Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Jamie Kind of Weekend

Well, it was a Jamie Oliver weekend! We watched him on Oprah, then the premiere of Food Revolution, and I cooked two recipes. Food Revolution was great and I loved watching Jamie in action as he ruffled feathers all through West Virginia. I've been thinking a lot since Friday about his Food Revolution. It sounds so simple but it was so hard for him. Our house has grown to think of Jamie as an honorary family member and it was hard for all of us to watch as he battled his way through the town. My daughter cringed at his little defeats (the doubtful DJ and the tough lunch lady) and we cheered for his little victories (the first grade class that learned the names of their vegetables and getting to stay another week). We also loved to watch his work with the family in the show; the "intervention" with the mom, burying the deep fryer and the cooking class with the son. On Oprah, Jamie made chicken nuggets with the same bread mixture as our "green chicken." Daughter laughed when she saw that Jamie's wasn't quite as green as ours.

So, Jamie was "all over" our weekend and feeling very much in a "Jamie" kind of mood, on Sunday night we made the "Everyday green chopped salad" (pg. 120) to go with our dinner. It was so easy to make and great for practicing your chopping skills. It was a perfect first chopped salad for us with ingredients that everyone in the house likes, lots of cucumber, avocado and sprouts. It was looking like quite a bit of food and I knew once I added the dressing I wouldn't be able to save it so I didn't put in all of the lettuce I was suppose to and so it was a bit too "wet." I would definitely make it again and play around with the ratios.

Still giddy and pumped from our Jamie weekend, I let my husband pick a recipe to make for Monday night. He's a meat and potatoes kind of guy and he LOVES his beer so I wasn't too surprised when he picked the Basic Stew Recipe (pg. 180). I have to say that this one I've been dying to try also and yesterday was the perfect day for it. It was cold and damp all day and reminded me so much of my semester in London which of course also reminded me of Jamie. All throughout the morning, I was thinking of London and the warm soups and stews that my host mother used to make. (We'll have to save her story for another day). So, the weather, along with the big Jamie weekend, made me really get excited for the smells of the simmering stew and a warm and cozy house. One thing I love about this book is that occasionally he will give a "basic" recipe and then about four versions of the basic recipe. He does this for the stew, and I selected the Beef and Ale version. The recipe was so easy and I felt like such the cook as I chopped and sampled. It was so much fun! After I'd sautéed the veggies in the pot for about ten minutes I was getting all of the ingredients ready for my next step and realized that I was out of diced tomatoes. Oh no! My husband had used them all the day before so I had to make an emergency run to the store. I got in and out of the store in no time (and actually was thankful for self check out for once) and home to my pot and preheated oven. Into the pot went the tomatoes, beef and beer (I used Sam Adam's Brown Ale). Then I popped it into the oven for three hours. On the few pages after the stew recipe there are all of these yummy toppings for your stew like how to make it into a pie, adding dumplings or putting on a mashed potato top. They looked so good and as the smell drifted around the house I was wishing I had picked up some potatoes at the store. I decide that the add-ons will need to wait for next time, I'm not up for another run to the store . Three hours later I pulled the pot out of the oven and it looked great. I must say, once again, it looked just like Jamie's picture and it tasted delicious. I can't believe how simple it was and with hardly any ingredients! I'm already excited for the next time I make this and thinking that it may have to be the "topic" of my first Revolution Cooking Party.
Recipes cooked: 10
Recipes left: 163
Days left: 342

Friday, March 26, 2010

Pain in the Mac

I'm so excited! Jamie's show starts tonight. 8 p.m. on ABC. Its a two hour premiere and I can't wait.

