I originally posted this on February 15 2010, but have updated the recipe to make it easier and less time consuming.

I’ve been trying to go back to cookbooks I haven’t used in awhile, so last week I pulled The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall down off the shelf and cassoulet caught my eye. While I wound up making a different version, it ticks a lot of boxes — this one can be made in a slow cooker, it’s good value (cassoulet is a traditional French peasant dish), it’s hearty, rib-sticking food for cold nights and it makes more than enough for two meals.

If you like the idea of a cassoulet but don’t have a slow cooker or don’t have all day to let it cook, you could try Jacques Pépin’s 30-minute version or Jamie Oliver’s kinda sausage cassoulet. In his recipe, Hugh F-W suggests serving this with an orange and watercress salad.

Slow Cooker Cassoulet

Serves 8 to 10

If you can’t get pork shoulder, pork leg or even loin would work too — just get the butcher to remove the fat for you. If you wanted to add in some veg, a few carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal, would work well.

olive oil
3 onions, coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 lb (1.4 kg) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces (you can ask your butcher to do this for you)
1 lb (450 g) fully cooked or smoked chorizo or garlic sausage links, sliced on the diagonal
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini, haricot or Great Northern beans
1 x 28 oz (or 2 x 14 oz/400 g) cans whole plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
1 cup (500 ml) dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc (or use stock or water if you prefer not to use alcohol)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
1 cup (100 g) breadcrumbs, plus extra to serve
a handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
crusty bread, to serve

Put a large frying pan over a medium heat and add in a splash of olive oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt to prevent the onions from browning and cook for about 10 minutes, until they’re translucent but now browned. Transfer the onions to the slow cooker, then stir in the pork, chorizo, beans, tomatoes, stock, wine, tomato paste and garlic along with a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.

Set the cooker to low and cook, covered, for about 8 hours, until the pork pulls apart easily with a fork (though it could be as much as 10 hours). Skim off any fat and remove and discard the garlic. Fold in the panko or breadcrumbs and the parsley. Taste and season as needed.

Let the cassoulet stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle each serving with extra breadcrumbs and parsley and serve with warm crusty bread.

A slow cooker isn’t the most glamorous piece of kitchen equipment, but it’s a busy cook’s best friend. Kelly has sung their praises, and I convinced my friend Emma to buy one last year when the cold weather set in after talking up all their benefits. After a few months though, she admitted that the first two recipes she’d made were flops, one of which was so bad they wound up giving it to the dogs and ordering take-out. That’s the main drawback with slow cookers, and why I’m always hesitant to buy cookbooks dedicated solely to them. When a slow cooker recipe is bad, it tends to be really bad — insipid or even, as in Emma’s case, inedible.

In the meantime though, Emma bought a copy of Antony’s Slow Cooking by Antony Worrall Thompson and tried this recipe, which she liked so much she passed it on to me. I in turn like it so much that I’ve made it twice in the past month and it’s become my new favorite slow cooker recipe. And that’s the flip side to the slow cooker – when you get a good recipe, it can be really good, like this one.

Slow Cooker Buttered Chicken and Tomato Curry
adapted from Antony’s Slow Cooking by Antony Worall-Thompson

Serves 4

Buttered chicken is a classic mild curry — it’s creamy, not spicy, so my kids loved it and practically licked their bowls clean to get every last bit of the sauce. Please don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients — it’s really just a bunch of spices that are all widely available.

The original recipes calls for heavy cream to be stirred in at the end in addition to more butter, but I found the sauce to be delicious without all those extra calories. But if you’re so inclined, add in 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream at the end of the cooking time, cover and cook on high for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a warm serving dish, then whisk 6 tablespoons (3 oz/90 g) butter into the sauce, making sure it’s well emulsified. Check the seasoning, then pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish, as below.

