Suzi - post this over on the Cooking Forum, too. More people seem to "hang" there. I'm having a hard time making my crockpot meals meet the same standards as the ones I actually attend to cook. So I am looking forward to responses to your post.

seagrass

Suzi: I have had a very good Boeuf Bourguignonne prepared by my sister. The recipe is in the cookbook that came with our Rival Crock Pots. If you like, I will post it.

However, my results have been similar to those of seagrass. Everything I've ever made in the crock pot tastes like all the flavor's been leached out.

However, my sister's Beef Burgundy came out so good that, after many years, I still remember it.

tobygirl, I'd like that recipe if you would post it, please.

Suzieque (coincidentally, not the OP here, but similar names!)

I think that crock pot and gourmet are mutually exclusive terms.
There are many many wonderful really gourmet dishes you can throw together quickly when you get home. Things like chicken picatta, you can do the prep before and when you get home just pan fry the pounded chicken in a little butter/oil mix ( cooks in about 4 to 6 minutes...add the lemon and wine and capers and with some angelhair pasta and a nice salad you have dinner.
Other quick and easy meals might be your home made pasta sauce with your own meatballs made ahead and heated uop to serve over pasta.
fish bakes in about 10 to 15 minutes, veal scallops cook in moments.
Skip the slow cooker...it won't please people who love fine food and fine wine.
But then a guest should be pleased with whatever you feed them and be glad you are being hostess.
Linda C

Hmmmmmm You are making me think. Crock Pot and Gourmet just don't mix. You are probably right. Sad. HOWEVER, it just came to me, you can pre-cook pasta and put it in little parchment packages with veggies, butter, herbs and shrimp, Set the oven to go on at a certain time, and those cute little parchment packets will be done and smelling great when you walk in the door.

I'll look up my favorite recipe for that and post it here for all you who have helped me!

Chicken Picatta sounds great!!

I would like that Boeuf Bourguignonne recipe though, so tobygirl, please post it.

Thank you all for the wonderful ideas!

Suzi

Here is the Parchment Package recipe I posted as an alternative to the crock pot, but still...... And it serves 1, so it would have to be doubled, quintupled, etc.

This got rave reviews from our last guests!

Parchment Shrimp Scampi
Maui Marriott Resort and Ocean Club - Maui, Hawaii
A signature dish featured at the oceanfront Va Bene Italian Beachside Grill at Maui Marriott Resort and Ocean Club.
Ingredients:
1 piece parchment paper 17 " x 12 "
5 each tiger prawns, peeled & deveined, size U12 (12 shrimp per lb.)
4 oz. cooked angel hair pasta
4 pieces grilled asparagus
1 each roasted tomato, cut in half
1 each grilled Portobello mushroom, cut in half
2 oz. herb garlic butter (see recipe below)
1 teaspoon zest from lemon
1/2 oz. extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Kosher or HawÂn salt & cracked pepper to taste

Preparation:
Take half of the olive oil and lemon juice, mix well in mixing bowl, add shrimp, and toss well until shrimp is well-seasoned with lemon oil.

Lay parchment paper down with long side on top. Lightly brush parchment paper with remaining oil. Place angel hair pasta in center of paper, place asparagus at angle on top of pasta, place mushroom and tomato along one side of asparagus, place mushroom and tomato along other side of asparagus, then place shrimp at bottom of pasta shingling off of each asparagus.
Portion out herb garlic butter on top of pasta, vegetables and shrimp. Sprinkle lemon zest around pasta and shrimp, and season with salt & pepper.

Bring top of paper to the bottom, begin to fold and seal paper at the opened ends until paper is well sealed and formed into an envelope.
Lightly brush top of envelope with oil.

Preheat oven to 370º F, place sealed parchment package on a sheet pan, and bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes. When cooked, transfer to a plate, open envelope at dining table, and release the aromas that were trapped inside. Mangia!
Recipe for Herb Garlic Butter:
1/4 lb. unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon each of (fresh or dried) chopped Italian parsley, thyme, basil
1 tsp. chopped fresh garlic
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl until well mixed.

Each sealed parchment package can be placed in refrigerator until ready to use.
Serves 1 person

No way would I be leaving packets containing shrimp orw hatever in the oven to start cooking at a predetermined time. Keeping raw fish or meat at room temperature for that long is not safe.
Besides the cooking time for something en papilotte is very short....not more than 20 minutes,longer and the paper begins to scorch and may catch fire.
And suppose you ran into traffic coming home and were 15 minutes late? You would come home to overcooked food and perhaps smoke coming from the oven.
Make the packets ahead and keep them iin the refrig....then pop them into a 400 oven for about 40 minutes.
I don't like pasta in the packets, it gets soggy.
Chicken breast works well en papillote, you can even make some papperidge farms stuffing and put a 1/4 cup under the chicken and add things like a few spears of asparagus and some onion slices on top and you have a meal.
Make your packest ahead and refrigerate....when you pop into the door, turn on the oven, set the table while it's preheating, and pour everyone a glass of wine while you toss thes alad and in 20 minutes....Et Voila! dinner.
The video in the link shows how.
Linda c

Here is a link that might be useful: Fish en papillote

Here you go Suzie(s):

BOEUF BOURGUIGNONNE

6 strips bacon cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 pounds beef rump or chuck cut in 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
3 T. flour
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed beef broth
1 T. tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
6 boiling onions, peeled
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup red or Burgundy wine

Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Remove to drain. Add beef cubes and brown well. Place beef cubes in Crock-Pot. Brown carrot and onion in bacon drippings. Season with salt and pepper; stir in flour. Add broth, mix well and add to Crock-Pot. Add cooked bacon, tomato paste, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and whole onions. Cover and cook on Low 8 to 10 hours. Saute mushrooms in 2 T. butter, and add with wine to Crock-Pot about 1 hour before serving.

