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season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the chives (if using) over the potatoes.

serves 8

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garlic-mashed savvy

If you would prefer garlic mashed potatoes, omit the shallots and add 3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut half to the potatoes.

pepper savvy

Many of my students will buy white pepper and use it once, then get it out several years later to use again only to find it’s lost its taste and potency. If you use white pepper just once in a blue moon, don’t waste your money on it and just add freshly ground black pepper instead.

Bistro Dijon Sirloin

French bistros serve an assortment of comfort foods, and many days there will be some type of stew on the menu. This stew is flavored with Dijon mustard, wine, tarragon, and shallots, and transports you to a sidewalk bistro in Paris. Serve this stew over noodles, or, my favorite, garlic mashed potatoes.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 medium shallots, cut into half rounds

1 cup dry white wine or vermouth

½ cup Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

sprinkle 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper evenly over the meat. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the meat a few pieces at a time and brown.

transfer the meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the shallots to the same skillet over medium-high heat and sauté for 1 minute, until they begin to soften. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and add the mustard and dried tarragon.

transfer the mixture to the slow cooker and stir in the broth. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, until the meat is tender. Skim off any fat from the top of the sauce and stir in the fresh tarragon.

mix the butter and the flour together to form a paste. Add the butter mixture in pieces to the cooker. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.

season with salt and pepper before serving.

serves 6

Brisket

Brisket is a cut that comes from the foreleg and just behind in the breast section of the cow, and tends to be very tough but has great flavor. When slowly cooked, brisket becomes tender and is the centerpiece of many great meals, such as pot roast and barbecued beef sandwiches. Corned beef can also be a brisket cut, and the flat, first cut is the piece to buy. Some wholesale clubs sell whole brisket for the barbecue, but for the slow cooker, you will need only one side of the brisket.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Braised in Riesling

Sweet, crisp Riesling adds a delicious counterpoint to the spicy and salty corned beef in this simple slow-cooker classic.

12 small Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed

2 cups baby carrots

3 medium sweet onions, such as Vidalia, coarsely chopped

2 cups Riesling wine

½ cup whole-grain mustard

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

4 whole black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

One 3½- to 4-pound corned beef, rinsed and fat trimmed

1 large head green cabbage, cut in half, cored and thickly sliced (see savvy)

layer the potatoes, carrots, and onions in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Whisk together the riesling, mustards, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the peppercorns and bay leaves.

place the brisket on top of the vegetables in the slow-cooker insert. (If you are using a 5-quart cooker, you may need to cut the brisket in half and stack the pieces to fit.) Pour the riesling mixture over the brisket and strew the cabbage over the top of the brisket.

cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove the brisket from the cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and arrange them on a platter. Slice the brisket across the grain and arrange over the vegetables.