Hello friends! Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? Hope so! Mine was especially nice, since the week before my little 7 year old boy was in the pediatric ICU, diagnosed with a
serious but fixable heart condition. It was quite scary, but we felt very blessed that he was able to come home for Thanksgiving and that my parents could be with us. They have his heart stabilized now and we have his surgery this Thursday. He is doing really well now, in fact it is hard to keep him resting as the Dr ordered when he is feeling so good:) Let me tell you this has been a nightmare and I can not wait to have it over with! It is so hard to see your children sick.
But on to happier and less traumatic things...I have a fun cookbook to tell you about today. I have always been a big fan Jamie Oliver. I love to watch his show on Foodnetwork. He accent is adorable and I love how passionate he is about creating healthy, fresh and fabulous food. Have you seen his Food Revolution series? It is pretty great! Anyway this is his newest cookbook where he shares recipes that celebrate the rich heritage of his homeland.
Here is a partial summary from the book:
Having grown up in his parents' gastropub, Jamie Oliver has always had a special place in his heart for British cooking. And in recent years there's been an exciting revolution in the British food world in general. English chefs, producers, and artisans are retracing old recipes, rediscovering quality ingredients, and focusing on simplicity and quality. Jamie celebrates the best of the old and new (including classic British immigrant food) in his first cookbook focused on England.
Here are over 130 great, easy-to-prepare recipes, ranging from salads--Heavenly Salmon and Epic Roast Chicken; to puddings--Rhubarb and Rice Pudding and Citrus Cheesecake Pots; to Sunday lunch--Guinness Lamb Shanks and Roast Quail Skewers; and, of course, the crumbliest scones. America has already fallen for the new British gastropub cooking, with popular restaurants by chefs such as April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig and the John Dory. Now Jamie shows how to make the same delicious food at home. This is definitely not your grandmother's mushy peas!
My Dad served a mission for
our church in England, so it was fun to look through the book with him. The pictures are mouthwatering, and Jamie's recipe introductions and explanations are heartfelt and delightful. This is a great cookbook and i am happy to be able to give a copy away to one of you. To enter simply leave a comment on this post and I will use random .org to pick a winner on Friday.
You can order a copy on amazon
here. Before you get your own copy to explore, here is one of my favorite recipes so far, straight from the cookbook:
EMPIRE ROAST CHICKEN
BOMBAY ROASTIES | AMAZING INDIAN GRAVY
Ask any British person what their two favorite meals are and I reckon most people would say their mum’s roast chicken, and a curry. Well, welcome to Empire roast chicken, a combination of both of those things. Your friends and family are going to love it. I love it. You will love it.
For the chicken and marinade2 ¼ lb preferably higher welfare chicken
1 heaped tablespoon each finely grated garlic, fresh ginger and fresh red chile
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
1 heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala and ground cumin
2 heaped teaspoons plain yogurt
2 lemons
2 teaspoons sea salt
For the gravy3 small red onions, peeled
1 stick of cinnamon
10 cloves
3 tablespoons each of white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups organic chicken stock
optional: plain yogurt, to serve
For the Bombay-style potatoes 1 ¾ lbs new potatoes
sea salt and ground pepper
1 lemon
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
a knob of butter
1 heaped teaspoon each of black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric
1 bulb of garlic
1 fresh red chile, deseeded and finely sliced
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
Slash the chicken’s legs a few times right down to the bone. Get a baking sheet slightly bigger than the chicken, then add all of the marinade ingredients and mix together well. Put on a pair of clean rubber gloves, then really massage those flavors over and inside the chicken so it’s smeared everywhere. Don’t be shy! Ideally marinate overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and organize the oven rack so the baking sheet can sit right at the bottom, the chicken can sit directly above it, right on the rack, and the potatoes can go at the top. Halve any larger potatoes, then parboil them in a large pan of salted boiling water with a whole lemon for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes then let them steam dry. Stab the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken’s cavity. Move the chicken to a plate.
Roughly chop the onions and add to the baking sheet along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, then whisk in the flour. Pour in the stock or water, then place this right at the bottom of the oven. Place the chicken straight on to the bars of the middle shelf, above the baking sheet. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
Put another sturdy baking sheet over a medium heat and add the olive oil, a knob of butter, the mustard and cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric – work quickly because if the fat gets too hot the mustard seeds will pop everywhere. Halve a bulb of garlic and add it straight to the pan, with the sliced chile and chopped tomatoes. Add your drained potatoes to the tray, mix everything together, then season well. Finely slice and scatter in the cilantro stalks, and keep the leaves in a bowl of water for later. After the chicken has been in for 40 minutes, put the potatoes in.
Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board and carefully peel off the dark charred bits to reveal perfect chicken underneath. Pass the gravy through a coarse sieve into a pan, whisking any sticky goodness from the pan as you go. Bring to the boil and either cook and thicken or thin down with water to your preference. Put it into a serving bowl and drizzle over a little yogurt. Get your potatoes out of the oven and put them into a serving bowl, then serve the chicken on a board next to the sizzling roasties and hot gravy. Sprinkle the reserved cilantro leaves over everything and serve with any condiments you like. Life doesn’t get much better.
SERVES 4-6
