For years, I’ve known the rule for cooking tough meat cuts: low and slow. But in my hurry up world, I tried to do low on a gas stovetop that was calibrated for hot, fast cooking. My last batch of soup bones came out as tough as leather, even though I had cooked them on low. . . Patience and forethought came to my rescue
In years past, I never gave potato mashing the attention it deserved. I just threw in a little butter and milk, mashed roughly with a hand masher and took them to the table. This year, I put a little time into experimenting and investigating and found some tricks that easily elevated the mashed potato into … Read more
There are lots of slow cooker recipes to choose from. The problem lies in choosing just one or two to actually make. While a lot of that choosing is a matter of personal taste, here’s one thing I’ve learned specific to slow cooker recipes: Look for recipes that take advantage of a slow cooker’s two big advantages: cooking the heck out of tough characters, and fixing it and forgetting about it.
No doubt about it: a specialized appliance can make cooking a lot easier, save a lot of time and produce really delicious meals—but only if you first invest a little time getting ready to use it.
The idea is perfect: throw a few ingredients into a stoneware crock, turn it on and voila! At the end of the day, you walk in the kitchen and there waits a richly aromatic meal, all cooked and ready to go. So why are so many slow cookers sitting in the cupboard instead of cooking on the counter?