An Easygoing Easter With The Slow Cooker

posted April 4, 2007
  by Pamela Chester, The Savvy Slow Cooker

When it comes to Easter, I have very strong feelings. You see, it has always been my favorite holiday for a bunch of different reasons. When I was a kid, I loved waking up with my siblings and cousins to our Easter baskets brimming with candy and having fun with endless egg hunts. Not only that, but my mom, who was not usually into baking, would pull out all the stops with a Bunny-shaped cake and egg-shaped cupcakes that we would spend hours decorating, along with the fun of dying the regular eggs. The Easter holiday embodies not only my favorite time of year but also my favorite candy—Cadbury mini eggs – which are only available right around Easter time (maybe that’s why I like them so much!).

Now, I just enjoy it for being a nice holiday to spend with loved ones without any major build up or gift-giving expectations. It’s also my favorite time of year to cook with all the delightful seasonal spring ingredients and fresh young vegetables, such as asparagus and baby peas, that are readily available in the springtime. But most importantly, Easter has a unique theme of rebirth that fits so well with the season in which it falls, helping to inspire a lighter style of cooking.

The main dish many people associate with Easter has always been ham, while for others, Easter dinner is synonymous with lamb. Having never been a big fan of ham, I rest firmly in the lamb camp. But both of these dishes are easily made in the slow cooker for a succulent, yet simple Easter dinner. You can even start it the night before. That way you can have the option to serve a little bit of each to please all your guests.

This year, you can enliven your ham with a different type of sauce. I found a simple apricot mustard sauce that sounds like it would be just the thing to change my mind about ham. You can also use this sauce to glaze the ham in place of the traditional pineapple sauce. Lamb is customarily served with mint jelly on the side, which used to be served to disguise the stronger taste of mutton. Nowadays, most lamb you find is much milder in flavor and would be complemented by not only mint jelly (which can be cut with a little lemon juice to temper its sweetness) but also other sauces such as a roasted garlic or balsamic vinegar sauce.

Another way you can use your slow cooker during the Easter season is to make homemade holiday treats. The slow cooker is very useful for tempering chocolate, a process that will give the chocolate used in candymaking and for decorating a glossy, appealing finish (it also prevents crystallization and dull streaks, called bloom). The tempering process requires lots of time and a steady consistent temperature, and this is where the slow cooker comes in. Instead of dragging out a double boiler and candy thermometer and setting aside a chunk of time from your schedule, you can use a slow cooker.

You can place all of the chocolate and any other add-ins in the slow cooker (following whatever candymaking recipe you prefer), then cover and cook on low for 40 to 60 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Stir once or twice during the cooking time, to make sure the chocolate does not stick to the bottom or sides of the crockpot. Whisk the mixture vigorously when it is nearly melted. Once it has cooled a bit, you are ready to proceed with dipping or pouring the chocolate into molds.

Happy Easter!

Stuffed Lamb Shoulder Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 6
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 3 pounds lamb shoulder, boned
* 1/2 pound bulk sausage
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoon parsley
* 1 tablespoon oregano or marjoram
* 2 cloves garlic -- minced
* 1 onion, sliced
* 2 stalks celery, sliced
* 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Trim all excess fat from lamb shoulder. To prepare stuffing, brown sausage and chopped onion in skillet; drain well. Stir in herbs and garlic. Stuff lamb with mixture.

Roll lamb and fasten with skewers or string. Place sliced onion, celery and carrots in crockpot. Place stuffed and rolled lamb on top of vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on High for 1 hour, then turn to low for 10 to 12 hours.

Serve lamb sliced, with the natural juices poured over vegetables and meat, and mint sauce/jelly on the side, if desired.


Easter Ham Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 8
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 1 whole ham
* 1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
* 1/3 cup maple syrup
* aluminum foil

Line crock pot with aluminum foil. Place ham in crock pot. Pour crushed pineapple over ham, and then pour maple syrup over the top. Cover and cook for 6 hours.


Apricot Mustard Sauce Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 2.25 cups
Ready in: < 30 minutes

* 2 cups apricot jam
* 1/4 cup mustard powder

In a small saucepan, combine jam and mustard (they can be mixed and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead). Transfer 1/2 cup mixture to a small bowl to glaze ham. Set aside saucepan with remaining mixture to serve as the sauce.

©2008 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction of this article may be made without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.



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