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One can do better

Customer Rating:
Simply not worth the cost; suggest you look elsewhere. Do not be a fool---as I was.

Chicken Tarragon, Pork Stew in Tomatillo Sauce...Love this book!

Customer Rating:
I have a bookcase full of outstanding cookbooks. This is one of them. My crockpot is pedestrian--when it dies I will replace it with All-Clad--I never thought I would become a slow cooker enthusiast. But this book has changed my perspective. Yes, there is prep work--this is not a mushroom soup/quartered onion/garlic powder/round steak kind of recipe collection--gratefully. It is classy, stylish, even elegant food-- entrees that you would proudly serve to dinner party guests. Some of my favorites: Chicken Tarragon (worth the price of the book), Pork Stew in Tomatillo Sauce (everyone kept "wow-ing"), Apricot Chicken (simply fabulous), Neopolitan Lamb Stew (realllllly delicious), Chicken Cacciatore (often repeated, unbeatable), Doublin Coddle--great winter comfort food), Artichoke Risotto (amazing--who would have thought?), and, beyond my Indian-food loving dreams, Chicken Curry--do grind your own spices--and use a large package of chicken thighs--simply ambrosia. I've never bombed with this book.

So, I guess the bottom line here is: if you want a kid-pleasing Hamburger Helper kind of crock, pass it by. But if you are a dedicated cook who wants to create really memorable meals with little hovering over the pot, and don't mind the Iron Chef flurry up front, this is your book. Thank you Lynn Alley. I'm a fan.

P.S. I've learned that when time is crunched to start the recipe on "high" for an hour, then turn it down to "low" to finish. I often add a bit less liquid than called for (rarely, though) so I don't end up with a slightly watery finish--guess it depends on the slow cooker. I've learned that leaving the finished dish on "warm" for the last hour doesn't harm anything--in fact, it improves it. Rely on instinct.

Don't bother

Customer Rating:
I am not the very best cook in the world however, I do know how to read and follow instructions! Now having said that, I tried 2 very basic recipes from this book and both of them went down the drain literally and that has never happened to me before. One was way, way too hot and the other was much too sweet. I was even thinking of writing to the publisher when Amazon sent this email for the review so save your money and look on the web for recipes!!

Birthday gift

Customer Rating:
Bought it for a girlfriend of mine for her birthday. She made the a chicken and wine recipe and loved it. Very flavorful!! I will be borrowing it to check it out for myself and maybe get my own copy.

My favorite slow cooker cookbook!

Customer Rating:
This is my favorite slow cooker cookbook. I just made the Tarragon Chicken last night for the first time and I thought it was wonderful! I've liked every recipe I've tried so far, and they have been very very tasty. My husband particularly likes the Italian Pot Roast. I also feel like they are different then a lot of the other dishes I cook regularly so it really breaks things up. I would feel comfortable serving anything from this cookbook that I've made so far to my mother in law, a rather gourmet cook herself (Who I find a little intimidating on the cooking score... Plus you know in-laws, you want to look like you have your stuff together when they come for dinner!).

I will say that I have been somewhat selective about which recipes I have made. The recipes in the England/Ireland sections don't sound as appealing to me so I haven't tried them. (I just don't think the ingredients sound as good)I'm thinking that if you found the ingredients appealing you would probably like the recipe; they are probably lovely recipes for that type of dish, just not my thing.

My one complaint would be that a lot of the dishes require a little bit of "precooking" (example: simmer the sauce, cook the the veggies, or grill the meat before placing it in the slow cooker; nothing that will take a million years to do, but enough extra that not all the dishes are super quick.) I will say that if you have the time they vastly improve the dishes. If you are in a rush this doesn't work so well... it does add a fair bit of time to the cook time. What I like about the slow cooker is that I can toss a few things in quickly, and everything is done when I get home from work. It acts as my back up when I don't really have time to cook, but need to anyway! The author does say that you can skip this a lot of times if you want to, which is ok, it doesn't ever seem to ruin the dish, but as I mentioned it does vastly improve the dish to follow the "precook" instructions.

Over all I think the recipes are yummy yummy yummy! They are well worth the extra effort when you have the time. Just don't expect this to be your quick, dump a few cans into the crock pot any your done type of cookbook, the recipes do involve a little more effort then that. Nothing hideous but a little more effort, but hey if you can serve it to you mother in law you know its a winner!