Meanwhile, this week I made Macaroni and Cauliflower Cheese Bake (pg. 49). Of course I decide to make it on our busiest night this week. As I start cooking I'm already thinking that I should have picked a different night but I was away for the weekend and I'm feeling a little behind. I had gone over the recipe ahead of time and was puzzled by Jamie's method to melt the cheese. After placing the grated cheddar and parmesan cheese in a large heatproof bowl, you are suppose to "Place the bowl of cheese over the saucepan." He warns, if the water boils up (uh-oh) beneath the bowl, just turn the heat down slightly. I think all day about what bowl/pot combination will work and before starting and I also play around to figure out the right "fit." Already, for the first time, I'm cursing Jamie. I watch the cheese VERY carefully while hubby is outside with the kids playing to keep them from being underfoot. Toddler has been very cranky and is getting four teeth at once. He hasn't eaten much and since this recipe doesn't involve red sauce or ketchup I know he isn't going to eat this. Just as the cheese is melting and getting gooey, my daughter runs in and says that the baby has just thrown up outside! Husband is calling and the ooey-gooey cheese is melting and who knows what is going on under my heat proof bowl that is fitting oh so precariously atop my pot. I'm torn about leaving the stove but I stick my head outside and find out that he's fine, he has probably just eaten a leaf and that the messenger was exaggerating a bit, he didn't exactly throw up. As I get the report I hear the familiar sound of the pot boiling over. Crap! Mac n Cheese shouldn't be this hard, Jamie! I scramble to rescue the dinner and my stove from becoming a charred mess before the party that I'm having in just an hour. Of course, dinner turns out amazing and "looks just like the picture" once again but I'm having post-traumatic stress and wondering why Jamie needed to make this recipe so darn complicated. I have every pot out on the counter and husband is once again cursing cleaning up the ooey, gooey Parmesan cheese. Did I mention that every time Jamie's commercial comes on, husband yells at the TV about cleaning up the Parmesan?
We tag team the clean up and I straighten the kitchen for the Pampered Chef party that I'm hosting. You can't even tell that just an hour before it looked like a bomb exploded in the kitchen. The Pampered Chef party is lots of fun and I eye a double boiler like thing in the catalog! Oh! A new gadget for my mac n cheese???
Recipes cooked: 8
Recipes left: 165
Days left: 346

Check out the video for Jamie's show tonight:
http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

Need a new gadget?
Visit my friend Heather's website and place an order using my name by Monday, March 29 at 9 a.m.:
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/heatherclarkskitchen
Click "Shop Online" then enter my name

Thursday, March 18, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Dinner At My House

I had a rough time deciding what I would make for St. Patrick's Day dinner. I've never cooked the traditional corned beef, cabbage and potatoes and although some of Jamie's other recipes were looking festive as well, I decided to stick with tradition. Jamie doesn't have a corned beef recipe in this book and while researching corned beef recipes online, I did find out that this meal is not Irish at all, but invented by Irish American immigrants. Some theorize that it came about in New York City, where Irish American immigrants borrowed the idea of corned beef brisket from their Jewish neighbors. To go with my corned beef tonight, I decide to make Jamie's Best Baby Potatoes (pg. 218) and Braised Bacon Cabbage (pg. 226). I must say that while chopping up the cabbage and washing my potatoes during the precious minutes of the toddler's nap time I was a bit bitter thinking that this was a waste of time and that no one was going to eat it. But, a deals a deal, so I got everything ready and put my corned beef in a pot on top of the stove. It cooked all afternoon. About 20 minutes before the corned beef was to be done I started on the potatoes. Jamie's cooking method shocked me. I must have read it over three times and had my husband read it too. "Half fill a large saucepan with boiling water from your kettle and add a pinch of salt." Really? Boil the water in the kettle and then add to the pot with the potatoes? Huh! Shocking! I follow the directions though and while my potatoes are boiling away for 15 minutes I start on the cabbage. I cook up bacon in some olive oil and realize this is not the first recipe of Jamie's with bacon in it, Jamie likes his bacon! I add the garlic and as soon as I add what I'm guessing is the key ingredient, Worcestershire sauce, from three separate rooms and the neighbor across the street you can hear people go, "MMMMMmmmmmmmm." Wow! The kitchen smells great which isn't something I associate at all with cooking this meal. I add some butter and the cabbage, "give a good stir" and I then have to work really fast. The next step calls for adding a bouillon cube to boiling water and I realize I'm out of burners! I stick some water in the microwave and feel like I'm cheating a bit but oh well….Add my cube, add to the cabbage and put the lid on. Phew! I feel like I'm conducting an orchestra as I move back to the potatoes to put the finishing touches on them - mint and lemon juice. I take the cabbage off the stove and put everything on the table and it looks great! Kid takes a bite of the cabbage and decides she likes it, "REALLY?" we say. She changes her mind about 12 bites later, I honestly don't understand how that can happen but I'm proud of her for sticking in there for those 12 bites. The corned beef is a hit, everyone fights over the potatoes. CRAZY! Well, almost everyone, the toddler doesn't touch and of it and keeps Mooo-ing at his sister's green milk. So, we give a big cheers with our beer and green milk and call it a good night with Jamie Oliver!
Recipes cooked: 7
Recipes left: 166
Days left: 353

