http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/slow-cooker-revolution-americas-test-kitchen-editors/1030632312?ean=9781933615691&itm=1&usri=slow+cooker+revolution
The further I cook into this cookbook the more I am convinced this could possibly be the BEST slow cooker cookbook out there.
On medium high heat crisp up 4 oz. of bacon (that you have sliced teeny tiny) in your favorite 12-inch (or so) deep skillet.
Now you will stir in 1 onion finely chopped, minced garlic (the recipe called for 3 garlic cloves), 1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme (1/2 tsp. dried if you must...I always use fresh if at all possible) and nutmeg.
Here comes the cooking lesson:
To mince garlic perfectly there is nothing easier than using the food pro.
1. Break apart your head of garlic
2. Using a mallet whack each garlic clove
Unpeel all your cloves (if your fingers become sticky just rinse them under water briefly and go back to peeling). They should just fall out of their skins.
But Kristi, this is a lot more than just 3 cloves of garlic!!
Ah....here is where I stray just a bit from most of the recipes I follow. I am very heavy handed with garlic when I cook. Garlic is wonderful for your health and I say the more, the better (in most cases).
3. Drop the cloves, one at a time, into your food pro while it is running (most food processors have a detachable piece in the top to allow you to do this).
You will hear when all the cloves stop dancing around the sharp blades and are reduced to little bits of garlic magic.
Now, since in this recipe the onion and garlic will be added to the skillet together, the easiest way to mince the onion is in the same food pro.
I always use sweet onions in my recipes. These onions are much more mild than their yellow onion cousins and you will shed far fewer tears when preparing them.
Cut the top and bottom from your onion and peel off the tough outer layer.
Cut the onion in half, then into uniform pieces (about an inch or so squared).
Toss all this onion-y goodness into the food pro
Pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse pulse...
For the thyme, the easiest way to get all those itty bitty leaves off the stems (no one wants to pull stems from their teeth) is to hold each stem at the top while pinching the stem with the other hand, then just zip the little leaves off.
For the nutmeg, always ALWAYS use fresh grated nutmeg. Always.
Cook all this together for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are nice and browned.
Now you are going to make a quick roux that will help thicken the chowder and give it the "oh yeah" factor. To do this add about 1/3 cup flour (I use unbleached) to the pan and cook while stirring constantly for about 1 minute. You are cooking the raw taste out of the flour.
Slowly whisk in about 2 cups of chicken stock, scraping all that goodness from the bottom of the pan.
Transfer this wonderful goopiness to your slow cooker. I prefer to use slow cooker liners, but I didn't have any on hand and I really wanted to make this pot-o-goodness today.
Now add 2 more cups of chicken broth, 3 cups of veggie broth, about 1 1/2 lbs. of butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes (thank you, Costco), and 2 bay leaves.
Now the cool part. You are going to make a little "butternut squash present" to lay on top of the slow cooker:
- Pile 1 1/2 more pounds of cut up squash on one side of a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Drizzle the squash with about 1 Tbs. veg. oil (I used canola oil), sprinkle with salt (to taste--don't be afraid to season!!) and pepper to taste.
- Fold foil over and create an envelope by sealing the sides well (I fold up mine like I would a present).
Cook in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours (I did the whole 6 hours).
Prepare 8 oz. kale to be added at the end of the cooking time above. The kale I used came from my garden this morning. It's hard to believe that same kale was under 12" of snow 3 days ago!
HEALTH ALERT: Always wash fresh produce well prior to consuming. I don't know what little Winter creatures have been partying in my garden lately, and I don't care to share any microbe friends with them. Even store bought produce should be thoroughly washed.
I have a quart size spray bottle (filled with 1 tsp. bleach to the quart of water) that I keep under my kitchen sink. Just lightly spray the produce and rinse thoroughly. This will ensure that the produce you are feeding your family will not accidentally make them ill.
The kale needs to be cut into 1/4" strips. The way to accomplish this is:
- De-stem each kale leaf
- Bunch together 4-5 leaf's worth and "roll" them into a cigar shape. While holding the "cigar" cut into 1/4" slices
(After the 4-6 hours in the crock pot), remove the foil packet and set aside. The cookbook suggested putting the foil packet on a plate...learn from my mistake and place in a metal bowl so the juicies don't run off your counter. Careful, HOT!
Put the kale into the crock pot and cook on high for 20-30 more minutes. I opted for 20 minutes because my family was hungry and I actually like my kale a little firmer.
Once the kale is cooked CAREFULLY open the foil packet (being careful not to burn your digits on the steam). Add the cooked squash and any juicy goodness leftover back into the crock pot.
Stir in:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream WHAT? HEAVY CREAM? I thought this was a health-nut-weight-watcher-never-have-any-fun site. Ah, no. We have lots of fun here.
- 1 Tbs. fresh minced sage (this sage is from my back deck. I highly recommend you grow an herb garden wherever you can. Sage seems to love the colder weather). To mince the sage follow the same concept as the kale
Pile the sage leaves on top of each other and cut into thin slices.
Now "rock" the knife over them in all different directions until you have the consistency you are looking for.
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
Stir and let it heat through for about 5 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and top each bowl with Parmesan and a little extra grated nutmeg.
Note: Always always always always ALWAYS use fresh grated Parmesan. The green canned stuff should be used only as a door stop.
This was wonderful. The taste was savory and rich with a wonderful texture from the firm almost chewy kale against the soft yummy squares of warm butternut squash.
Two thumbs up from my husband, R.J.
My 14 year old daughter, Jennie, thanked me twice.
Yeah. This is a keeper.
WW Stats:
This made 10 servings (in our house a serving is two 1/2 cup ladles full).
4 slices bacon: 15
1/3 cup flour: 4
1 Tbs. canola oil: 4
1/2 cup heavy cream: 12
1 tsp. brown sugar: 0
35 pts/10 servings = 3.5 points per serving. If you served it with the grated parm, count it as 4 pts. per bowl.
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