I happened upon a clay pot at the Goodwill last year, and after having been introduced to it at a friends house shortly before, I knew I had to buy it. Thankfully it came with a cookbook, and as the weather has been steadily cooling, I have been having so much fun making some of the recipes out of it. Since I have three boys in the house, I do have to make sure I'm getting them enough protein. Once in awhile, they do love to eat meat. This clay pot is as handsoff as a crockpot, but just a bit different in how it cooks. I have loved most of the recipes out of "The Clay-pot Cookbook" except for any that have sour cream or dairy in them - those I thought were not great. So far we've made Orange Chicken, Chicken with Spices and Brandy, Swiss Chicken with Mushrooms, Curried Chicken with Guinness, and the classic French dish Beef Bourguignonne(see first picture).
With a clay pot, you soak the pot for 15 minutes in water before adding the ingredients, put it in a COLD oven, and then turn it up really high (480-490 degrees) and it generally cooks about an hour and half. With most of the recipes you remove the liquid from the clay pot, and cook it on the stove with some arrowroot powder wisked into it(doesn't cloud a sauce like cornstarch) and then you have a gravy/sauce to go with your dish. Sometimes you leave the top off and cook it for another 10 minutes or so, to brown the top.
I haven't really run into anyone outside of my friend who actually has a clay pot, so I'm not sure how many recipes I'll post on here. I was never going to buy one full price because I thought having a slow cooker and a clay pot would be the same thing. It's not! They amazing savory, melt in your mouth taste that comes from dishes in this pot can't be reproduced in a slow cooker. I'm really happy to have both, and now can't imagine not having the clay pot.
An example of an easy meal you can throw in there without a recipe is in the third picture above. It was in the intro of the book, where the author writes about her first night with her clay pot. I threw in everything she wrote about except the cheese, and it was wonderful!
"That night I cooked my first chicken, laboring over the beast like some sweaty midwife, massagin her with salt and pepper, painting her with a brillant mixture of paprika, oil, crushed garlic, and minced fresh rosemary. I added little white onions, chopped parsley, tiny new potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, grated Monterey Jack and white wine. Popping the water-soaked pot into a cold oven, I turned the thermostat to 480 degrees - and waited..
Soon the most delectable odor filled the house.....it was a smash. The bird had a plump, running-over succulence, the skin was golden brown, and the carrots could have doubled as dessert. Even the mundane little new potatoes took on an exotic cast. But it was the sauce that did it. The juices that came pouring out of that pot - an intoxicating fusion of bird, wine, herbs, and roots - was something....."
I had the same experience! What a happy discovery. If anyone has one, or wants some recipes, let me know, and I'll start posting them as I make them.
Happy fall cooking!
"That night I cooked my first chicken, laboring over the beast like some sweaty midwife, massagin her with salt and pepper, painting her with a brillant mixture of paprika, oil, crushed garlic, and minced fresh rosemary. I added little white onions, chopped parsley, tiny new potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, grated Monterey Jack and white wine. Popping the water-soaked pot into a cold oven, I turned the thermostat to 480 degrees - and waited..
Soon the most delectable odor filled the house.....it was a smash. The bird had a plump, running-over succulence, the skin was golden brown, and the carrots could have doubled as dessert. Even the mundane little new potatoes took on an exotic cast. But it was the sauce that did it. The juices that came pouring out of that pot - an intoxicating fusion of bird, wine, herbs, and roots - was something....."
I had the same experience! What a happy discovery. If anyone has one, or wants some recipes, let me know, and I'll start posting them as I make them.
Happy fall cooking!
1 comment:
You have been busy posting! I have some catch up reading to do! I love that you have embraced your clay pot cooking! What a thrilling thrift store find! Everything cooks down so simmery warm and burrbly flavorful! Yummers. The guiness one-- apparently people are familiar with cooking with G, I'm not, but hats off to you for making that creative dish too!
Your white bean soup - Okay, I'm keeping that recipie for me!
And I'm glad to hear you had your own Cosby Show moment with bundling up all the children to go play in the two feet of snow only to have them need to go after getting bundled up. One of my fave Cosby show moments -- and I'd be laughing beside you all the way getting them out of their layers to go use the loo! Ha ha ha!
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