Forget leather, let's make venison the third anniversary present of choice.
I’ve only had venison twice in my life, and at the same place – Wild Honey. Encrusted with juniper berries and walnuts, the saddle of venison was so succulent, I’ve never dared to try it on my own.
Until now.
It’s our third wedding anniversary, so I’m doing something special. Having pored over my favourite cookery books for ideas, I’ve settled on something rather unconventional for my tastes. I generally snap up any form of seafood on special occasions, but Jamie’s recipe for wild mushroom and venison stroganoff made my mouth water. Brandy, crème fraiche and gherkins add depth to the meat and mushroom’s earthy flavours.
All in all, it seems like a rather healthy meal. Venison's a lean meat, and if you control the olive oil and butter usage, you'll be fine.
Here's how I'm going to change it:
-substitute white rice with brown rice
-stick with olive oil only
If you keep to 2 tbsp olive oil and 50g rice per person, this delectable meal is a respectable 750 cals per serving. Not bad for a third anniversary.
Showing posts with label jamie oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jamie oliver. Show all posts
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Thursday, 3 January 2008
food TV
Well, we left 2007 in a haze of Nigella Express, Jamie at Home and Heston Blumenthal. Oh, and Gordon. He’s always on. What’s new for 2008, you ask?
Channel 4 is encouraging us to think before we eat. Interesting, they’re not asking us to think before we watch. Can someone do a documentary on Channel 4? Anyway…
Lovable tree-hugger Hugh of the River Cottage is back on television following his fish book and his fantastic column in the Guardian weekend. (I missed him over Christmas – Angela Hartnett is great, but I love Hugh’s back-to-basics approach.)
His show – Hugh’s Chicken Run – aims to show us just what buying a battery chicken means. The kindly man wants to encourage us – and the supermarkets – to buy free-range. It sounds like this one could get a bit gruesome.
More chicken: Jamie is back (naturally) with Jamie’s Fowl Dinners. Evidently, 9 billion eggs and 900 million chickens are produced every year in the UK. We’re in for another lesson to learn about the different ways of rearing chicken and another debate about the reality of chicken production.
More and more gordo, our gin-soliciting man. In Cook-A-Long-A-Gordon, a one hour special, we’re going to see how to cook quickly without sacrificing anything.
Eat Yourself to Death is another You Are What You Eat without the poo-crazed lady running around. Be prepared to be disgusted by what food can do to you.
In what sounds potentially interesting, The Diet that Time Forgot takes us to Pakistan’s Shimshal people, who are said to eat the healthiest diet in the world. There are no additives, saturated fats or heavily-sugared foods.
The Raw Food Diet goes under the microscope in Health Food Junkies. We learn more about the diet that prohibits eating food that is about 45 degrees C.
What do you think? I myself am likely to check these out initially, but I’m not sure how long I’ll last. I’d rather spend my time in the kitchen…
Channel 4 is encouraging us to think before we eat. Interesting, they’re not asking us to think before we watch. Can someone do a documentary on Channel 4? Anyway…
Lovable tree-hugger Hugh of the River Cottage is back on television following his fish book and his fantastic column in the Guardian weekend. (I missed him over Christmas – Angela Hartnett is great, but I love Hugh’s back-to-basics approach.)
His show – Hugh’s Chicken Run – aims to show us just what buying a battery chicken means. The kindly man wants to encourage us – and the supermarkets – to buy free-range. It sounds like this one could get a bit gruesome.
More chicken: Jamie is back (naturally) with Jamie’s Fowl Dinners. Evidently, 9 billion eggs and 900 million chickens are produced every year in the UK. We’re in for another lesson to learn about the different ways of rearing chicken and another debate about the reality of chicken production.
More and more gordo, our gin-soliciting man. In Cook-A-Long-A-Gordon, a one hour special, we’re going to see how to cook quickly without sacrificing anything.
Eat Yourself to Death is another You Are What You Eat without the poo-crazed lady running around. Be prepared to be disgusted by what food can do to you.
In what sounds potentially interesting, The Diet that Time Forgot takes us to Pakistan’s Shimshal people, who are said to eat the healthiest diet in the world. There are no additives, saturated fats or heavily-sugared foods.
The Raw Food Diet goes under the microscope in Health Food Junkies. We learn more about the diet that prohibits eating food that is about 45 degrees C.
What do you think? I myself am likely to check these out initially, but I’m not sure how long I’ll last. I’d rather spend my time in the kitchen…
Sunday, 21 October 2007
butternut squash muffins: updating jamie oliver's recipe
This week on his tv show, Jamie Oliver showed us how to make butternut squash muffins, which of all his recipes, made me sit up and listen closely. As butternut squash are quite like carrots, I figured they would work well in a muffin.
Jamie's version has a frosting, but I figured they would be quite nice, and set out on Saturday afternoon to bake a batch. I'm not very skilled at baking, but I figured I'd start out following Jamie's recipe and deviate if I thought it necessary.
Sugar, eggs, flour, olive oil, walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and squash were on his ingredient list. A quick survey of my cupboards told me I didn't have any walnuts, though I did have some flaked almonds, so I used those.
