Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Recipes and Techniques

[Richard Kilgore]

Toy?! These are serious instruments of food science!

[Mudpuppie]

You can get an uber-hip Michael Graves slow cooker at Target. I'm betting it has neither grapes nor ivy nor flowers.

I'm also betting it will be a rare example in your kitchen of neither form nor function following each other.

[tanabutler]

Check the prices at MySimon.com before you buy it at a store.

[Richard Kilgore]

Fifi -- another alternative: if you get a plain white one, you can always paint little green okra around the base. Cool!

[fifi]

Fifi -- another alternative: if you get a plain white one, you can always paint little green okra around the base. Cool!

I think I am going to go with this one. The little one intrigues me. A friend of mine just got one of these and the smaller pot makes a lot of sense for me when I don't want a big pot of stuff. I don't really get how it works but I'll bet there is an instruction book.

I am working on a design that has geese with blue bows attacking an okra plant.

[Barb]

I have one of those little ones and only used once. I don't think the picture conveys just how small it is, it only has about a 1½ cup capacity. The instructions say "The Little Dipper is designed for heating and holding your favourite dip or fondue at the perfect serving temperature". I don't think it would be any good for much else.

[Marlene]

I have a little one and I use it quite often for cheese sauces, warming chocolate for fondues spagetti sauce for two etc.

That's the one I have fifi. You'll like it!

Edited February 8, 2004 by Marlene (log)

[TrishCT]

Gosh I still have 2 Rival crockpots from my bridal shower, 21 years ago (one is cool silver, the other has little flowers on the bottom) both still in excellent working condition.

If you decide to get a Rival, I highly recommend ordering the steaming basket thingie from the booklet of info that comes with it. It is just perfect for making steamed puddings. I don't know if it is actually called a steaming basket... but that's what I use it for (my mother in law included it with the crockpot) and it really does a good job.

[fifi]

Returned from Target where the one I linked to above was "on sale" for $39.95. (The little one is thrown in for a bonus.) I have some chicken thighs in it now with a bunch of paprika and onion with a little white wine. The capacity is the same as my old one but I think I like the oval shape as typical pieces of meat will be a better fit.

[Mudpuppie]

I am working on a design that has geese with blue bows attacking an okra plant.

What about this:

[fifi]

Priceless!

Hey Brooks...

[fifi]

As my paprika chicken cooks, I am alerted to strange sounds from my new cooker. It has a heavy glass lid (The old one had a plastic piece of sh**.) and it dances and makes noises and spits. The lid does not have that enlightened little hole that the Chefmate stock pots do. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything. Once I figured out that the noise was not some serial rapist trying to break in, I relaxed and forgot about it. Funny thing is, most of the noise sounds like a brace of really small jingle bells.

[Mayhaw Man]

Priceless!

Hey Brooks...

There is no limit on the number of geese that can be shot in Louisiana or Texas until mid February. They are now considered the eqivalent of flying pests. If they get into my Okra they will not be heading back up for the Springtime.

[TrishCT]

Oh gosh that geese design is tooo funny!

Fifi, your crockpot should NOT be making noises.... something isn't right with the unit or the lid.

[fifi]

As it transpires, there is an area of water on my floor just under the crock pot where it has been spitting its cooking liquids. The paprika chicken is delicious but it comes with a premium that the lack of a vent in the lid has caused a swamp of spewed condensation onto my floor and counter. This never happened with the cheap ass plastic lid on the old, now dead, crock pot. I will be sending an irate e-mail to the Rival gurus.

[Mudpuppie]

Maybe stick a toothpick or chopstick under the lid to vent just a little?

Edit: And then send the irate email.

Edited February 9, 2004 by Mudpuppie (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

Absolutely should not do that. Curiously my "grapes of wrath" has a heavy glass lid and works fine. It will have some condensation, but should not be spitting and flowing over. I noticed on Amazon that some buyers of the new Smarty-Pots complained that they ran too hot. I did not analyze the responses in detail, but a quick scan showed higher user ratings for the old style (High-Low) than the new style (Smart-Pots).

Hope this works out.

[Marlene]

Mine does not spit either!

[fifi]

When we got into the Chf Mate stock pot discussions I remember that there was a lot of discussion about the Chef Mates having a hole in the glass lids that prevented the spitting. That implies that the pots without holes and with heavy glass lids, spit. The physics of that makes some sense. But now I don't know why Richard's doesn't.

I did cook the chicken on high so maybe it does run hot. That may be a good thing, without the spitting, of course. I will let you know what Rival says.

[fifi]

I have a big problem with my new Smart Pot.

I purchased your Smart Pot yesterday from Target in League City TX. I immediately cooked some chicken thighs on the high setting for four hours. I kept hearing odd noises coming from the pot. The glass lid was bumping and spitting water (condensation) all over the counter and floor. I am an experienced slow cooker and have never had this happen before. I got this one because my old one finally died. This problem with heavy glass lids has been encountered before with stock pots. The Chef Mate brand, also sold at Target, has gained favor because they have put a hole in the glass lid so that bumping and spitting doesn't occur. I could explain the physics of the problem but you probably have engineers that can do that quite well.

In the meantime, I am not happy with my purchase. What do you suggest?

This is the text that I e-mailed to Rival's customer service department this morning.

[kpurvis]

I have one of those little ones and only used once. I don't think the picture conveys just how small it is, it only has about a 1½ cup capacity. The instructions say "The Little Dipper is designed for heating and holding your favourite dip or fondue at the perfect serving temperature". I don't think it would be any good for much else.

The little ones are great for making oatmeal, if you're into the healthy breakfast thing. Use the steel-cut Irish oatmeal. You can have a serving of it ready when you get up in the morning.

[fifi]

I really like the oatmeal idea. I would probably eat it if I could get up and have it ready. Do you just use the suggested amount of liquid on the oatmeal "box"?

(I love oatmeal with butter and Cajun seasoning. )

[Cynthia G]

Fifi, I have the old style 6 qt oval (with grape leaves and small clusters of grapes around the bottom), with a glass lid and I have never had the spitting problem. I hope they resolve this for you!

[Toliver]

fifi,

It almost sounds like the lid isn't heavy enough and/or is of a poor design (as you've said).

I have the Westbend slow cooker (it has the pot you can cook with on the stove to brown your meat) and the glass lid is one heavy mother. Ain't nothin' gonna lift that sucker off. The model I have is similar to this one, except mine has a different style of lid (the lid in the linked cooker can also double as a serving dish whereas mine is just a lid).

My mom has a very old Rival crock pot that doesn't have an insert.

In order to wash it, you have to lean it on its side on the counter next to the sink and let the wash water spill out as you wash it. It's cumbersome and antiquated but she won't get rid of it since it still works.

[formerly grueldelux]

This one from Nesco has captured my interest. It has a ceramic interior and the full temperature range of a roaster. I wonder if it can be used as a deep fryer?

-michael