Monday, March 15, 2010

"Hey Mom, it looks just like the picture!"

Now, for my next trick….Best Ever French Beans (pg.222) and Crunchy Garlic Chicken (pg.241). First of all, not to give the ending away, but this dinner was a huge hit with everyone! There are a few things I'd adjust in the recipe next time but I would definitely make this again and I think my family will even request it. First, the crumb recipe for the chicken was awesome and so easy to make. Jamie even suggests using it to also cook pork or cod. The mixture is garlic, lemon zest (very happy to use gadget #47--lemon zester-- for the first time), butter, parsley, crackers, salt and pepper. Proportions seemed a tad off. Jamie only calls for 6 crackers (the recipe serves 2), I doubled it using 12 crackers and still needed to add a handful more. I'd also be interested in finding the crackers he suggests, Jacob's. We had Ritz crackers on hand and I think it would be fun to try other kinds. He also calls for 4 sprigs of parsley and my sprigs must have been extra big because it was A LOT of parsley. We actually had green chicken and I kept thinking this would be a great recipe for St. Patrick's Day! Everyone helped pile things in the food processor and watch it whiz around. The recipe calls for bashing the chicken a few times with the bottom of a pan to flatten it, I used a rolling pin so I didn't scare the kids. Everyone helped to set up our little assembly line and I floured, egg dipped and "crusted" the chicken, then threw it in the oven. Jamie says you can bake or fry and we picked baking.

The chicken reminded me of a recipe my mom taught me once. She came to visit me at my apartment in the city about a year after college. The state of my pantry and refrigerator must have horrified her because I remember coming home to a stocked kitchen. She had bought lots of good things, yummy fresh cherries come to mind, and all of the ingredients to make a bachelorette version of crusted chicken. I think we named it "Mom's Funky Chicken." I made it lots of times!

While the chicken is cooking, I worked on the green beans. Now, Jamie says these are the "Best Ever." That seems like a tall order but then I realize that they are oozing in melted parmesan cheese, how could anything not be "the best ever" prepared like this? I boil the beans and pat myself on the back because the pot does not boil over…yay me! After they've cooked, they go in the colander, I throw some olive oil in the pan and cook up some garlic, throw the beans back in and coat with the oil and then add back some water, the cheese and lemon juice. YUM! My daughter is amazed that they look just like the picture (unlike the green chicken). Husband and daughter throw together a salad and we sit down to a nice Sunday dinner complete with lots of "This is really good!" and "Hey, its like a real dinner with no short cuts! and a "good" from the toddler. Amazing!

Now…the one downside to this yummy meal says husband….clean up. Oozy Parmesan Cheese does not clean up very easily!

I think my mom would be proud of my grown up version of "Funky Chicken!"