I cut down on a few of the quantities, though. His recipe called for 4 large eggs (I used medium, with no problem). It also called for 350 g sugar (and this recipe is supposed to be for kids!) I actually only had 225 g, but I tasted the batter, and it was quite sweet anyway, so I didn't worry. I added in a bit of ground ginger for a more natural sweetness, which worked fabulously with the butternut squash. The last ingredient I reduced was the olive oil, using about 100 ml instead of 175 ml.
The muffins take about 25 minutes to bake. The smell is divine, as is the taste. I especially recommend the ginger. After they cool, keep them in a sealed container for freshness.
One thing I learned here - never trust a chef on matters of fat and sugar! They always use too much. Don't take their quantities as unchangable. (However, I didn't reduce the flour, as that is probably quite important in helping the muffins to rise.)
Jamie's version has a frosting, but I figured they would be quite nice, and set out on Saturday afternoon to bake a batch. I'm not very skilled at baking, but I figured I'd start out following Jamie's recipe and deviate if I thought it necessary.
Sugar, eggs, flour, olive oil, walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and squash were on his ingredient list. A quick survey of my cupboards told me I didn't have any walnuts, though I did have some flaked almonds, so I used those.
I cut down on a few of the quantities, though. His recipe called for 4 large eggs (I used medium, with no problem). It also called for 350 g sugar (and this recipe is supposed to be for kids!) I actually only had 225 g, but I tasted the batter, and it was quite sweet anyway, so I didn't worry. I added in a bit of ground ginger for a more natural sweetness, which worked fabulously with the butternut squash. The last ingredient I reduced was the olive oil, using about 100 ml instead of 175 ml.
The muffins take about 25 minutes to bake. The smell is divine, as is the taste. I especially recommend the ginger. After they cool, keep them in a sealed container for freshness.
One thing I learned here - never trust a chef on matters of fat and sugar! They always use too much. Don't take their quantities as unchangable. (However, I didn't reduce the flour, as that is probably quite important in helping the muffins to rise.)
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
food tv tonight: jamie oliver and heston blumenthal
I tried to watch Nigella last night, but simply couldn't. She's too much to take. I read an excellent description of her in a London paper yesterday: a woman who appears like she's constantly suppressing a state of ecstasy. It must be chocolate-induced.
So tonight, Jamie and Heston, on 4 and BBC2, respectively.
Jamie's recipes don't really do it for me, though I liked the Naked Chef. I don't think his style of cooking translates well onto the page. He's a bit out there, and a little too slapdash for my liking, though I respect the Italian origins of his cooking. But his roast duck and pumpkin salad, though exciting, was an absolute mess - it looked like the scraps from my chopping and dicing.
I did learn a few things: you don't have to remove the butternut squash's peel before cooking -the squash tastes lovely and chewy skin-on, Jamie convinces us. Another butternut wonder: squash muffins, which I'd love to try. The frosting sounds tasty (and fun for the kiddies), but perhaps not absolutely necessary. His butternut squash soup didn't quite pass the inventiveness test, though, but things are classic for a reason.
On to Heston Blumenthal, ever the modest chef, now in pursuit of perfection. He's owner of three Michelin stars and head chef of the restaurant voted second best in the world, The Fat Duck. Using scientific techniques - and likely a bit of Herve This' molecular gastronomy (though he hates the concept), the man is on a mission.
First on his list of things to do today: perfecting chicken tikka masala. Naturally, testing every Indian restaurant within sight - and a long plane ride - needs doing (if only in the name of research). He finds that British chicken tikka masala (shock! horror!) doesn't actually exist in India. The closest dish is butter chicken.
Heavily bespectacled Heston heads outside to build his own cooking pit. Oh, isn't it lucky he has three men and a bulldozer to help him - and some authentic Indian cooks. One vividly orange yogurt marinade later, and we're getting somewhere. but Heston does not just take his word for it - he gets chemical engineers to test two marinades - one with yogurt, one without - to test the effects. He finds that the yogurt has an extra effect on uncooked meat. Extensive experiments also conclude brining the chicken first adds an extra moistness. And a chickpea roux in the mixture - love it.
Though tasty, Heston's tikka takes time - almost 24 hours, including separate marinating times. And don't forget the necessary equipment, like a pressure cooker and bricks in a barbie in the garden (and a MRI machine, should you have one handy). But good food is worth waiting for, innit?
So tonight, Jamie and Heston, on 4 and BBC2, respectively.
Jamie's recipes don't really do it for me, though I liked the Naked Chef. I don't think his style of cooking translates well onto the page. He's a bit out there, and a little too slapdash for my liking, though I respect the Italian origins of his cooking. But his roast duck and pumpkin salad, though exciting, was an absolute mess - it looked like the scraps from my chopping and dicing.
I did learn a few things: you don't have to remove the butternut squash's peel before cooking -the squash tastes lovely and chewy skin-on, Jamie convinces us. Another butternut wonder: squash muffins, which I'd love to try. The frosting sounds tasty (and fun for the kiddies), but perhaps not absolutely necessary. His butternut squash soup didn't quite pass the inventiveness test, though, but things are classic for a reason.