To thicken Gravy: Turn Crock-Pot to High. Cream 1/4 cup flour and 2 T. butter. Roll in pea size balls and drop into Crock-Pot. Bring to boil and let thicken.

tobygirl, thank you so much! I'll definitely make that! It sounds delicious and will do the trick!

And lindac, thanks for saving us from botchalism! It will be easy to refrigerate those little packets, and I do need 2 nights of dinners at least, so I'll take your good advice and have them ready to pop in the oven when we get back here.

I appreciate all your help and tips!

Thanks!

tobygirl - that recipe looks and sounds great. How many servings would you guess it makes? What would you serve it with?

Thanks,

seagrass

seagrass: I would guess that 3 pounds of meat would serve about 4 adults; and I would serve it with a simple green salad, with a vinaigrette dressing, and crusty, warm bread.

(However, the sky would be the limit for the best part of the meal - dessert!)

toby

3 pounds of meat will easily serve 6 to 8 people.
The beef bourguignonne sounds delicious....but that's because you brown the meat and veggies first and then add the mushrooms and wine about an hour before serving. You don't just dump all into the corckpot and leave it for 10 hours.
Linda C

Hi all, an ex lurker here deciding to put my toe in your pool after a number of months being educated and entertained by your postings!
Desertdance, I share your dislike of 'add two cans of soup' slow cooker recipes and try to find something that is similar to the recipes I would use if I was creating a wonderful slow cooked casserole or braise in the oven. If you don't mind spending a bit of time on prep (and this is probably too late for your current request anyway) look for the books by Lynne Alley "The Gourmet Slow Cooker". OK may be considered a misnomer by some - but it has some really good recipes from around the world that I am happy to put in front of guests at dinner.
Enjoy the golf!

I disagree that crockpot can't be gourmet. Depends on what you're cooking! It's perfect for any of those tough cuts of meat that require long cooking over low heat to bring out their best attributes.

My favorite is pork carnitas-- get a 4 lb cut of pork shoulder, trim it, then sear it in oil on all sides before putting it in the pot. Pour some orange juice over it, a half a can of coke (don't let the gourmets see you do that part), sprinkle with s&p, a liberal dash of cumin, chile pepper powder (ancho, cayenne...), dried oregano, some garlic. A sliced onion wouldn't hurt. At the end of the day, shred it, remove any fat that remains, then simmer the meat together with the juices, just till the juices are reduced to your taste. Adjust the seasonings if need be. Eat it like tacos-- you can be as simple or fancy with the toppings as you want. It'll make a foodie happy, I guarantee!

Carnitas! Yummmmmm BUT, too spicy for the winos in this group. They definitely need a splash of tequila with or without that margarita mix. However, I'm retaining this info for after the company leaves. I have my very own Jalepeno (started to be a little bush) now a tree!!

I can't wait to try it!! Thank you!!

Google 5 star crock pot recipes with reviews. Here are a few good ones.

allrecipes.com Make sure you review the reviews as tons of people will try the recipe's and each will tweak it here and there and tell you what changes will make it great.

recipezaar.com

southernfood.com

This should get you started. When you are going to cook something that over 1,000 people have made and reviewed, you get a pretty good idea if its a good recipe.

Enjoy!

I just bought Beth Hensperger's "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook" and there are some good sounding recipes in there and I know she is a well respected cook.

I've posted this one many times before but it sticks in my memory because it was offered at a dinner party by a very busy lady, head of a university department, who came home after work to prepare this dish for her guests. We were all so impressed that she managed to make something tasting so good without working at it all day.
She had made mimeographed copies of the recipe beforehand as she said everyone asked for it when she served this dish. This was before the days of photocopiers ! LOL.

This was a simple but prize winning recipe in a cross country cooking contest sponsored by a Canadian womens' magazine in the 1960s.

Tastes better if made one day ahead.

1 kilo of veal shoulder steak, cut into small bite-size pieces
2 medium onions, sliced
1 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teasp salt
1/2 teasp pepper
1 1/2 cups cashews (rinse if they are salted)
2 TBS butter
Worcestershire sauce

1). Grind garlic, salt and pepper together in mortar and pestle.

2). Roll veal pieces in this mixture in the mortar and then on a clean plate, being sure pieces are well coated.

3). Brown veal in butter in a saucepan. When brown, add onions, water, tomato sauce and cashews.

4). Simmer slowly until meat and nuts are both tender. About 40 minutes. It may need a bit of water added.

5). Thicken with a bit of flour and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.

6). Best served the next day. Goes well with rice and a crisp green salad.

SharonCb

Wow! Great recipes in this thread! The Golf tourney is over, but I'm copying many of these for future use! Thank you all so very much!!
Suzi

Suzi if your still reading, Pork Chops especially stuffed pork chops work great in the slow cooker, I wrap the stuffed pork chops in foil and put them in on a rack with a bit of water in the bottom of the pot. Put a single layer of paper towels between the food and the lid and cook for about 6 - 8 hours on low, they are moist, tender and the best stuffed pork chops ever.

TOBYGIRL, are you a Warrior? If you are you'll understand. If you're not, forgive me.