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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Weekend Cooking- Emeril's Cooking With Power by Emeril Lagasse


This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

Emeril's Cooking With Power by Emeril Lagasse
Published by William Morrow Cookbooks ISBN 9780062300171
Hardcover, $25.99, 272 pages

While on the treadmill a few weeks ago, I found Emeril Lagasse on Good Morning America making lasagna in a slow cooker. "Hmm," I thought, "Maybe I should try this in my new crock pot." My only worry was that the noodles would be mushy, but I remembered that my husband saw a recipe for Crock Pot Lasagna on my Facebook feed and mentioned that he would like me to try it, so I did.

Everyone raved about it, and although I personally thought the noodles were a little mushy, I was clearly in the minority on this one. (I'm making it again tomorrow by request.) Then I remembered that I had an ARC of Emeril's Cooking With Power on my Kindle, so I flipped through it to see what else was there.

The subtitle of the book is 100 Delicious Recipes Starring Your Slow Cooker, Multi-Cooker, Pressure Cooker and Deep Fryer. Now as many of you know, I live in an NYC apartment and my kitchen is not big, so I don't have the space for all those electrics. But for those of you who do, this is a book you may want to pick up.

At the beginning of each section Emeril lists the gadget he cooked in, all of them available from his line of cookers, but if you don't own his brand, he helpfully lists the requirements you will need- size, timers, warmers, etc.- in your own electric appliance.

This book is for the more sophisticated cook; it's not a throw-it-in-the-crockpot-and-forget-it type of cooking. Many of meat recipes call for browning in a skillet, and some vegetables have to be sauteed before going in. There are multiple steps before placing in the cooker.

I liked that there are so many varieties of ethnic dishes here, perhaps because Emeril is from the melting pot of New Orleans. In the slow cooker section, he has recipes for Risotto Milanese, Cuban-Style Slow-Cooked Black Beans, Colombian Chicken, Corn and Potato Stew, and Duck Confit.

The Multi-Cooker recipes includes Seafood Soup with Coconut Milk and Tamarind, Baby Bock Choy with Black Bean-Garlic Sauce and S'mores Pudding.

He makes Lamb Stew with Israeli Couscous, Sweet Potatoes and Preserved Lemon, Quick Osso Buco, and Korean-Style Beef Stew in the Pressure Cooker section.

Classic Crab Rangoons, Crabmeat Beignets, Southeast Asian Egg Rolls and Natchitoches Meat Pies can be found in the Deep Fryer section.

If you are an adventurous cook who owns these electrics and likes ethnic foods, I would recommend Emeril's Cooking With Power; I think it could expand a cook's palette.

If you want to see Emeril's segment on Good Morning America, the link is here.
His recipe for Slow Cooker Lasagna is here.

rating 4 of 5

12 comments:

  1. We have a big kitchen, now, but I'm so used to a small kitchen that I have yet to acquire all the gadgets. I keep thinking I may want a slow cooker and/or a pressure cooker so I'm always interested in the reviews of the cookbooks that make use of them.

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  2. I have a large kitchen but don't own most of those gadgets so this probably isn't for me.

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  3. I have a slow cooker (two, actually) but none of the other appliances mentioned. Watching Emeril is always a treat… I've been curious about slow cooker lasagna. Glad to hear your family enjoyed it so much.

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  4. I didn't realize Emeril had a slow cooker cookbook out. I don't have a multi-cooker or pressure cooker, but I'm sure I would find enough other recipes. I love how flavorful his recipes always are.

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  5. I have a large kitchen and love gadgets but also think that there is only so much space for so many gadgets in the kitchen.

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  6. Oh I didn't know he had pressure cooker recipes!!! I adore my pressure cooker and I'm so glad to learn of new source for recipes.

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  7. Have a slow cooker and a deep fryer, but don't use either of them that often. I like the sound of the recipes, but cookbooks with all those different cuisines represented require a trip to the store for every new recipe. My pantry isn't that well stocked.

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  8. I have a big kitchen and collect small kitchen appliances like other women collect shoes, so this book sounds interesting to me!

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  9. I don't even have a crockpot (I'm also in a little galley kitchen), so I'm not sure this cookbook is a good fit for me. I have liked the Emeril recipes I've tried in the past, though. And I'm glad you found a recipe that the family loves!

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  10. Wow, that sounds like a great book, and as for lasagne made in the slow-cooker, I'm all over that - love the idea.

    Incidentally, if space is at a premium for you, I recently came across a Sunbeam product which can be used as a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, and a rice cooker all in one appliance. Not sure if you have that brand available in the USA, but it would definitely be a product to look out for.

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  11. I don't have a slow cooker, but I can see how it would be useful. Lasagna without much effort sounds great.

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  12. Emeril + crockpot? I'm IN. I'll skip the fryer, but I'm trying to become friends with my crockpot, and Emeril's recipes rock. Thanks for the heads-up!

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