Playing with an Immersion Circulator

I decided to try out the new toy today.  I've studied up and I'm hoping for the best.  This may find it's way into the holiday cooking event for Mom and SD and the friends.  We shall see. 

In the bottom of the pot is a Cowboy steak or basically 1 rib off of a prime rib.  Since husband is being very brave about this whole test, I promised him to sear it off as an au poivre and make a cognac pan sauce.  The sink is full of leeks soaking in cold water for a side dish of our favourite creamed leeks with horseradish.

There has been some menu testing lately for a few changes to the party menus at work and a potential workshop on crock pot cooking that was requested by a customer.

I spent some more time with Molly Stevens All About Braising and made her Braised Squid and Shrimp.  Either cook your squid for 40 seconds or 40 minutes there ain't no in between. Don't skip the green olives, the salty burst makes it that much better.

I tested out a wild mushroom ragu for a swap out in our Italian party.  Sorry the photo really isn't appealing is it?  The lights make everything a bit yellow. During the party they make sheets of pasta anyway, so cutting them into pappardelle and serving them with a rich meaty mushroom ragu ought to take the winter chill off anyone's cold bones.

For the Crockpot class I tested a nice pappa al pomodoro made for winter with canned San Marzano, and then I tested my Mom's Creole chicken with smoked linguica instead of the kielbasa she usually uses.  So from here on I am calling out to you dear reader.  Does anyone have a favourite braise that can be translated to the crock pot?  Do you already have a favourite slow cooker recipe?  All tips appreciated!

Comments

[KT]

That is a completely crazy contraption. Cannot wait to hear the result. Fingers crossed. No crock pot tips from me- I use mine to dye yarn. No, really.

[Aimee]

Check out http://thefreshdish.com/ for some braising ideas, all of which could be done in the crock pot, if you ask me. Also, in line with the slow braised squid, I had a braised octapus dish at Central Kitchen which was done in a puttanesca style sauce that was to die for!

[Foodista]

Hello Chef! I find this post very interesting because for me, it's the first time that I saw this contraption :) If you have the time, I'd like to invite you to take some time to drop by at Foodista and share this great info with us. We have launched an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia. We are actively inviting culinary experts and students alike to contribute. Foodista can offer culinary students a new way to learn and share their knowledge beyond the classroom and kitchen.Don't forget to register first so we know who to thank the contributions for. Thanks! See you there!