Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two

December 1, 2006
Hensperger is the author of more than a dozen other cookbooks and coauthor of "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook". Her follow-up to that best-selling title presents recipes developed specifically for smaller slow cookers intended to serve one or two people that often leave leftovers (she points out that smaller batches cannot be cooked efficiently or as well in larger cookers). Most of the recipes are for homey, hearty fare; there is also a short chapter of quick and easy accompaniments prepared separately, along with a good, basic introduction to slow cooking. For all subject collections.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2006
With the introduction of a smaller model that cooks in quantities for one or two people, the slow cooker's popularity has grown even more. This downsized appliance for the single person or the childless couple allows the cook to prepare a meal in the morning, head off to a job, and still have a hot meal virtually ready when the workday has ended. Hensperger demonstrates this diminutive cooker's versatility with a collection of recipes that fit in with today's changing tastes in food. Chilis and soups show off the slow cooker's obvious virtues. In addition to beef- and pork-based stews and braises, plenty of turkey and chicken recipes appeal to devotees of lower-fat cooking. Polenta and risotto enhance the usual pasta dishes. Hensperger further offers some recipes for accompaniments designed for stovetop or oven preparation such as cornbread, pilafs, and dumplings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)