2 tablespoons lemon juice (should be the juice of 1 large lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 lb (1 kg) skinless chicken thigh fillets or skinless chicken breasts
1 1/4 cup (300 ml) Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon stick
4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
14 fl oz (400 ml) passata (or blend a 14 oz/400g can of whole plum tomatoes until it’s smooth if you can’t get passata)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (puree)
5 fl oz (150 ml) chicken stock
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper

to garnish:
fresh cilantro (coriander)
flaked almonds
spring onions, sliced
feta chees

to serve:
basmati or pilau rice

Whisk together the lemon juice, salt and chili powder. Place the chicken in a non-metallic bowl and pour over the lemon juice mixture. Cover and marinade for at least 30 minutes, but ideally overnight.

When you’re ready to cook, whisk together the yogurt, ginger and garam masala, pour over the marinated chicken and mix well. Spoon the chicken mix into the slow cooker.

Heat the butter with the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, then cook the onion and spices for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion has softened but hasn’t colored (adding a pinch of salt to the onions when they’re cooking helps to prevent them from browning too much). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir the onion mix into the chicken in the slow cooker, then stir in the passata, tomato purée, chicken stock and brown sugar. Mix to combine everything well then cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with cilantro (coriander), almonds and spring onions. Just before serving, crumble the feta over the surface. Serve with basmati or pilau rice.

Feeling frazzled from the demands of two young children after a long month, I fired off an email to Kelly on Friday evening asking if I could hop on a plane and join her in Mexico, where she was spending the weekend for work. “I’m sitting on my balcony watching the waves crash on the beach, a little tipsy from my margarita. Wish you were here!” she wrote back. “I’m making a Rick Bayless recipe on Sunday, which is about as close as I’m likely to get to Mexico anytime soon,” I replied. As compromises go, at least it was a tasty one — I just wish I’d had the makings of a Rick Bayless margarita on hand too.

Slow Cooker Smoky Pork Tacos with Avocado and Feta
adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Serves 8

Rick Bayless calls this Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos in his book and says you can vary the recipe by replacing the pork with 2 lb (1 kg) of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or cubed boneless beef chuck (stewing beef). I picked up a couple cans of chipotle chilies on my trip back to the US this summer and have been rationing them for the past 5 months, but if you can’t get them, you should still try this recipe, perhaps using 1 or 2 chopped red chilies or using more chorizo, though you won’t get the same smoky taste. You can also buy dried, crushed chipotles from Seasoned Pioneers in the UK. Or if you don’t like spicy food, you can just leave out chilies altogether.

4 medium (1 lb/450 g) boiling potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 lb (1 kg) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 x 28 oz (or 2 x 400 g) cans of chopped tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted if you can get them)
3 or 4 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, seeded and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon chipotle canning sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 oz (100 g) chorizo, cut into small pieces (optional)
flour or corn toritllas, to serve
feta cheese, crumbled, to serve
2 large avocados, pitted and cubed, to serve
sour cream or natural yogurt, to serve
fresh cilantro, chopped, to serve

Spread the potatoes over the bottom of a slow cooker* and top with the sliced onions, then the pork. In a large bowl, mix the undrained tomatoes with the chillies, chipotle canning sauce, Worcestershire, oregano, garlic and salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the pork, onions and potatoes (don’t stir — keep everything in layers). Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.

When you’re ready to eat, fry the optional chorizo in a skillet over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Uncover the pork tinga and spoon off any fat that might have accumulated on top. Add in the chorizo, then stir everything together, breaking the pork into small pieces that are suitable for tacos. Serve with warm corn tortillas, feta cheese, avocados, sour cream or yogurt and a sprinkling of fresh chopped cilantro to make soft tacos.

*Note: If you don’t have a slow cooker, lay the pork in a medium-large heavy pot, preferably a Dutch oven, and top with the potatoes and onions. Pour over the tomato mixture, cover with a lid and braise in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the pork is completely tender.

The Irish Independent recently ran an article about cheap casseroles coming back into fashion in these penny-pinching times. Cuts of meat that people turned their backs on during the Celtic Tiger boom are now reappearing on shopping lists and in casserole pots — cuts like lamb shanks, oxtails and beef shins. I discovered this recipe while watching Channel 4’s show Food: What Goes in Your Basket, where UK food critic Jay Rayner made it with shin of beef. I’ve modified it to use regular stewing beef, which is also much less expensive than prime cuts.

