Attempt #63: Sweet cherry tomato and sausage bake

Jamie calls this the ultimate one-tray comfort food, and I cannot agree more.

It was a beautiful evening spent with dear friends and making this really fun, super easy and more importantly, super yummy!

The Result:
Pic here taken with the yummy and complimentary salad that my friend made.
I used German and Italian pork sausages and the herbs made the german dogs even more flavoursome and tangy (from the tomatoes).

Jamie's rendition:

Recipe and cooking method can be found here :

 http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/sweet-cherry-tomato-and-sausage-bake/#SB0Fm1sfFlVuAQxw.97 

Attempt #62: JO's Porridge!

If you have school going kids and we have to prepare their breakfast and meal boxes for them, I think you will understand how challenging it is trying to think of new ways to make those bread, eggs or fruits interesting. 

So, for the next few recipes, I will be concentrating on trying out Jamie's Breakfast recipes / ideas. 

Here's one of Jamie's Porridge ideas - Oats with Banana, Almond Flakes, Cinnamon Porridge. Drizzled with Honey! Yumz! 

The result: 

Yummy , especially the lightly toasted almond flakes. It was an A+ from the adults but not the kids though. They are simply not a fan of oats! 

The actual recipe can be found on Jamie's website link below: 

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/porridge-lots-of-ways/#GCbYPjpQSUHVs4Qx.97

Attempt #61: Gennaro's butternut squash & pancetta penne

I was not able to get butternut squash, hence I replaced it with pumpkin. And I replaced pancetta with bacon. Penne was also replaced with Tagliatelle by a dear friend and her hubs! 

The result: Equally balanced with the right sweetness from the pumpkin and saltiness of the bacon, making it a wonderful pasta dish that warms up the tummy.

Jamie's version: 

The recipe as below in this link:

Attempt #60: Gorgeous Roast Vegetables - JO style!

Lesson learnt....do not, I repeat...DO NOT drizzle too much oil into the pile of lovely vegetables. 
I had this lovely duck oil / sauce with me and it was so tantalizing to the taste buds that I drizzled more than the 6 tablespoon recommended in the recipe. 

The result: Soggy roasted veg! :( 

Jamie's version:

The recipe can be found in this link: 

Attempt #59: Crunchy raw beetroot salad with feta & pear

 A zingy bite for only beetroot lovers. Otherwise, do stay clear from attempting this recipe as beetroot has this strong, earthy minerally flavour that takes a while to get used to. 

The result: As you can see from the photoshot, I tried to have more pear in the salad combination but even then, it was not very palatable to my dinner guests. 

Jamie's version:

Ingredients:

4 good-sized beetroots, different colours if possible, scrubbed, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks

3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks

1 lemon oil dressing recipe

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

200 g feta cheese

1 small bunch fresh mint, smallest leaves picked

1 large handful sunflower seeds, optional

Method:
Remember to wear an apron when chopping beetroot, and wash your board and hands afterwards or you'll get red fingerprints everywhere. If your knife skills aren't up to speed yet, buy one of those matchstick peelers or matchstick mandolins in good cook shops. Then you'll be really quick at it.

Dress the beetroot and pear matchsticks in a little of the lemon oil dressing and season with some salt and pepper. Taste to check that the flavours are balanced and lovely, and add a little more lemon juice to check the sweetness of the pears and beetroots if you need to.

Divide the salad between four plates or put it on a big platter, crumble over the creamy white feta, and sprinkle over the baby mint leaves and the sunflower seeds if you're using them. Simple, but it's a treat and a half.

Attempt #58: Simple summer spaghetti

Jamie calls it Summer Spaghetti, most likely due to the ingredients are harvested in summer. For me, this is an all year round pasta. First, it is vegan which is a good recipe to keep in mind especially when one wants to go meat free for the meal. 

It's really simple and amazingly yummy. I love mushrooms, hence I stir fried some Tuscan Brown mushroom to go with the dish. 

Result of my attempt as below: 

Jamie's version:

Ingredients

500 g mixed red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

150 g black olives, stoned

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 bunch fresh lemon basil, leaves picked

1 bunch fresh marjoram, leaves picked

10 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

400 g spaghetti or linguine

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Method:
In a large bowl, scrunch the tomatoes with your hands to slightly mush them. Mix in the olives, garlic and vinegar. Tear in the basil and marjoram leaves and pour in the olive oil. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. 

Cook your pasta in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions until al dente. Drain and quickly toss in with the tomatoes. Call your guests around the table, then taste the juice at the bottom of the bowl and adjust the seasoning if you feel it needs it. Serve right away.

