Pass it On

Tonight I made what I call a "Food Revolution" dinner. We got Jamie Olivers latest cookbook from the library and decided to make a meal from it. The reason this entry is called "pass it on" is that in the introduction of the book he talks about the various statistics - health related/food related - that he talks about on the show. About how people eat in, but they buy take out to eat in  and that he wants people to learn how to cook and then -- pass it on -- share the love and ability to cook with others. So that's what I am doing. I am passing it on.

I will admit that I have been an avid follower of the show ever since I saw his TED Talk. I do think he's on to something. His "Food Revolution" even came at a perfect time for me -- when I was also in the middle of this personally. So....anyway, I sat down with the cook book and my husband and my daughter  (I don't know where the boy was) and decided on what we would have. Better yet, my daughter would help me cook it!

We decided on 3 things

Mediterranean Chopped Salad (Page 123)
Broccoli with Asian Dressing (Page 220)
Crunchy Garlic Chicken (Page 241)

I will go over the recipes in order that I made them so that the pictures are in order! I -- of course -- always cook the things that take the longest 1st so that ideally, the whole meal is ready at the same time.


Crunch Garlic Chicken 

1 clove of garlic
1 lemon
6 crackers (probably more -- I used saltines because he referenced a british brand that I was unfamiliar with)
2 tbsp butter
4 sprigs of parsley
sea salt & black pepper
2 tablespoons heaped all purpose flour
1 large egg
2 skinless chicken breasts
olive oil

To Prepare the chicken - peel the garlic and zest the lemon. Put the crackers into a food processor with the butter, garlic, parsley, lemon zest and a pinch of salt & pepper. Mix until it is very fine and poor onto a plate. Sprinkle the flour on a 2nd plate. Crack the egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Lightly score the undersides of the chicken. Put a piece of plastic wrap over each and "bash" a few times with the bottom of a pan (or something hard!) until they flatten out. Dip the chicken into the flour until coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the crumbs. Make sure the entire chicken breast is coated.

Bake or pan fry. For baking - heat the oven to 475' and bake for about 15 mins.










 Broccoli with Asian Dressing

Steam about 1 1/4 lbs of broccoli. While it is cooking prepare the dressing. Grate a thumb size piece of ginger and finely chop a clove of garlic and place in a bowl. Add one fresh red chile. Stir in 1 tbsp sesame oil, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, juice from one lime and drizzle in a teaspoon of balsamic. Whisk together. Serve over broccoli just before serving.








Chopped Mediterranean Salad

Handful of black olives
1/2 red onion
1 red chile
3 firm ripe tomatoes
1 romaine lettuce
fresh basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
sea salt & fresh black pepper

Get a large chopping board and a large sharp knife. Take out the olive pits if they were not already pitted by pressing down on the olives with the knife.

Start chopping the harder crunchier veggies first -- peel and slice your onion, chop the chile. Chope the olives and tomatoes and bring it all to the center of the cutting bard. Continue chopping and mixing together. Add the lettuce and basic and chop well. Once everything is well chopped you'll have a big mound of salad on the board. Make a well in the middle and add 6 tbsp olive oil (I only added 4, 6 seemed like a lot!), 2tbsp balsamic and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it all up and serve straight from the board or put in a bowl.



As you can see, I had my daughter helping me. She did a great job. She zested lemons and "bashed" the chicken. It was great fun. Best of all, she ate like ALL her broccoli  - and I think it's because she had a hand in making it. Sadly, the meal did not go over well with the boy. I tried to choose veggies that he'd like, instead he wouldn't try it. Oh well... next time I will cook with him and see how it goes.

So... how was everything? My favorite was the salad. I could have eaten it all. Loved it. I see more chopped salads in our future. The broccoli was pretty darn good too. My least favorite was the chicken. I wasn't overly impressed with it. It was ok, but nothing spectacular by any means. So now, go cook one of these things yourself!

Cooking at the Kasbah

Every month or three for the past 4 years, Rob and I meet up with our friends Dave & Melissa to cook an extensive feast. I say 'extensive' because over time we've met earlier and earlier in the day since it takes hours to construct an entire meal. This is due, in part, to our abundant ingest of wine. We like wine. A lot. One time we didn't eat dinner until 10. I don't really remember it, but the ones sitting and waiting for the meal definitely do and remind us of it regularly.

Usually it's Dave & I doing the cooking, while Rob & Melissa eat and drink and discuss god-knows-what (most likely what hill they're going to tackle next in skiing or biking), or maybe they wax their skis. It seems to me that they're just buying time until we bring them something more to eat. Melissa, being a planner like myself, wants to eat on a regular schedule and preferably before bedtime, and therefore has been cracking the whip ever since the 10pm fiasco. Dave & I clearly need time limits (or wine limits). I really love these times together. Dave & I have cooking zen (except when drunk and cooking), and it's an opportunity for us to make something more advanced since we share a love of Cooks Illustrated (which is how this all started). Rob & Melissa are excellent tasters and critics - and easy to cook for, even when they're hungry and ornery.

Last night they came over and we made 4 dishes, 3 from Cooks. Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemon (chicken tagine, but don't tell Rob) and Couscous Pilaf with Raisins and Almonds. We also used this moroccan recipe from Cooking at the Kasbah: Carmelized Carrots with Sweet Paprika. The chicken and the couscous were especially tasty, and they were all fairly easy. I'm not sure how much better toasting the couscous made for its dish, but toasting the almonds was definitely a good thing. Anyway, we ate at a reasonable time - 8pm. Progress is good.

Then came the bread pudding. As a kid I wouldn't even think of eating something that resembles soggy bread. That all changed when Jo, my roommate in Madison, introduced me to cinnamon-toast-bread. Then she cleverly paired the bread with cream, eggs, chocolate, coffee and sugar, and baked it. How can anyone resist that? I actually remember the first bite: creamy (not soggy at all!), sweet and unlike what I had expected. I have been hooked on bread pudding ever since.

So this version includes rum and raisins. Yeah, I think I can handle a forkful of that (or 3). It's from Cooks - Rum Raisin Bread Pudding with Cinnamon. This isn't the healthy version, if one actually exists. We're talking about 2 cups of cream, milk, 9 egg yolks, challah bread, sugar, etc. Nothing wrong with that. It was pretty good - we all had it for breakfast. It was agreed that the challah made for an overly creamy bread choice, and it needed more crispy topping, but I'd make it again.