William Sonoma's Slow Cooker Book

[amateurcook]

It's really hard to find a good slow cooker book, but I really can highly recommend this one. Although some of the recipes can be expensive to make, they are outstanding. What is impressive about the recipes is that most don't have a lot of ingredients but such great flavor. I have tried out many slow cooker books, and this one is first rate. If you purchase through Amazon, it's quite reasonable.

[Katie H]

amateurcook, first, welcome to DC. We're glad you've found us.

Now, as for slow cooker/crockpot cooking, one of the best cookbooks is the 1975 book authored by Mable Hoffman called Crockery Cookery.

When I bought my first Rival crockpot when they came out, I bought this book. I have cooked nearly every recipe in it and consider it a real winner. I have even gone to Amazon.com and purchased the book to give to my daughter.

Even though it may be a bit outdated when it comes to the evaluation of assorted slow cookers/crockpots, it is still filled with a bounty of information and recipes.

You might want to take a look at this book in addition to the others you are considering.

[jessejazza]

Thanks for that post. I haven't tried that one yet. I was given this one as a present - i'm new to a slow cooker and am just experimenting at present.

The Slow Cooker Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson (Lorenz Books)

I've just tried one of the cakes - didn't rise. Any ideas? Think i've got lots to learn.

[amateurcook]

I haven't really done cakes in a slow cooker, but I have done cobblers successfully. Did the recipe have baking soda in it? If so, perhaps it was old. Hard to know what happened without knowing what you tried to make.

[jessejazza]

No self raising. I have come across baking soda not working if it gets old so i don't think that is the case. The book i've got does say that whisking sponge doesn't work in a slow cooker but then... the recipe i used was from the book. So one wonders. I just thought i'd try it - better to stick to the oven for cakes. Just wondered if the slow cooking would produce more flavour. Certainly cakes in an aga are better particularly so in the cooler oven.
Thanks

[librarygirl]

Jessejazza, I own a Rival crockpot and never had an urge to make any cakes using this. I prefer to use the oven since the timing usually has to be precise within 5 minutes. I'm not sure how much room for error you can have in a crockpot.

I agree with amateurcook that if your baking soda is old, nothing will rise.

You're correct. Better to use an oven instead. I think if the slow cooker produced a better cake, we would all be using the slow cooker instead.

[librarygirl]

Originally Posted by amateurcook

It's really hard to find a good slow cooker book, but I really can highly recommend this one. Although some of the recipes can be expensive to make, they are outstanding. What is impressive about the recipes is that most don't have a lot of ingredients but such great flavor. I have tried out many slow cooker books, and this one is first rate. If you purchase through Amazon, it's quite reasonable.

Hi amateurcook

I own this book too but I would like to know which recipes you like the most. I don't know where to start!

[jessejazza]

Hi Librarygirl - thanks for the reply

I thought i'd try the recipe just to experiment. We'd never do anything different if we didn't do a little.

I thought it just might provide a way of cooking a cake when i'd got to go out for a few hours. After borrowing about 7 books from the Libray it seems that my one is the only one that has a recipe for a cake in it and recommended trying fruit cakes. Even tried again with fresh baking powder it didn't seem to fully rise as i would have expected. I was hoping that it might just provide a slightly different cake a bit like an Aga. Agas make the best cakes in my view - and often cooked for some time in the cooler oven.

I would only use a slow cooker for casseroles and in the main meat dishes. I don't see the point of making soups and vegetables.

[jessejazza]

Originally Posted by jessejazza

The Slow Cooker Cookbook by Catherine Atkinson (Lorenz Books)

I've just tried one of the cakes - didn't rise. Any ideas? Think i've got lots to learn.

I tried the cake again in the slow cooker with fresh flour and baking powder and it worked fine. I also tried the same cake recipe in the oven and it was ok but texture different.

Since then i have also looked at a number of Slow Cooker recipe books. None of them have recipes for cakes in a slow cooker. What i would say is that this cake is more moist when done in the slow cooker and i'd recommend others to try. The difference it would seem is that the slow cooker cooks evenly from outer edge to inside [sometimes in an oven i find the outside tends to be on the dry side]. Catherine Atkinson is well worth a try and i'd recommend this book to anyone.

I'm going to try a treacle cake tomorrow so i'll see how that goes. So if you haven't tried a cake in a slow cooker - well worth a try. I'll post the recipes if anyone is interested.

[elaine l]

Thanks for the tip. I love to use my slow cooker and I am always looking for recipes to try. I will invest in that cookbook.

[amateurcook]

Originally Posted by librarygirl

Hi amateurcook

I own this book too but I would like to know which recipes you like the most. I don't know where to start!

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply but haven't been on the board 4-ever. Anyway, try the one using the duck legs. It's expensive to make but it is so delicious and simple to make. Serve over pappardelle noodles.

[librarygirl]

Thanks Amateurcook!

I love duck legs! I will definitely try it. Most of the time I use my crockpot to make Chinese congee. I think I am just secretly wanting my husband to buy me one of those big Williams-Sonoma crockpots just so that I can start using the W-S slow cooker recipe book.

Thanks!

[amateurcook]

Librarygirl, feel free to reduce the amount of figs that the duck recipe calls for a little bit as I think it's better with less. The WS cookbook recipes work fine in my 6 qt.

[crocker_kit]

Just picked up the crockpot book at a discount from BJ's Warehouse store etc called "Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook." It looks like a winner. Tons of useful information. I'll let you know after trying.
A widower for 9 months and new to all this stuff, my slow cooker is doing a great job at preparing meals for both myself and my three Shih Tzus. We've always cooked for them - but never fed them from the table.