The French Slow Cooker

November 21, 2011
In the introduction, Scicolone (The Italian Slow Cooker; The Sopranos Family Cookbook) describes the enormous effort—and number of dishes—involved in making traditional cassoulet. She compares that to the ease of preparing the same dish in a slow cooker, the aroma of which made her feel as if she had “arrived at the farmhouse kitchen of the French grand-mère I never had.” She explains that “with the help of a slow cooker, it’s easy to make homey and inexpensive French food in any kitchen.” Of course there’s a recipe for a cassoulet with pork, lamb, and beans; there are also such classic dishes as herbed roast chicken with garlic and shallots; bouillabaisse; Provençal beef stew with black olives; and bacon and gruyère pain perdu

October 15, 2011

If you think cheese souffle and pate can't be made in a slow cooker, think again! With this classic appliance, best-selling cookbook author Scicolone (The Sopranos Family Cookbook) creates such sophisticated French dishes as Bouillabaisse, Duck Confit, Veal Blanquette, Spinach Souffle, and Ginger Creme Brulee. Fans of Scicolone's popular The Italian Slow Cooker won't be surprised that many of these recipes begin on the stove or in the oven before moving to the Crock-Pot. While these steps may hassle the busiest home cooks, Scicolone assures readers that the extra effort will yield superior results.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2011
Prolific cookbook author Scicolone (Entertaining with the Sopranos, 2006, and 14 others) has already essayed the slow cooking collection in The Italian Slow Cooker (2010), and this addition to her oeuvre contains more of the same. For home chefs unfamiliar with the slow cooker, she first discusses how to select one, shares tips and techniques (e.g., trimming meats of visible fat), identifies safety measures, and lists French ingredients and items of interest and need. More than 160 recipes are sorted by type and range from soups to vegetables and desserts. Most instructions occupy one page. Occasional dishes, such as a beet salad, are labeled out of the pot and following those are recipes that might need a bit more oomphtime and talentfrom the cook. No calorie counts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)