But just because a dish is economical doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious too, like this stew. In fact, I liked it so much that I made it twice in two weeks — once after watching the Food program and again because it was too perfect to pass up as an entry to November’s Irish foodies cookalong, which had a winter warmers theme. It might also have something to do with the fact that after coveting one for ages, I bought a Le Creuset casserole pot as a birthday present for myself back in September and loved the fact that I could actually cook it in the oven. But no matter which way you cook this — in the oven, on the stovetop or in a slow cooker — you’ll love it.

Beef, Chorizo and Ale Stew
adapted from Jay Rayner’s shin of beef recipe from Food: What Goes in Your Basket

Serves 8

If you don’t have a casserole pot (a.k.a. Dutch oven), you can simmer the stew on the stovetop instead. Alternatively, you could make this in a slow cooker (see below). I used O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale for this stew.

2 lb (1 kg) stewing beef, cut into cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
olive oil
1 x 7 oz to 11 oz (200 g to 300 g) chorizo ring, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 red onions, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bottle of ale
2 cups (1 pint) beef or chicken stock
1 bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme sprigs and parsley, tied with kitchen string), or 1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)
mashed potatoes or crusty bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 270°F (130°C).

Season the beef with salt and pepper and toss in the flour until the beef pieces are evenly coated. Heat some olive oil in a casserole pot (Dutch oven) and brown the beef in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot, or the meat won’t brown properly. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add in the chorizo and cook for a few minutes, until it has started to release its oils. Add in the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Deglaze the pot with a small glass of the ale and simmer until it has reduced and thickened. Add the rest of the bottle and bring back to a simmer. Return the beef to the pot, and if it’s not fully covered, top up with the stock. (Add the whole pint of stock if you like a thinner stew, add less if you like a more concentrated broth.) Add the bouquet garni or dried herbs and stir in the sugar.

Cover and put in the oven for 3 to 4 hours (or simmer on the stovetop on a low heat), stirring a few times. The meat is ready when it shreds apart. As an optional extra if you want to intensify the flavor, you can strain off all the liquid into another pot and reduce the liquor by half, then return the liquid to the casserole pot. Serve with lots of chopped fresh parsley and mashed potatoes or crusty bread.

Slow cooker variation: Follow the recipe above until you’ve deglazed the pot, then transfer the stew to your slow cooker. Add the beef, stock, herbs and sugar to the slow cooker — though you should use less liquid because it won’t reduce as much as it does on the stovetop or in the oven. Cover and cook on a low heat for 8 hours, or until the meat shreds apart with a fork.

When I was back in the States last month, my friends were great sports and fired up the grill to make bratwurst and beer can chicken after I bemoaned the lack of barbecue-worthy weather in Ireland. Back home in Ireland, though, I can still try to recreate those flavors and memories of hot Midwestern summer evenings with these pulled beef sandwiches. Made in the slow cooker, there’s no charcoal to light and no need to keep one wary eye on the inevitably approaching rain, and if you need to feed a small army at some point this summer, then this is the recipe for you — Elise from Simply Recipes says it can easily be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. And even though my husband makes a mean barbecue sauce, this is one of the rare times I’ll give in to convenience and opt for something store-bought instead of homemade, making this one of the easiest recipes in my summertime repertoire.

Slow Cooker Braised BBQ Beef
adapted from Simply Recipes

Serves 10 to 12

If you don’t have a slow cooker, just follow the original instructions on the Simply Recipes link above.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 x 3 lb (1.4 kg) pot roast or chuck roast, rinsed and dried
1 x 28 oz (or 2 x 14 oz/400 g) can of whole plum tomatoes
18 oz (500 ml) of your favorite barbecue sauce, either store-bought or homemade
salt and freshly ground black pepper
soft sandwich rolls or hamburger buns

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer the onions and garlic to the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the barbecue sauce and stir everything to combine. Add in the pot roast, cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is tender and shreds apart easily. When the meat is cooked through, remove it from the slow cooker and shred with a fork. Set aside.

If you want the sauce to be a bit thicker, transfer it to a pot on the stove on a medium-high heat, uncovered. Reduce the liquid until it’s the desired thickness, making sure to stir the sauce often to prevent it from burning.

