Read Online The Great American Slow Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Bruce Weinstein
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gravy: Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, then crumble in the sausage. Cook, stirring often, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onion; continue cooking until the onion softens, stirring often, about 3 minutes.
2 Sprinkle the flour and the nutmeg over the sausage mixture, then stir well just to incorporate, about 30 seconds. Pour in the evaporated milk, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir until the sauce bubbles and thickens slightly. Scrape and pour the contents of the skillet into a slow cooker.
3 Make the biscuits: Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then the milk, just until all the flour has been incorporated and a soft dough has formed.
4 Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Gently press out the dough until it’s about ½ inch thick. Cut the dough into 3-inch circles; lay these on top of the sausage mixture in the cooker.
5 Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the biscuits have set and firmed up.
TESTERS’ NOTES
• Although this is a fairly traditional casserole, keep in mind that the biscuits will not brown as they “bake” in a slow cooker. If you want pitch-perfect aesthetics, thin a little bit of Worcestershire sauce with an equal amount of water and brush the biscuits’ tops just before baking.
• A large, round slow cooker will have less available surface area than an oval one, so you may have a little extra dough. If you’re concerned, use the dough ingredient list sized for the slow cooker
below
the one you’re actually working with and leave a few extra gaps in the biscuit topping.
eggs, breakfast casseroles, and hash
Consider these brunch items—or the dishes you’ll make on the weekend when time is not so precious. Here, you’ll find many strata (
STRAH-tah
, or egg casseroles layered with bread or tortillas). You may have a favorite recipe for one of these that you bake in the oven on a holiday morning. Using a slow cooker can make that morning less busy and more celebratory. In fact, if you grate and chop things in advance, strata are great dishes for the kids to make, layering the ingredients in the slow cooker before you pour in the beaten milk mixture.
But the world doesn’t turn on egg casseroles. We’ve also got two hearty hash brown recipes. In these last, the potatoes won’t brown, but they will turn luxuriously soft. Serve these alongside fried or scrambled eggs—or even on their own if it’s a more substantial recipe.
Before we get started, let us offer one bit of advice. Most of the egg dishes here are not meant to be kept warm for very long. Eggs can
break
in the slow cooker; that is, they tighten up so much that their natural moisture slips out of the protein bonds and ends up as a watery mess. There’s no way to fix that mess if you let the dish sit too long. So once these strata are done, dig in. Or if you need time before serving, turn off the slow cooker, keep it covered, and give yourself fifteen minutes—the final dish will not be as tender, but you’ll have bought yourself a little time on a busy morning.
Most of these dishes are not overnight affairs. They’re also not as forgiving as some of the other breakfast fare. But they take only a few hours to cook—and that’s a good thing, too. Because these are the dishes that will keep your house guests and family contented for hours.
quiche lorraine strata
EFFORT: A LITTLE • PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES • COOK TIME: 2 TO 2½ HOURS • KEEPS ON WARM: NO • SERVES: 2 TO 8
2- TO 3½-QUART
4 slices of thin-cut bacon
3 ounces (about ¾ cup) Swiss cheese, grated
½ whole scallion, thinly sliced
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 ½-inch-thick slices white bread
¾ cup milk
1 whole large egg plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
4- TO 5½-QUART
10 slices of thin-cut bacon
7 ounces (about 1¾ cups) Swiss cheese, grated
1 whole scallion, thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 Sprinkle the flour and the nutmeg over the sausage mixture, then stir well just to incorporate, about 30 seconds. Pour in the evaporated milk, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir until the sauce bubbles and thickens slightly. Scrape and pour the contents of the skillet into a slow cooker.
3 Make the biscuits: Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then the milk, just until all the flour has been incorporated and a soft dough has formed.
4 Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Gently press out the dough until it’s about ½ inch thick. Cut the dough into 3-inch circles; lay these on top of the sausage mixture in the cooker.
5 Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the biscuits have set and firmed up.
TESTERS’ NOTES
• Although this is a fairly traditional casserole, keep in mind that the biscuits will not brown as they “bake” in a slow cooker. If you want pitch-perfect aesthetics, thin a little bit of Worcestershire sauce with an equal amount of water and brush the biscuits’ tops just before baking.
• A large, round slow cooker will have less available surface area than an oval one, so you may have a little extra dough. If you’re concerned, use the dough ingredient list sized for the slow cooker
below
the one you’re actually working with and leave a few extra gaps in the biscuit topping.
eggs, breakfast casseroles, and hash
Consider these brunch items—or the dishes you’ll make on the weekend when time is not so precious. Here, you’ll find many strata (
STRAH-tah
, or egg casseroles layered with bread or tortillas). You may have a favorite recipe for one of these that you bake in the oven on a holiday morning. Using a slow cooker can make that morning less busy and more celebratory. In fact, if you grate and chop things in advance, strata are great dishes for the kids to make, layering the ingredients in the slow cooker before you pour in the beaten milk mixture.
But the world doesn’t turn on egg casseroles. We’ve also got two hearty hash brown recipes. In these last, the potatoes won’t brown, but they will turn luxuriously soft. Serve these alongside fried or scrambled eggs—or even on their own if it’s a more substantial recipe.
Before we get started, let us offer one bit of advice. Most of the egg dishes here are not meant to be kept warm for very long. Eggs can
break
in the slow cooker; that is, they tighten up so much that their natural moisture slips out of the protein bonds and ends up as a watery mess. There’s no way to fix that mess if you let the dish sit too long. So once these strata are done, dig in. Or if you need time before serving, turn off the slow cooker, keep it covered, and give yourself fifteen minutes—the final dish will not be as tender, but you’ll have bought yourself a little time on a busy morning.
Most of these dishes are not overnight affairs. They’re also not as forgiving as some of the other breakfast fare. But they take only a few hours to cook—and that’s a good thing, too. Because these are the dishes that will keep your house guests and family contented for hours.
quiche lorraine strata
EFFORT: A LITTLE • PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES • COOK TIME: 2 TO 2½ HOURS • KEEPS ON WARM: NO • SERVES: 2 TO 8
2- TO 3½-QUART
4 slices of thin-cut bacon
3 ounces (about ¾ cup) Swiss cheese, grated
½ whole scallion, thinly sliced
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 ½-inch-thick slices white bread
¾ cup milk
1 whole large egg plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
4- TO 5½-QUART
10 slices of thin-cut bacon
7 ounces (about 1¾ cups) Swiss cheese, grated
1 whole scallion, thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme
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