You'll find recipes for main courses, inspired side dishes, creative soups and even desserts. This is food equally at home at an elegant dinner party as it is for every night suppers. But regardless of how sophisticated, this is still slow cooker cooking -- set it and forget it.

Most recipes call for a quick cook in the skillet before going into the slow cooker, although the author notes that if you're in a hurry -- as in for those every night meals, you can skip this step. Each recipe also includes the author's recommendations for wine and/or beer to accompany it -- a very nice touch that keeps with the book's gourmet theme.

The book begins with an informative introduction that gives lots of useful slow cooking tips and pointers. There's even an easy to make stock recipe using your slow cooker -- what could be better than that? This is an inspired recipe collection from the four corners of the world. Recipes are arranged by geography.

Chapters and Recipes:

• United States: Boston Baked Beans, Chicken & Dumplings, Swiss Steak, Red Beans & Rice, Potato, Cheddar & Chive Soup, Lumpy Mashed Potatoes, Tamale Pie, American Apple Pie Soup, Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Mexico: Chicken Mole, Refried Beans, Stuffed Chile Casserole with Red & Green Salsas, Pork Stew in Tomatillo Sauce, Chicken in Peanut and Chile Sauce, Spiced Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce
• Great Britain: Beef & Guinness Stew, Irish Cheese Pudding, Oatmeal Soup, Scotch Broth, Dublin Coddle, Irish Champ
• France: Beef Burgundy, Provencal Beef Stew, Chicken Piperade, Provencal Chicken Stew, Tarragon Chicken, Pork with Prunes, French Split Pea Soup
• Italy: Polenta, sausage & Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce, Italian Pot Roast, Tuscan White Bean Soup, White Truffle Risotto, Artichoke Risotto, Neapolitan Lamb Stew, Chicken Cacciatore, Bread Pudding, Anise Biscotti
• Greece: Moussaka, Lamb Shanks in Tomato Sauce, Chicken with Lemon-Egg Sauce, Bean Soup, Baked Eggplant, Rice Pudding, Walnut Cake
• India: Eggplant & Pea Curry, Chicken Curry, Apricot Chicken, Dal, Lamb Stew with Spinach, Beef Biryani, Chicken in Saffron-Tomato Cream Sauce, Keema Stuffed Peppers