The French Slow Cooker

Well, believe it or not you can do real cooking in a crock pot, not just meat-and-cans-of-soup mix-ups, which have their place on cold winter days as comfort food, but are not exactly what you'd call good cooking. If you're looking for something more, some terrific from-scratch crockpot ideas, this book will be very good news to you. It is simply chock full of great recipes for delicious and sometimes surprising slow-cooked dishes. The kind of things you would make in your big heavy Le Creuset dutch oven, with the added convenience of slow cooker preparation. You can even make polenta in your crock pot. And perfectly cooked beets. I didn't know that. Did you? So far we have tried Mrs. Scicolone's slow cooker versions of Moroccan chicken, short ribs, hunter style pork ribs, chicken liver mousse, country pate, boeuf en daube, cherry clafoutis, and the polenta. All were delicious. It's an exciting book and makes a star of a heretofore humble kitchen appliance. I love it. Read more

If a fairy godmother and a slow-cooker had a baby, this would be it. No more boring-but-easy recipes. this has interesting recipes. beautiful ingredients and is a total delight just to read. Recipes are just plain wonderful and much esier than the results would suggest. LOVE it! Read more

This book is a fine addition to my slow-cooker books. Its objective is to use lots of fresh ingredients in French-inspired recipes that are relatively simple and adapted for a slow cooker. Here are my experiences with the book thus far: Pros: --on the whole, not a lot of "prep" work is required for most of the recipes; some call for browning the meat, others don't. --lots of fresh ingredients are used, especially herbs, vegetables, and meat. Leeks and/or citrus peel are used in several recipes, both of which add subtlety and variety. --many recipes call for 6- to 8-hour cooking periods, which makes them handy when I need to be out all day --many recipes are for soups and stews, some of which are suitable for vegetarians, but there are also sections on seafood, souflés and quiches, vegetables and grains, and desserts --the ingredients can be found in a well-stocked pantry; only a few recipes use a few less-common ingredients, and when they do, substitutions are suggested Cons: --the recipes are all intended for a "large" slow cooker: 5.5 to 7 quarts. This means they are suitable for about 6 to 8 servings. My slow cooker has a 3.5-quart capacity, so I need to divide the recipes in half; even so, the liquid-solid ratio can vary, and this means it's necessary to try out recipes and test the cooking time too, since it's often shorter in a smaller cooker. I don't mind, but it would have been good to have some recipes for smaller slow cookers too. --some of the lovely color photos are labelled, but some are not. If they're not beside the matching recipe, it can be confusing to identify to which recipe they belong. --some of the suggestions for what to serve with dishes are good, but in other cases they are minimal or non-existent. There are no suggested wine pairings either, which seems odd since wine is so often served with meals in France. --there are a lot of desserts and some dishes that I personally wouldn't make in a slow cooker. I would have been happier to see more soups, vegetables, and appetizers. --no nutritional information is provided and no indication of which recipes freeze well. Although I understand that nutritional information varies considerably depending on the specific ingredients one uses, I still miss having some guidance in these areas. The Recipes: Chicken broth, beef broth, split pea soup, and potato-leek soup are some of the recipes I already know work very well. I've made them for years, but the versions in this book are interesting and have variations that I intend to try. The butternut squash soup is excellent, as are the Bargeman's Beef Stew and the Provençal Spinach Meatballs. These dishes have subtle, deep flavor and are very easy to prepare. My Recommendation: All in all, I would recommend this book highly. Even though my list of "cons" looks longer than the "pros," the ease of preparation, fresh ingredients, and French-inspired approach are the main points that make the book a winner to me. If your slow cooker is less than 5.5 quart-capacity, you do need to be prepared to adjust the recipes somewhat in addition to cutting them in half. For anyone who wants to experiment with French-inspired cooking using fresh ingredients and the convenience of a slow cooker, this book is an excellent resource. I'm delighted to have it, and I love being reminded of similar meals I have enjoyed in bistros and neighborhood restaurants in France. Read more

The media could not be loaded. This is a very good cookbook with a lot of flavorful recipes. I first took it as a loan in a library, and after about a dozen dishes that everyone loved, I bought my own copy. Great cookbook for any foodie. I purchased a used cookbook for the first time. The book arrived in good condition, but I was surprised by a sticker on the spine with the used bookstore seller's name. I shouldn't have to deal with removing the sticker and sticker residue from a book. A business card in the envelope would have been so much better! Ali Julie review Review of The French Slow Cooker Read more

This is a very simple and easy to follow cook book. Some recipes do require additional work (like using a blender, or braising meet for a stew), but others do not, so it is a mixed bag and someone looking for easier recipes will be satisfied. My favorites from this book include the Potato and Leek Soup, the Tarragon Chicken, and the Beef Stew. I think I will definitely check out her other books. What I appreciate is that these recipes are unique, and have a bit of creativity to them, without being pretentious and impossible to follow. Thank you! Read more

My favorite slow cooker cookbook EVER!!!! I like it so much that I have bought and given it as a gift 4 times now. I recommend it to anyone that has a slow cooker. It is not the yucky canned soup, dry dressing mix slow cooker recipes. I have not made one recipe that wasn't delicious. If I find a cookbook that I can use a handful of recipes from, I consider it a good cookbook. This one has WAY more than that. Now I use my slow cooker on a weekly basis. I have replaced my Crock pot with a Cuisinart Programable Slow Cooker. Great help, it develops so much flavor from these recipes. I like all of Michele's cookbooks, but this and the Italian Vegetable cookbook (not for slow cooker) are my 2 favorites. Read more

Recipes are tasty, but the prep time is longer than I have in the mornings. Also, the cook times can be brief and then more ingredients needed to be added. This is not the type of slow cooking I can do when I work 10 hours a day. Read more