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Supper's Ready! |
It’s a dream come true, walk in the door after a long day at work and supper is ready! As you step across the threshold, the waiting aromas let you know it’s going to taste good. For the cooler season ahead, we’ve moved our slow cooker to the front of the countertop in our kitchen. Delicious food with little effort awaits!
IN THIS ISSUE, we explore one of our favorite cooking techniques, slow cooking. Just how does it work? Where does slow cooking excel, (and where does it not perform)? We cover what’s important in choosing a slow cooker, and how to care for your BFF (best friends forever) appliance. You’ll find plenty of tips for advancing your slow cooking skills and three appetizing recipes that showcase slow cooking at its best.
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Next Issue: |
"Cinnamon Breads" |
Store Information |
Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday
10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Sunday
11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Calhoun Square
3001 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis
(612) 824-4417
(888) 824-4417
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Kitchen Window Services |
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Private Events |
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Host Your Holiday Party
at Kitchen Window's
Event Center
Each interactive cooking event is designed to provide a truly unique experience. Select from one of our three-course lunches, four-course dinners or interactive appetizer cooking events.
We handle the details
so you don’t have to!
• Holiday Parties
• Office Parties
• Client Appreciation
• Team Building
• Achievements
• Birthdays
• Bridal & Baby Showers
• Anniversaries
more info
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Espresso Advantage |
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Kitchen Window's
Espresso Advantage
• Working demo units
• Hands on training
• Certified Sales Associates
• After purchase support
• Full 1 year warranty
• Free loaner machines
• Discounted service labor
• Free espresso seminar
• Locally owned business
see sales associate
for program details
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Espresso Repair |
• Tune-ups and repair
• Certified technicians
• $37.50 diagnostic fee
• Factory certified repair
Kitchen Window Services:
Baratza, Breville, Gaggia, laPavoni, Pasquini, Rancilio, Saeco, Solis & Spidem
more info
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Kitchen Window Online |
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Plan some fun with a cooking class at Kitchen Window! We have an incredible line-up of topics, menus and instructors. With hundreds of choices, a Kitchen Window cooking class makes a great outing with friends and family, as well as a wonderful date night.
Baked Explorations
Kitchen Window welcomes authors and professional bakers, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito for this very special class. With their first cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, Lewis and Poliafito brought their Brooklyn bakery, as well as their passion for baking, to national notoriety. Their dedication to updating classic desserts has been celebrated by Oprah, Martha Stewart and the Food Network, just to name a few. In their new cookbook, Baked Explorations, Lewis and Poliafito give us a collection of 75 recipes for classic American desserts and other baked goods – all with their signature Baked twists. In this class, Lewis and Poliafito will prepare four of their best autumn treats while sharing their baking tips and techniques, as well as their stories. On the menu: marshmallow chocolate cups – homey candies that are perfect for any occasion; caramel apple cake – a treat that’s great for breakfast or dessert; mom’s olive oil and orange bundt cake; and everyone’s favorite: sweet and salty brownies. This is your chance to sample some of the best baked goods in the country!
Authors will sign new copies of their cookbooks.
Each registration includes a copy of Baked Explorations.
Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito | Demonstration | $75
#3258 – Tuesday, October 12 | 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. -- REGISTER NOW
View All Cooking Classes You may register for any of our classes any time of day
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View Class:
Georg Riedel Wine Tasting Event
Celebrate the distinction of Riedel glassware during Kitchen Window’s Riedel Crystal Special Sale & Event!
October 1 – December 31
The superb craftsmanship and design of Riedel Crystal have earned the company a well-deserved reputation for excellence. From October 1 – December 31, you’ll save 20% on all regularly priced, in-stock Riedel wine glasses, spirit glasses, decanters and accessories. |
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Stock up on Root dinner candles to dress up
your holiday table during our candle event!
Buy 3 Get 1 Complimentary
October 1-31
The rich, warm colors of Root 9" Arista Timberline Dinner candles will embellish any table setting. A smooth tip creates an elegant variation from the rough textured candle body. These candles are unscented and made of beeswax. They burn clean and last up to 50% longer than ordinary dinner candles with a burn time of 1 1/2 hours per inch. Available in 17 beautiful colors. $3.50 each |
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Featured Slow Cooking Items |
With a slow cooker in the kitchen, and a few key utensils, meals are ready when you are. Just a few minutes in the morning taken to assemble the ingredients, and supper's ready when you get home. Now that's a break anyone can use!
