The Ultimate Crock Pot Cookbook

Have you ever had this happen?--every so often, you think you'll save a lot of dinner prep time by pulling out the crock pot and using it to make dinner every night.  And then at dinner time, all of the food in the crockpot is mushy, tasteless, and textureless.  Crockpot cooking is not fine dining.
That is, until this cookbook came along:

This Crockpot cookbook is created by America's Test Kitchen.  Every recipe in it has been tested as many as 15+ times to find the best way to make each item.  I have great faith in America's Test Kitchen! I enjoy their t.v. show.  I enjoy their neighborly e-mail newsletters. I like their magazine, and I really like their cookbooks.  I coveted this crockpot cookbook for awhile and reserved it at the library twice.  After a few nights of reading it cover to cover in bed, I promptly bought it from amazon.

My first recipe to make from it was Thai-Style Chicken Soup.  I have to humbly say (and James said it first) that it is the BEST Thai coconut chicken soup we have ever tasted, and we have eaten it at many restaurants. The complexity of flavors in this soup is amazing.  You can actually taste at separate moments, the lime juice, the ginger, the lemon grass, the cilantro, the red curry, the coconut, etc. Prepare yourself for some extra work on these recipes.  Just because they are made in a crock pot does not mean that you don't have to touch them all day. 

So without further ado, here is the recipe:
Thai Style Chicken Soup in the slow cooker by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 onions, minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger ( or minced)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom 5 inches only, bruised
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 10 cilantro stems, tied together with twine
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• salt
• pepper
• 8 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

Garnishes

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 fresh bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced ( Thai, serrano, or jalapeno)
• 2 scallions, sliced thin
• lime wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Microwave onions, garlic, ginger, and oil in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
2. Stir broth, 1 can coconut milk, lemon grass, carrots, 1 T fish sauce, and cilantro stems into slow cooker.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on LOW.
5. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces.
6. Let soup settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon.
7. Discard lemon grass and cilantro stems.
8. Stir in mushrooms, cover and cook on HIGH until mushrooms are tender, 5-15 minutes.
9. Microwave remaining can coconut milk in bowl until hot, about 3 minutes, then whisk in remaining 2 T fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and curry paste to dissolve.
10. Stir hot coconut milk mixture and shredded chicken into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with garnishes.