This week’s recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

This is the time of year I crave comfort foods. Something braised slowly in a big pot. Those dishes that remind me of when I first learned how to cook back in the day. Way, way back in the day. We’re talking Crock-Pot. Braising is a simple, slow-cooking technique in which browned meat comes together with a liquid that will ultimately become a rich sauce. But braising doesn’t mean boring. There are so many kinds of braised meat dishes, from almost every culture, that you could eat them practically every day without having to eat the same one twice. Braised pork dishes, such as pork shank, tend to lean toward a sweet flavor. Braised lamb, while delicious, can be earthy and even gamy, and often the resulting stock can be a bit sour, depending on the age, diet and source of the meat. My personal favorite has always been beef.