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Knife of the Month - October |
KNIFE OF THE MONTH
Wusthof Trident 7" Nakiri with Hollow Edge
Similar to a narrow cleaver, the Wusthof Classic 7 inch Nakiri with a hollow edge is a traditional Japanese knife designed specifically to slice, dice and chop vegetables. The thin blade and polished, beveled edge lets you cut paper-thin slices with just a quick up and down motion. The Nakiri is not made for the rocking motion used with a more tapered blade.
Trident Classic 7" Santoku - Suggested Retail $135 -- THIS MONTH $89.99
Price valid in-store only
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{THIS COUPON IS VOID}
Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive our next coupon
Limit one coupon per customer number and one per household.
Offer expires October 21, 2010
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Low Temperature Cooking - Slow cooking methods may well be called “Low Temperature” cooking. A slow cooker provides a stable environment where food is gradually brought to a temperature of 170-200°F on a low setting, or to 280-300°F on a high setting. By exposing food to only low temperatures for 7-10 hours, the food gradually reaches the temperature of its surroundings, cooking in the process. The result is perfectly cooked food.
Key Temperatures – Cooking is practical science in action. Key temperatures while cooking accomplish the necessary cooking tasks of tenderizing, killing bacteria, and releasing flavors. Below these temperatures, harmful bacteria may not be killed, and may even proliferate. Most stove cooking utilizes hot temperatures and seeks a suitable internal temperature quickly. Slow cooking begins with the end in mind and seeks an equilibrium between the cooking environment and the food.
Time vs. Temperature – In exchange for fast-cooking high temperatures, more time is required for the food to reach a safe cooking temperature and become tender. That’s where the advantage of slow cooking becomes apparent. With low heat, food is started far ahead of eating time, and is able to be left unattended – a multi-tasker’s dream.
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Advantages – Slow cooking excels in several ways:
(1) Tough to Tender Meats -- Tough, inexpensive meats become tender with slow cooking. High temperatures cause the meat’s proteins to seize and toughen, and strong connective tissues remain tough. Slow cooking softens connective tissues gradually keeping muscle protein tender.
(2) Unattended Cooking – Assemble the ingredients, turn it on, and walk away! This feature is perhaps one of the biggest benefits of slow cooking. No stirring is required; there’s little chance of burning at these low temperatures.
(3) One-pot Convenience – A one-pot meal is convenient to make and serve. It is energy efficient by nature and clean up is easy.
(4) Dried to Tender Beans – Beans are back and full of great nutrition. Canned beans are about four times as expensive as dried beans. Cook dried beans in a slow cooker to save money, to eliminate the soaking step, and to make beans more easily included in your diet.
(5) Economical – Slow cookers use less expensive cuts of meat, access cheap bean nutrition, and use a minimal amount of energy. Real economy comes at day's end knowing that supper is waiting at home and expensive eating out or carryout is an unneeded option. |
Disadvantages – As great as slow cooking is, it is not appropriate or useful all of the time:
(1) Expensive Meat Cuts - Tender cuts of meat will not fare well in a slow cooker; use tough, inexpensive cuts for best results.
(2) Seafood Cooks Too Quickly - Seafood cooks quickly at low temperatures; the elongated heat exposure in a slow cooker serves no purpose and can toughen the seafood. Add seafood at the end of slow cooking.
(3) Dairy Not Heat Tolerant - Milk and cheese may separate during long cooking. Add dairy ingredients at the end of cooking.
(4) Some Baking, Yes. Other Baking, No - Slow cookers can “bake” cakes and breads, but cannot turn out cookies, pies, and other pastries where higher temperatures are required.
(5) Browning Meats – Many meat dishes benefit from a browning step that sears the surface and produces flavorful caramelization. Slow cooking does not produce any tasty brown bits; some slow cooking recipes call for a separate browning step prior to adding to the slow cooker.
(6) Color Appeal - Slow-cooked foods often lose their color. Compensate with some vibrant garnishes. |
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Overcooking – While it is nearly impossible to burn food while slow cooking, it is possible to overcook the food and have it become undesirable. Follow reliable recipes and suggested times. Slow-cooked dishes that are more forgiving and can patiently wait for you include soups, stews, beans, and larger cuts of meat. Grains, many vegetables, and desserts require timing that is more precise.
