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Have you ever used a crock pot? Or what we call a slow cooker in the UK? My father gave me a crock pot for Christmas twenty-five years ago and I only had to replace it, because it got stolen. Some thief must have heard the were great and pinched it for his wife.

It was good-looking enough to leave out on the work top and I guess that is how it caught my burglar’s eye. It was stoneware, really nice.

That is one of the points I would like to make in this article, some of the crock pots from the better manufacturers are pretty enough to take to the table. The other point I would like to make is that crock pots are not only for making soup or stews in.

I have recipes in the house for bread and cheesecake. Really, most people just do not believe me when I tell them what you can actually do with a crock pot, especially the modern programmable ones.

To prove it, I have reproduced one of my cheesecake recipes below. If you can not be bothered to make, just take it from me that it is gorgeous, simple enough to make and practically automatic to make. Those of you do get around to making it will agree with me, I am sure.

APPLE-NUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 cup (scant) graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla Topping: 1 large apple, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 7-inch spring form pan. Beat the sugars into the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, whipping cream, cornstarch, and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes on the medium speed of a hand-held electric mixer. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Combine the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and then spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake on a rack (or “ring” of aluminum foil to keep it off the bottom of the pot) in the Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let it stand in the covered pot (after turning it off) for about 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to handle. Cool it thoroughly before removing the pan sides. Chill before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator for any normal shop-bought cheesecake, but yours will be better..

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Whether you are cooking for two for romance or out of obligation, you will discover that there are many resources online and off to help you find the perfect meals for your marvelous twosomes. One thing to bear in mind however is that when cooking for two, it is often better if two are doing the cooking. This permits cooking to become a chance for communication rather than just a duty.

In spite of the fact that there are lots of resources and recipes accessible to those that are cooking for two, there are even more recipes for those cooking for four, especially the traditional recipes that are designed to feed a family of four. These offer an opening to stretch your food budget even further.

By cooking traditional meals for four and eating half of it, you have managed to cook two meals for the time investment of one. It is a good deal for many, but particularly for those that do not like the idea of cooking at all.

Young and older couples alike frequently find that it is as simple and almost the same cost to go to a fast food or other casual restaurant as it is to prepare a nice, healthy meal for two at home. The one thing they usually forget is that cooking for two can be an appealing way to bring a little romance into the evening.

When cooking for two, you will have as much opportunity to be imaginative as in anything else you do in your life. You have the option of trying appetizing new cuisines and the knowledge that if you do not like the food, you are not throwing away a lot of money.

You can try mixing and matching flavors and textures. You can make works of art on your plate as in nouveau cuisine. Or you can go farmhouse style. Cooking for two opens doors that are not necessarily available when cooking for larger numbers with more limiting tastes.

Cooking for two is a great way to get your partner involved in the cooking process as well. When cooking for two you can find out the things that you both like and those that are not so appealing to one or the other of you.

Make sure that when you are cooking for two that you induce an open and candid conversation about the things that you like and dislike about the food being cooked. This will help you determine things to add to your regular menu as well as the items to avoid making a part of your dinner rotation.

Perhaps the best thing about cooking for two is the fact that you can afford to eat special occasion cuisine more often when you are cooking for only two than when you are cooking for a larger crowd. Bring on the steaks and lobster tail. Learn how to make shrimp scampi and fillet mignon. Take the time, when cooking for two, to prepare those dishes that you enjoy most.

Cooking for two is a great way of exploring the culinary universe and exposing your palates to some wonderful surprises along the way. The Internet, bookstores, and libraries are filled with books about cooking for two. Take advantage of the opportunity to do just that and you will be flabbergasted at the world of flavors you have been missing out on.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the Rival Versaware crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

There can not be many people who do not like food, but the human race, being what it is, I suppose there are a few. For the rest of us, food is a source of daily enjoyment and, like drink, it is often used to mark a celebration. not only that, but different foodstuffs are used for the different meals or definite occasions.

Festive meals were indubitably planned around the seasonal foods available, but some foods were transported great distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For instance, my Dad thought it was a great treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day 60 years ago. How times have altered, very few children would think an orange a gift, special or otherwise, any day of the year nowadays.

Nevertheless, the storage of food is still a daily job and so, I have listed a few top tips on storing food below, so that you will get the best from what you have bought or grown long afterward.