On to Heston Blumenthal, ever the modest chef, now in pursuit of perfection. He's owner of three Michelin stars and head chef of the restaurant voted second best in the world, The Fat Duck. Using scientific techniques - and likely a bit of Herve This' molecular gastronomy (though he hates the concept), the man is on a mission.
First on his list of things to do today: perfecting chicken tikka masala. Naturally, testing every Indian restaurant within sight - and a long plane ride - needs doing (if only in the name of research). He finds that British chicken tikka masala (shock! horror!) doesn't actually exist in India. The closest dish is butter chicken.
Heavily bespectacled Heston heads outside to build his own cooking pit. Oh, isn't it lucky he has three men and a bulldozer to help him - and some authentic Indian cooks. One vividly orange yogurt marinade later, and we're getting somewhere. but Heston does not just take his word for it - he gets chemical engineers to test two marinades - one with yogurt, one without - to test the effects. He finds that the yogurt has an extra effect on uncooked meat. Extensive experiments also conclude brining the chicken first adds an extra moistness. And a chickpea roux in the mixture - love it.
Though tasty, Heston's tikka takes time - almost 24 hours, including separate marinating times. And don't forget the necessary equipment, like a pressure cooker and bricks in a barbie in the garden (and a MRI machine, should you have one handy). But good food is worth waiting for, innit?
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Jamie's new venture
“A local restaurant that is classy, reliable and inspired by what people want – good food, well-prepared, sometimes speedy, sometimes relaxed.”
Those words are from Jamie Oliver, as he announces his plans for up to 40 “Jamie’s Italian” restaurants, which seek to bring rustic Italian food to the British eating public. The first branch will open in Bath next year.
Jamie’s “pukka” pasta will be made fresh at the restaurant, and the bread baked daily by artisan bakers. Only free-range chicken will do. Despite this, Oliver aims to be “affordable,” with prices starting at £5 for a light meal, according to reports.
Oliver is well-known for his early culinary television The Naked Chef, and has increased his prominence in the public eye after encouraging the government to make school dinners more healthy. He is also a spokesperson for Sainsburys supermarkets.
Those words are from Jamie Oliver, as he announces his plans for up to 40 “Jamie’s Italian” restaurants, which seek to bring rustic Italian food to the British eating public. The first branch will open in Bath next year.
Jamie’s “pukka” pasta will be made fresh at the restaurant, and the bread baked daily by artisan bakers. Only free-range chicken will do. Despite this, Oliver aims to be “affordable,” with prices starting at £5 for a light meal, according to reports.
Oliver is well-known for his early culinary television The Naked Chef, and has increased his prominence in the public eye after encouraging the government to make school dinners more healthy. He is also a spokesperson for Sainsburys supermarkets.
Jamie's new venture
“A local restaurant that is classy, reliable and inspired by what people want – good food, well-prepared, sometimes speedy, sometimes relaxed.”
Those words are from Jamie Oliver, as he announces his plans for up to 40 “Jamie’s Italian” restaurants, which seek to bring rustic Italian food to the British eating public. The first branch will open in Bath next year.
Jamie’s “pukka” pasta will be made fresh at the restaurant, and the bread baked daily by artisan bakers. Only free-range chicken will do. Despite this, Oliver aims to be “affordable,” with prices starting at £5 for a light meal, according to reports.
Oliver is well-known for his early culinary television The Naked Chef, and has increased his prominence in the public eye after encouraging the government to make school dinners more healthy. He is also a spokesperson for Sainsburys supermarkets.
Those words are from Jamie Oliver, as he announces his plans for up to 40 “Jamie’s Italian” restaurants, which seek to bring rustic Italian food to the British eating public. The first branch will open in Bath next year.
Jamie’s “pukka” pasta will be made fresh at the restaurant, and the bread baked daily by artisan bakers. Only free-range chicken will do. Despite this, Oliver aims to be “affordable,” with prices starting at £5 for a light meal, according to reports.
Oliver is well-known for his early culinary television The Naked Chef, and has increased his prominence in the public eye after encouraging the government to make school dinners more healthy. He is also a spokesperson for Sainsburys supermarkets.
Monday, 27 August 2007
award winning
You may remember a salad I made almost two months back - "A supper-sized salad" - with peaches, bacon, mozzarella and avocado. I entered it in a healthy-eating website's contest for the best summer salad under 500 calories - and won!
Unfortunately, you need to be a member to log-in, but here's what I - and they - had to say:
"My favourite thing about this salad is the peach, oil-less vinaigrette." says Jen. "The flavours are amazing - so alive!" … The tasting team at WLR couldn't have agreed more. We particularly loved the complimentary flavours of peach and bacon (they just fuse).Try the salad out for yourself and see - just click on the top link.
Oh and the prizes - my bounty was Super Salads cookbook (see left) and a Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker. I haven't used the latter yet - but will keep you posted.
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