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add the wine, dried mushrooms, and tomatoes and stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 10 hours, until the meat is tender.

remove the meat from the slow-cooker insert, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

transfer the sauce to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil the sauce for about 10 minutes, to concentrate the flavor. Blend the flour and butter in a small bowl and stir to form a paste. Add the flour mixture to the saucepan a bit at a time, whisking until the sauce is thickened.

remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the meat, cover it with some of the sauce, and serve. Serve any additional sauce on the side.

serves 6–8

Not-So-Swiss Steak

Swiss steak is a blast from the past. A staple from the 1950s, when Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup was considered exotic, recipes called for round steak that was pounded until tender, coated with flour, and seared, then smothered with onions, tomatoes, and other flavors. For this version, you won’t need to pound the meat because the slow cooker tenderizes it. The addition of meaty cremini mushrooms and a savory mix of Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and smoked paprika makes this dish a delicious weeknight meal to serve with buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.

One 1-inch-thick beef round steak (3½ to 4 pounds), cut into 6 pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large sweet onions, such as Vidalia, coarsely chopped

1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup ketchup

1 cup beef broth

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (see savvy)

sprinkle the meat evenly with 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides.

transfer the meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the onions to the same skillet and sauté until they are softened and are beginning to turn translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms begin to color, 7 to 10 minutes.

add the Worcestershire, ketchup, broth, and paprika and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert, covering the beef with the sauce. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours.

remove the meat and vegetables from the slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

thicken the sauce if desired using any of the methods discussed in the introduction. Season with salt and pepper.

cover the meat and vegetables with some of the sauce and serve. Serve any additional sauce on the side.

serves 6

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spice savvy

Paprika and other red spices (cayenne pepper, chili powder) can lose their potency quickly. Make sure that your red spices are bright red in color, not brown or dark rust. Paprika has a flavor—whether it is sweet, smoked, or hot—so make sure to smell it to see if it still has an aroma. If it doesn’t, it’s best to discard it and buy new. If you haven’t cooked with smoked paprika, you are in for a delicious surprise; it adds a lot of personality to dishes.

Asian Braised Beef in Sake

When I lived in Japan, I was served hot sake at most restaurants, which was delicious after a day in the cold and damp Japanese winter, where the wind would chill you to the bone. Sake is used in many dishes in Japan, but the most famous is sukiyaki. This is a slow-cooked variation on that dish, and it always brings me back to a simpler place and that beautiful country. There is no browning in this recipe, but you will need to marinate the meat overnight. Serve this with sticky rice to soak up the delicious sauce.

2/3 cup soy sauce

½ cup sake

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

2 to 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

1 cup chicken