• libraryhead on April 10, 2015

  This is the wrong cover -- published one has bouillabaisse

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Butternut bisque

  • nicolepellegrini on January 29, 2019

    More flavorful than I expected given the few ingredients; I think slow-cooking the squash with the apple and onion gave it a sweetness different from many butternut squash soups I've had before. I did use Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream as I wanted to keep it healthier and lower in fat, but would definitely use the cream for a richer flavor and texture in the future.

  • mharriman on February 11, 2019

    I loved the way this soup turned out. The 1/2 cup of heavy cream, apple slices ( I used Gala), and nutmeg enhanced the squash. I took the author’s suggestion and made ham sandwiches (with hearty Rustic bread, tomato slices, mustard, mayo) to go with the soup, and that was a great pairing. Definitely will repeat. Husband really liked this. Very easy to make, especially if you have pre-cut squash. Looking forward to the leftovers and second day soup flavor.

• Creamy zucchini soup

  • mharriman on June 27, 2019

    A really nice soup that’s smooth, creamy, and tasty. I liked the minimum number of ingredients. Even though I delayed putting in the rice because I had a repairman in my kitchen when when it was time to do so, the consistency and flavor of the puréed soup was great. The recipe makes a lot of soup for two people, so it’s a good one to be able to freeze.Served with a baguette.

• Provençal vegetable soup with pesto (Soupe au pistou)

  • mharriman on March 11, 2022

    I was skeptical that a vegetable soup would need 8 hours of cooking, even on low, so I set the time at 5 hours. When I returned home after 5 hours from a short trip, the zucchini and onions showing through the clear lid looked completely cooked. I’m glad I made the 5 hour assessment. I also noticed the soup broth was pretty clear. I left the SC on warm until 45 minutes before serving time and added a small can of tomato paste, the cannellini beans, and the pasta. The dollop of pesto, spooned over the soup at serving time,really elevated the flavor (used Buitoni brand). Next time, I’ll plan for 5 hours total, use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water, and again add an 8 ounce can of tomato paste. This is a healthy main soup meal for a day you can’t be in the kitchen, but we found it rather bland without a taste of pesto with every spoonful. Served with crusty multigrain baguette and Merlot.

• Parisian split pea soup with bacon and croutons

  • mharriman on January 22, 2020

    The best part of this soup, after sautéing the vegetables, was putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker for 8 hours, leaving the house, and not worrying about dinner. The actual soup wasn’t really any different from other split pea soups I’ve made; it was very similar in taste and texture to a stovetop Jane Brody one I’ve made. However, the sautéed bacon pieces and homemade croutons did enhance the outcome. A good cold winter night dinner entree. Served with a sliced apple and spinach salad and baguette. Update: soup tastes better second night- needs additional broth to liquify.

• Cabbage and bean soup (Garbure)

  • nicolepellegrini on November 04, 2019

    Made this with a couple variations - used Tuscan kale instead of cabbage, and sweet potatoes instead of boiling potatoes. Had to cut the amount of liquid down otherwise it never would have fit in my slow cooker. Flavor was very, very good and it made soup to eat for days (for 2 people). Nice and flavorful and actually I recommend less liquid (I used about 5.5 cups) if you want a thicker texture as I had.

• Chicken with escargot butter

  • mharriman on April 29, 2019

    Very easy to prepare and cook. Husband liked the result better than I did (he added mango chutney to his serving). Spooning the jus over the cooked chicken helped, but I thought the parsley, garlic, and butter added only a lovely aroma that didn’t transfer all that much to the flavor of the chicken. And I’m used to seeing a nicely browned roasted chicken. This recipe has no browning. On the other hand, it provides a great base for cooked chicken salad or soup. Probably won’t repeat.

• Basque chicken with ham and sweet peppers

  • mharriman on February 17, 2019

    I loved how the slow cooked spices, peppers, and tomato sauce flavored this chicken dish but my husband thought it was on the bland side. I didn’t have Piment d’Espelette so I used smoked paprika as recommended. This was easy to put together and nice to come home to and serve after a day out. The sauce consistency was surprisingly thick, chunky, and hearty, not at all mushy like some sauces get in slow cooking. Served with white rice.

