Customer Reviews

The Complete Crockery Cookbook: Create Spectacular Meals in Your Slow Cooker (The Complete Crockpot Cookbook, 1)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is very disappointing. My main complaint is that many of the recipes call for ingredients such as frozen vegetables, canned soup, mayonnaise, and one which actually calls for an entire bottle of Catalina salad dressing. This really is not my style of cooking. Another reviewer commented that a lot of recipes need something done throughout the cooking process or are partially cooked on the stove before being put into the Crockpot. This was a big turn off for me too. I suggest trying a different book.

If you think that crockpots are basically for some sort of variation on stew and that is pretty much it then you will be surprised by the variety included in this book. Although I enjoy cooking, I use a crockpot about every six months and then it is for pretty much similar recipes. "The Complete Crockpot Cookbook" has opened my eyes to the possibilities of this piece of cooking equipment. Of course it has the expected wide variety of soups, stews, beans, chowders, and chilis (with a great Tex-Mex chili recipe). From there it moves on to the unexpected recipes like Chicken Pattow, Beef Roast with Onion-Mushroom Gravy, Swiss Steak, Barbequed Ribs, Pork Chops, Meatloaf, and many others. When appropriate a quick tip ("Cook's Note") is included at the end of many of the recipes to help make sure it comes out like it should. There are also short "A Tip From the Kitchen" sections scattered through out the book. These contain suggestions and short pieces of general information not specifically related to a specific recipe. It is a surprising collection of recipes that will please anyone looking for new ways to use their crockpot for some delicious meals. "The Complete Crockpot Cookbook" is a highly recommended read.

I just finished writing a review for the Rush Hour Cook's Weekly Wonders by Brook Noel, who is actually, Wendy Louises' daughter. My friend saw the two do a cooking demo at a packed stage at Taste of Home. He bought autographed copies of both books for me. I am in charge the dinner hour in our home. I work first shift, so much to my wife's dismay, I get to handle the dinner duties. While I'll admit I am not a gourmet cook (okay, macaroni is tough) I have been getting the "thumbs up" as of late by cooking with these books. What I love about Wendy's book is that these meals are SO SIMPLE yet so mouth-watering-good. I had tried another well-known slow cooker cookbook and was very disappointed with the results. I was a bit nervous about trying again, but courage prevailed. I'm glad it did as is everyone at our dinner table. I read the other reviews before posting mine and saw comments about about the print quality. Like other readers, my book was absolutely fine. Very odd. I agree too that the large font and one recipes per page is an added bonus to the nice layout and design of this book.

I have tried several crockpot books and haven't been that impressed. Many of the recipes are soups, stews, what one would expect to prepare in a crockpot. A friend who SWEARS by this book gave me a copy--and I'm so glad she did!

First--there is an extensive selection of recipes in this book. This is "not your mother's crockpot cookbook!" Everything from appetizers to desserts, are covered along with serving suggestions, extensive details on times and cooking methedology and interesting tips from the kitchen, including ways to enhance a meal, advice on serving----this was one of those cookbooks that you READ, not just cook from.

I noticed a few people talking about print or poor quality. I am unsure what book they have, but the book I have is impeccable--no print problems, book looks great, in fact the quality is better than many cookbooks I've seen--and it is also nice because the text is nice and large, with one recipe per page, so it is easy to read and you can see the ingredients at a distance, versus need a magnifying glass to see what to do next.

If you truly want to use your crockpot regularly in your meal preparation--I feel this book would be an excellent choice for you. Enjoy it! I am!

This is a great book for someone who isn't looking for weird recipes. It doesn't use things that you have never heard of before, or that you have to drive an hour to find. Quick to read, easy to make, great to eat. Now you can make more than just pot roast and potatoes.

I was not happy with this cookbook because many of the recipes required that I do something during the day with the recipe, like stir it at 4 hours into cooking, or cook something on a stove then put it in the slow cooker. I work 100 hour work weeks and I really need something quick and easy, and this book did NOT have many recipes that were quick or easy. I was so upset with it I had to write in to give the warning out.