Return the meat to the sauce in the slow cooker or in the pot to warm through again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on buns.

***

Roseanne Cash’s Potato Salad
adapted from Bon Appétit, June 2004

Serves 8

For something a little different, Cash sometimes adds some chopped fresh cilantro and 2 teaspoons curry powder. This can be made up to 1 day ahead and tastes best if it’s allowed to stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

3 lb (1.4 kg) baby potatoes (red-skinned are good), unpeeled
8 to 10 dill pickle spears, coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup (180 ml) mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Scrub the potatoes, then cut into quarters or halves, depending on their size (you want them to be in bite-sized pieces). Cook them in a large pot of boiling salted water until they’re tender but still holding their shape. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I’ll make this short for all of you who, like myself, are trying to fit 25 hours of living into a 24-hour day. First, if you don’t have a slow cooker, buy one. Don’t be afraid to leave the house with it on and don’t attempt to make anything fancy in it. The slow cooker can do a lot, but it doesn’t make pretty food. Stephanie O’Dea has a great slow cooker blog and now a companion cookbook, where I found this recipe. It’s the “working mom” version of one of my childhood favorites — my German great-grandmother’s stroganoff. It would be best served on her homemade spaetzle, but good-quality egg noodles are a fine substitute.

The strawberry bread is perfect for using up the last of the great strawberries of the season. It can be made ahead and lasts for several days, covered, at room temperature. It can also be wrapped tightly in wax paper, then plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for a few months. Like banana bread, this strawberry bread is healthy enough to eat for breakfast but tasty enough to eat as dessert.

Creamy Slow Cooker Stroganoff
adapted from Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking by Stephanie O’Dea

Serves 6

2 lb (900 g) beef stew meat
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, diced
8 oz (225 g) mushrooms, quartered or sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence or thyme
4 oz (110 g) cream cheese, diced
egg noodles, for serving

Put the meat into the slow cooker (frozen is fine). Add the butter, milk, Worcestershire sauce, onion, mushrooms, broth, salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, or until the meat is tender. Stir in the cream cheese and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cream cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if necessary. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

***

Strawberry Bread

Makes 2 loaves

1 lb (450 g, or about 4 cups) sliced strawberries
1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
2 1/8 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (125 g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (180 ml) canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup (120 ml) applesauce
4 eggs, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups (125 g) chopped toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour two 5 x 9 inch loaf pans.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and strawberries; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the strawberry and sugar mixture. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, then fold in the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the loaves on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and continue cooling on rack. Serve at room temperature.

Sometimes I’ll try a new recipe and find myself shocked that it isn’t already part of my regular recipe rotation. You know the ones — quick, easy, cheap. This is one of those recipes. In the time it takes to preheat your grill, you can make a fabulously fresh-tasting paste of fresh herbs, lemon, and garlic to top the chicken. Serve the chicken with already cooked slow cooker baked potatoes (another I-can’t-believe-how-easy-this-is preparation) and fresh steamed vegetables for a light but memorable dinner. If you have an extra half hour, you can whip up the equally quick, equally fabulous coconut cake. I knew it was a successful dessert when I noticed my usually sugar-avoiding mother-in-law sneaking slivers of it before dinner the following night.

Grilled Chicken with Gremolata
adapted from Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis

Serves 4

1/4 cup (10 g) finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lb (900 g) skin-on, cut-up chicken (breasts, thighs, and/or legs)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, oregano, thyme, and garlic. Set the gremolata aside.

Preheat a charcoal or gas grill for medium heat. Rub the olive oil over both sides of the chicken. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken over medium heat until it’s just cooked through (10 to 15 minutes for breasts, 15 to 20 minutes for legs/thighs). Transfer the chicken to a platter. Immediately spoon the gremolata over the chicken and serve.

***

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

baking potatoes (as many as your slow cooker can hold)
aluminum foil

Wash the potatoes and prick them with a fork in a few places. Wrap each potato with aluminum foil. Place the wrapped potatoes in your slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook the potatoes on low for 8 to 10 hours.