Attempt #57 : ASIAN CHICKEN NOODLE Soup

I attempted this receipt without high expectation as being Asian (Chinese), we would have access and tasted really good noodle soups in town. However, the twist of marinating the chicken slices with 5 spice powder and combining that with the mixed seeds and peas, it makes the entire dish refreshingly light and yet 'asian-ly' unique. 

The result: I sliced the peas thinly as personally, I find that this brings out the sweetness of the peas. I omitted the asparagus as I didn't want the entire mix to be too 'earthy' to the palate. 

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon mixed seeds (pumpkin, poppy, sun flower)

a small handful of raw cashew nuts

1 quart chicken broth, preferably organic

2 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferably free-range or organic

2 teaspoons five-spice powder

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger

olive oil

½ to 1 fresh red chili, to your taste

4 ounces rice sticks or vermicelli

a handful of snow peas

6 thin asparagus spears or 4 regular-sized spears

6 fresh baby corn or 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels

soy sauce

juice of 1 lime

a small handful of spinach leaves

Method

1. Put a medium frying pan or wok on a high heat and add the seeds and cashew nuts to it straight away, while it’s heating up.

2. Put a large saucepan on a high heat. Fill the saucepan with the chicken broth, heat until very hot, and put a lid on it.

3. Toss the seeds and nuts around until heated through nicely — this will take a couple of minutes.

4. While this is happening, slice your chicken breasts lengthways into 3 pieces and put them into a bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with the five-spice powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir.

5. When the seeds and nuts are done, transfer them to a plate.

6. Put the empty pan back on a high heat. Add a little olive oil to your hot pan with your slices of chicken and cook for 5 minutes, until golden, tossing and turning every now and again.

7. While the chicken’s cooking, peel and finely slice your ginger and slice your chili.

8. Take the lid off the pan with the chicken broth and add half the chili, all the ginger, your rice sticks (or vermicelli), snow peas, asparagus, and corn, with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Halve the lime and squeeze in the juice. By the time the rice sticks (or vermicelli) and veggies are done, the chicken will be cooked.

9. Take a piece of chicken out and slice it lengthways to check if it’s cooked all the way through — when done, remove all the chicken from the pan and slice each piece in half to expose the juicy chicken inside (please don’t be tempted to overcook it).

10. To serve, divide the spinach leaves between your bowls and pour over the broth, rice sticks (or vermicelli), and vegetables. Divide the chicken pieces over and scatter with the toasted seeds, cashews, and remaining chili.

Attempt #56: Beer Butt chicken

In this recipe, we have Jamie saying that making this will be fun and a great crowd pleaser. And the 'crowd' in my kitchen on the day I attempted this recipe involved a 4 year old, a 7 year old and 3 fabulous 30-something adults. Young or old...we indeed found the 'up the butt' beer can be really cute and funny. And most importantly, it was super easy to make!!

The 'Before' photoshot 

- Strangely, I couldn't help it but felt that I was 'violating' the chicken when I was tying to insert that Budweiser into the chicken's butt. 

Beer Butt Chicken in the oven 

- Looking good and smelled even better as the chicken roasted very comfortably in the oven :-) 

The 'after' photoshot 

- It was golden brown, crispy and juicy. Eat while it is hot! 

Ingredients (Serves 4) 

• 1 large whole chicken (approx. 1.5kg), preferably free-range or organic
• 1 x 473 ml can of Budweiser or other lager

• For the rub:

• 1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 level teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 level teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 level teaspoon mild chilli powder
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil

The Method

You need a standard kettle-style barbecue with a lid and a thermometer. Make sure it's tall enough to hold the upright chicken. The steam from the beer cooks the inside of the bird, so the meat ends up lovely and juicy.

Preheat your barbecue or oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Take your chicken out of the fridge while you make your rub. In a pestle and mortar, bash up your fennel and cumin seeds and mix with the paprika, brown sugar, chilli powder, salt and pepper. Stir in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil until you get a nice paste. Drizzle this rub all over the chicken, inside and out, using your hands to make sure you get it into all the nooks and crannies.

Crack your beer open, have a couple of good swigs so your can is just about half full, then lower your chicken's cavity on to the top of the can so it looks as though the chicken is sitting on the can. A bit undignified, I know, but trust me – it's going to be delicious.

If you're using the barbecue, try to strategically move a small amount of coals to the sides rather than directly underneath the chicken, so the heat radiates around it and cooks it from all angles rather than grills it. The same principle applies to roasting.

Carefully sit the chicken on the bars of your barbecue or in a tray on the very bottom of your oven. Cook for around 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until it's golden and delicious and the meat pulls away from the bone and the juices run clear. If this isn't the case (all barbecues and ovens are slightly different) just cook for a bit longer. 

Once done, remove the can and loosely cover your chicken with foil and a tea towel while you get some grilled veg, salad or warm breads together – but trust me, it tastes so good you won't need much else.