The Mexican Slow Cooker

August 6, 2012
Schneider (Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta), executive chef/partner of SOL Cocina in California, opens new doors for home cooks with this novel approach to preparing Mexican food utilizing the slow cooker. Schneider shows that it can do everything from bake cakes to steam tamales. Her recipes offer a panoply of appealing traditional Mexican dishes, including chicken in tomato-jalapeño salsa (pollo en salsa), black mole (mole negro), and beef with chorizo and potatoes (carne con chorizo y papas). Schneider offers a host of soups such as market vegetable soup (sopa de verduras) and lentil soup with longaniza sausage (sopa de lentejas longuiniza) as well as a wide variety of tasty street food including slow-cooked pork tacos with salsa verde (tacos de carnitas) and beef and bean burritos with cheese (burrito “el güero”). Side dishes utilize standard Mexican staples such as rice with fresh tomato (arroz Mexicana), black beans (frijoles negro), and corn bread (pan de elote). While the desserts are not numerous, they’re luscious and flavorful, including coconut rice pudding (arroz con coco) and dulce de leche flan. Fans of Mexican food will rejoice at Schneider’s delicious offerings and her efficient way to indulge any day of the week.

July 1, 2012

Here, California-based chef Schneider (Amor y Tacos: Modern Mexican Tacos, Margaritas, and Antojitos) instructs readers to divide their time between stove and appliance to develop flavors. Some of her recipes--like Pozole Rojo, where chiles must be skillet-toasted, peeled, and pureed--can require hours of prep, while others are more efficient, like a brilliant Torta de Tamal that eliminates the work of individually wrapping and steaming tamales. Schneider's introductory notes to each recipe helpfully offer plenty of history and foreign vocabulary. VERDICT Home cooks who rely on a slow cooker to free up their attention (not necessarily eliminate prep time) will enjoy these Mexican favorites, which emphasize fresh, authentic ingredients.

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