Art of the Slow Cooker: 80 Exciting New Recipes

Comment: I, too, bought this book when I got my slow cooker at Crate and Barrel and have since given this book to every person I know who has complained that they don't know what to make in their slow cookers and because a lot of the recipes they have found on-line or in other cookbooks are unappetizing, full of ingredients like ketchup or mushroom soup, which is fine but not the point of cooking in the slow cooker, which draws out the natural flavor of food. This cookbook is fantastic. Sometimes the prep takes me longer than the specified 30 minutes, especially if you are including cleanup, etc... but nothing has taken more than 45 mins to an hour and the results are truly amazing. The first thing I made was the Osso Bucco Milanese and it was so delicious I could not believe I had actually made it. I have since made about 10 recipes and they have all been great. I have noticed that, if possible, it's better to do the poultry dishes on the high/fast setting option because when cooked super slow, the bones really fall apart and that is not my preference for duck and chicken. That said, it's still very tasty. Most of the recipes follow the basic structure of braise meat, sautee veg, add broth and throw it all in the pot and slow cook. This is pretty manageable. The vegetable soup is incredible. The only thing I wasn't blown away by was the chocolate chili and that was just because everything else has been so good. I have made both bread puddings and the cheesecake as well, all great. Because of this book and the slow cooker, I have started to entertain again and surprised myself every time with the results. Is it terrible for a host to say about her own food--This is so good!?? I have also purchased the Williams Sonoma slow cooker book but haven't even done any of those recipes yet because they seem more of a time commitment and a little intimidating. This book is nicely written and has some inspiring photos.

Comment: I have many slow cooker cook books and this is the best I have seen. Most recipes are A+. Easy to make, very good crowd pleasers.

Comment: I have been making one dish each week out of this recipe book. They all taste good.

Comment: I bought this cookbook along with "Slow Cooker Magic" and "The Gourmet Slow Cooker" and this one blows them both out of the water. The recipes are so creative, and the results are just outstanding. This is not the cookbook if you're hoping for simple, quick recipes (though some of them are), but they are well worth the effort.

Comment: I like this cookbook very much. Mr. Schloss has evidently done his homework, because with one or two exceptions each recipe has been excellent. I especially like the Thai ribs, the sweet beef goulash with smoked paprika, and the pork sirloin with white beans (although I suggest you use a pork shoulder instead, its tastier and cheaper). The flavors of each dish are well thought out, and require a fairly complete spice rack. Nothing is very hard to prepare, and most of the work involves browning the meat in a skillet or the oven before loading it into the slow cooker.

My favorite recipe so far is the braised turkey thighs with posole and lime. I had never had posole (hominy) before, and the taste was a revelation. It turns out that using turkey or chicken thighs (with the bone, without the skin) is a good way to get white-meat taste on a dark-meat budget. The thighs don't fall apart even after 8 hours in the pot, nor do they dry out. You wouldn't know the hominy started out as corn from its taste, which is rich and sharp, especially when paired with fresh lime.

The cassoulet recipe is great for a guest dinner. It features lamb, duck, sausage, beans and vegetables. Our guests were quite impressed. My only change would be to swap out the nutmeg for some other spice, perhaps cardamom. Nutmeg tends to overpower other flavors, at least to my palate. Another great guest dish is the oxtails braised in coconut milk - this is like industrial-strength beef flavor-wise (a good thing).

My Carolina-born wife approved of the pulled pork recipe. The pork shreds nicely after 10 hours in the cooker. On the second try, I cut down the sugar and increased the vinegar, which gave it a bit more zing.

There is even a recipe for fruitcake. It's dried fruit and nuts with barely enough flour to hold it together - delicious!

Not so good is the recipe for salmon slow-cooked with herbs. It calls for cooking the fish in an aluminum sling above the vegetables, after first browning it in a skillet. The results were disappointing and definitely not worth the effort - I don't think a crockpot is a natural choice for cooking fish fillets, though I'll give Mr. Schloss credit for trying to expand the slow-cooking repertoire. Another problematic recipe was the jerk pork with yams. The sweetness of the yams overwhelmed the jerk flavor - I would try it again with regular potatoes, even if that is less authentic.

Nonetheless, this book is light-years beyond the old standby crockpot cookbooks that rely on canned cream of mushroom soup and other ghastly abominations. If you like to use fresh ingredients in your crockpot and are looking for a wide variety of flavors, this book is for you.

P.S. I bought a crockpot before I knew a lot about using one. My regret is not getting one that has a start timer. If you are thinking about buying one, look for this feature. With it, your food will be ready on time without having to sit for hours on warm.