Jamie Oliver gets Comfortable in Toronto

Jamie Oliver just blew through Toronto for a quick 2 day visit to talk about all things food and good things and Comfort Food.  He recently released his new Cookbook Comfort Food but that wasn't the reason he flew into Toronto.

He was here to launch a new charity initiative with Sobeys his Brand Partner and with the Free the Children organization to start a project that will teach kids cooking skills for the future.  It's Jamie's mission to get kids learning how to cook for themselves giving them "skills for life".   I dropped by the Sobey's on Laird to see what the Charity event was all about.  He is teaming up with the Keilburger brothers to have Sobeys donate money from grocery sales that will go to Free the Children programs and Jamie help to facilitate this project for kids.

While Jamie was in Toronto he had an exhaustive schedule.  I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to catch one of his visits to the Marilyn Denis Show where he co hosted the hour with Marilyn and other guests were Charles the Butler and fellow Brit Debbie Travis.  They talked about all things British including food, decor, drinks and etiquette.  Jamie cooked up a Ricotta Gnudi.. from the former Naked Chef a plate of Gnudi balls... Jamie likes to make balls and buns as was evident in some of his Toronto appearances.   Because of Jamie's schedule Marilyn had to do a special taping at 6:30am so I had to get up very early to attend the show taping.

The previous day I also was lucky to attend the taping of the Steven and Chris Show where Jamie cooked up a batch of Mince buns.   I was lucky to get to try a bite of one of the buns and it was delicious.  Jamie was the master of inuendo on this show and had Steven and Chris in stitches and even got Chris blushing with the use of a lemon.  You have to watch the show to see what I mean.

Other events that Jamie attended in the whirlwind 2 days were a dinner for Indigo members at Buca Restaurant where Jamie's friend Chef Rob Gentile cooked up a special dinner.  Chef Gentile will be Jamie's Business partner when they open Jamie's new Jamie's Italian Food at the Yorkdale Mall.  It will open in the Spring of 2015.

One of my fellow Food Revolution Day Ambassadors was also a very lucky girl to be able to attend a special Sobeys Better Food For All winners Cooking Class where she got to meet Jamie face to face.  She has been waiting to meet him for the past three years that we have been Food Revolution Ambassadors.  Even though I have been a Food Revolution Ambassador for the past 3 years I haven't had a chance to actually meet him yet even though I have seen him at the Marilyn Show a couple of times and a couple of speaking engagements.  I have been in the same room a few times but haven't had the pleasure of actually meeting him.  There are about 90 Ambassadors in Canada so he can't get to everyone.

And I believe he also squeezed in another event after the Free the Children Charity launch at Sobey's but I don't know the details about that visit.

I got to see him at 3 of his stops and I can tell you that his schedule is crazy and he seems to have an endless supply of energy.   He looks good,  he has gotten a lot fitter and his hair is finally in control.  He has spent the past year working on his Comfort Food Cookbook and web series, tv show etc. but he has been mostly at home and able to catch up on some much needed rest and family time but I am sure that won't last long with all the multiple projects Jamie has on his plate.

He will be back in the Spring for the restaurant launch so I hope to be able to see him again then and maybe actually meet him face to face at some point.

Taters and Cream fast food at home

One of my favourite Fast Foods is Lick's Taters n Cream which I have been known to drive all the way down to the Beaches to satisfy a craving of it.   One day recently I thought I don't have to drive to Lick's to get it I can make it at home myself.  In an attempt to try and make more things at home and to save money and travel time and expenses I whipped up a batch of my own Taters and Cream.

Instead of cutting the potatoes into french fry strips I cut them into equal sized cubes making it easy to cook in a skillet.   I fried the potatoes in a skillet using the bacon fat that was left after cooking the bacon.  You add tons of extra flavour into the potato cubes that way and it fries up really crispy.   Cook the potatoes until golden brown and crispy on the outside and still a bit soft on the inside.  Make sure you don't cook it on high heat but more towards medium so that they get a chance to cook inside.

Drain the potatoes on paper towel when cooked and then place the potatoes on a plate or I like to put it in a bowl so that it can mound on top.

Add the Shredded cheese while the potatoes are still hot so that the cheese can melt a bit.

