
Poach chicken breasts for salad, bake potatoes,make an egg casserole,a peach cobbler, lemon pudding cake, or even tuna noodle in your slow cooker; it may not be the most stylish appliance on your counter, but it sure is versatile!  

Today I'm poaching chicken breasts to make a curried chicken salad for Dr. C and I.  He heard someone say turmeric and curry are really good  for you, so I'm making something relatively healthy for dinner.  On days like today, I'm not hungry, I drink gallons of water.  My slow cooker will poach the chicken breasts in 2 hours, while I go and do some errands. When I return I'll pull them apart, cool them, make the salad, and serve it with a side of fruit. 

Fresh chives from the garden--snip with Joyce Chen scissors

 2 ribs celery

Chop the celery

Core the apple, and finely chop--remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away

Two half chicken breast halves, perfectly cooked in the slow cooker

Dressing ingredients---sweet Major Grey chutney, Best Foods Mayonnaise, and Penzeys' sweet curry powder or Madras curry powder

Curried Chicken Salad

Serves 4 to 6

One Gala apple, cored, and finely chopped

2 ribs celery with leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons snipped chives

2 cups cooked chicken, finely chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Major Grey chutney, chopping any larger pieces

1/2 to 1 teaspoon sweet or Madras curry powder

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1. 
   
   In a bowl, combine the apple, celery, chives, and chicken.
2. 
   
   In another small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chutney, curry and lemon juice, stirring until blended. 
3. 
   
   Stir into the chicken mixture, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, to let the flavors get to know each other. 
4. 
   
   Serve over a lettuce, or spinach salad, or spread in a sandwich on whole grain bread. 

Bon Appetit!

Comfort Food--Ribbin' It

After a swing through Costco a few days ago, I had 3 pounds of "Country Style boneless pork ribs" that needed to be cooked. Country Style pork ribs, are really pork shoulder, cut to look like ribs.  If we had summer weather here, I would have put them in the pressure cooker  and pre-cooked them before tossing them on the grill and serving them with barbecue sauce, but I woke up to another gloomy morning (it's now sunny and bright) and decided to prepare the ribs in the slow cooker, with apples, onion and sauerkraut, a stick to your ribs dinner that slow cooks for 6 hours on high with the sweet and spicy sauerkraut as a great accompaniment.

Cut the apple with the "Dial-a-Slice" apple corer/slicer--adjusts for 8 or 16 wedges

  This recipe could be a Take-5, but not everyone will have fresh, rather than canned sauerkraut on hand.  If you don't have sauerkraut, double the amount of onions and apples and cook for the same amount of time.  Serve with smashed red potatoes, and Riesling or your favorite beer. 

 

 

Country Style Ribs with Sauerkraut and Apples

 

Serves 4

 

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons sat

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds boneless country style ribs

One large sweet yellow onion, such as Vidalia

3 large Granny Smith or other cooking apple, peeled, and cut into 16 wedges

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cups fresh sauerkraut (it's sold in the fresh pickle and deli section of the supermarket)

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil, sprinkle the meat evenly with the salt and pepper and brown the meat on all sides, transfer it to the insert of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker.
2. Add the onion, and apples to the skillet, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion begins to soften, add the sauerkraut, sugar, cider and mustard, and stir to combine.
3. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, covering the pork with the mixture. 
4. Cover the slow cooker, and cook on high for 6 hours, or on low for 10 to 12. 
5. Remove the pork from the slow cooker, and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut off any excess fat, and arrange on a serving platter. 
6. Remove any excess fat from the apple and sauerkraut mixture, using a slotting spoon transfer to the serving platter, and serve with smashed red potatoes on the side.  

 

I was fortunate to be at Specialty Produce this week when they received organic apples from the Lakeside Organic farm, and used those for this recipe.  I also got some really amazing looking red pears, which I'm going to transform into something tomorrow, maybe an upside down cake for Dr. C, so stay tuned.  Until then, have a great day.