Saturday, November 27, 2010

Basil & Lemon Oil: Check!

On page 276 of Jamie's Food Revolution, he talks about flavored oils. There are four oils on this page that Jamie says can be knocked out in minutes and are perfect with any type of meat, shellfish or over a salad. After a quick calculation and a little panicking about my progress, I knew I needed to work on getting a few more recipes done before I left on vacation last week. I had the ingredients for the Basil and Lemon Oil and thought it would be nice and easy thing to whip up and put on our salad one night. I used a little food processor but you can also use a pestle and mortar or a blender. Eight tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, a few springs of fresh basil, some salt and pepper and its done!
Recipes cooked: 77
Recipes left: 96
Days left: 109

Friday, November 26, 2010

Jamie Oliver Reinvents Meatloaf

Now my mom always made really good meatloaf and it wasn't something she served us every week, so we didn't get tired of it.
But when I think of meatloaf, I think of little brother Randy in Christmas Story, "Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I hate meatloaf!"
You know, meatloaf gets a bad rap. Well, I think this recipe might start a do-over, a second chance, a comeback for the middle of the week standby.

You MUST try it….it's easy, great comfort food and a huge hit at the dinner table. The kid even liked it and she doesn't eat red meat. That's huge!

Recipes cooked: 76
Recipes left: 97
Days left: 111


An outstanding recipe! A work of art. I present to you, Jamie Oliver's Pot Roast Meatloaf from page 161 in Food Revolution...

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/pot-roast-meatloaf-usa-version-imperial

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I was a Roast Chicken Virgin

Since I started this adventure eight months ago, many people have asked me if I was dreading a particular recipe or if there were any I was going to "skip." the answer to the latter is definitely not! I am determined and very serious about my mission to cook every recipe in this book. Now, regarding a recipe that I was dreading, my answer has been, "Are you kidding? I'm dreading a whole chapter!" And that dreaded chapter is roast dinners. There isn't a more perfect time to tackle these recipes than Thanksgiving so I decided a couple weeks before the big day I would make my first roast dinner with all the trimmings. This meant making four recipes at once; the Perfect Roast Chicken (pg. 196), Roasted Potatoes, Carrots and Parsnips (pg. 202), Delicious Sage and Onion Stuffing (pg. 205) and Consistently Good Gravy (pg. 205).
First of all, in addition to already thinking this was a daunting task, the names of these recipes made me nervous too. Perfect Chicken? Delicious Stuffing? Consistently Good Gravy? The pressure was on as I did the shopping and planned when I was going to tackle this bird. I got my chicken from a local organic market that carries very, very fresh products. Fresh in the sense that it is a documented fact that this happy chicken was eating grass and bugs on Wednesday and I bought him in the refrigerated section on Thursday. Jamie often reminds his reader about the importance of fresh and organic ingredients but I'll admit due to time I don't always follow this advice when shopping. Our football team had the week off so I knew if we made a traditional Sunday dinner, I'd actually have some help in the kitchen this week. And I really did! Both Husband and Kid both hung out with me and helped in the preparation making this a really fun event in our house. We cranked up the tunes and they helped peel veggies, pick rosemary and tear bread for stuffing. I didn't get the heebie-jeebies when I got the bird ready for the oven and Jamie's book helped guide me step by step. It was a very smooth operation and I really think a lot of that had to do with how the book is written. Jamie talks you through the whole process, even telling you in some recipes when to start the others. He doesn't leave a thing out. I am completely shocked at how easy this was especially after being intimidated for so long. I am so proud of myself and a huge thanks goes out to my great helpers! Nothing was burned. Nothing exploded. No one was injured. It really was the Perfect Dinner.
Recipes cooked: 75
Recipes left: 98
Days left: 118


The Perfect Roast Chicken
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/perfect-roast-chicken

The Perfect Roasted Potatoes, Carrots and Parsnips
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/roast-potatoes-parsnips-and-carrots

Consistently Good Gravy
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/other-recipes/consistently-good-gravy

Thursday, November 11, 2010

"Before causing her brother bodily harm..."