Recipes cooked: 5
Recipes left: 168
Days left: 356

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Happy Dinner

My family loves having breakfast for dinner. We do it about once a week or every other week at least. For some reason it makes us all happy. Breakfast for dinner usually falls on our busiest night of the week and last night was that night. The fact that there is even a recipe for scrambled eggs and smoothies in Jamie's book reminds me that this "mission" of his is to get people to do more of their own cooking. When I first looked at the book, I was a tad relieved to see these recipes, knowing that it would be something easy to check off my list. I can already make scrambled eggs and smoothies. Usually my husband and I tag team this and he does the eggs and I do the smoothies but last night I did a little more of the work (notice I didn't say all of the work.) Even though this is already a constant in our cooking repertoire we still enjoy reading Jamie's method and suggestions. He doesn't add milk. Interesting. I usually do. He talks a lot about the temperature of your pan and cooking over a slow low heat, stirring constantly. This is good for me too since as I've wrote before, I'm an impatient cook at the stove. One of his suggestions is to add fresh parmesan cheese, I'd never done that, so we give it a try. This dinner did make me feel like maybe I'm not a complete idiot in the kitchen, I CAN make scrambled eggs. And, like I said, breakfast for dinner makes us all happy. I poll the family at the table while we enjoy our dinner, well, the ones that can talk at least, to ask why they like breakfast for dinner. The kid says, "Its different." The hubby says, "Its easy." I imagine the toddler would say, "It involves smoothies." I think I like it because on a hectic Wednesday it reminds me of the weekend. Scrambled eggs and smoothies also reminds me of two of my favorite people. My dad is the king of breakfast cooking. He makes the best everything with love and gusto when it comes to breakfast. Smoothies remind me of my sister, its one of her specialties. Our happy dinner also reminds me of something my good friend told me this past week when she checked in with me to make sure I wasn't doing this blog for all of the wrong reasons. "Amy, you know the fact that you get SOMETHING on the table every night and that your whole family is around that table is a HUGE accomplishment. You should be proud of yourself." She's right and she's really reiterating what Jamie's book is about. Having your family around the dinner table makes every meal happy no matter what's for dinner.
Recipes cooked: 3
Recipes left: 170
Days left: 360

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Recipe #1 Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce

I made my first recipe! I decided to start with "Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon & Pea Sauce" on page 52 if you're following along at home in your book (or you can find this recipe on Jamie's website, although its in UK measurements). I decided to start with this one because in his description he says that this is one of the dishes he cooks for his kids. I read through the recipe quickly before I rushed off to the store. Because of a scheduling conflict, I've had to adjust our schedule and make this for lunch and I'm running behind to get food on the table before the kids get impatient for lunch. My two hiccups at the grocery store are that there is no fresh mint unless I buy a whole plant, so I buy the plant, and there are no mini shells! This one sends me into a bit of panic because that is the whole point of the recipe! I quickly calm myself down, in the interest of time, and pick up some mini wheels instead and pat myself on the back for being flexible. I rush home, throw some water on to boil for the pasta and get going on the sauce. The toddler is at my feet in front of the stove taking everything out of a nearby cabinet. He is hungry and won't leave my side. Neither my daughter or husband can pry him away and I yell inside my head, "This is why I don't cook." We put him in his highchair and give him some pretzels to snack on. My daughter volunteers to pick mint off of the plant, yay! I chalk this up as a victory in the "cooking as a family" department as the baby sits nearby and asks for some "Mooooo" (chocolate milk) to go with his pretzels. Once 1/3 of the leaves are picked she bails. Sigh. I cook the bacon, toss in the peas, add some cream and the now chopped mint (using a new Pampered Chef gadget this is super easy and I applaud myself for using one of my gadgets).
Now, don't laugh, but I've always had trouble boiling water. I'm impatient. I've remembered this and put my water and pasta in a very large pot to try and compensate for this but as I add the mint to the sauce, the pasta pot boils over. Seriously? I can't boil water? I clean up my mess, add the few final ingredients along with the now al dente pasta and voila…my first Jamie meal!
My daughter likes it, hubby likes, I think its super yummy…the baby rejects it but hey, 3 out of 4 ain't bad?
I'm super happy and know that this will definitely be a new staple recipe in our house.
Thanks, Jamie!
Recipes cooked: 1
Recipes left: 172
Days left: 363

