Slow Cooker Sundays: A Taste of Asia!

If cooking was a disease, I am now fully infected! I love to do it, even if I don't consider myself a great chef by any means. I do it all the time. I do it to kill the "Sunday Night Blues". I do it when I'm feeling romantic. I do it to celebrate the turning of seasons. I do it because I love cooking. I do it to try something new. The something new that I feel like trying for May's Slow Cooker Sundays is Asian cuisine, a fare I don't cook often.

I was going through my old cookbooks last Sunday and I found a recipe for Thai Beef Curry that I've always wanted to make. It turns out that I already have most of the ingredients, and after leafing through the rest of the cookbook I found a few more recipes to try under the same food umbrella, and the idea officially took off!

The last 2 Slow Cooker Sundays have been dedicated to my lovely mother and grandmother in honor of Mother's Day, cooking up some of their recipes that have inspired me. Floating Chicken, Roasted Curried Cauliflower & Spinach Soup, and don't forget the wine pairing: Hernder Vidal, the official white wine of the Holowatys! Starting this week and throughout the month, I will try my hand at concocting edible meals featuring the flavors of China, India and Thailand. Here they are:

Shanghai Potato Cakes
Slow Cooked Oriental Chicken with veggie-fried rice
Garlic Stir-fried Broccoli
Almond Crescents
Pork Satays
Carrot Sambal
Beef Curry
Kluai Buat Chi
Chicken Curry
Beef Madras
Tandoori Chicken
Raita
Onion Salad
Indian-style Basmati Rice Pudding

I might even try my hand at paneer, an Indian cheese. I'm also hoping to find a really spicy side to go along with the Tandoori Chicken.

Wine pairings are definitely in the cards. A German Riesling is a definite must, as the sweetness will cool down the heat of some of the dishes. Other recommendations I found via the internet and some of my cookbooks are Gewurztraminer (I would likely pair one of my fave whites, Summerhill's Ehrenfelser), Rose, Bubbly (we have a great Prosecco that's slightly sweet that could work well) and there's also the option of taking a night off wine and enjoying a good beer with the spicy flavors!

Any advice, definitely send it my way! And stay tuned for photos...