I have two great kids. The six-year age difference gives way to low sibling rivalry and minimum squabbles over toys, etc. But, if they are going to have at it, it will be between the hours of 4p.m. and 6 p.m., usually when dinner is being prepared.
The evening started off decent enough. The big kid even helped peel carrots for recipe #1, Baked Carrots in a Bag on page 214 before causing her brother bodily harm resulting in the....oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back to the carrots: As long as you can plan ahead for their hour cooking time, they are kind of fun to pull together, especially if you have kids to help. Like I said, the older kid helped peel the carrots and put all of the other ingredients into a tin foil made bag. To go with our carrots, I bought some cod fillets and decided to make a Simple Cheesy Mustard Sauce (pg.266) to go with it. It seemed that with minimal effort I could knock out two recipes on a weeknight. The sauce is simple and easy to make and requires just a few ingredients: parsley, mustard, brandy, heavy cream and Parmesan or Cheddar Cheese. However it does require a bit of babysitting, which meant that I didn't have time to watch my own kids who were wrestling in the living room. (Note: I left out the brandy and "catching fire" part of the recipe due to a friend's escapade with the fire department and some beef bourguignon. If she can't do it, not sure I can.) So I added some olive oil and the English mustard to a hot pan. After it got nice and hot I added the parsley and the cream and brought it to a boil. I'm skeptical of boiling cream so I'm watching it very carefully at this point. The sauce is almost done and the buzzer is going off for the carrots and cod.
This is when all hell broke loose in the other room. I hear the two year old SCREAMING and the big sister yelling, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Apparently she wanted him to come to her, he wouldn't, and as he was walking away she grabbed his ankles and naturally he fell and face planted, knocking his head on the step on the way down. Husband and I run into the room and I yell at her to go to her room. Instantly, a large goose egg is appearing on his forehead and I'm sure the sauce is totally ruined by this point. Husband tries to bribe the baby to put ice on his bump and I try to salvage the sauce, add the cheese but I know it must be ruined. I serve dinner to a whimpering kid who has come down from her room with her tail between her legs and a baby boy that looks like he's grown a horn and his face is red from crying so hard. He's still doing that thing where they are trying to catch their breath after crying so much. We put a bit of the sauce over the cod and I think how impressive and fancy it looks. It would be a good thing to have when company is over. But still I'm convinced it must not have survived the nights’ events. Husband tastes it first. "Wow! This is really good!"
THANK YOU JAMIE!!! Your recipe withstood family trauma.
Recipes cooked: 71
Recipes left: 102
Days left: 123

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Impressive Pasta and Incredible Spinach

Checked two off my list tonight! Baked Camembert Pasta (pg.44) and Buttered Spinach (pg.219).
The Spinach was delicious! I didn't make a lot because I thought I'd be the only one eating it but we ran out! I should have made more.
Below is the recipe for the pasta dish. It is really simple to make but very impressive on the table. Your friends will think you're a master chef when you serve them this!
Recipes cooked: 69
Recipes left: 104
Days left: 128

Baked Camembert Pasta (pg.44)
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Ingredients
(serves 4-6)
a 8 oz. box of Camembert Cheese 

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

1 sprig of fresh rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb. dried rigatoni

6 cups (approx. 6 oz) fresh spinach leaves

To prepare your pasta
Preheat your oven to 350F. Open the box of cheese and unwrap it. Place it back to the wooden container. Score a circle into the top of the skin, then lift it off and discard.
 Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalk. Lay the garlic slices on top of the cheese, sprinkle some pepper and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil.
 Scatter the rosemary leaves over the top and gently pat with your fingers to coat them in the oil.
 Grate the Parmesan.

To cook your pasta
Place the box of cheese on a cookie sheet and put it into the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until golden and melted. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. When the cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, add the pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
 When the pasta is cooked, add the spinach to the pan – it only needs cooking for 10 seconds or so.
 Drain the pasta and spinach in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water. Return the pasta and spinach to the pan and let it wilt. 
Drizzle with a couple of good lugs of extra virgin olive oil and add the grated Parmesan. If the sauce is too thick for you, add a splash of reserved cooking water to thin out a bit. Season with salt and pepper and give it a good stir.
10. Remove the cheese from the oven.

To serve your pasta
Divide the pasta between your serving bowls. Either drizzle the melted Camembert on top or pop cheese on the table and let everyone help themselves to a lovely, gooey spoonful.

My Newest Gadget Delivers

At the beginning of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution there is an Essentials list for what items you should have in your kitchen. When I started this project seven months ago, I looked the list over carefully and noted which of his "essentials" I didn't have in my cabinets. One of these, a grill pan, I asked for when my birthday came around in August. This pan is now one of my favorite things to use in the kitchen. I used it to make the Chicken Fajitas last week and I used it to make the Butterflied Steak Sarnie on page 25 this week. This is a really special recipe for two reasons. It happens to be the first recipe in the book, which means it must be special to Jamie Oliver and its special to me because it was the first time I had ever cooked a steak. I've prepared steaks and handed them off to my husband to cook on the grill many, many times but I'd never made one myself until now. And I must say, now that I have my new grill pan I know it won't be the last!
It was a night of firsts in Amy's Kitchen and instead of being stressed I had lots and lots of fun!
Recipes cooked: 67
Recipes left: 106
Days left: 130