Then add the Sour Cream, Bacon and Sliced Green Onions.   I skipped adding the salt since I cooked the potatoes in Bacon Fat and there is plenty of salt in the cheese and bacon.

Add Pepper to taste and if you like it spicy you could even add chili flakes or Siracha or hot pepper sauce if you like.

That's it...   No waiting in lines,  no driving, parking, gas expenses food packaging waste.     All you need are a few good ingredients and about a half an hour of your time.   It's just as good as the take out version if not better because you know it's fresh and you know exactly how it's been made.

It may not be low cal but it is the kind of thing that hits that comfort food zone and really satisfies you.   Making it at home you will know that you are using fresh oil, you can use organic products if you like as well and you can control exactly how much and what you add to it.

You can also experiment with the stuff you put on top.  You could add things like diced tomatoes or cilantro or parsley... go nuts if you like.. break all the rules...   

Just enjoy the Fast Food at Home and feel like you can make it yourself.

Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie

Do you ever buy one of those ready made supermarket chickens that smell so good and are ready to eat as soon as you get home?  But then you are the only one around and have only eaten one portion of the chicken and don't know what to do with the rest of it?

Well here's an idea of what to do with the whole thing:   

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

You have eaten your one piece of chicken and don't have enough room to fit the whole plastic container of leftover chicken in your fridge?  Ok so once you let the chicken cool down a bit then it's time to strip it apart.   Get ready to get your hands dirty.

1. Take the wings off

2. Take the legs off

3. Take whatever leftover breast meat you have left on the chicken off

4. Seperate the backbone from the breastbone.

5. Take all the useable meat off the bones and shred into little pieces, you can cut it if you like but I just ripped it up with my hands.

Now you should have a 1 pile of chicken meat and another pile of bones.

Next:  (Optional)  You can always skip the whole chicken and just use a box of chicken stock, but this way tastes way better)

1. Take the chicken bones and dump them into a large stock pot and fill the pot until it is about 2 or 3 inches from the top.  

2.  Add 1 whole cleaned carrot.

3.  Add 1 whole onion quartered

4.  Add 1 whole celery stalk

5.  Add a Bay leaf

Bring the whole thing up to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top.

Cook until the carrot, celery and onion are completely soft.

Then Discard all the bones and the vegetables if you like.   You could keep the carrots if you like but they won't have as much flavour since it's all in the pot with the broth now.

Once you have removed all the bones and vegetables you can add other seasonings.   I would suggest adding the seasonings now since the chicken was probably seasoned and since it was a store bought one they usually have a lot of sodium.   Taste the broth and add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add a teaspoon of thyme

7. Add some dried or fresh chopped parsley

You can also add some chili flakes if you want to kick up the heat and maybe use it for some other spicy dishes.

Let the broth cook until the flavours reduce and blend to taste.  I would say another 20 minutes.

So now you have chicken soup stock.

Moving on.

In another large pot or large saute pan add the following:

1.  2 Tablespoons of oil/butter/lard or any combination of these.

2.  Add either a cup of pearl onions or a half a cup of chopped onions to the pan.  Cook until translucent.

3.  Add one celery stalk cut up to the pan and saute for a couple of minutes until tender.

4.  Add 2 or 3 cloves of chopped garlic depending on the size and how garlicky you like it.

5.  Add a couple of leaves of chopped fresh sage or a teaspoon of dried sage and a teaspoon of thyme.

6.  Add about a cup of frozen peas and carrots ( this cuts down on the chopping time and is just as healthy)   Cook until the peas have separated from the carrots.

7.  Add a heaping tablespoon of flour and mix the whole mixture.

8.  Add a half a cup to a cup of the chicken broth until it's a thick liquid consistency

9.  Add another half a cup to a cup of milk until it's like a soup consistency.

10.  Raise the heat and cook until the mixture thickens.  You are making a white sauce but with the vegetables in it already.

11.   Once the mixture has almost thickened add the cut up chicken and mix the whole thing until all the chicken is coated.  If it's thick you can add some more chicken stock.  Make sure the chicken stock is warm though or it will make the whole thing turn into a lump.