  • nicolepellegrini on April 09, 2020

    I made with canned whole plum tomatoes that I hand crushed instead of tomato puree. Creates a lot of sauce - almost like a hearty soup or stew. I liked the sweetness of it, and my husband really loved it (probably more so than I did) and says he'd definitely enjoy having it again. Serve with some crusty bread or potatoes.

• Moroccan chicken with apricots and almonds

  • mharriman on October 03, 2019

    I chose this recipe because I was watching my young granddaughter and having traveling family over for dinner, so I needed something that wasn’t labor intensive, could keep warm in the Slow cooker if dinner was delayed, and still produce a flavorful main dish. I set the time for 3 1/2 hours and that produced a wonderful sauce but fairly dry chicken breasts. I’ll make this again but adjust the time to the shortest in the range given - two hours; take the breasts out, keep cooking the sauce, then put the breasts back to reheat 10 minutes before serving. This was good served over couscous.

• Provençal spinach meatballs

  • mharriman on March 08, 2022

    I got started on the prep late so everything went into the SC later than I wanted. I cooked the pot on high for 1 hour and then on low for 3. After 4 hours, the meatballs were cooked to just the right doneness. This may cook to completion with the shorter time given (4 hrs) on low. Recipe makes a hearty meal but with a rather bland tomato sauce. I couldn’t taste the pimente d’Espelette at all. Next time I’ll double that and add more herbs. Worth a second try.update: sauce with meatballs better with more depth of flavor second day- recommend making a day ahead of serving time.

• Dijon-style Cornish hens with mustard sauce

  • mharriman on August 15, 2019

    My hens were falling off the bone when I took them out of the slow cooker at 7.30 hours. Even with the delicious mustard sauce, they were dry. I will try these again sometime and reduce the cooking time to six hours. I doubled the amount of Dijon mustard because there was so much liquid after straining and boiling down, and that amount of mustard made the sauce lovely. I think this is one of those recipes you have to adjust based on the size of your hens (mine were on the smaller side) and the amount of strained liquid you garner.

• Red wine-braised pot roast

  • mharriman on June 06, 2019

    We liked the way the roast tenderized and became infused with flavor using the combination of red wine, beef broth, and dried and fresh herbs. It was fully cooked and ready to eat after 8 hours on low.

• Bargemen's beef stew

  • nicolepellegrini on July 06, 2018

    Made this using venison stew meat instead of beef. I was skeptical about how it would come out, but not adding any liquid really seemed to concentrate the flavors (a good thing with slowcooker recipes, which can often end up bland). The onions threw off enough liquid to keep the meat moist, and the anchovy mixture added at the end really heightened the flavor. (Because my digestive system doesn't get along with raw garlic, I added the cloves to the slowcooker at the beginning of the cook time instead of in with the anchovies at the end.)

• Provençal beef stew with black olives

  • nicolepellegrini on April 03, 2019

    We liked this one quite a bit. I prepped everything the day before, up through browning the meat and deglazing the pan. Threw it all in my crockpot this morning before work and finished when I got home, along with boiling some red potatoes to serve on the side. Rich flavor; the orange really came through and the olives kept it from being too sweet. Will happily make again.

• Beef stew with mushrooms, rosemary, and tomatoes

  • bookpoet on January 25, 2013

    An easy and flavorful slow cooker recipe. Brown the beef, toss the rest of the ingredients in, cook on low for 8 hours. I used 3 sprigs of rosemary rather than one. A warming winter dish I will make again.

  • nicolepellegrini on August 02, 2018

    Very, very good. I started this the day before—browning the meat and onions, assembling everything to just throw in the pot the next morning to cook all day while at work. Finished with the mushrooms sauteed at the end and also added some boiled small potatoes before serving. Had a nice richness of flavor and was definitely one of the better slowcooker beef stews I've made. I did add a few other fresh herbs from my garden, including some sage and oregano.

