Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker

Martha Stewart admits she did not grow up with a slow cooker nor did she ever use a slow cooker until she decided to write this book. But she's a convert now.

The second cookbook I received (after, of course, the ubiquitous Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook) at my wedding shower was a crockpot recipe book. This was the 70's and I was determined to both work and cook well for my man. The crockpot cookbook was perfect for us. I'd start it up at seven before I left for work and, when we arrived home at five, we had a pot of amazing food.

So we (my man has learned to use the slow cooker, too, over the years) have continued to use this cookbook for the past forty years. I thought I knew everything about crockpots.

Then I read this book. 

Martha Stewart had the luxury of having a panel of editors and recipe developers create and test recipes that enhanced the strengths of a crockpot for more than a year. Martha shares a list of ten Slow Cooker Commandments, all new to me, and a list of tips for best using the crockpot (all new to me). These alone are worth the price of the book.

Then I tried out the recipes. My husband and I sticky-noted recipes that sounded good to us---Chili Chicken Tacos, Sausage and Vegetable Ciambotta, Brisket and Onions---and over a few weeks, we tested Martha's testers.

Our results? 

We've set our tattered and splattered forty-year-old crockpot standard in the pantry for now, and replaced it with Martha's shiny new book in our cookbook stand. 

Here's one of our (new) favorites:

Martha Stewart's Slow-Cooker Brisket and Onions

Ingredients 

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced 
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 
• 1 first cut of beef brisket (4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat 
• Coarse salt and ground pepper 
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

• Directions 

  1. 
     

     1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine onion and garlic. Season brisket with salt and pepper and place, fat side up, in slow cooker. Add broth. Cover and cook on high until brisket is fork-tender, about 6 hours. Remove brisket and thinly slice against the grain. Serve with onion and some cooking liquid; sprinkle with parsley. 
  2. 
     

     2. If you make this ahead of time, cover and refrigerate brisket in cooking liquid, up to 1 week. Reheat in a 300-degree oven.

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