Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [155]
1½ cups Grape-Nuts cereal (nuggets, not flakes)
6 large eggs
4 cups milk
11/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2½ cups heavy cream
spray the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the cereal over the bottom of the slowcooker insert. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Gently pour over the cereal.
cover and cook on high for 2 hours, until the custard is just set. It may seem a little jiggly in the center but will firm while the custard cools. Carefully remove the insert from the liner and allow the pudding to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
whip the cream in a mixing bowl until it forms stiff peaks.
scoop the pudding into bowls and top each serving with a dollop of the cream.
serves 8
Chapter 12
Party in a Pot
Slow cookers are terrific for entertaining, especially if you are pressed for time and want to set the cooker in the morning and serve directly from it in the evening. These dishes are a little more upscale than weeknight fare, but don’t rule them out for a family dinner or celebration during the week. In this chapter I include drinks for serving warm from the slow cooker, as well as warm dips that can be served from smaller cookers, sometimes called “little dippers.” The slow cooker is also your friend at the barbecue on the patio, where your cooker will keep your side dish warm until you are ready to eat. Don’t overlook the slow cooker at holiday times either; between drinks, gravies, sauces, mashed potatoes, and side dishes, the slow cooker keeps your dishes at a constant safe temperature for serving. So let’s celebrate with our slow cookers, and enjoy the party!
How about a Drink?
Slow cookers are perfect for keeping your favorite hot cider or mulled wine warm, but not scalding hot, for serving all through the day. Keeping hot cocoa warm can be tricky, but the warm setting on the slow cooker helps to make a luxurious cocoa that will have your guests swooning with chocolate-mustached delight!
Mulled Red Wine
When I told an Italian friend who owns a wine bar in Umbria that I would be adding spices to red wine and heating it, he thought I’d gone over the edge, until he tasted this warming drink on a cold night. Serve this in glass mugs when people come for dinner; it’s a great warm-up from the cold and helps get conversation going.
Three 750-ml bottles medium-bodied red wine, such as Zinfandel, Chianti, or Pinot Noir
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole cloves
Three 4-inch cinnamon sticks
3 whole allspice berries
Zest from 2 lemons, cut into strips (see savvy)
add all the ingredients to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the whole spices and zest.
keep the wine warm in the cooker for up to 8 hours.
serves 8
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zest savvy
It is important to cut only the zest (colored part of the peel) from the lemons and not the white pith, which is harsh and will give your drinks a tart and bitter taste. A serrated peeler works well to peel just the skin and not the pith.
Warm Mulled Cider
Warm cider is my magic elixir for curing the blues and facing down the cold during frigid winters. Fragrant with spices, the cider is liquid comfort for what ails you. Any leftover cider may be stored in the refrigerator.
8 cups apple cider
1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
Two 4-inch cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup brandy or rum (optional)
add all the ingredients except for the brandy to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Remove the whole spices and stir in the brandy (if using).
keep warm in the cooker for up to 8 hours.
serves about 12
Spiced Cranberry Cider
The combination of cider and cranberry juice makes perfect sense, and the result is a delicious ruby-colored, spicy drink flavored