Recipes for Rosh Hashanah

Crock Pot Cooking

It's time to plan the High Holiday meals and that means crock pot cooking at its best. Once relegated to just making chicken soup or classic cholent today's crock pot has become the kitchen gadget to have on your counter top when you start looking for that Yom Tov machzor.

Slow cooking is an ancient cooking technique whose concept hasn't been altered since our ancestors covered clay pots in banked fires. Slow cooking usually works at low heat hence the term SLOW cooking. The lid must also ALWAYS stay on. In slow cooking there is hardly any liquid lost during the cooking process. In fact, sometimes is seems like you have more liquid than you started with. That's because almost all food, especially meats and vegetables, contain water. As they cook, they begin to release their water. With most cooking methods, the water turns to steam and evaporates. But, since the lid is on the slow cooker, there's nowhere for the steam to go; it just collects on the lid and drips back into the food. The slow cooker is one of the few cooking methods where you can cut the cooking time in half by turning up the temperature, and still get great results. Food will not burn in a slow cooker because it retains moisture so well, and because the heat is so evenly and gently distributed around the sides as well as the bottom of the pot. If something takes 10 hours on the "low" setting, you can safely cook it for 5 hours on the "high" setting with very similar results.

Helpful crock pot/slow cooker hints

1. If you're not using a cooking bag spray the inside of the crock pot/slow
cooker with cooking spray. It makes cleanup easier.
2. Carrots, turnips and potatoes take longer to cook, so cut them into small
pieces or thin slice them and make sure you place them in the bottom of the
crock pot/slow cooker for best results.
3. Remove the skin from poultry, and trim excess fat from meats to help
reduce fat in the finished dish and cut down on calories.
4. Always cook and drain ground meats before adding them to the slow cooker.

5. Always thaw frozen vegetables before placing them in the slow cooker.  Adding frozen vegetables will lower the internal temperature, and the dish  will take longer to cook.
6. Be sure to allow sufficient cooking time. Most soups, stews and one-dish  meals require about 8 to 10 hours on the slow cooker's low heat setting.
7. Coat the meat you want to use with flour. It will help to thicken the liquid as it cooks.
8. If you're inventing your own slow cooker recipes or adapting your favorite  stovetop and oven recipes for the slow cooker, decrease the amount of liquid you use.
9. There is some debate over whether or not you need to brown meat before cooking it in a crock pot/slow cooker. There are advantages to it, but it's not necessary. Tossing meat in flour and searing it with a little oil in a  hot skillet for a few minutes will give it an appetizing color and a more complex flavor than simply tossing it raw into the crock, but either way, the  meat will still cook. One type of meat that you should always brown in a skillet before adding it to the crock, though, is ground beef (or, for that  matter, any ground meat). If you don't brown it first, it will clump together, remain an unappealing color and add lots of grease to the finished product.  10. Whole spices such as bay leaves, peppercorns or cinnamon sticks will give slow cooker items a very intense flavor if left in the pot for the entire  cooking time, so use them sparingly. Ground spices as well as fresh and dried herbs, on the other hand, can lose much of their flavor if allowed to simmer for several hours in the slow cooker. It's better to add these items during the last two hours of cooking if you can manage it.

NOTE; ALL OF THE FOLLOWING RECIPES CAN BE MADE IN THE OVEN

MEDITERRANEAN CROCK POT STEW (meat)
A nice hearty stew that is amazingly easy to make

In a crock pot/slow cooker combine the butternut squash, eggplant, zucchini,  okra, tomato sauce, onion, tomato, carrot, broth, raisins, garlic, cumin, turmeric, red pepper, cinnamon and paprika. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until vegetables are tender, but still crisp. Serves 8 to 10.

CROCK POT BARBECUE BEEF (meat)

A zesty easy to make fun dish that's perfect for Sukkoth, Spoon meat onto
challah rolls and top with additional barbecue sauce

In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, Dijon-style mustard, crock pot/soy sauce and liquid smoke. Stir in salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the roast in the slow cooker. Pour the ketchup mixture over chuck roast. Cover, and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove the roast from slow cooker, shred with a fork, and return to the crock pot/slow cooker. Stir meat to evenly coat with sauce. Serves 8 to 10.

APPLE AND BROWN SUGAR CORNED BEEF (meat)

Place all ingredients in a large crock pot/slow cooker (cut meat in half if necessary) and stir to mix. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove meat and vegetables and some of the cooking liquid. Slice meat thinly across the grain and serve with the vegetables and some of the liquid. Makes 6 servings

ORANGE GLAZED CHICKEN (meat)

Combine the thawed orange juice concentrate in a bowl with the marjoram, garlic powder and nutmeg. Dip each chicken breast half into the orange juice to coat completely. Place the coated chicken in the crock pot/slow cooker. Pour the remaining orange juice mixture over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for about 4 hours. When chicken is done, remove it to a serving platter. Pour the sauce that remains in slow cooker/Crock Pot into a saucepan. Mix the cornstarch and water and stir into the juice in pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Serve the sauce over the chicken; delicious with brown or white rice. Serves 6

SLOW COOKER CRANBERRY TURKEY BREAST (meat)

Place the turkey in the crock pot/slow cooker. In a bowl combine the
cranberry sauce and soup mix and pour the mixture over the turkey breast.
Cook on high for 2 hrs. then on low for 7 hrs. If you use frozen, cook on
high for 2 hrs. then on low for 10 hrs. or more.

CURRIED BEEF CHOLENT (meat)

Layer the onions, carrots and potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot/slow cooker. Place the beef over vegetables. In medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, apple juice, curry powder, and salt and pepper and mix well. Pour the mixture over the beef. Cover; cook on low setting for 8-10 hours. Serves 6.

MUSHROOM AND BEEF STEW (meat)

Tender chunks of beef simmered with wine, garlic and thyme, accented with
mushrooms, is perfect for any meal

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and thyme in small bowl. Place the beef in the crock pot/slow cooker. Sprinkle the meat with the flour mixture and toss to coat. In a bowl combine the broth, tomato paste, wine and garlic in small bowl; mix well. Pour the mixture over the beef. Add the potatoes, mushrooms and carrots and mix well. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 to 6 hours or on LOW 8 to 9 hours, or until beef and vegetables are tender. (No stirring is necessary during cooking but stir well before serving). Garnish with parsley, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Eileen Goltz, a professional chef and caterer, is the author of the new cookbook, Perfectly Pareve.