Happy birthday, Consuela!

One: pot roast even better if you brown it before cooking. But then you have a pan to clean. And great without. If you do briw, the idea is to brown the outside at high temp to sear and seal in juices while leaving the inside raw to slow cook in crockpot. Ideally oil that an onion is cooked in. Remove the onion and brown potroast.

Also: slow cook chicken without liquid? Never done anything in slow cooker without liquid. How does this work? Don't things get dry? Please: I think I'm about to have a new cooking world opened.

I do pork with no liquid if I'm not using a liquid for flavor. Ends up great. I've done chicken too. If you keep the lid on, nothing escapes. Otherwise you are leaching meat flavor into the liquid and if you are only using the meat, why throw out the good flavor?

Edit - of course if you are going to use the resulting liquid, totes add liquid.

About the bomb house in Escondido - wow, you can't miss it from the road at night. Intense floodlights on two sides. Not that I could see anything beyond the trees. Really the floods effectively made sure I saw nothing from the freeway at sixty-five.

The fog looked like it was auditioning for Vampire Diaries on the drive up too. Pretty when it wasn't a road hazard.

I am such the double poster on an iPad. I think I wait for the click sound and there's none so I tap post twice. Just to be sure. And neurotic.

So, wait, have they bombed the house yet? Or is it lit up and waiting like a dangerous Christmas decoration?

It's bombed. Burned fine, all the kabooms were neutralized. But I suspect they are very keen to keep people away. Suspect it's lit up and has police guarding it too.

sear and seal in juices

We do all know that this is a myth, right? Searing just makes the outside tastier (and creates fond if you're doing a pan sauce).

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Whether or not you need to add liquid to a slow cooker depends on what you're cooking and how tight a seal the lid is. If it's a second-hand cooker, you'll probably want to add at least as much liquid to qualify as a braise, or wrap the top in foil before you cover it up. Or add veggies that will release moisture as they cook, like carrots or onions.

Burrell, have you ever eaten at the Indian place on Westwood just north of Santa Monica? We should go there some time. It's really good. Plus? Goat.

I LOVE that place. If you're heading south it's on the right, correct? Just south of Ross? Ahbabadala? Or something like that? If you are making plans I'd love to go with you both as K doesn't eat Indian ever. And I miss it.

Timelies all!

All this crockpot talk reminds me that I need to investigate the cookbook I bought a few months back(Not Your Mother's Slow-Cooker Cookbook) for interesting recipes.

Ahbabadala? Or something like that? If you are making plans I'd love to go with you both as K doesn't eat Indian ever. And I miss it.

Aha! You have triggered the name for me--Amhala Dhaba, or something much like that.

If we can fit it in with your pre-Christmas schedule, busy lady, I'd love to.