Crock Tales

Holy shit I bought a Crock Pot.

Why does this act call for such a caustic exclamation? Well, you see...I was the one that said I would never, ever eat from, or purchase a Crock Pot. I know this sounds terribly snooty, and maybe it is, and at the risk of offending the masses here, there is something about the whole deal that just gives me the skeeves big time. I can't identify where this Crock Pot stigma originated from exactly, all I know is that I moved to Minnesota with a serious slow cooker phobia.

Since returning to the Midwest nearly four years ago, I was somehow under the impression that all this Crock Pot business was simply for the pot luck dinners in church basements. Truthfully, I think I was just fearful that if I embraced the art of Crock Pot cooking all my Bay Area friends would say I was truly adapting to life back in "The Heartland". Well, my savvy Minnesota pals have turned that notion on it's backside by showing me some seriously good meals from a slow cooking pot.

My first encounter with The Crock (you see, everyone knows what you're talking about here if you just sound cool and casually throw out that you are "making some chili in The Crock") came from my friend Mark. At first, I was slightly insulted that every time we went to his house he was making us dinner from a stinkin' Crock Pot! For goodness sake, couldn't he at least pull out a good old fashioned pan every now and then? But as time went on, I found his White Bean Chicken Chili that had been simmering on the counter all day seriously tasty. And then came the short ribs that were so tender and melt off the bone delicious. Oh, and we can't forget that amazing but terribly fattening retro queso dip with Velveeta and Rotel tomatoes- yeah, the one your Mom used to make. Another Midwestern appetizer rediscovered!

Last year we were skiing in Beaver Creek and you guessed it- the condo had a Crock Pot! Game night at a friends- The Crock is cookin' up delicious meat for a taco bar! Who knew?!

AND THEN THE UNTHINKABLE.

My foodie sister in The Bay Area revealed she had not one, but TWO Crock Pots!!! She even offered to give me one, but I was not quite ready to take the leap. And then the final straw- we were staying at an ultra swanky condo while skiing in Steamboat Springs over the holiday. I'm talkin' five flat screen TV's, pool table, hot tub, Viking stove, and sure enough, you guessed it-a friggin' Crock Pot right there on the counter! And next thing I know there is Jessica Seinfeld dishing up lasagna from a Crock Pot on OPRAH! JESSICA SEINFELD?? Really?

What is going on here??

So I needed to see for myself what all the hoopla was about. I have yet to actually use the cute little red Crock Pot I picked up the other day- I am still in the process of trying to plan out five hours in advance what my family is going to eat for dinner that night so that I can get it all in the pot to cook for the necessary amount of simmering time. And the recipes, they seem to be endless...you can find cookbooks, blogs, entire websites, You Tube videos, all devoted to nothing but Crock cooking. Since 1971 millions of Crock Pot devotees can't be wrong, right? After all, this contraption was originally called "The Beanery", which for some reason I find slightly amusing. I can hardly imagine Jerry Seinfeld's wife cooking on national television with a contraption called, "The Beanery".

The Crock Pot certainly seems to be coming back into vogue- it's literally everywhere, or maybe perhaps, it was never out? Maybe I just never noticed. So to all my Crock Pot loving friends- I am paying attention. You have spoken. You have impressed me with your slow cooking ingenuity.

I am listening, and I am excited to get acquainted with my new little red pot.
I am proud to be the owner of a slow cooker (even if it is still in the box in my car) and I don't care who knows it.