In the introduction, Scicolone (The Italian Slow Cooker; The Sopranos Family Cookbook) describes the enormous effort and number of dishes involved in making traditional cassoulet. She compares that to the ease of preparing the same dish in a slow cooker, the aroma of which made her feel as if she had arrived at the farmhouse kitchen of the French grand-mere I never had. She explains that with the help of a slow cooker, its easy to make homey and inexpensive French food in any kitchen. Of course there's a recipe for a cassoulet with pork, lamb, and beans; there are also such classic dishes as herbed roast chicken with garlic and shallots; bouillabaisse; Provencal beef stew with black olives; and bacon and gruyere pain perdu (and a few out of the pot essentials, like a lentil salad with bacon. There are desserts, too: lemon pots de creme and a creme caramel. Its comfort food, to be sure, but the French accent elevates the level of sophistication well above that of typical slow cooker fare. (Jan.) Copyright 2011 Reed Business Information. -- Publishers Weekly