The Smells Of Summer: the smell of fresh garden herbs are one of the pleasures of Summer. You can conserve many of these herbs in the following way. Take a suitably sized glass bottle and cram your favourite herb into it until you can get not get even one more leaf in. Then fill it to the brim with your favourite oil olive oil (salad oil, not cooking oil). Put it in the strong sunlight for two days if you are using basil or two weeks for tarragon. Allow the water to part from the oil and decant the oil off into another bottle. Just one or two drops of this oil on a salad or spaghetti will bring back Summer memoirs.

Bin Ends: sometimes, after a party for example, you may wake up to several small quantities of wine in different bottles. Of course, you can pour like wines into each other. When you are done, pour a teaspoon of olive oil into each bottle. This will create an air proof barrier over the wine thereby preserving the wine for another week or two to accompany your favourite dinners – in the cooking process naturally.

Storing Garlic: cloves of peeled garlic will keep for months if you stuff them into a screw-topped jar and cover them with olive oil. As you use the garlic, top up with more olive oil. The oil will absorb some of the flavour of the garlic and make a fabulous (basis for a) salad dressing. If you have used tinned garlic, the rest can be preserved in the same way, but you should rinse and dry them first.

Saving Tomato Paste: if you suspect that you will not be able to use up the left over half a tin or tube of tomato paste soon, you can put it into the ice cube tray and freeze it into blocks until you are ready to use it.

Parsley Crumble: keep bunches of parsley in the deep freeze. Then, when you need it, you can just crumple the head of the bunch in your hand directly over the pan or plate where you need it and put it back in the freezer. The stalks can be used in the stock pot. in fact, this method works for all herbs.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Everybody likes a meal correctly prepared. The proof of this, if it needs proving, is that members of religious orders like monks often have to eat dreary food like porridge, gruel and unleaven bread for atonement.

I would like to share a few tips with you to help you get the most out of your food.

Chicken Tarragon – I love chicken tarragon, but this is my preferred version. Take: 1 chicken; .25 teaspoon of chopped onions; 1 heaped tablespoon of dried tarragon (double of fresh); brown stock or Bovril and water, cream, flour and salt.

Roast the chicken, carve it and put in a plate. Pour off the fat and make a gravy with it, the salt and the flour. Bulk the gravy up with the stock or Bovril and water. Add the tarragon and cream and cook for a minute or two. Serve with the gravy already poured over the chicken or serve the gravy separately. Add your favourite vegetables. This recipe will serve four.

Chicken Left-Overs – if you are unsure what to do with left over chicken, you could do worse than try this recipe.

Chop the chicken up small and mix it with sliced avocado. Cover with mayonnaise and sprinkle with crumbled, fried, crispy bacon. If this sounds good to you, take it from me that it tastes even better.

Apple Sauce – if you like apple sauce with your pork, bake a couple of cooking apples alongside your joint of pork. Prepare and core them just as you would as if you were going to cook them separately. Sprinkle with sugar, if required. Then, run a knife tip around them, so that they will puff upwards, but still retain their shape. Gorgeous.

Sauces – if you cannot get the sauce right, just strain it and do not tell anyone. Nobody will know the difference and what are strainers for if not straining?

Soups And Stews – if you find that you have added too much salt to a soup or stew at the last moment, do not worry. Put a cube of sugar in a large spoon and lower it into the liquid for twenty seconds. It will absorb the excess salt. If you have longer, and it is fitting, add a diced potato and it will absorb the salt too.

Pie Crust – if you need a fast, yet flexible topping for a savoury pie like chicken or beef, leave the pastry off. Take a large bag of crisps; pop the bag to let the air out and scrunch it up until the crisps are but crumbs. Pour this over your pie before you bake it. It is odd but you can carry out trials with different flavoured crisps.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the Rival Versaware crock pots. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Mardi Gras is a special time of the year down in Cajun Country. Even if you don’t live down in New Orleans you can still rejoice in some of the fun and revelry associated with Mardi Gras by throwing a grand old meal worthy of King Rex himself.

The way to bring Mardi Gras to the Midwest or wherever you may be, is to always have the mindset that makes Mardi Gras such fun and an enjoyable event for people from all over the world. If that doesn’t work a bowl or two of gumbo topped off with some Mardi Gras music should do the trick quite satisfactorily.