Friday, March 5, 2010

Amy's Food Revolution Begins

Inspired by the movie, Julie & Julia, I will complete the 173 recipes in Jamie Oliver's book, "Jamie's Food Revolution," in the next 365 days.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The "Pass It On" Pledge

So, I figure the next step is to open this book. So many of my cookbooks go unopened for years, unless it is to look at the pictures. I remember getting for a wedding present a subscription to a popular cooking magazine. The first issue came just a month after we were married. I really loved this magazine! I was working from home at the time, didn’t have kids yet and I read that first issue cover-to-cover and made ALL of the recipes in it. But that was it. I made a few recipes in the issues that came over the next 5 years and then finally let the subscription run out.

Uh-oh. I’m nervous. I’ve posted this blog, told the world and haven’t even looked inside this book! Time to get moving!

“Jamie’s Food Revolution. Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals.” (Sounds good so far.) “By Jamie Oliver.”

The opening pages are done on old wallpaper patterns. I glance quickly over the Contents, “Twenty-minute meals,” “Quick Pasta," “Comforting Stews.” Exhale. Okay, I can do this.

Jamie’s introduction speaks to me just like the back of the book grabbed me in the bookstore. He asks for “a favor,” that he needs help with a food movement he’s started. Okay, a bit dramatic but I’m on board. He goes on to explain his inspiration and also the person to whom he dedicates this book, Marguerite Patten. She was a woman that worked for the British Ministry of Food during WWII and she motivated her countrymen to eat well, even during the war. She taught them that even with their food rations, they could eat healthy and provide for their families. They began to cook smart, healthy meals and the movement even crossed the ocean where Americans started Victory Gardens. Then he talks about the modern-day war of bad health and the rise of obesity. His plan is a “pass it on” pledge where you learn just one recipe from each chapter of the book and teach it to at least two more people. Hey, this blog can do that! So I turn to page 15 in my book, sign the pledge and also go to Jamie’s website to sign the pledge too. While I’m at his website I see that his show starts on Friday, March 26 on ABC.

I’m pumped! Now, it’s time to start thinking about some deadlines.

Deadlines due TOMORROW.

Did you know its National Procrastination Week?

It really is!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Missing Ingredient

I don’t cook. I’m not even a “wanna be cook” because I feel like that implies that I have some experience and have dabbled in cooking. Of course I have prepared meals, I’ve even cooked a few recipes but I wouldn’t say I’ve done enough of this to have dabbled in the vocation of cooking. I just think about it. I’m obsessed with figuring out HOW to WANT to be a “wanna be cook.” I have tons of cookbooks. I am constantly looking for new things for the kitchen to make preparation faster, stronger, better. I am always talking to friends and family about how they accomplish the task of preparing meals. And I am on a never-ending quest to find the right motivation that would encourage me to get with the program. Don’t get me wrong; my family eats dinner together every night, except Saturdays when we go out to dinner because I feel like its good “manners” practice for my kids. But during the week, our meals are thrown together, always the same and never “homemade.” I’ve never cooked a chicken. I can’t remember a recipe to save my life and there is no way I’d be able to “browse the aisles” and come up with something without a recipe.

I’m not really sure how this happened to me. I really have no excuse. I come from a family of great cooks. Both the men and women in my family worked hard in the kitchen to prepare home cooked meals for their families and guests. I mean, good old-fashioned home cooked meals from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. My two great-grandmothers were incredible matriarchs that lived in their kitchens. My Mom Mom Maggie made crab cakes that can rival any fine restaurant. To this day, I will not spend money on a crab cake because it will only disappoint me compared to her recipe. My other great-grandmother, Lena, lived next door to me and was always in the kitchen, garden, or cellar working on her culinary creations to feed her family and guests. Crab and lobster feasts were a regular occurrence at her house and everything was farm/bay/ocean fresh.

