Category — My Books

After weeks of eating and drinking far too much and too often, Charles and I decided that a little austerity would be a good thing for a change.  Since January 2, we’ve been eating very simply.   Poule au Pot might sound elegant, but it’s just the French way of saying Chicken in the Pot, a recipe in The French Slow Cooker.   I decided to make it the other night when the sudden cold snap had us craving something comforting.

Basically, Chicken in the Pot is a one-dish dinner with chicken and vegetables steaming in a bit of broth.  I bought a nice fat chicken and put it in my slow cooker on a bed of leeks, carrots, celery and rosemary, added some chicken broth and turned on the heat.  That’s about it.
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A few years back, my friend Donna and I decided to make cassoulet, a hearty French bean and meat stew.  First we made stock, then we soaked and cooked the beans, marinated the meats, made duck confit, then simmered it all together.  It took several days to get it ready and along the way we scrubbed a mountain of pots and pans.  The finished cassoulet tasted great, but neither of us attempted to make it again.  It was just too much work.  Until it dawned on me one day that cassoulet was a perfect dish for the slow cooker!

A slow cooker (also known as a Crock Pot, though that is a proprietary name belonging to the Rival Company) is ideal for simmering, stewing, and braising.  If you start by using good fresh ingredients, you are sure to have delicious results.   Since a slow cooker cooks with gentle heat over a long period of time, it gives all of the flavors a chance to blend together.  For my slow cooker cassoulet, I put the beans, broth, meats, and flavorings into the pot, skipping the traditional marinating step since everything would be cooking together for hours.  I put the cover on and set the timer.  There was nothing else to do, so I went out for the day.

When I got home, I closed my eyes and inhaled.  Enticing aromas filled the air.  I felt as if I had arrived at the farmhouse kitchen of the French grand-mere I never had!  The meat was fall off the bone tender.  The beans were creamy-soft and had soaked up all the flavors of the meats, garlic and herbs.  Best of all, it was just as good as the classic version.  We had a great meal and since cassoulet is so simple to put together in the slow cooker, I don’t have to wait for a special occasion to make it again.

French food has a bad reputation for being fancy and difficult and that may be true for some restaurant fare.  But in my new book The French Slow Cooker, you will find recipes for simple, rustic food, the kind of things that French home cooks make every day.   No special equipment or tricky techniques, and all of the ingredients are available in a well stocked supermarket. Add a little French flair to chicken soup and try my Chicken Bouillabaisse.  Or how about Short Ribs braised with dark beer and shallots.  The Meatballs Bayonnaise simmered in a spicy sauce make a great sandwich on cold afternoon, maybe even Super Bowl Sunday.   For a party, impress your guests with a country-style paté — which is no more difficult than making a meatloaf, or rillettes, French style potted pork to spread on a crisp baguette.  And don’t miss out on the delicious desserts, like Raspberry Bread Pudding or Lemon Creams.

I’ll be posting some of the recipes over the next few weeks and I hope you will give them a try and let me know what you think!

Every year about this time, I hear from cooks with questions about struffoli.  These little honey covered nuggets of fried dough are made in many places in Italy, but are most popular in Naples and the South.  To many Italian Americans and Italians, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them.  Making struffoli is a great tradition to pass on to the next generation.  I have given the recipe before, and it is in several of my cookbooks, but  if you don’t have it, here is a link.  This is a recipe from my book 1,000 Italian Recipes.   http://michelescicolone.com/struffoli-christmas/

Now that you have the recipe, I thought I would pass along a couple of tips. [Read more →]

Several people have asked me whether The Italian Slow Cooker: 125 Easy Recipes for the Electric Slow Cooker is available in an electronic version.  The answer is, yes, it is.   You can find it at this link: http://amzn.to/u0fRBm on Amazon or on this link at Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/sEBYDn.  It takes only seconds to download, so you can be slow cooking real fast!

A big bell pepper with a ding in it, half of a large tomato and a handful of small ones, an eggplant, miscellaneous potatoes, and a couple of onions — I’m cleaning out my vegetable supply and it’s a perfect occasion to make ciambotta.  