Honestly though, part of the appeal and intrigue of Mardi Gras and the city of New Orleans is the food that has made this city almost as famous as its ability to party. If you are considering what to cook to bring the spirit of Mardi Gras into your home, try any of the traditional favorites. If ingredients prove hard to come by you might want to add a little rice, a little spice, and a lot of hot sauces to your favorite family meal.

Those who live in New Orleans often use rice to stretch the food. Rice is filling and is cost effective. This makes rice a great foundation of a meal for many of the families of New Orleans many of whom have been pretty poor by tradition.

Rice is used in all manner of dishes from gumbo to red beans and jambalaya and many dishes in between. It is probably the one staple of Cajun cuisine that you will find everywhere you go.

Otherwise there are wide variances in cuisine according to cost and culture (although the more expensive foods are normally considered Creole rather than Cajun. Sort of a city cousin – country cousin type relationship between the cuisines).

Spices are dominant in these dishes for much the same reason that rice is. They have traditionally been an inexpensive method of seasoning dishes that would otherwise be quite bland. Expect to find plenty of spices and some heat in most traditional Cajun dishes throughout the city. Some restaurants that cater to tourists have slightly watered down versions of local favorites.

If you want to eat something with a little less fire, a po-boy or muffaletta might be what you are looking for. These sandwiches are more than a little deceptive in appearance because they are very filling. French fries are still a Cajun favorite, although we also have a popular dish called fried sweet potatoes.

You can find recipes for all of these online quite easily though you will probably have trouble finding the perfect bread for a po boy anywhere outside the Crescent City. There is a unique “chewiness” to the perfect po boy bread that may be copied in other places but not equaled anywhere in the country.

For the best finish to your Cajun cooking you should make a point of buying some chicory coffee. This is easily done via the Cafe du Monde website if your local coffee shop doesn’t have any. Historically, chicory was added to coffee and often used instead of coffee because it was much less expensive.

This meant it could make the more expensive coffee beans go further and yet offer a similar taste and texture with that hint of chicory. It’s a rather unique flavor and for many people is synonymous with the city itself.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching the crock pots by Rival. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

There can not be many people who do not like their food, but the human race, being what it is, I suppose that there are a a small number of them. Nonetheless, for the remainder of us, cuisine is a font of daily delight and, like a beverage, it is frequently employed to commemorate a celebration. not only that, but various foods are used for the various meals or distinct celebrations.

Festive meals were undoubtedly planned around the seasonal foodstuffs available, but a number of foods were ferried enormous distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For example, my father deemed it a grand treat to get an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day sixty years back. How the times have altered! Very few kids would think an orange a present, special or not, any day of the year in our time.

Nevertheless, the storage of food is still a daily concern and subsequently, I have written a few good tips on preserving food underneath, so that you will obtain the best from that which you have purchased or grown in your garden even a long while later.

Chicken Stuffed With Spoons: a great way of preparing chicken to be eaten at a cold buffet or in sandwiches, is to put as many spoons as possible into the cavity of the chicken (not silver or plated ones though). Then, place the chicken in a large saucepan or pot and bring the water to the boil slowly. Simmer for 10 minutes, cover and leave until the water is room temperature. The spoons will retain the heat and cook the chicken from the inside out. it will be one of the most succulent chickens you have ever eaten.

Roasted Crisp And Light: if you like crisp-skinned roasties, it is best to parboil them first, but that is only half the story. so, boil the potatoes for five minutes and drain thoroughly. Put the lid on the pan and shake it about violently. Bang it hard on the chopping block several times. The harder the better. Then put the parboiled potatoes in the baking tray with the meat or fowl to cook as you would normally.

Salad Soup: Do not throw away salad that has been soaked in salad dressing. Whisk it up in a food processor with a can of tomatoes of tinned soup. Add lots of garlic to taste and adjust the thickness to suit your taste. Chill it down and you will have one of the most delicious summer soups ever.

Curdling Cure: if your mayonnaise has curdled there is one sure fire way to bring it back to life. stir in a couple of tablespoons of Hellmann’s mayonnaise and your problem will be over.

Simply Scrumptious Topping: a really, quick, delicious and almost infinitely variable topping for a savory pie can be made in seconds. Choose the flavour you want from the crisp rack; puncture the bag to let our the air and then crush the contents in the gag. it really adds something to a pie. The same trick can be used on the bottom of a potato pie a Texan housewife told me.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topicss, but is currently involved with researching the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

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