Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (34 page)

TANDOORI CHICKEN

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Skin the bird (assuming you are using a whole chicken) and toss out the neck and the stuff from inside. (Shudder a few times.) In a small mixing bowl, combine ½ cup yogurt with all dry spices, salt, and the red food coloring. Smear all over the chicken, inside and out. Put the cardamom pods inside the bird, and lower it into the stoneware. Toss whole garlic cloves on top, and squeeze on the lemon juice. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Serve with basmati rice.

After removing the meat from the pot, stir in the remaining ½ cup of yogurt to make a yummy sauce to pour over the meat and rice.

The Verdict

I did some research on tandoori chicken and learned that a lot of times, the way the red coloring is achieved in restaurants is through food coloring. The more food coloring you add, the redder the chicken. I find this highly amusing, yet no one else in my family finds it as funny as I do. But imagine: The chicken could be blue!—or chartreuse!—and still taste same!

Anyway—if you don’t want to use food coloring, don’t. But you won’t get red chicken. The meat was spicy where it was coated in the blend, but otherwise just slightly infused with a smoky flavor. I was able to peel some non-spicy meat off the bones, for the kids (which they dipped in barbecue sauce), and Adam and I piled our plates high with the meat on top of rice with lots of the tandoori sauce. If I was going to make this for company, I’d use boneless, skinless thighs. The bones got in my way.

THAI COCONUT SOUP

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Although there are a lot of ingredients listed, this soup comes together quite quickly. Pour the broth into the cooker. Add the juice of three of the limes, and the lime zest. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce, grated ginger, and coconut milk. You now have your soup base. Add the red chili paste to taste, ½ teaspoon at a time, until you have reached the desired heat. I ended up using 1½ teaspoons, but you can always add more after cooking, so go slow and don’t overdo it. Add the tofu, bell pepper, and garlic. Coarsely chop the shiitake mushrooms and tomato. Stir in carefully, so you don’t break up the tofu or the tomatoes. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 4 hours. Garnish with fresh lime slices. This is an elegant soup, fit to serve to your very best friends, which we did.

THAI CURRY

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Combine the sauce ingredients: the coconut milk, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili paste, fish sauce, ginger, and garlic in the bottom of your stoneware. Taste. If you think you need more chili paste, add some, a bit at a time (it’s spicy stuff!). Add chicken pieces to the sauce, flipping them over a few times so they get nice and saucy. Add the vegetables to the mix. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours. This is done when the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables have reached the desired tenderness. Serve over white rice.

The Verdict

Rachael Ray gave me this recipe, along with an Indian Curry, when I appeared on her show. The prep time was right about 20 minutes, and although it looks like a bunch of ingredients, it comes together easily. This dish is full of flavor that is so on-the-money. It was not too spicy, and the kids ate a good amount. It pairs wonderfully with the Thai Coconut Soup.

VIETNAMESE ROASTED CHICKEN

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the stoneware. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and pour over the top. My chicken was frozen solid, and I worried that the flavor wouldn’t sink in as nicely as it would if I had marinated it for a while—but it was fine. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. The cooking time depends on how thick your chicken pieces are, and if they are fresh or frozen.

The Verdict

Make this. Eat this. This is not a boring dry chicken meal; this is the opposite. This chicken is juicy, full of flavor, and downright adventurous. The meat was moist and tender and the sauce has an amazing flavor. We ate it over white rice and practically licked the remaining sauce out of the crock.

S
nack time means fun time when you plug in the slow cooker for a fondue party or for making slow-cooked versions of childhood favorites. It’s really hard not to smile while munching on a bowl full of Cracker Jack, or a Rice Krispies treat. Please note that children under age four should not be given nuts, seeds, popcorn, chunky peanut butter, or any other food that may cause choking. If you own only a large slow cooker, you can still make the listed fondues by simply inserting an oven-safe dish (Corningware, Pyrex) into your stoneware to create a smaller cooking vessel.

APPLESAUCE

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Plop the apple pieces into your stoneware. Add the lemon juice and water. Pour in the vanilla and add the cinnamon and brown sugar. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. When the apples are very tender, mash them with a potato masher or a large fork. My apples were quite tender after 6 hours, and I was able to use a fork.

The Verdict

This is a great snack on a foggy day. If you feel adventurous, toss in a handful of raisins or dried cranberries. They will swell and pack a juicy punch.

CANDIED WALNUTS

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Plop all the ingredients into your stoneware, and cook on high for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, mix well, and pour onto a layer of parchment paper to cool and dry. The nuts will be hot—keep little fingers away for at least 15 minutes. When cool, the nuts will crisp up and are ready to be used.

The Verdict

Candied nuts are terribly easy and inexpensive to make in the slow cooker. You can make them in bulk and freeze them in little ziplock bags to defrost at your convenience for salad toppings, trail mix, or just to munch on. I tried walnuts instead of candied pecans on the baked Brie with Pecans and Cranberries and was quite pleased with the woody flavor walnuts provide.

CHEX PARTY MIX

serves
10

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the butter into the stoneware, and turn the cooker to low. Add the onion powder, seasoned salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the dry ingredients. Toss to coat. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 45 minutes or so. Dump out onto a baking sheet to cool.

The Verdict

This is seriously addicting. I’ve made Chex Mix numerous times in the slow cooker, and love that I can turn it on and wander off for a while, rather than staying put in the kitchen. I consistently burn my party mix when I cook it in a traditional oven. This snack is requested often in our house.