Cooking It Up Bio – Jennifer Cote

With a musician husband, Jennifer's enjoyed all genres of music, initially into gospel music by association (dad is a big fan). Jennifer lives in Pinole, California with husband Tom and son Tyler. Also a grandmother with another son and daughter-in-law, the whole family is active at Community Alliance Church in Richmond.

Running their own eatery, The New Deli, for over 21 years, Tom and Jennifer have spent much time in the kitchen, honing skills and coming up with favorite recipes for their patrons. "From The Land Of Milk And Honey" is the fruit of Jennifer's labor; a cookbook/devotional full of great recipes, scripture, and insight into daily living as a Christian. 

”Cooking In The House” is a monthly column focusing on cuisine, inspiring the home cook with cooking tips and more.

Jennifer welcomes your comments and suggestions, and you can write her at fromthelandofmilkandhoney@hotmail.com

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Slow cookers are becoming all the rage. I've made my share of meals in my "slow cooker"; favorites are Beef Bourguignon, and Beef Stroganoff. I suppose the cheaper cuts of meat (chuck roast and the like) are popular to use in slow cooker recipes, as the slow cooking time allows these otherwise tougher cuts of meat to become nice and tender.

But it is interesting to watch the trends in the food industry. Just like clothing fashions, one method or another takes center stage, and everyone's encouraged to get the latest gadgets, to keep up with the trends. But good, basic cooking never goes out of style! So what gadgets are worthy of our investment?

I actually, technically, never owned a "slow cooker". I had a crock pot, given as a wedding gift over 30 years ago. But the term "crock pot" hasn't been as popular, having become associated with something outdated mothers used for a time, only to stuff away in a back cupboard as newer, cooler gadgets came along.

Ah, and now a new generation is investing in their slow cookers (aka crock pots), tackling "new" recipes with enthusiastic fervor. Regardless of what you call it, the slow cooker/crock pot truly is a handy tool. Given the hectic schedules of the many working mothers out there, it makes sense to throw a few ingredients together in the morning, to have a finished meal when everyone makes it back home.

Also, those tougher cuts of meats are actually loaded with flavor. Pricier cuts may slice through like butter, and can be prepared more quickly; they can be tender even when served rare. But it's the less fatty meats (containing more muscle) that have the best beef flavor. At The New Deli, we cook a huge Rump Roast; it may not be the most tender cut, but it's tender enough once we've sliced it paper-thin. It's the best of both worlds: Plenty of flavor, and tender even when medium rare. For the rest of you folk, without a Hobart meat slicer, a slow cooker will do just fine.

Beef Stroganoff

This classic recipe is sped up by using a pressure cooker to simmer the beef, which also seals in flavor. A crock pot, left on low all day, can also be used. With a few extra ingredients, like carrot, red wine and tomato paste, a simple Beef Bourguignon can be made for variety. Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. beef, boneless chuck roast or similar cut
• Olive oil, as needed, for browning
• 3 c. beef broth (or substitute chicken broth)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 3 TBS. flour
• 1 lb. mushrooms
• 1 tsp. salt (less if using salted broth)
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 12 oz. wide egg noodles

Cut into 2" cubes:  > 2 lb. chuck roast

Get a large iron skillet quite hot. Brown beef cubes in a little olive oil in the skillet- don't crowd the pan or the beef won't brown. As pieces get browned, add to oven-proof pot, crock pot, or pressure cooker, if available. Set skillet aside to use for cooking the onions.

Microwave until hot: > 3 c. beef or chicken broth > 2 bay leaves

Add hot broth to the pot/pressure cooker. Cover the pot; let beef cook until tender. This will take 2 1/2 to 3 hours in a 375 degree oven, or 8 hours or so in a crock pot on low heat, or 40 minutes at medium pressure in a pressure cooker. While beef is cooking, sauté onions in the skillet used to brown the beef. To hot skillet, add: > olive oil as needed > 1 lg. onion, chopped

Turn heat down, cooking onions slowly, until sweet and tender. At this point, the pan of onions can be refrigerated until beef's done cooking, if using the oven or crock pot. When ready to assemble the dish, continue with remaining steps. To the cooked onions, add:  > 3 garlic cloves, minced > 3 TBS. flour > 1 tsp. thyme

Mix garlic, flour and thyme into the onion until smooth. Set aside. In separate pan, sauté mushrooms. Again, don't crowd the pan or they won't brown! Do batches, adding browned mushrooms to the onion/garlic/flour pan. Use: > 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

When meat is done, pour some of the liquid into the onion/mushroom/garlic/flour pan. Mix until smooth, then add remaining liquid. Turn pan on and bring almost to a boil, so that the flour will thicken it. Cook for 2 minutes. Mixture should look saucy (boil it longer to reduce liquid if it's too thin). Add last: > salt to taste (1 tsp. or so) > 1/2 c. sour cream

Serve over cooked pasta, garnish with chopped parsley.

Jennifer Cote, with husband Tom, opened The New Deli in Pinole, CA in 1985. Her cookbook, "From the Land of Milk and Honey", is filled with New Deli favorite recipes, plus scripture and insight into Christian living. Find more info at: www.PCCuisine.com; email Jennifer at getrecipes@hotmail.com. 

Enjoy more recipes in Jennifer Cote's cookbook/devotional, From the Land of Milk and Honey, from Winepress Publishing.

Purchase hard-to-find items, helpful cooking tools, whole food ingredients, and gourmet items online at Jen's shop at www.pccuisine.com. A catering menu and a lunch menu can also be viewed at the website. Find more info at: PCCuisine.com; email Jennifer at getrecipes@hotmail.com.