Currently cooking out of Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O’Dea

We had mixed reviews on this dish. I really liked it, but Bryan didn’t. He thought it was bland and kinda boring. I added a lot of salt and pepper to mine and thought it was quite tasty.

You take ground turkey and mix it with some cooked rice, onion, fire-roasted tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and pepper and then stuff 6 bell peppers with the mixture. Those peppers then slow cook for three to four hours on high or six to eight hours on low. One thing I thought was odd was the recipe didn’t call for any salt. And it desperately needs salt. And more pepper. My mixture only stuffed five peppers, but then I could only fit five peppers in my crockpot, so I guess it was all good.

Note: In reading other people’s reviews of this dish, many of them said that they used uncooked rice and it came out just fine. I wish I had read these review first, because my peppers released a lot of liquid and made everything very watery. I suspect that using uncooked rice will help soak up this excess liquid.

Here’s the link to the recipe on O’Dea’s blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-stuffed-pepper-recipe.html

I found the original recipe on www.browneyedbaker.com and made my first batch exactly as the recipe was written. Then I decided to experiment a little bit.

My first change was to use chunky peanut butter instead of creamy. It increased the peanutty flavor and gave the cookies a little more texture. I also increased the amount of oatmeal because I thought the original amount (1/2 cup) was skimpy. I increased the ratio of brown sugar to white sugar and added an extra egg yolk. My final change was to double the recipe and refrigerate the cookies for a couple of hours before baking them. This batch was a keeper.

The cookies stayed on the thick side, with crunchy edges and chewy centers. Be careful not to overbake these. You want them to just start browning around the edges. The middle may look a bit undercooked, but the cookies will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

Recipe is after the jump.

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from browneyedbaker.com
Makes about 30 cookies

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. I accidentally picked up a no-sugar added chunky peanut butter that wasn’t very sweet. If you use a peanut butter that has added sugar, I’d decrease the brown sugar by 1/4 cup.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I used old-fashioned rolled oats)
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a standmixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract for about 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter and mix well. Add the eggs and egg yolk and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the oats and then the chocolate chips.

Use a large cookie scoop (I used a 3-tablespoon scoop) and drop dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to middle of the oven. Space cold dough mounds about two inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and flatten them slightly. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges, rotating cookie sheet after 10 minutes of baking. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

No pictures of this dish because, although it was tasty, it was ugly. White fish with white sauce on white rice? Nope, not happening.

O’Dea says that even people who don’t like fish will like this recipe. I believe her. You begin by mixing mayonnaise, shredded parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper together. Then you slather this mixture over tilapia fillets. I used mahi mahi (because that is what I had in the freezer), and I liked the thicker pieces of fish. The fish fillets are then wrapped in tinfoil and cooked on low for three to four hours.

O’Dea doesn’t specify whether or not the fish was to be thawed. I took a chance and used the fish straight out of the freezer, and that was probably a mistake. My fish released a lot of water and really watered down the sauce. It was still good, but it didn’t really stick to the fish. I plan on making this again, but I’ll use thawed fish fillets, not frozen. Also, the sauce was really lemony. That wasn’t a problem for us, but if you like just a little lemon with your fish (as opposed to a little fish with your lemon), I’d cut down on the lemon juice a bit.

Here’s the recipe on O’Dea’s blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/foil-packet-tilapia-crockpot-recipe.html.

So when I told Bryan that I was making baked potatoes in the slow cooker, he laughed at me. I was a little skeptical myself, because, come on, baked potatoes in the slow cooker? Why not just microwave them?

I’m still not convinced that just baking potatoes in a slow cooker is the easiest way to go, but I gotta say, these potatoes were fantastic! They were garlicky, smoky and moist, not the least bit dry. And any excuse I have for eating tons of sour cream is a big hit with me.

You start off by cutting the potatoes almost all the way through, about every inch. Into those cuts, you put thin slices of garlic. Salt, pepper, olive oil and butter are sprinkled and poured on the potatoes. Then, slow cook the spuds until tender. In my slow cooker, that took about 4 hours.

Baked potatoes. Slow cooker. Who woulda thought?

Here’s the link to the recipe on O’Dea’s blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-garlic-baked-potatoes.html

This was . . . okay. I think this is one of those dishes that is better prepared the traditional way, quickly stir-fried.

