Plug it in and Cook with French Flair

“I’d bet that if French cooks could get their hands on Michele Scicolone’s French Slow Cooker, which is filled with smart, practical, and convenient recipes, they’d never let it go.” — Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table

With a slow cooker, even novices can turn out dishes that taste as though they came straight out of the kitchen of a French grandmère. Provençal vegetable soup. Red-wine braised beef with mushrooms. Chicken with forty cloves of garlic. Even bouillabaisse. With The French Slow Cooker, all of these are as simple as setting the timer and walking away. Michele Scicolone goes far beyond the usual slow-cooker standbys of soups and stews, with Slow-Cooked Salmon with Lemon and Green Olives, Crispy Duck Confit, and Spinach Soufflé. And for dessert, how about Ginger Crème Brûlée? With The French Slow Cooker, the results are always magnifique.

The Reviews

Violetta
4.0 out of 5 stars 
variety, ease of preparation, and fresh ingredients for French-inspired dishes
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
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.