Small things, big deal and the fondue slow cooker recipe

March 30th, 2012

Appliance Talk Food Preparation Recipes Toasters & Kettles

Small appliances have more uses than ever imagined.

What do anchovies, capers, and garlic have in common? Apart from giving you bad breath they’re examples of little things that pack a lot of punch.

As it is with kitchen appliances.

Large appliances are mostly essential workhorses: the fridge, dishwasher and oven. But it’s the small appliances, often tucked under benches and in cupboards, that can make a big difference to making fine food in your kitchen.

The versatility of many small appliances makes them a kitchen staple.

A stick blender can be used to blend soups, smoothies, salad dressings, cocktails, hummus or other dips, make breadcrumbs, sauces, batters, and whip cream.

A sandwich press can be used for making flat bread, pancakes, corn fritters, heating hashbrowns, fish fingers, nuggets, toasting sandwiches (obviously), banana bread, hot cross buns, and even cooking steak!

Rice cookers can double up for steaming veges, making soups, chili, risottos, casseroles, porridge, polenta and quinoa.

Stews, casseroles, sauces and soups are commonly cooked in slow cookers, but they can also be used to cook puddings and even fondeu.

Perhaps slow is the new fast.

Fondeu slow cooker recipe

In A Year of Slow Cooking, Stephani O’Dea committed herself to using a slow cooker every day for a year. She found that the versatility of the small appliance meant she was able to cook up a variety of meals.

And a favourite, cheese fondeu.

O’Dea used crusty bread to dip into the cheese, but you could also consider fresh veges like broccoli, cauliflower or capsicums, or even chunks of apple!

This is O’Dea’s Beer Cheese Fondue.

The Ingredients, serves 8

1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup of Gruyere cheese, grated

2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 bottle of beer

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

The Directions.

Put the onion, garlic, and cheeses into your cooker. Stir in the cornstarch and dry mustard. Crush the caraway seeds and add them to the pot. Pour in the beer.

Cover and cook on low for 2 to 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper before serving, adding more to taste if necessary.

And here’s O’Dea’s recipe for Thyme and Goat Cheese

The Ingredients, serves 4 to 6

350 gram package fresh goat cheese

2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leave, plus more for a garnish

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

The Directions.

If desired, place an oven-safe ramekin into the bottom of the cooker that you’d like to use for serving. Otherwise, plan on serving this right out of the cooker. Put the cheese into the cooker (or ramekin), and press the thyme leaves into the top. Drizzle olive oil on top and add black pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, or until cheese has softened and become easy to spread. Lift inserted dish (CAREFULLY! use oven mitts!) out of the slow cooker and serve on the table with your favorite dippers.

Keri Algar

Having once had to sit on the washing machine to stop it from bouncing into oblivion, Keri is today delighted with the new (smoother running) technologies that make housework easier every day. A self-confessed lazy-bones, Keri seeks out quirky inventions that ease the human workload, such as the robotic vacuum cleaner (wow). And as soon as someone figures out a Jetsons-like self-cleaning house, she will happily lay her pen to rest and retire from appliance journalism. Until then, her pick is a fridge that will tell her smartphone when it's time to pick up more beer on the way home. Magic.