You start out by stirring together soy sauce, white wine, cider vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, brown sugar and crushed red pepper flakes in the slow cooker. Then you add thinly sliced beef and cook everything for 6 to 8 hours on low. When the meat is tender, you add frozen broccoli that has been thawed and cook the mixture until the broccoli is heated through.

I used fresh broccoli, and that was a mistake. The broccoli never got tender. Also, my meat fell apart and it became broccoli with an asian-flavored meat sauce. I quite liked the sauce, and I think it would work in a traditionally cooked broccoli beef dish.

Here’s the link to the recipe on O’Dea’s blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-broccoli-beef.html

Currently cooking out of Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O’Dea

After buying a slow cooker for this dish, I found myself looking for more slow cooker recipes. Like most other people, I like being able to throw a bunch of ingredients in the pot and let it cook all day with me lifting nary a finger. Plus, there’s usually lots and lots of leftovers. I like leftovers.

This is my newest cookbook, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow, by Stephanie O’Dea. O’Dea also has a blog called crockpost365.blogspot.com. The idea behind the blog is that O’Dea spent a year cooking out of her crockpot. This cookbook came out of that project. Most of the recipes in the cookbook can also be found on her blog, with comments by other readers. This is nice if you are looking for substitutions or just want to know what others thought of a particular recipe. Another really nice plus is that all the recipes in this book can be made gluten-free (or not, if you are so disposed).

The first dish I chose to make was this Hirino Psito. I have no idea what Hirino Psito means, other than slow-cooked pork. In this case, a hunk of pork shoulder or butt is covered with various spices, such as sage and rosemary, brown sugar, salt and pepper and dropped into a slow cooker. A healthy dose of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, honey, cranberries and beer are added to the pot and the whole thing cooks on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until the meat shreds easily. I served the meat over brown rice.

The meat has a slightly sweet flavor from the honey and cranberries, but that is balanced by the spiciness of the mustard. I’m a little ambivalent about the sweetness in this dish. It isn’t my favorite, but I like it enough to eat the leftovers quite happily. One thing I noticed when I reheated leftovers is that the meat really dried up, and I had to use the (sweetish) liquid to make things edible. Again, I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think this dish will be a favorite of mine.

Here’s the link to the recipe on O’Dea’s blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/03/crockpot-hirino-psito-slow-roasted-pork.html

Currently baking out of Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

I have to confess, I’ve never made biscotti. I don’t like crunchy cookies, and I abhor soggy things, so a crunchy cookie that you dip in coffee . . . well, ugh. But I needed one more recipe out of Baked, and I wanted something that was simple to make and wouldn’t require a trip to the grocery store. I had everything needed for these biscotti, so biscotti it was.

Another confession. I really liked these. Yes, they are very crunchy, and no, I didn’t dunk them in anything (ugh). Even Bryan, who doesn’t normally like hazelnuts, really liked these. It might have had something to do with the chocolate chips.

The cinnamon flavor is very pronounced, with the hazelnuts and chocolate chips adding their own background notes. I liked biting into the biscotti and getting different combinations of flavors each time.

The dough for these cookies is really simple. Eggs are beaten with sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until thick. Then vanilla, flour, toasted hazelnuts and chocolate chips are added. The dough is spread out on a baking sheet and baked until firm, but not brown. Once the initial baking is done, the cookie log is cooled slightly and then sliced into the familiar biscotti shape. The cookies are then baked again until dry and toasty.

This is the last recipe out of Baked. My overall impression of the book is favorable. I didn’t run into any real flops, although a couple of the cakes worked better after I tweaked the ingredients (leavenings, mostly). I’m still thinking about the lemon drop cake and what a wonderfully bright flavor it had. That peanut butter pie was one of the quickest and easiest desserts I’ve made in quite a while, but looks (and tastes) fit for company. I think this book has definitely earned a spot on my bookshelf.

Up next, I’m going to get close and personal with my slow cooker.

For me, lemon cakes are either great or gross. There doesn’t seem to be much in between. Fortunately, this cake lands firmly on the great side. In fact, this might just be my favorite recipe out of Baked.

The cake part of this creation is a white cake flavored with lemon zest. I cut the recipe by 1/3 (because I only have two cake pans and the original recipe calls for three 8-inch pans) and toned down the leavening. I had no problems with the cake rising and then falling or being underbaked. My only concern was the tunneling that occurred in the cake (if you look closely at the slice of cake, you can see the holes in the cake). I might have over beaten the batter, but even then, the cake was light and moist with a really nice lemon flavor.

