Delicious and Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes

I have tested one recipe from this book so far and it was absolutely delicious: chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

I usually never review books, but with this one I couldn't resist! I agree that the recipes are a bit more time-consuming than other crockpot recipes, but this book has the advantage of allowing you to prepare meals in advance that are good enough to serve to your dinner guests. I have made the following recipes with GREAT success & everyone I've made them for has raved: Red Lentil & Carrot Soup with Coconut, Beef & Sausage Chili (using chorizo & ground beef), and Sausage & Barley Jambalaya. There is also an entire section devoted to vegetarian main meals, and the book also contains some vegetarian appetizers and soups. As a warning, most of the desserts included in the book require a 5-qt or larger oval slow cooker. But if you have this size, the desserts look delicious and include: Chocolate Flan with Toasted Almonds, Rich Chocolate Cake, Apricot Almond Pudding, & Pumpkin Chocolate Marble Cheesecake to name a few. Try this, I don't think you (or your guests) will be disappointed.

Finlayson has managed to create a cookbook of slow cooker recipes that are so savory and intriguing that you really could use many of them for more formal dinners than what "crockpot cookery" usually suggests. Tortilla Soup with Corn and Chilies, Mixed Mushroom Soup with Creamy Goat Cheese, and Chicken Mulligatawny Soup are just a few of the outstanding soup recipes. A very well-seasoned Curried Lamb with Apricots, a Cuban-Style Flank Steak (shredded and served with cheese inside tortillas), Sausage and Barley Jambalaya (with Shrimp added at the last minute), and African-Style Braised Chicken in Peanut Sauce would satisfy even the most discriminating palates.Readers should be aware that this type of gourmet cookery comes with a price--you will spend more time in preparation for these meals than the "dump-everything-in-the-pot-and-open-it-up-ten-hours-later"-type of slow cookery. Some recipes call for two cooking sessions, one to slow cook the meat, and an additional 3 - 4 hours the next day when you add the vegetables and other ingredients. Nearly all recipes require you to partially cook some ingredients in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker, and quite a few call for ingredients which may not be part of one's ordinary pantry--dried ancho, New Mexico, and pasilla chili peppers, in addition to a wide variety of fresh chili peppers (usually available in large supermarkets and ethnic food stores) and fresh herbs and spices. Many of the recommended meat cuts are very high in fat, though the fat can usually be skimmed off after cooking.Dessert recipes look intriguing, including a cheesecake which is put into a springform pan in the slow cooker with 1" of water used to steam it, but unless you have no oven available, I can't imagine using these recipes in preference to the tried and true favorites. All in all, this is for the cook who wants really outstanding taste and is willing to do the extra preparation that these slow cooker recipes require. Mary Whipple

I appreciate the more adventuresome recipes with lots of ethnic cooking and spicing. It does require some extra work to start with but the end results are worth the extra effort and time. I still enjoy the fact that I can walk away from the food cooking and come back 10 hours later to a delicious, ready to eat meal, with lots of variety!