Welcome back to the 1970s! Slow cookers are retaking the nation. The formula is simple: Assemble first-rate ingredients, dump in an electric slow cooker, and go about your business.
My mother is skeptical. I find her reluctance to embrace the slow cooker interesting, considering this low-simmer cooking method was created for her generation, right around the time large numbers of American women began working outside the home.
As one of the first female lawyers in this country, my mother was a master juggler of multiple responsibilities. She worked full time and cooked delicious dinners every night. In her retirement, she compiled 40 years of tips and tricks into one cookbook: “The Lazy Gourmet.” It makes a great gift; find it at www.realfoodrealeasy.com.
In my family, we believe that each generation builds on the skills, knowledge and laziness of the last. So while my mother’s book does not include slow cooker recipes, I have created quite a few.
These two recipes require no truly perishable ingredients, so if you keep a stocked freezer and pantry, you don’t even have to shop.
Red Beans and Rice
Serves 14-20
2 lbs. red beans, rinsed
3 cups onion (any color), chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup peeled carrot, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp. celery salt
2 tsp. granulated garlic
2 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. smoked (or regular) paprika
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup cranberries
3 bay leaves
8 cups water or stock
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
cooked brown rice
cilantro and chopped green onion for garnish
Combine beans, onion, carrot, celery salt, granulated garlic, chile powder, paprika, tomato sauce, cranberries, bay leaves and water or stock in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and slow-cook on high for 4 hours. Add Dijon mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and salt. Cook 3 more hours on high. Check for seasonings and serve over brown rice, garnished with cilantro and green onion. You can also add chopped hot chicken apple sausage after beans are cooked. Alternately, combine all ingredients in one fell swoop (except for rice, and except the salt, which can prevent beans from softening) and cook a full 7-8 hours while you are sleeping or out of the house.
Chicken Marbella — Slow Cooked Style
Inspired by the “Silver Palate Cookbook” by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso
Serves 8-10
4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup pitted prunes
14.5 oz. jar green olives with pimento (about 1 1/2 cups), drained
1/2 cup capers
1 head garlic, peeled and lightly smashed (about 16 cloves)
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. herbs de Provence or dried oregano
1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
1⁄3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups white wine
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1 cup chopped parsley
Combine all ingredients except chopped parsley in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cook on high 3 to 4 hours. Occasionally press chicken down to submerge in liquid. Remove chicken. Cook potatoes in liquid 2 more hours. Shred chicken and return to the pot. Mix parsley in. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes or quinoa.
Josie A.G. Shapiro won the 2013 Man-O Manischewitz Cook-Off, is the co-author of “The Lazy Gourmet” and works at the JCC of San Francisco. Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Her website is www.thechickencontests.com.