I gussied these up in the picture above by dicing the cooked potatoes, leaving the skins on, then topping them with melted butter, salt, pepper, and freshly chopped chives.

***

Key Lime Coconut Cake
adapted from Gourmet, March 2008

Serves 8

1 cup (90 g) sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup (110 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated Key lime zest
2 extra-large eggs
1 3/4 cups (210 g) self-rising flour
3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk
1/4 cup (60 ml) plus 1 tablespoon fresh Key lime juice, divided
1 1/4 cup (150 g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 tablespoon rum (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with the rack in the middle. Generously butter a springform cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Toast the coconut in a small baking pan in the oven, stirring once or twice, for 8 to 12 minutes, until it’s golden. Cool. Leave the oven on.

Beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Stir together the flour and 1/2 cup coconut (reserve the remainder for the topping). Stir together the milk and 2 tablespoons lime juice. At low speed, mix the flour and milk mixtures into the egg mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake to warm, then turn out of the pan and remove the parchment paper.

Whisk together the confectioners sugar, the remaining 3 tablespoons lime juice, and rum (if using) and pour over the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

“I have a great idea, Mom.”

“What’s that, Sam?”

“I know, let’s make chocolate muffins. With whipped cream. And sprinkles.”

Some days, folks, that all the encouragement I need to grab the sugar from the cupboard and butter from the fridge. It didn’t hurt that our main course required little more than a few minutes of prep and the able assistance of my (er, Reuben’s) new slow cooker.

Green Chile Pork Tacos

Serves 6

3 lb (1.4 kg) pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup (240 ml) chicken stock
1 x 4-oz (110-g) can diced green chilies
1 x 10-oz (280-g) can Rotel tomatoes (or other diced tomatoes with green chilies)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
corn or flour tortillas
toppings: avocado, salsa, cheese, green onion, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, lime wedges

In a large frying pan, brown the pork cubes in the oil until they just begin to brown. Drain the meat and place into a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients through salt and pepper and cook on low until the pork is tender, about 8 hours. Gently shred the pork with a fork.

Warm the tortillas and serve the pork, taco-style, with desired toppings.

***

Devil’s Food Cupcakes
adapted from Alpineberry

Makes 1 dozen

1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (30 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder (don’t use Dutch-processed cocoa)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) water
1/3 cup (80 ml) unflavored oil (canola, grapeseed, etc.)
1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the wells of a standard muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix together the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined and the batter is smooth. Be careful not to overmix.

Divide the cupcake batter evenly among the wells of your muffin pan. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently remove the cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool fully on a wire rack.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Magnolia Bakery

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes [Note: I halved recipe for 1 dozen cupcakes]

1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups (720 g to 960 g) confectioners’ sugar (a.k.a. icing sugar)
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups (480 g) of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup (120 g) at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Kristin brilliantly thought to add a slow cooker category to our site. Slow cookers really can be a working mom’s best friend. This stracoto (fancy word for pot roast) is my favorite slow cooker recipe. I’ve made it in the oven as per the original recipe, but actually prefer my adaptation in the slow cooker, which results in a moister piece of meat. It’s awfully hard to dry out a piece of meat, or anything else for that matter, in a slow cooker. Reuben must have liked the dinner, since he added this programmable slow cooker to his Amazon wish list within a few hours of finishing it.

Don’t forget to enter our first cookbook giveaway contest. Entries are due tomorrow. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment in Kristin’s October 26 post.

Slow Cooker Stracoto with Porcini Mushrooms and Carrots
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network

Serves 6

1 x 4 lb (1.8 kg) boneless beef chuck roast or arm roast
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup (240 ml) dry red wine
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) canned beef broth
1/2 oz (15 g) dried porcini mushrooms
1 bunch carrots, peeled and halved if large, and cut into 3-inch pieces
egg noodles or mashed potatoes, to serve

Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet (cast iron preferred) over a medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total cooking time. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, add the onions and saute until tender, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute. Stir in the broth and mushrooms. Bring the liquid to a boil. Carefully pour the liquid into the slow cooker. Add the carrots. Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat and carrots are tender.

Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the carrots to a serving bowl. Tent the beef with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spoon any excess fat off the top of the sauce in the slow cooker. Using a hand-held blender, blend the sauce, onions, and garlic into a smooth puree. (If you don’t have a hand-held blender, transfer the sauce and vegetables to a blender and puree.) Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut the beef across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange the sliced beef on a platter and spoon the sauce over. Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes, passing the remaining sauce in a sauce boat.

I have a friend who used to work in the famous Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton Street in Dublin. She told me once about about the letters they got around this time of year, usually from tourists who had bought a loaf of barm brack in the store to take back home with them. The people writing the letters were concerned that they’d found a ring in their bread, with one person saying they’d had it appraised, and another one joking that they were relieved they hadn’t also found the finger that came with the ring. Most people sent the ring back.

They obviously didn’t know just what they’d bought. Barm brack (or báirín breac in Irish, from báirín, a loaf, and breac, speckled, due to the raisins in it) is a traditional Halloween treat, falling somewhere in between regular bread and cake. What makes it special is the ring and coin that are usually baked into the bread, turning it into a bit of a fortune-telling game: whoever gets the coin will be rich, and whoever gets the ring will be married within the year. Who knows what chances for love those well-meaning tourists sent back?

This is the ring that came in the store-bought barm brack I bought last year (oh, those chubby, dimpled little toddler hands get me every time). But after making my own this year and seeing how quick and easy it is, we’ll only be having homemade brack from now on.

Chicken a la Veracruzana
adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Serves 6

Rick Bayless suggests using 2 lb (900 g) of pork shoulder or beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes, in place of the chicken. If using pork, he recommends replacing the potatoes with sweet potatoes cut into 1/2-inch cubes. If using beef, try quartered sweet turnips, cubed carrots or peeled, cubed yuca. Chicken a la Veracruzana can also be used as a soft taco filling — just shred the chicken and stir it into the sauce with the olive and parsley and smash the potatoes into smaller pieces (this is how I served this meal to my kids, with a little grated Cheddar cheese too).

1 lb (450 g) new potatoes (or you could cut 4 medium potatoes into wedges)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 x 28-oz (or 2 x 14-oz/400-g) can diced tomatoes (preferably fire roasted), drained
4 to 6 canned pickled jalapeños, stemmed, deseeded and cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (100 g) coarsely chopped green olives
1/4 cup (loosely packed) (10 g) roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Place the potatoes over the bottom of a slow cooker and put the chicken breasts over the potatoes. In a medium bowl, mix together the drained tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, Worcestershire, thyme, cloves, cinnamon and salt. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken. Set the lid in place and cook on high for 6 hours (the dish can hold on the slow cooker’s “keep warm” function for 4 more hours or so).

Carefully transfer a chicken breast and a portion of potatoes to each of 6 dinner plates, leaving as much sauce behind as possible. Mix the olives and parsley into the sauce, then taste and season with more salt if it needs it. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and potatoes and serve.

No slow cooker?
Put the chicken in a medium-large heavy pot, preferably a Dutch oven, and top with the potatoes. Cover with the sauce, set the lid in place and braise at 300°F (150°C) for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the chicken is completely tender. Complete the dish as described above.

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Barm Brack
adapted from Good Food Channel

Makes 1 loaf

If you want to include the traditional coin and/or ring, wrap them up well in greaseproof paper before adding them to the batter. You’d probably better wash the coin beforehand too. You can also make a yeasted version of barm brack, but you can’t beat this recipe if you want something quick and easy — it takes 10 minutes to make. If you want to elevate brack into a dessert, try this recipe for toffee apples on sugar-glazed barm brack.

3/4 cup (120 g) dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) strong black tea
2 cups (320 g) raisins
2 tablespoons mixed candied peel
1 egg, beaten
2 cups (240 g) flour
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dissolve the sugar in the tea. Add the raisins and candied peel and leave to soak overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease an 8-inch loaf tin or small round cake tin. Add the beaten egg to the raisins and peel as well as their soaking liquid. Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir well. Spoon the batter into the tin (add the charms now if you’re using them) and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. This is traditionally served toasted and buttered with a cup of tea.