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Someone gave me a Crock Pot as a wedding gift. In theory it seems like a great tool in the kitchen, but, every slow cooker recipe I've tried has resulted in "eh, it's okay" reviews. What's the deal? Take for instance tonight's dinner - Coq au vin. Since my husband doesn't watch the Food Network, I translate it for him as "French chicken." From the start, I realize that my "Fix it and Forget it Lightly" coq au vin isn't likely to taste just like my $30 coq au vin from the fancy french restaurant. But, there's a recipe and I have the ingredients (most of them anyway), so I get a little excited. Now, I didn't have the red wine (used extra chicken stock) and I couldn't use mushrooms (J hates them), and we never have fresh thyme (or dried for that matter), but I threw it all in the crock pot and headed out the door expecting culinary mastery.
When we return and I open my Croq pot present, I subconsciously realize that what I had was "chicken cooked in chicken stock with bacon and onions with a tomato paste sauce" and not necessarily coq au vin, but I thought my taste buds could still sing. Think again. The chicken turned out moderately juicy, but the sauce was ho hum and there was no resemblance of my fancy French restaurant coq au vin. It was a nice plate of boring. You know you have a nice dinner of "blah" when the highlight of the meal is the only thing that's fried.
So, tonight I wave my white flag of cooking defeat and plan tomorrow night's dinner of hot dogs and chips. Hey - don't judge me.
I wholeheartedly agree on the crock pot but the taste of the meal was better than "blah". It may have been due to the skewed taste buds that come with not having to cook and being handed a plate of food while hungry, but I would "order" it again based on the pleasant taste I experienced, even without fried okra!
ReplyDeleteI have been cooking using our crock pot recently. Didn't realize it would be as easy or would have been using it a long time ago. I want to get the lightly book but am afraid it won't be the same as the regular fix it and foget it book especially since I finally got Nate eating some veggies. Grant it his favorite is tater tot casserole (it does contain a ton of green beans also). I try to pick out the easiest ones and then don't tell him what's in it in case there is something he doesn't like. So far so good. So here's to better luck next time and don't give up on it yet.
ReplyDeleteBen - thanks for the redemptive comments. I'm making bbq ribs later this week, so get ready for round two.
ReplyDeleteMindy - send me some of your winning recipes! J isn't so keen on veggies, either, lol.