In 1998, my mom gave me my second favorite Christmas gift of all time (my first favorite is a teapot painted by my daughter). It was a homemade cookbook of all of our favorite family recipes that had been passed down from all of the amazing cooks in my family. In the front of the book she writes, “I always thought that since there would be years and years where you were responsible, in part at least, for preparing meals, that I would not force you to 'have kitchen chores' at home. I wanted you to have the luxury of being waited on, having your meals prepared and, as you know, I wanted you to concentrate on your schoolwork….Anyway, since you rarely volunteered for kitchen duty, the years slipped by without you learning to make some of my favorite dishes.”

But, my mom did ask me to help in the kitchen and I never did. I don’t know why. Just like I’m not sure why I never offered to help Mom Mom Lena in the garden or Mom Mom Maggie pat out her famous crab cakes. I wish I had. With each of these recipes, my mom has added a story along with it, talking either about the person who gave it to her; like a favorite Aunt, a teacher, who wrote the recipe on the back of a school paper, or a favorite recipe that my grandfather ate when he was battling cancer. The story could have something to do with the “missing ingredient” that can no longer be read because my sister colored on it or family lore that a gingerbread recipe was made for a U.S. President. We always tried to get my mom to “organize” her recipe box but she could never part with the memories, stories and handwriting of those that had left us.

So, I know that while I go through countless cookbooks, buy gadget #213 and read one organizational blog after another, deep down what I’m trying to do is get back into Mom Mom Lena’s kitchen with her big steamer pot, black and white checkered floors and boisterous laugh. My quest to be a good cook is to reconnect with them and build memories for my own children. Needless to say, the only cookbook I ever use is the one my mom made.

So, now, here is idea #10 which involves cookbook #28 and gadget #213.

AMY AND JAMIE

About a month ago my husband and I watched Julie & Julia. It was a good movie. I liked it, I wouldn’t say it was my favorite movie of all time but the idea for this movie has been haunting me for weeks. It seems to be what I need to get my kitchen life on track. I work well with goals, to-do lists and order. Peer pressure and accountability are huge factors in getting my butt in gear too. So, that’s what I need, work my way through a cookbook, write about it, get my friends to read it so they can cheer me on and make me finish.

But whose cookbook should I tackle? You’d think based on my need to climb back into my great-grandmother’s kitchen that I’d pick Paula Dean or the Barefoot Contessa. I thought about picking a Sneaky Chef book in hopes of killing two birds with one stone and getting the picky eaters in my house to eat. I have spent weeks thinking about this and I just keep coming back to Jamie Oliver. I’m not sure why. I’ve always been a huge Jamie Oliver fan. I love when he’s on the Today Show. What I love about him is his enthusiasm about food, his zest for fresh simple ingredients and his ability to talk to cooks or non-cooks at all levels. I only had one of his cookbooks though and I’ve never seen any of his shows so I started doing some research. I checked a couple of books out of the library and downloaded his itunes app. Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making you a Better Cook seemed like the obvious choice but the shear weight of the thing could kill a small child and I knew I’d never take the challenge. I really liked his Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life book but there just seemed to be something that was holding me back. And then, this past week, I saw the commercial for his new show, Food Revolution. Then, come to find out, there is a book by the same name! I go to the book store chasing my toddler. Snatch the book off the shelf as I jog after him to the kid section. I flip the book over to skim the back while I’m reading him Max & Ruby. And this sentence catches my eye, “This book is inspired by all the people I’ve met who thought they could never and would never learn how to cook.” Gasp. Is he talking to me? I put down Max & Ruby and read on. “I believe that good home cooking is one of the most essential, fundamental skills that every single person on this planet should have in order to look after themselves, their families, and their friends.” I catch my breath. Keep reading. “This food revolution is all about people learning how to make a recipe, then teaching that recipe to their friends and family…if enough people do this, pretty soon everyone will be cooking.” Sigh.

OK, done. Sold. Jamie Oliver, you’re on.