Tag: jamie oliver
The Best Roast Chicken with Milk and Sage Gravy!
So, I love, love Jamie Oliver and everything he does. I make a lot of his recipes. I was looking for a roast chicken recipe as I was getting tired of making it the same way… and I came across this recipe. The chicken is browned in fat and cooked in milk- what, I thought??? After reading the reviews, I was convinced- everyone said, it was the best chicken ever… but the it didn’t look so pretty- well, the gravy didn’t. Since the the chicken is roasted in milk and lemon zest- the separates in the cooking process- so the sauce is broken….so, I came up with a way to fix it. After the chicken was done cooking, I blended the broken sauce to emulsify it and voila.. I had an amazingly yummy, creamy gravy!! Definitely try this recipe- so, so good!!! Oh, and save the fat after browning the chicken and cook your potatoes in it- so yummy!
- One 3 lb whole roasting chicken, cleaned and dry
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Zest of one large lemon, cut the remaining lemon in quarters and set aside
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves, skin on
- Fresh sage leaves, 6 to 7
- 2 cups whole milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper, including the cavity.
Melt the oil and butter in a medium Dutch oven pan (big enough for the chicken to fit snug) over medium high heat. Brown the chicken well on all sides, for about 10 minutes. Take the chicken out, drain the fat to a small bowl. In the meantime, add the milk, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, garlic and sage leaves to the same pan. Add the lemon quarters to the chicken cavity and transfer the chicken back into the pan with breast side down. Roast with lid in the oven for 1 hour. Take the lid off after an hour and baste the chicken with the milk gravy. Roast for another 15 minutes and take out. Take the chicken out and cover with aluminum foil. Take the sage leaves and cinnamon stick out of the gravy and transfer to a blender. Blend well and return to the pan, bring to a boil, taste for seasonings. In the meantime, pull the meat from the bones of the chicken and serve warm with the milk gravy.
Roast some potatoes using the spare fat from the chicken.
Serve green beans and roast potatoes with the delicious chicken.
Pancetta and Balsamic Roast Chicken
This is a delicious way to make a one pot meal. It all goes into a big roasting pan and you are done! I started with leg quarters- if I am not roasting a whole chicken, I like to cook leg quarters. Dark meat has a lot of flavor and is very forgiving as it doesn’t over cook.
When using very few ingredients, it is important to use very bold flavors. In this case, I used garlic, pancetta and balsamic glaze. I cooked the pancetta and then mixed it with the garlic, thyme and the glaze. I then slathered the chicken with the yummy mixture and roasted it.
To make things more interesting, I lined the roasting pan with slices of delicious sour dough bread and some potatoes. The potatoes and the bread come out deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I especially love the bread- all the flavors absorb really well.
I served this delicious meal with a green salad and a delicious glass of red wine. I love simple, delicious food with very good quality ingredients!
- 4 leg quarters with skin
- 6 to 8 slices of sour dough bread
- 4 to 5 small potatoes, peeled and cut in half
- Salt
Marinade
- ¼ cup pancetta, chopped
- 5 to 6 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
Cook the pancetta in a hot frying pan until the fat is rendered on medium heat- it should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and take out in a bowl.
Pound the garlic, salt and thyme in a mortar and pestle till smooth. Add the olive oil and balsamic glaze. Mix well and add to the cooked pancetta. Mix well and keep aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the bread slices in a medium, lined baking sheet (9X13). Smear some of the marinade on the bread. Add the chicken quarters and the potatoes. Rub the marinade all over covering all the surfaces. Sprinkle salt generously all over. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and finish roasting till the chicken is done. Serve a piece of the chicken on top of the cooked bread with potatoes on the side.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Our choices make an impact on our health. It is a very simple concept but most of us don’t make that connection… somehow we don’t pay attention to what we are putting in our mouths.. well, we should. I am glad Jamie sat some kids together and discussed calories and lack of exercise and what it does to our bodies.
As parents it is our responsibility to teach our kids how to cook and eat healthy foods. We need to show them how each meal needs to be balanced with protein and healthy carbs including fruits and vegetables. For those of us who work in addition to taking care of our families- we need to organize ourselves and plan meals for the week on the weekend. I realize people are busy but it is important to break the junk food cycle and teach our kids how to live healthy and make sensible choices for themselves.
Thanks to Jamie Oliver, some people will make this change and start to live healthier lives….
Jamie’s Food Revolution Resumes…
It was a bit unclear why the show stopped airing on ABC once the month of May began. After looking it up on line, I realized it was all a ratings issue. May is the month when all networks put on their best shows to boost their ratings and viewership. Jamie’s show was not doing as well as last year so they put it on a hiatus until the May sweeps were done. I guess I understand their reasons but find it very sad that a show like this couldn’t make it in.
Anyway, it is back and it is nice to see Jamie back to the good work he does.
