Categories
Poultry Sauces Uncategorized Video How-to

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken and Leek Stroganoff

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Chicken and Leek Stroganoff
Chicken and Leek Stroganoff

For my birthday in January, my husband gave me a copy of Jamie Oliver’s new book Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals. At the time, I didn’t realize that it was going to be part of a whole movement he is trying to ignite here in America. A few months ago, when I first looked at it, I thought, ‘These are easy recipes with real food you’d want to eat,” and I put it on the part of my kitchen counter reserved for cookbooks that I actually use. Now that I’ve seen the television show he has created, I’ve been inspired to use it even more. I’ll be blogging the results over the next couple of weeks.

You can pick up a copy of the book at Amazon, by clicking here:

Jamie Oliver hopes to change the way American children eat by helping school systems revamp their lunch programs and families revamp what’s for dinner. It’s a daunting task, but he’s been successful in his native Britain already. I was drawn to this chicken dish, because I love leek and mushroom cream sauces. I also happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. Jamie makes the process easy by keeping the recipe to one pan and the cooking time to about 20 minutes.

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Jamie Oliver's Chicken and Leek Stroganoff
 
Jamie Oliver's Chicken and Leek Stroganoff
Author:
Recipe type: Chicken
Cuisine: French
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • sea salt
  • ¼ cup long grain or basmati rice (I used brown basmati rice)
  • 1 large leek
  • a big handful of crimini or oyster mushrooms (I used pre-sliced white mushrooms)
  • 2 chicken breasts (I used the equivalent amount of chicken tenders from the butcher)
  • olive oil
  • a pat of butter
  • a glass of white wine
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • a bunch of fresh parsley
  • 1¾ cups heavy cream
  • 1 lemon
Instructions
  1. Pour boiling water from the kettle into a 2 quart saucepan, place on a high heat and add a pinch of sea salt. Add your rice, bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down slightly. Cook for the length of time given in the instructions on the package.
  2. Cut both ends off the leek, quarter lengthways, slice across thinly, then wash well under running water. Slice the mushrooms. Slice the chicken breasts into little, finger-size pieces.
  3. Put a large frying pan on a high heat and add a good lug of olive oil and a pat of butter. Add the leek to the pan with the white wine, a small glass of water, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Let it bubble away for 5 minutes, covered loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley, stalks and al. Remove the foil and add the chicken strips, most of the parsley, the cream, and the mushrooms. Stir, bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain your rice. Just before serving, cut your lemon in half and squeeze the juice of one half into the stroganoff. Season to taste.
  4. Spoon some rice onto each plate and top with the stroganoff. Scatter with the rest of the chopped parsley. Serve with the other lemon half, cut into wedges.

If you haven’t seen the show yet, you MUST watch this preview. This 2 minute clip brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it.



Categories
Breads Breakfast/Brunch Vegetarian

Healthier Zucchini Bread

Healthier Zucchini Bread
Healthier Zucchini Bread

A few weeks ago, I purchased whole wheat flour and oat bran at Trader Joe’s and since then, I’ve been remaking my favorite quick bread and muffin recipes to increase fiber and decrease fat. Zucchini Bread is my most recent target. Awhile ago, I posted the Zucchini Bread recipe handed down to me by my mother that I’ve been using since the early eighties. It’s great: sweet, moist, and flavorful. But it’s loaded with sugar and butter and calls for only bleached flour. If you’re in the mood for something a little healthier, try this version instead. It packs as much flavor but the pleasure comes without the guilt.

Healthier Zucchini Bread
2 medium loaves

Ingredients

3 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose (bleached) flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray 2 9′ x 5′ baking pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil, applesauce and vanilla. Mix lightly but well (with a spoon).

2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.

3. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture (in batches) until blended. Don’t over mix.

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Categories
Breads Breakfast/Brunch Vegetarian

Apple-Orange-Cranberry Loaf

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Apple-Orange-Cranberry Loaf
Apple-Orange-Cranberry Loaf

We’re back, live, with another food-blogging marathon. This month, we’re streaming APPLES and we’re kicking it off with a scrumptious apple-orange-cranberry loaf. I say “we.” It’s just me – back from an exciting weekend at the Breeders’ Cup down at the Santa Anita race track near Los Angeles. Zenyatta, the filly, came from behind to beat all the boys yesterday. It was a thrill to be there for the historic event, surrounded by the stars of my favorite tv shows, no less. Somebody pinch me. It’s time to wake up and make the donuts. Or the quick bread as the case may be.

Categories
Breads Breakfast/Brunch Uncategorized

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread

I’ve been making this Zucchini Bread recipe my whole life. Although, it has been awhile . Zucchini was on sale for $0.49/lb the other day, so I knew that I was going to revisit this old favorite. I’ll never forget making this recipe in France in 1987. I was a 16 year-old student staying with a French family for the summer and I was eager to share my American culinary culture with them. I made Maryland Fried Chicken one day and another day, I made this zucchini bread. Their impression of it? Trop sucré. (Too sweet). I was baffled at the time, but my adult taste agrees and I’ve cut 1/2 cup of sugar from the original recipe. My French hosts also couldn’t understand why I wanted to spend time cooking for them, when I had an opportunity to experience French gastronomy for six weeks. Well, then as now, I guess I just couldn’t help it.

My Childhood Recipe Notebook
My Childhood Recipe Notebook

Zucchini Bread
Makes 2 medium loaves

Ingredients

3 eggs
1.5 cups sugar (in 1987 it was 2 cups)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
dash of freshly ground nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil and vanilla. Mix lightly but well (with a spoon).

2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.

3. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture (in batches) until blended. Don’t over mix.

4. Bake for 1 hour.

Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread
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