I love this book--and I am sure my family is getting sick of the slow cooker since it is all I seem to use anymore! But check out these recipes, Chicken Corn Chowder, L.J.'s Barbecued Ribs, Mom's Stuffed Flank Steak, Sherry Peaches, Scalloped Potatoes and Ham for a Crowd, Hot Fruit Compote, Cheryl's Sherried Pears Served with Creme Fraiche, Misteletoe Punch... it is a mouth-watering line up! (And these are just a few of the many great recipes you'll find.)

After looking through the entire cookbook, I found a recipe for "Glazed Dessert Peaches" that looked rather delicious. There were so many great recipes, I had trouble deciding on which one to make. Lots of these recipes have a touch of sophistication and many use vermouth, sherry, white wine and cognac.

You will find recipes for: Soups, Stews, Chilies, Beans, Entrees, Festive Food, Desserts and even Beverages.

Finally, I bought 10 peaches and ended up using just seven, which seemed to fit perfectly in the base of my crockpot. I'd never used "Sherry" on peaches, but the facts are, it is delicious. The recipe calls for dark brown sugar, but you might enjoy adding a little Muscovado Brown sugar if you can find it.

After cooking the peaches for 2 hours they were just perfect. I did try one after 1 hour and it was still good, but the extra hour helped. There is no time on the recipe, so it is up to you. We served this dish with whipping cream. You could possibly add a few pastry cut-outs, but otherwise, it was one of the most delicious peach dishes I've ever tasted. Plus, it was rather fun to make. I was a little liberal with the Sherry. The sauce is just buttery, smooth and sophisticated.

Some other recipes you might enjoy are: Chicken Corn Chowder, Joan's Chicken in a Pot, L.J.'s Barbecued Ribs, Mom's Stuffed Flank Steak, Scalloped Potatoes and Ham for a Crowd, Corn on the Cob, Hot Fruit Compote, Cheryl?s Sherried Pears Served with Creme Fraiche, and Misteletoe Punch.

All the recipes are very easy to read and some have "cook's notes" on them to save you time or to give you great serving tips. Each chapter has its own index and then there is a full index at the end of the book. Most of the recipes are on one or two pages and you rarely have to turn a page to complete a recipe.

The author gives some excellent tips on how you can assemble recipes the night before. I had some questions about how that would work if the crockpot liner was cold, but I now have the answer to this question. I didn?t want an abrupt change of temperature to ruin the liner.

Personally, a world without a crockpot would not be as cozy. There is just something so comforting about a meal cooked in a crockpot. Plus, you can cuddle up in your down comforter on the couch and watch a good movie while you are cooking dinner.

All I have left to say is: TRY THE SHERRY PEACH RECIPE. It will knock your comfy little winter socks off. My husband was really impressed! Betty Tillman is right, you will think you are in heaven. Dessert heaven.

A Must-Have Cookbook for Winter Cooking and beyond.

~The Rebecca Review

I read this entire cookbook in an HOUR - and loved every minute of it! My mouth was watering after the first recipe, and it just made me more hungry as I continued through the book! I even read some of the tasty treats to my husband and he started a list of which one(s) I should cook first! There are recipes for every palate in this book, and all of them save time! I love cooking in my crockpot, but seem to always make the same roasts, with the same ingredients and the same ... same ... same. In the winter, there's nothing better than soup cooking all day long. In the summer, I hate to heat the house up in any way, so either barbeque or set the crockpot out on the porch to cook our meals. I thrive on crockpot cooking and author Wendy Louise has created the perfect cookbook for me to make great meals for my family, while keeping me from slaving in the kitchen for hours!

My Mom and I actually have a running joke about crockpots. Every time she would get out the crockpot when I was little, I would cry! So as a joke (I think) she sent me this book for Valentine's Day, inside a crockpot, filled with seasoning. I laughed and set it on the floor. My roomate suggested we try it one night when we were craving a homemade meal at midnight! So we tried the Chicken Pattow (and ran to a 24-hour market to get the ingredients)-- of course, we forgot to factor in the time for cooking in a crockpot--so we ended up having the meal for breakfast. BUT, the smell was incredible as was the recipes, and we attracted the attention of many dorm-mates. So now we have made Sunday our crockpot day when we try a new recipe from this book and cook for about 6-8 girls in the dorm.