I haven’t been writing much, and that’s never good. But I have been thinking a lot about writing, so go me.
In the absence of words, I decided to update my blog pictures. Updated banner and “About me” photos now feature my 67-year-old face and my current hair, a bob I refused to get when I was working because it seemed so cliché. But now that I’m a woman of leisure, it’s like, look at me, not the slug you thought I was!
My big news is that I bought the KitchenAid slow cooker and used it for the first time this weekend. Dinner was Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew from the NY Times. The cooking section is now subscription-based, which originally pissed me off. I was reluctant to sign up, but I did it and have no regrets. I like the variety of recipes, which you can save and organize in a recipe box.
The comments are particularly entertaining. There’s always somebody who says something like I’m allergic to kale, can I substitute canned beets? Or, I was born in wherever, and this recipe isn’t anything like the way my mother made it. Eventually, somebody says, no, if you can’t eat kale, find something else to eat or if we wanted your mother’s recipe, we would have asked for it. While the substitutions can get carried away, there are also some great tips from home chefs who have actually made the dish.
But I digress. We loved this stew when I made it on the cooktop, but there’s also a slow cooker version, so I thought I’d check it out.
Although I cut the beef up the night before, I chopped the vegetables and browned the meat in the morning. So, this is embarrassing. But Dale does most of the grocery shopping. I really didn’t know how much chuck roast cost. Now I do, and let’s just say I was careful trimming, as I didn’t want any of that precious jewel to go down the drain.
Anyway, I also now understand why I didn’t buy a slow cooker when I was gainfully employed. Who has time to do all that before work? I got up at 4 a.m., and it was a close run thing to make it out the door on schedule.
The slow cooker, in concept, now seems rather perfect for retirement. Some prep in the morning, but no super-early rise. A little clean-up, and then we can pretty much goof off all day. Ideally, it’s golf-friendly appliance. Returning home after a long day of recreation, dinner awaits! But then I have Dale for that, so I’m not really sure I need a slow cooker.
I like to make soups and stews and missed tending to it. It made me nervous. Like, is this thing really going to cook? I’ve read you’re not supposed to take off the lid, so no tasting as you go, but leaving it completely alone is kind of weird. Now that I think about it, if I had actually gone somewhere, I wouldn’t have even noticed it.
But it was Sunday, and we usually do our fun things during the week, when it’s less crowded. So, we just hung out, avoiding the siren call to stir that damned thing. Instead of bread, I made two small rounds of pie crust, baked them on a cookie sheet and then used them as toppers for the stew.
Dale had to toss our other little treat so as to save us from ourselves. The meat was browned in the fat from rendered chopped salt pork. Those crispy pork nuggets are salty but rather delicious. Dale said his mother used to fry up little chunks and sprinkle it over fish chowder or boiled potatoes – just mash them right in with your fork.
The outcome? Well, at low, the stew never reached a simmer, even after six hours. That’s when I breached the seal, and the beef was still tough, the carrots nearly raw. I had a slow cooker cookbook from the library, so I studied up a bit and set the heat at high for two hours. The book said some cooks use high for an hour at the beginning to raise the temperature and then set it back to low.
The stew was good, but Dale thought it was hammered. But yes, that’s feedback from the human slow cooker, who just might want to preserve his legacy as the best cooker in the house. My complaint is that I thought these things were supposed to be “set it and forget it.” I went back to the Cook’s Illustrated review, and it appears I purchased the extra-slow cooker, which they still claim is a better machine.
But it still has to reach a simmer in this lifetime, so there’s that.
After reading all that and the consumer reviews, it appears I have to tinker with the times and settings, which annoys me, but OK, I’m in.
I’m ready to try again and would welcome any tips you may have.
I’ve never heard of an extra-slow cooker.
Like others, I will put it on high for an hour or so and then turn it down to low, if I think the meat needs some extra oomph. I’ve also been known to pressure-cook a chunk of meat for an hour, and then switch to slow-cooking it. The meat will be extremely tender if you do that.
Deb
Well, it’s not really an extra-slow cooker. It just seemed that way to me and a bunch of the other reviewers. But I think you’re right. High for an hour and then low.
Great photo updates! I wish my hair would behave as well as yours does. My hair refuses to turn gray or white except along the edges and I’m closing in on 72 years. I get that from my dad. I only wish my face was as cooperative about not creasing and falling. I’ve often looked in the mirror and have seen my mom looking back at me. Lately I’m seeing my grandmother. Sigh…
The few times I’ve used my crockpot, I’ve been successful but admit that making various chiles (NM spelling) have been the most successful. So I don’t have any real tips to offer. However, I am also amused at the comments in the NYTimes recipe section. We added that when I wanted the games and it was included in the package. Mostly I play the Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, and then do Wordle during my nightly insomnia breaks between sleep segments. Every once in awhile I tackle the regular crossword but it seems about ten times more difficult to solve than the mini crossword.
I look forward to hearing about more crockpot adventures. It does seem the season to use mine more often.
Thanks for the nice compliment. I always had crummy hair, so it’s a pleasant surprise to end up with something rather nice!
It seems we have yet even more common ground when it comes to the NY Times. I’m delighted someone else takes joy in the comments. They really are entertaining. I usually do Wordle before I get out of bed. Then I start Spelling Bee and sometimes go back to sleep. I’ll start back up on it after breakfast. With rare exceptions, I don’t quit until I reach Genius. Once I get there, I will sometimes use Today’s Hints to see if I can get Queen Bee. I used to do the mini puzzle but for some reason stopped. I also like Letterbox occasionally, but only if I can get it in two words. It’s a curse.
Anyway, yes to more adventures with the crockpot. I really am puzzled that so many people are devoted to them, yet they don’t seem to perform as advertised.
