THE CHEF AND THE SLOW COOKER

Hugh Acheson brings a chef's mind to the slow cooker, with 100 recipes showing readers how an appliance generally relegated to convenience cooking can open up many culinary doors.

Hugh celebrates America's old countertop stalwart with fresh, convenient slow cooker recipes with a chef's twist, dishes like brisket with soy, orange, ginger, and star anise, or pork shoulder braised in milk with fennel and raisins. But where it gets really fun is when Hugh shows what a slow cooker can really do, things like poaching and holding eggs at the perfect temperature for your brunch party, or for making easy duck confit, or for the simplest stocks and richest overnight ramen broth. There's even a section of jams, preserves, and desserts, so your slow cooker can be your BFF in the kitchen morning, noon, and night.

HUGH ACHESON is the chef/partner of the restuarants Five & Ten, The National, Cinco y Diez, and Empire State South, named restaurant of the year by Atlanta Magazine. He is winner of two 2011 James Beard Awards for Best Chef Southeast and Best American Cookbook, has been featured in numerous food and wine publications, and appears on Bravo's Top Chef as a judge. Hugh is the author of The Broad Fork, A New Turn in the South, and Pick a Pickle. He lives in Athens, Georgia, with his wife and two children.