Storing Slow-Cooked Dishes – Once served, transfer any leftovers to a storage container, allow to cool, then refrigerate – all within 2 hours of completed cooking. (The heat-retaining properties of the crock make it unsuitable for cooling foods quickly enough). Slow cookers work too slowly to be useful in reheating foods. However, warmed foods can be kept warm in a pre-heated slow cooker. Pay attention to safe food practices regarding timing and temperatures.
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Kitchen Window's Smart Slow Cooking Tips |
Tip #1: Put your slow cooker(s) to work at holiday gatherings where oven space and stovetop space is at premium. Plug in one or two slow cookers and assign them to key recipes. They’ll accomplish the task on the side, away from most of the kitchen flurry.
Tip #2: A tip from our featured author: layer the ingredients in the slow cooker as called for in the recipe. Ingredients on the bottom will receive more heat, and ingredients on top may be useful in basting ingredients below. A classic example of this is a pot roast with root vegetables. The vegetables actually take longer to cook than the meat and benefit from the meat juices.
Tip #3: Take care when doubling recipes for the slow cooker. The different quantities will change the cooking times. In any case, do not fill the slow cooker more than three-quarters full.
Tip #4: Never immerse the outside heating unit in water. Simply wipe up any spilled food with a paper towel or dishtowel.
Tip #5: Don’t forget to taste and adjust the seasonings in your slow cooked recipe. Spices and herbs may lose their punch over the long cooking period. When cooking beans in the slow cooker, salt only at the end. Salt toughens the skins of many beans preventing them from becoming tender.
Tip #6: Brown a couple of pounds of ground meat at a time and freeze the extra pound in a freezer-grade zipper bag. The next time you slow cook a recipe calling for the meat, the browning step is done.
Tip #7: Most slow cooking is accomplished unattended. Liquids are condensed on the lid and returned to the food. It’s ok to lift the lid and stir once or twice, but know that heat and steam are escaping with each peek.
Tip #8: Place only thawed foods in a slow cooker. Frozen foods will suppress the slow cooker’s temperatures stalling the cooking, and perhaps making the environment conducive to bacterial growth. Also, many inserts are not tempered to withstand a collision of hot and cold.
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Q: What is sous vide?
A: An older technique currently experiencing a revival, sous vide is another slow, low temperature cooking method. Food is placed in airtight or vacuum-sealed plastic bags and placed in a water bath appliance whose temperature is kept constant at a very low heat, around 140-160°F. The result is food that is quite tender and moist.
Q: How can some of my favorite recipes be adapted to the slow cooker?
A: Many classics have been adapted for slow cooking methods. A good slow cooker cookbook will have tested recipes available. If you’re interested in experimenting on your own, generally decrease the amount of liquid used by about half, or just enough liquid to cover the food. (Rice and pasta adaptations may be the exception here; maintain standard water-to-grain ratios). Seasonings decrease in potency in long cooking; add a bit more, or taste and adjust at the end of cooking.
Q: How much liquid should I add before cooking? The recipes don’t seem to call for enough liquid.
A: It’s not unusual to think at the onset of a slow cooking recipe that there is not enough liquid. But, slow cooking conserves moisture because there is no evaporation or steam released. As food heats, it releases its water; this quickly adds to the total amount of liquid. Use enough liquid to cover, just barely, the ingredients. For best results, use a reliable, tested recipe as a guide.
Q: A slow cooker is on for hours at a time, is it energy efficient?
A: Several factors go into determining the energy efficiency of slow cooking. Newer models are definitely more energy efficient by design. A slow cooker uses less energy than the stovetop or oven, but may operate for longer periods. In actual use, a slow cooker is estimated to cost about 2 cents an hour to operate. The one-pot nature of the slow cooker increases the efficient use of energy.
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From
Natasha |
At Kitchen Window, we strive to offer everything you need to outfit your kitchen, stock your cupboards, host a fabulous dinner party or give the perfect gift. And we are excited about the products we carry – we don’t just sell them, we use them in our own kitchens everyday. Check out our Staff Picks – to get to know us and the products we love.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Natasha – Senior Buyer & General Merchandising Manager
Natasha has been with Kitchen Window for 11 years. She was a pastry chef for quite a few years, and she loves making tarts and classic European tortes – the more detailed and time-consuming the better. Natasha also has a passion for finding the best housewares and kitchen tools for our store and for her own collection.
