Friday 10 December 2010

Humpty Jock time!

Tonight, people, I will be getting a Humpty Jock. I know you are all jealous, but you will just have to learn to cope. It is sitting at the moment in a box in the hall, but I will be tearing into it later and having my way with it.

You see, in my Husband's family (and now therefore in our family) a Humpty Jock is the catch-all term for a present which you get in advance of the relevant occasion. I think it dates from Husband as a child once being given a Christmas or birthday present early (I think he was ill? Maybe? He will correct me once he reads this). The present was a Humpty who was named, unsurprisingly, Jock, and that became the term for any gift you get ahead of time.

My kind Husband had ordered an enormous slow cooker for me for Christmas and it was delivered to his office. (Before anyone suggests that this is a dangerous sort of present for a man to buy his wife, or even just a little unromantic, I would like to reassure you that I LOVE this present - I like to cook and have always wanted a slow cooker/crockpot thingy so I am delighted that Husband has done this. This is, let us not forget, the man who moved mountains in order to pimp my Kenwood Chef for me. He knows me well, is what I am saying)

Anyway, the box arrived during the worst of the snow and has taken a serious dunt during transit - heavy enough to cut right through the heavy cardboard external box to the flimsier cardboard inner box. The item itself is apparently unmarked but with an impact that hard, we need to check quickly that it is in working order too. So I am to be allowed to get it out and play with it. Woo hoo!

I am thinking of cooking a whole chicken in it this weekend (it's a BIG slow cooker!) so any crockpot veterans out there with advice on how best to cook chickens in one, speak up now.

6 comments:

  1. I love mine and cook a lot in it, although lately, I have started using my Le Creuset Dutch Oven. Very good.
    Okay cooking chicken, you will find a recipe book in the package, but fear not, here is a good site with all sorts of recipes.
    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2007/12/alphabetical-listing-of-recipes.html

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  2. WEll, I'm here to say that I'd be pretty tempted to give my husband a serious dunt if he gave me one of those for Christmas. Books, that's what I want.

    I never thought of you as a serious cook. Interesting.

    However, each to his own.

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  3. Oh, and I could suit both you and Isabelle, as I have a book for you. You will have to e-mail me with a mailing address so I can send it. Hubby is a wonder with the crockpot (Would you have pegged him as the chef de famile?) and it is certainly fair exchange for certain tea and scones of fond memory.

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  4. I got a weanie weanie cheapy one from Tescos, and see it as a veritable pot of magic. With little or no effort, (mostly) beautifully dishes produced which can be eaten instantly in the chilly weather. Go crock pots, you so rock :).

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  5. I love my slowcooker too! Let me know if you want some recipes, and I'll email you a few of my favourites. Hopefully the disconnect between Canadian/Scottish names for cuts of meat and/or other ingredients won't get in the way too much.

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  6. I was given a humungous slow cooker for a wedding present and although I use it quite a lot for stews, I've been pretty unadventurous and haven't tried a whole hen in it.

    Photos and post-cook-up report from you would be brilliant!

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