Don’t be surprised if you have never heard of ciambotta (sometimes spelled giambotta or cianfotta).  You won’t find it on many restaurant menus, but you can find versions of it in just about any home kitchen in Southern Italy.  It is a vegetable stew made from whatever vegetables are in season.  Though you could eat it hot, it really tastes best when it is just warm. Like a lot of stews, the flavor improves the next day.   I can make a whole meal of ciambotta, but it’s good as a side dish, too, with sausages or chops or chicken.  Eat it plain, sprinkled with basil, extra virgin, or grated cheese, or mixed with scrambled eggs.  Stuff it in a crisp hunk of Italian bread for a great sandwich or toss it with some cooked pasta.  It’s all good.

Ciambotta (pronounced something like giam-boat) isn’t fancy or fussy and it is easy to make.  In fact, in the Italian dialect of the region my family was from, to say that something is a “big giamboat” is to say that it is a big mixed up mess.

Trim  all of the vegetables and cut them into bite size pieces.  You can salt the eggplant if you are concerned that it may be bitter and want to drain off the juices, but I don’t often do that anymore.  Saute the onion in some olive oil, and add garlic if you like.  When the onion is tender, you stir in the remaining vegetables.  Quantities or varieties are not really important and one more or less pepper, onion or potato won’t be a problem.  Sometimes I add zucchini, or green beans.  Some cooks add a hot chili to the mix.  You can put in parsley or oregano if you like, but I think fresh basil, added at the end of the cooking time to protect its delicate flavor, is best.  Fortunately, my garden still has some small basil leaves.

If you are one of those people who likes your vegetables crunchy, this is not the dish for you.  By the end of the cooking, the eggplant and tomatoes will pretty much melt into a sauce and the potatoes will absorb the flavors of the other ingredients.  Ciambotta is nothing if not comforting and rustic — I’m always amazed at how good it turns out.

This recipe is one that appeared in my book, 1,000 Italian Recipes, (John Wiley & Sons).

CIAMBOTTA

Serves 4 to 6

1 medium onion

1/4 cup olive oil

4 plum tomatoes

2 potatoes, peeled

1 medium eggplant

1 medium red pepper

1 medium yellow pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil or freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or   pecorino romano

Trim the vegetables and cut them into bite size pieces.  In a large skillet, cook the onion in the oil over medium low heat until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant,  and peppers.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 40 minutes.   If the mixture becomes too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water.   If there is too much liquid, uncover and cook 5 minutes more.

Serve warm or at room temperature plain, or drizzled with olive oil, or sprinkled with basil or cheese.

Variation:  Ciambotta with Eggs:  When the vegetables are ready, beat 4 to 6 eggs with salt until blended.  Pour the eggs over the vegetables.  Do not stir.  Cover the pan.  Cook until the eggs are set, about 3 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I’m sorry, slow cooker.  No vacay for you this year.   At 104 degrees F. in New York yesterday, it’s just too hot to turn on the stove, so I’m relying on you to make us a good dinner.  I’ve found a nice sheltered spot for you outside that is protected from the elements and stray critters, so you can do your thing without heating up the kitchen.  You won’t be using up a lot of precious energy either, since you only need as much as a 75-watt light bulb.

Of course, we won’t be wanting any of those heavy stews or hearty roasts you do so well during the cold months, but how about a Summer Minestrone, like I made yesterday, served at room temperature as they do on hot days in Italy, or poached chicken to turn into a warm weather salad, or even a simple frittata?

With more hot days to come, I’ll be turning often to my book, The Italian Slow Cooker.  Here is what you will be cooking.

1. Summer Minestrone (recipe below)

2. Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic

3. Tomato Soup with Burrata or Goat Cheese

4. Farro Salad

5. Salmon with Basil and Lemon

6. Tomato, Ricotta and Basil Frittata

7. Pesto Chicken

8. Rolled Stuffed Turkey Breast

9. Roasted Beets with Orange Balsamico Dressing

10. Summer Squash with Tomatoes and Onion

Summer Minestrone

I was all out of fresh tomatoes, so I used some canned crushed tomatoes instead.  I did have some chick peas that I had cooked previously, but canned would be fine.

Serves 6-8

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

4 carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 medium onions onion, chopped

2 cups drained cooked chick peas, or 1 16-ounce cans, drained

2 medium boiling potatoes, such as Yukon Gold peeled and chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 cups water

1/2 cup white rice

1 cup chopped fresh basil

Extra virgin olive oil

Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

In a large slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, chick peas, potatoes, bell pepper, zucchini, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the water.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high 5 hours.

Stir in the rice and cook 30 minutes more or until the rice is tender and the soup is thickened.

Stir in the basil and let cool to room temperature.  Taste for seasoning.  Spoon into bowls.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmigiano.