Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo

Last weekend I took on my biggest culinary challenge ever.  I decided that I was going to make Adobo for Joey's mom. I have been trying to cook for her lately; and, besides cupcakes, I have not been very successful. I thought maybe I would try something that I knew she would like - Chicken Adobo. However, there was a slight problem - I had never even had Adobo, much less made it! Add to that the fact that I was making it for a native of the Philippines and a fussy one at that!

My first thought was to go to my favorite chef, Raquel.  Surely she had a recipe for Adobo. Nope. So off to the internet I went searching for just the right recipe. The problem was I had no idea what the right recipe was. Some recipes I knew were wrong right off the bat. I was pretty sure cooking sherry and coconut milk were not in the mix. Finally, I found one that seemed right enough on Recipezaar. Even better it was a slow cooker version. It turns out Adobo isn't really that hard.  It's just a few ingredients.  The hard part is getting the proportions right. I made a few modifications (not many) and came up with this recipe. So, how did it turn out? Well, Joey loved it, but then again he loves almost everything I make. I really loved it, too. The chicken was amazingly tender and the seasoning was delicious. So, did the mother-in-law like it? Well, she wants me to make it again, so I will take that as a resounding yes!


Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs chicken (preferably with the bones in)
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 bay leaves, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons peppercorns (whole)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt (optional, the dish is pretty salty as is.)

Instructions

1. Brown the chicken in a saute pan and transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Saute the onions in the same pan and place over chicken.
3. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl then pour over the chicken and onions.
4. Allow chicken to marinate for 15 minutes.
5. Cook on high for 3 hours (or you can cook on low for 6)
6. Serve with white rice.

Notes

The recipe recommended to tie the spices in a cheese cloth if you don't want to bite into peppercorns. I didn't mind the peppercorns, but kids might.

Italian Pot Roast

A lot of people think a slow cooker is only good for an easy last minute meal you throw in the pot before you go to work. Sometimes that can be true. There are many crock pot meals that are just that. Cut things up and throw them in and they are tasty. But your slow cooker can also work its magic on meals that take a bit more work. In fact, it's those meals that make my slower cooker one of my favorite appliances and one I just couldn't do without.

When I am in a "fancy" slow cooker mood I always turn to The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. Every recipe I have made from this book is mouth-watering delicious. They also take a lot of work. Really a lot, but worth every minute of it.

This Italian Pot Roast is one of those recipes. I will say that the prep time was probably about 45 minutes to an hour. It was worth it. This is one of the most delicious meals I have made in my slow cooker. If you have time and want to make something really special, I totally recommend this. Since it was so time intensive I actually got it going the night before, cooked it overnight then turned it back on about two hours before dinner. With this dish, the longer it cooks the better it tastes.

Ingredients

• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 allspice berries
• 6 black peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/2 pounds beef pot roast, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 celery stalks, slicked
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup hearty dry red wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• Salt
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and peppercorns in a mortar or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the meat and cook, turning, for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned on all sides. Using tongs, transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Add the onion to the saute pan and saute, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
   
4. Add the garlic, celery, and carrots and saute for 3 - 4 minutes, until lightly browned.
5. Add the spice mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the red wine and cook for about 10 minutes, until reduced by about one-third.
7. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and salt to taste.
8. Pour sauce over the meat in the slow cooker.
9. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, until the meat falls away from the bone.
10. Garnish with parsley.
    
11. Serve over polenta, potatoes or rice.

Notes

As I mentioned above I cooked this for 10 hours overnight, then two more hours before dinner to heat it up and thicken. It really did need thickening. I asked friends online how to thicken this and got different responses. My main question was whether to use corn starch or flour. Apparently, corn starch will thin out when reheating so I created a slurry with flour to thicken the pot roast. One thing you never do is just throw flour into the dish. You will get icky lumps. I took out some of the sauce (and fat) from the pot roast and heated it up in my saute pan. I then gradually whisked in about 2 tablespoons of flour. I let that heat up and added about another cup or two of the sauce from the pot roast and let that simmer and thicken. I then added it back to the pot roast and let it cook for about 30 minutes. It turned out perfectly.


P.S. On this post, special thanks to my good friend Brenda that caught all my silly mistakes!!!