As the cakes were baking and cooling, I made the lemon curd part of the recipe. This is a standard lemon curd, lots of egg yolks, lemon juice and butter. Some lemon curds can taste really eggy, but not this one. It was the perfect balance between tart and sweet.

The last component of the cake was the frosting. Instead of calling for a standard buttercream, you cook a mixture of flour, sugar, milk and cream on the stovetop until it boils and thickens. This mixture is then whipped until cool at which point alot of butter is added. After more whipping, you end up with a light, satiny smooth buttercream. To make it lemony, some of the curd is stirred into the frosting. I’ve never made frosting like this, but I liked it. Alot.

To assemble the cake, you spread lemon curd between the cake layers and then frost the whole shebang. I had some concerns that the weight of the cake layers would force the curd out from the cake, but the curd was thick enough to stay put.

I’m already planning on making this cake again soon. I only ate a couple of pieces before I sent the rest to Bryan’s office. Now I’m thinking that was a mistake; I should have eaten the whole thing myself.

I got the original recipe here. When I first saw it, I was smitten. I immediately ran out and bought a slow cooker (I know, I know. I’m the last person in the food blogging universe to get one). The first time I made the soup, it was a little thin and watery. Despite the onions, peppers and copious amounts of cumin, there didn’t seem to be much flavor in the soup. After the first bowl, Bryan politely declined any more.

(That was okay by me. I ate the rest of the soup for lunch for more than a week straight. And I don’t do that. Usually.)

The second time I made this soup, I made some small changes that made all the difference. I used yellow onions instead of red onions. I used yellow and red bell peppers and several stalks of celery. And, most importantly, I used two cans of chicken stock instead of water and cut down the liquid by two cups. This version was wonderful. It was full of flavor and not too thin. I have a feeling that I’m going to have to share this soup with Bryan for lunch.

Recipe after the jump.

Black Bean Soup
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Bon Appetit

Watch your cooking time. The first time I made the soup, it took 4 hours in the slow cooker on high. The second time I made it, it took almost 6 hours on high.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium-size yellow onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 16-ounce package dried black beans
2 chopped chipotle chiles from a can, about 2 teaspoons. I seeded mine before chopping them.
2 cans chicken stock (about 4 cups)
1-2 cups hot water
Juice from half of a lemon
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers and celery and sauté until beginning to brown, about eight minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir one minute. Transfer mixture to 6-quart slow cooker. Add beans and chipotles, then chicken stock and 1 cup of hot water. Cover and cook on high until beans are very tender, about 3-6 hours. If soup is starting to look a little dry, add more hot water as necessary.

Transfer two cups bean mixture to blender; puree until smooth. Return puree to remaining soup in slow cooker. Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Currently baking out of Baked by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

I’ve made this recipe four times with four different results. While the cakes tasted okay, none of them were exactly what I was looking for. The first time I made this recipe, the cakes spilled out over the pans and then collapsed, like little volcanoes. When I tried to get the cakes out of the pans, they completely collapsed into a mound of crumbs. The cake was so tender, there was no structure to it.

The flavor? Wonderful. Nutty and toasty and warm. The texture was light and airy, and we couldn’t stop picking at it.

The next day, I toyed with the recipe. The first thing I did was rework it to fit two cake pans (the original recipe uses three). Then I increased the ratio of all-purpose flour to cake flour to help the structure and decreased the leavening. This version didn’t overflow the pans and didn’t collapse. I was able to get the cakes out of the pan with only minimum crumbling.

The last element of this recipe is a milk chocolate frosting. The frosting starts with a ganache (chocolate and cream) that is whipped with butter. Lots of butter. You end up with a silky smooth, very decadent frosting. This frosting plus that cake equals something very tasty. Talk about an upscale whopper!

So with a working recipe under my belt, why two more times? I wanted cupcakes. The first batch, using my modified recipe, never rose and never browned. The middles were gummy. This batch went into the trash (except for the edges that I nibbled on).

My last attempt at milk chocolate malt ball cupcakes involved taking a white cake recipe from a cookbook by Dorie Greenspan and merging it with my modified recipe. These cupcakes were much better, but still didn’t rise as much as I wanted them to. They also collapsed slightly as they cooled.

I really like the flavor combinations in this recipe, and I think there’s a really great cake/cupcake in there. Guess I’ve got some work ahead of me.