It was interesting to see the exchange between the young girl and the restaurant owner. I can see the girl’s point of view and how she thinks the fast food joints are the reason for her family’s diabetes problems. I can also see the owner’s point of view and how everyone has a choice.. but the problem is when people don’t have time or the money to prepare healthy, fresh food for their family, they go for the easy, fast food.
It was shocking to see how many high school students did not know where butter, chocolate or cheese come from. It is our responsibility as parents to teach our kids about food.
I am quite strict about what my daughter eats when it comes to candy, etc. I can’t wait for her to see when Jamie goes over how the candy is made and what all goes into the crap that is out there in the supermarkets… worth a watch and very eye opening.
Jamie Oliver- Food Revolution- Second Episode…
A big hug and kiss for Jamie Oliver for what he is doing for our kids. As I watched the show last night, I couldn’t believe all the hoops he had to go through to get into the Los Angeles school cafeteria. Obviously they have something to hide- why else would they create so many hurdles. Bottom line- we as parents have more power than we think. Our kids should be eating healthy, good food and we should know where the food is coming from. It is important to teach our kids to eat healthy and hopefully keep far away from diseases like diabetes. It was heart breaking to hear that girl’s story about her family being sick all the time.
I love what Jamie did with the healthy burgers. It is amazing how good food can be especially when it is healthy. It is important to bump up the flavor with lots of spices and herbs. I couldn’t believe the owner claimed his customers are not looking for quality- just quantity!! Really??? Maybe that is the problem- we don’t demand good, real food. Well, we should ask for good, reasonably priced food. It doesn’t help matters when places like McDonalds and Burger King are always full and doing better business every year. If we can’t afford to go out to places serving healthier food- we need to cook at home and serve our families good food.
I agree with Jamie- we do deserve better.
Jamie Oliver- Food Revolution- First Episode…
I am so happy to see Jamie Oliver back on television. Don’t get me wrong- I watch him all the time- cooking with the kind of passion that generates huge amounts of pleasure. His passion is contagious. Last year when he started the Food revolution, I was thrilled and grateful.. someone is doing something and getting people aware of what we are feeding our kids and ourselves. I try my best to feed my family healthy food but unfortunately the stuff served in schools is a different story. Right now, my daughter takes lunch from home- thank God.. but I know as she gets older, she is going to want to eat at school- and that thought is super scary, especially knowing what is being served.
It scared me watching the show last night- what was that food they showed??? There is no cooking going on- my rule is – if food given to me that does not have an expiration date- I will not eat it. There is something wrong when our kids are given this crap.
It is so important to know where our food comes from. When Jamie showed what parts of the cow is being used at our schools- I was not shocked. We have the lowest standards for food in our schools- imagine.. that is what our kids are eating. I was sick to my stomach… and at the same time wanted to give Jamie a big kiss for putting this in front of all of us and making us aware.
We need to stop eating fast food and giving it to our kids- to me the big fast food places are the biggest culprits. There is nothing wrong with a burger- but I want good quality ingredients in my food, which most fast food joints don’t use. Good for Jamie to try to revamp the menu in that restaurant… at the end of the day- we need to demand where our food comes from.
Watch this show with your kids- it was amazing to see my daughter’s face last year while watching Jamie’s show. I will be watching it again with her this weekend as we do tv turn off through the week…
Sign the petition for serving plain milk in schools.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution- A Few More Comments…
So the show came to an end last Friday and my daughter was quite upset knowing this was the last of Jamie Oliver for a while. I am not sure if the show is coming back at all- I didn’t tell her that.
What was the show about, you ask? Well, much of the same but also that Jamie returned to the elementary school where it all began. Turns out, since the school started serving fresh food, they had a surplus of frozen, processed food sitting in the warehouse. In order to use it up, they decided to introduce ‘junk food’ Fridays. Seriously? They couldn’t come up with any other solutions other than feeding the kids that crap food again??
Another problem was surfacing at the same time. A lot of kids not wanting to eat the healthy food at school, were now bringing their own lunch. Ordinarily home cooked lunches would be ideal- well, only if the parents are knowledgeable about healthy eating.
As Jamie walked in the cafeteria while the elementary kids ate, he looked through their brown bag lunches and you wouldn’t believe what he found. Jello, juice, candy and potato chips for lunch. I was horrified! Some kids had lunchables– which is a packaged lunch available at the super markets filled with salt, fat and God knows what. What happened to regular sandwiches for lunch??? There are so many ways to pack a healthy lunch for your child- a delicious sandwich made with whole-wheat bread, some fresh fruit and maybe a small cookie for dessert.
I don’t even know what to say about the potato chips and candy for lunch- I can’t believe someone would pack that for their kids. People are so busy these days and are always looking for fast and easy solutions for everything- including what we feed our kids- not realizing what it is doing to their bodies. As parents, it is up to us, to instill healthy eating habits in our kids so they can grow up to be healthy adults.
In a way I am happy the show has come to an end for now- I am not sure if I can handle the stress I feel after watching an hour of it…