  • foodgloriousfood on November 19, 2024

    Honestly, just ok for me. It was lacking in flavor. The only salt and pepper in the recipe is just in the flour dredge before searing the meat. I had to add a ton of salt and pepper towards the end of cooking as even the mushrooms are cooked in unsalted butter. Seasoning aside as that is to personal taste, the stew needs oomph! I used a high quality store bone broth. I am sure it would be better with the classic French broth (recipe) which was an option. But for me the recipe, is good, not great.

• White veal stew (Veal blanquette)

  • nicolepellegrini on December 20, 2020

    The final stew has a very nice flavor and the veal was tender. However, this was one of those dishes where I really question if there is any benefit to making it in a slow cooker vs. stove top, as it required many separate steps (blanching the meat, adding ingredients to the slow cooker at different times, then reducing the sauce stove top.) It's definitely not a "set-it-and-forget-it" slow cooker recipe.

• Veal Marengo

  • nicolepellegrini on January 21, 2019

    Very easy, and flavorful for a slow-cooker meal. The olives and orange peel added at the end definitely brighten up the flavors and the sauce is delicious. Definitely serve with crusty bread as suggested or mashed potatoes.

• Lanb stew with spring vegetables (Navarin printanier)

  • nicolepellegrini on November 05, 2018

    Really enjoyed this. I made it with lamb, as specified, and I think it's definitely a must to get the right taste and richness. The sun-dried tomatoes were interesting and I think worked really well to enhance the flavor of the stew—so many slow-cooker stews can be bland and texture-less but these were really good here. I might add some dried porcini next time, too. Overall easy to throw together and a stew I would absolutely make again.

• Lamb shanks with lentils and mustard

  • mharriman on July 25, 2019

    I cooked everything for 8 hours on slow but that wasn’t enough time for the lentils to become more than al dente. This was a flavorful dish with lots of vegetables. It would have probably been more appealing on a Fall or winter night rather than in mid-summer. The dish was good but not anything special.

• Pork with mushrooms and cream

  • goodfruit on December 04, 2019

    Added garlic and mustard for additional flavor, this recipe is a bit bland as written.

  • Joanclemence on November 25, 2023

    Probably one of the most disgusting recipes I have cooked. It was so bland and inedible

• Sausages with sauerkraut (Choucroute garni)

  • mharriman on October 20, 2020

    Good, hearty fall meal and easy to prepare. If I make this again, I’ll use twice as much sauerkraut. I found it impossible to follow the direction of snuggling all the sausages into the sauerkraut and vegetables. Half of them ended up sitting on top. It would have been easier with more sauerkraut. Even so, all the components were cooked to our satisfaction, not over or under done. Aroma coming from the kitchen was lovely. This would make a great contribution to a potluck.

• Mussels in fennel and tomato broth

  • mharriman on February 15, 2019

    Very Good but I ended up steaming the broth and mussels on the stove in my soup stock pot because my slow cooker was taking a long time ( beyond 20 minutes) to steam open the mussels at the end. Recipe says 20-30 minutes for mussels but why wait when you can steam them for 5 minutes? The slow cooker definitely creates a wonderful broth. Next time, I’ll make the tomato broth in the slow cooker, then transfer it, the mussels, and Pernod to my stock pot for the final steaming of the mussels. The Pernod makes this a wow. Served with baguette and a green garden salad. Really nice comfort food on a winter night.

• Slow-cooked salmon with lemon and green olives

  • ezwriternc on June 12, 2022

    This was surprisingly good. I had 3 pounds of salmon and it took almost 2 hours. The olive sauce made the dish. If you want to set it and forget it, this is a good way to make deliciously moist salmon.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  There are a few reasons to turn to Scicolone’s book rather than to the many other slow-cooker technique books on the market. It’s well-designed, accessible, and the recipes work.

  Full review