Slow and steady wins the taste

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2011 (5686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THANK you so much to everyone who wrote in with slow-cooker favourites. I now have a mailbag full of recipes, plus recommendations for cookbooks and websites. (Thanks to Joanne Peters, who directed me to The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson, and to Val Stewart, who told me about www.crockpot365.blogspot.com, where blogger Stephanie cooked a crock-pot recipe every day for a year.)

I’m starting with beef stroganoff from Sharon Brandt and butter chicken from Donna Kostiuk of St. Andrews. Both recipes allowed me to throw some ingredients in a pot and come home hours later to a house that smelled like dinner.

Susan Wellman is hoping someone might have a recipe that replicates Starbucks’ holiday gingerbread loaf. It’s lighter than many gingerbreads and is topped with a creamy white icing and candied ginger. And with February coming up, how about some favourite Valentine’s Day recipes, whether that means a romantic dinner for two, cookies for the kids, or anything involving a heart-shaped baking pan.

If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you’d like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

Slow cooker beef Stroganoff (adapted from a Kraft recipe)

 

500 g (1 lb.) cubed stewing beef

250 ml chopped onions (about 1 cup, or 1 medium onion)

250 ml chopped mushrooms (about 1 cup, or 5 medium mushrooms)

125 ml (1/2 cup) beef broth

125 g (1/2 of a regular tub) Philadelphia herb & garlic cream cheese

15 ml (1 tbsp) flour

salt and pepper to taste

225 g (about 1/4 of a 900g package) fettuccine, cooked and drained

parsley for garnish

 

Mix meat, onions and mushrooms in slow cooker. Add broth and stir. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4 hours). In a small bowl thoroughly combine cream cheese and flour. Slowly add to meat mixture just before serving, stirring well until cream cheese is melted and blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add to hot pasta and toss to coat.

 

Taster’s notes: Using the herbed cream cheese makes this classic beef dish easy — and there was no curdling. I doubled the recipe, partly because I have a lot of hungry people in my house and partly because I have a large slow cooker, and the crock needs to be one-half to two-thirds full for optimum cooking performance and food safety. I’m still getting to know my pot: The beef was still a little chewy, and next time I would cook it a little longer, or — as some slow-cooker cookbooks recommend — I might try cooking the first hour at high heat, and then dropping down to low.

Donna Kostiuk’s butter chicken

 

45 ml (3 tbsp) melted butter (no substitutes)

1 x 400 ml can (about 1 3/4 cup) coconut milk (not light)

1 x 398 ml can (about 1 3/4 cup) tomato sauce

5 ml (1 tsp) red curry paste

5 ml (1 tsp) ginger

2 ml (1/2 tsp) cumin

2 ml (1/2 tsp) paprika

2 ml (1/2 tsp) onion powder

2 ml (1/2 tsp) black or white pepper

pinch salt

pinch sugar

16 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.5 kg)

 

Pour melted butter on bottom of slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, tomato sauce, curry paste, ginger, cumin, paprika, onion powder, pepper, salt and sugar. Pour into cooker. Trim any fat or silver skin off chicken thighs and place in sauce, submerging the chicken as much as possible. Cook on low for a minimum of 6 hours. Cook on high for 1 hour with lid off, stirring occasionally, to thicken sauce. Serve with rice. (Donna recommends basmati or jasmine rice.)

 

Tester’s notes: This quick, easy version of the popular Indian dish is rich and mild. Donna points out you can always crank up the amount of curry paste if you want more spice, and you can substitute lamb for chicken. The dish is not suitable for freezing, as the sauce will separate.