OMG, I’ve only made genius once, never mind trying for Queen Bee. I usually say, “good enough” if I can get to Nice, anything more is a bonus. Now I’m feeling like a slacker. I use most of my puzzles as a wind down after dinner, while “watching” whatever it is that Jon has on TV. Maybe I’d be sharper in the morning eh? Nah…my brain doesn’t start working until I’ve had coffee and walked the dog. I’m impressed by your ability though, some of those are real doozies!
I usually do high for an hour minimum. I also put meat on bottom and veg on top. There are some recipes I cook only on high ( barlic brown sugar bone in chicken thighs). You’ll need to experiment a bit but you’ll get there. Im.assuming you browned said meat first?
Yes, I did brown the meat. I have not heard of putting the meat on the bottom, so more information to sift through. I really thought this was going to be easy. Garlic brown sugar chicken thighs sound divine.
Nothing to add to the advice above except that its not great when the cut of meat is lean. Himself spotted a recipe for cooking a whole (uncut up) chicken, but is still tinkering and trying things out before he dips a toe into that one, especially as I’d be grumpy over the waste if it didn’t work out because I love me a roast chicken.
My human slow cooker makes a delicious roast chicken, which I also love, so I’m not messing with that! I froze the rest of the stew because it was still pretty good in my opinion, and I couldn’t bear the waste.
Fortunately, my human slow cooker made us a fabulous (oven) roast chicken this weekend. Soooo happy! 🙂
Yum.
We like to cook in our crockpot and probably need to utilize it more. We made potato soup in ours two days ago. Just put in all the ingredients, turn it on, and walk away. Another good thing about cooking this way is that most dishes make great left overs. We had something come up and didn’t eat our soup that night we planned and just put the inner pot in the fridge and had it the next day.
We love leftovers, so that’s one of the reasons I bought the 6-quart model. Our freezer food is spectacular! I just need to tinker with this appliance to get desired results.
I almost never cook on low. Even with beef stew( just basic), I’ll cook for 4 hours on high and then turn it to low for a couple of more. My beef is fall-apart tender. I love a chicken salsa in the crock pot, basically chicken breasts and then a couple of cans of Rotel and either a little water or chicken broth. On high for 4 hours then reduce to low for 2-4 more.
I’ll take a look at the kitchen aid one to see what it looks like. If I had money, I would buy the All Clad.
Interesting. The KitchenAid has three settings. Low is supposed to be around 194 degrees F, medium 203 and high 208 (within a range of three degrees or so). I’m thinking low just couldn’t get up to a simmer, which Google tells me is about 185. I think once I get it to a simmer, low might be a good setting. Or maybe mess with medium. Plus I’m going to use something cheaper than chuck roast until I figure this out.
I didn’t even see mention of the All Clad, but I just looked at it on Amazon. I see what you mean about the price.
Too bad we aren’t neighbors, Donna. I could have given you my fairly new crockpot, just like the one you purchased. I used to be a crockpot user before retirement. Nowadays, I have oodles of time for cooking with my Le Creuset on the stove top. It is perfect for cooking slow or fast, and I can take lid off all I want to taste and season. Cleans like a breeze. Just a thought for your next appliance adventure. By the way, it is worth the hefty price and it will last a lifetime.
That’s what I usually use with great results. I don’t know what compelled me to betray Le Creuset for a slow cooker, but here I am to tell my saga. It’s funny, the day after the beef stew failure, Dale pulled out the Le Creuset to make spaghetti and meatballs, as if to show me how the pros do it.
So funny about Dale! But at least we have hubbies to do our cooking for us. I’m happy to let him, but the kitchen clean up afterwards is awful 😢
It’s great to have a husband who cooks. Here is the better news. He says he enjoys cleaning up! But he is a slacker in many other ways, so I take advantage of him in the kitchen. He just came in to tell me the dishwasher was running for the second time today, and it was full. We can make a mess.
I have absolutely no tips on the slow cooker as I have never owned one.
My husband and I are soulmates and would take a bullet for each other. Unfortunately, we didn’t ask how the other felt about cooking before we married. We both hate it. I have heard of men who cook but have never actually met one.
I blushingly report we spend a lot of money in the Costco frozen food aisle.
We both love food and both love to cook, so no issues there. Not that we can’t find plenty to argue about.
I made a chicken tortilla soup in our slow cooker last week when we had dinner guests. I liked that I could dump everything in and forget it. I don’t like to fuss in the kitchen when I have people over, especially when they sit at our raised counter and watch me (I’m not a comfortable cook). I hadn’t heard about setting it on high for an hour but that makes sense, especially when cooking larger pieces of beef.
I’m always amused by the recipe comments too, especially when the writer’s dish doesn’t turn out well because they substituted something completely unrelated or made it vegan.
Love the hair!
My human slow cooker makes a mean chicken tortilla soup, so I think I’ll leave that one alone. But I agree. It’s nice to have the big stuff done so you can enjoy your guests.
Thank you for the compliment on my hair. I resisted the shorter bob for years, but now I love it.
I have 3 crockpots and they all cook real well.I use the medium size one most. I do put it on high for one hour if I am home.If not I just set it on low and go about my day.Everythign always comes out great! Not sure what type you bought but I used my son’s newer cooker and it was very different than my old fashioned one..I just have high low and warm settings.
From everything I’ve read, most only have low, high and warm. The KitchenAid I bought also has medium. But they say it’s slower to heat up, so I’m just going to have to mess with it.
Love the hair!
I’m not a slow cooker girl, but hubby bought an InstaPot (yes, the craze got him) and has tried a few things in it. I like the smell of stew or soup simmering on the stove, tending to it, and tasting. Old fashioned, I guess.
Thank you! We love our Instant Pot, but so far, I hate this slow cooker. I’m with you about tending and tasting.