Pot-au-feu is French for “pot on the fire.” This recipe is a slow-cooker adaptation of the French boiled dinner, with ingredients added so that the potatoes sit atop the meat and steam during the cooking process.

1. Add the butter to a 6 ½-quart slow cooker set on high heat. Finely dice 10 of the baby carrots and 2 of the onion slices. Add the diced carrots and onion and the celery to the slow cooker; cover and cook for 15 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, bouquet garni, beef, chicken, and pork; sprinkle the salt over the meat and then layer in the remaining onion slices, remaining carrots, turnips, and rutabaga. Add enough water so that the water level comes just to the top of the vegetables. Arrange the potatoes on top of the rutabaga. Reduce the heat setting to low, cover, and cook for 8 hours.

3. For a casual supper, you can ladle servings directly from the crock. For a more formal dinner, use a slotted spoon to arrange the vegetables and potatoes around the outside of a large serving platter with the meats arranged in the center; ladle a generous amount of the broth over all. Strain the remaining broth; pour the strained broth into a gravy boat to have at the table.

4. Serve with toasted French bread rubbed with garlic and have coarse sea salt, cornichons, Dijon mustard, grated horseradish, pickled onions, sour cream, and whole grain mustard at the table.