Natasha’s pick this week is Riedel glassware because, as she says: “I had the chance to have lunch with Georg Riedel and go through a tasting with him last fall, and it is something I will never forget. He is truly passionate about wine, his glassware and his company which is extremely rare for a company of Riedel’s size. It truly made me appreciate Riedel glassware even more.” Her two favorite Riedel glasses are the Riedel O Cabernet, Merlot & Bordeaux Glass – a tumbler that’s great for traveling and mingling at a party; and the Riedel Vinum Burgundy & Pinot Noir Glass – a stemmed glass that has ruined all other wine glasses for her. |
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Riedel Vinum Burgundy
& Pinot Noir Glass
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Riedel O Cabernet, Merlot
& Bordeaux Glass
Riedel Vinum Wine Glasses provide a perfectly shaped wine glass for a particular type of wine, designed to deliver aroma and flavor to the areas of the palate that are most susceptible to that sense. The Riedel Vinum Pinot Noir wine glass is perfect for medium and lighter bodied reds, including Burgundy and the slightly tannic nebbiolo.
The Riedel Stemless "O" Wine glass is definitely one of the more innovative items in glassware. Elegant yet approachable, this glass beautifully accentuates cabernet and merlot varietals, and is also perfect for Bordeaux and Rioja. The shape allows for the true character of a wine to enter into your senses by utilizing bowl form that are designed uniquely for a particular type of wine, and the "O" series adds to that by removing the stem providing you with glasses that are easier to use and fit in the dishwasher.
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Slow & Easy, Fast –Fix Recipes for Your Electric Slow Cooker by Natalie Haughton. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Copyright 2009.
There are many cookbooks for slow cooking on the market these days. We chose to feature this one because it had an emphasis on the fast assembly of ingredients. To really take everyday advantage of slow cooking, the upfront preparation needs to be manageable in what are already very hectic days. This book guides us in accomplishing our slow cooking target of fast, easy, and then slow. It covers the classic slow cooker world with one-pot meals, recipes for all kinds of meats, rich soups, and stews. It also expands our slow cooking horizons by presenting dips, drinks, salsas, pastas, grains, sides, ethnic flavors, and breakfast fare. She concludes with slow cooker desserts such as cake, crème brûlée, cheesecake, and crumbles. With this wide range of offerings, the versatility of a slow cooker is repeatedly proven. True to its title, recipes are assembled quickly and easily, then left for the slow cooker to do the heavy lifting of coaxing and blending flavors. Your slow cooker will have a permanent place on your countertop with this book beside it. |
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Three Slow Cooker Recipes |
Recipes from Slow & Easy by Natalie Haughton. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Copyright 2009. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
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Black Bean Soup
View & Print
With ten minutes of effort in the morning, this hearty soup was ready for us at suppertime. The slow cooker is great for cooking dried beans with no tending of the flame, or chance for burning. The soup had deep, rich, satisfying flavors. We topped our bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a few dices of freshly chopped tomatoes. Hmmm, maybe a little shredded cheese next time.
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Barbecued Pulled Beef Sandwiches
View & Print
This recipe deliciously demonstrates another virtue of the slow cooker – making inexpensive, tough cuts of meat succulent and tender. The aroma that greeted us as we walked through the door that evening was mouth-watering. The sandwiches were exactly what we thought a good pulled beef sandwich should be. The leftovers were a pleasant redux. |
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Mediterranean Chicken with Artichokes,
Mushrooms and
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
View & Print
The slow cooker is not just for making everyday food, but is a huge boon when entertaining. We served this recipe to company serving it over pasta. The piquancy of the sun-dried tomatoes and the unique artichoke flavor created a taste sensation that delighted our guests. This dish may be cooked on high for 3 hours, or on low for 5 hours – choose what fits your schedule.
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Share this email with a friend or invite someone to join you for a cooking class.
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Take five minutes in the morning to set up your slow cooker, save hours in the evening!
From all of us at Kitchen Window
Kitchen Window
Calhoun Square - 3001 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-824-4417 -- 888-824-4417
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