12.  Let the mixture cool down once it's all incorporated.

Next:  Pie shell

Here's the other cheat way to do this.   Frozen pie crusts.   I bought a box of frozen pie crusts from Costco and just popped out 2 of the crusts and let them thaw for about 15 minutes and then filled the bottom one with the cooled chicken filling.   Water the edges of the bottom crust and then add the top crust and pinch the sides.   make sure you add a steam hole in the middle of the top of the pie crust to make sure it doesn't ooze out.

That's it...  then cook the whole thing in a 350-375 degree oven depending on the pie crust instructions. Cook until golden brown on the top.  It should take about 40 minutes or so.

Shortcuts:

1. Frozen ready made pie crust

2. Frozen peas and carrots

3. Pre made chicken stock

4. Store bought cooked chicken

5. You can also be even quicker buy getting the already chopped onions and celery.

6.  And if you are really lazy or cooking challenged you could probably even use a cream of celery soup as the creamy mixture.   Although I wouldn't recommend doing it this way.  It's not that hard to make a white sauce.   Equal parts fat to flour and then a cup or 2 of liquid like chicken stock or milk.

All I can say is that if you make it at home instead of buying the pre made chicken pot pies you can control the things you like in it.  If you don't like celery skip it, but all these things really give it that comfort food flavour.   For me it was about reducing the amount of sodium and adding the seasonings the way I like it.   I find the store bought ones way too salty and a bit more bland.  I like adding the fresh herbs if i can.  It makes the world of difference.

Now if you want to go all out and skip the shortcuts you can always make your own pie crust,  roast your own chicken and cut up all the vegetables from fresh... but I bet you won't.... you would probably rather buy the ready made store bought ones and just toss the in the oven and forget about it.

Make this once and see the difference in the taste and then decide if you would rather have the homemade version or the store bought version.

To me it's an easy choice once you compare them.   Do a taste test even.  Cook one of the store bought ones while you cook the homemade one and have your friends and family decide which one they like better.   I think I know what the answer will be to that question.

Go forth and make from scratch...  and Enjoy.

Low & Slow Food - Braised Short Ribs

Slow Food is coming back thanks to the Slow Food Movement and the improvement of crock pots and cookware.

I never had short ribs growing up because it wasn't something my mother ever made so it wasn't something I was familiar with. She would make beef stews using stewing beef and that required slow cooking so I was familiar with the slow cooking process but had never made short ribs until now. Short ribs seem to be the trend of high end restaurants as the hot thing to order right now. What braised short ribs is really is just short ribs prepped in a certain way with certain liquids and vegetables and left to simmer for a long time until the meat breaks down and basically will fall off the bone or just fall apart.

It may not be pretty food in the end but it's packed with flavour and vitamin infused vegetable beef broth.

This is how I did it:

5 strips of short ribs cut in chunks between each bone.
1 large onion, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup of red wine
1 cup of beef stock ( can be in a box)
2 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of tomato paste

How you make it:

Pat the beef dry with a paper towel and sear them until browned in a large heavy bottom pot like a cast iron pot with a lid.
Sear the meat in small batches so that they don't steam and get a good sear. Take them out and set aside as you brown them.

After they are all brown toss the onions that have been fine diced into the pot and sweat them out for a minute. Toss in the carrot, parsnip, celery all diced into small pieces into the pot with the onions. Mix well and then add the flour and mix until the flour disappears. Add the chopped garlic cloves and the thyme strips from the stalk.
Add the bay leaf.

Add the tomato paste and stir well.
Add the wine.
Make sure you scrape off the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and mix well into the wine.
Add the beef back into the pot.
Add the beef stock.

Cover and put into a 300F oven and cook for 1-3 hours depending on how thick the meat is and how tender you want it and also how much liquid is left in the pot. If it gets thicker than you like just add some more stock or even just some water and mix well.

The longer you let it cook the more the flavours will develop from the vegetables cooking down and the meat breaking down and absorbing the flavours.

It's not an exact science because it depends on the meat really and how thick it is and how you like the consistency to be.

You can also just dump it all into a crock pot after you sear the beef and just let it go on low for the day while you are out doing errands and come back to a full flavoured bowl of goodness.

Sprinkle the fresh chopped parsley on it at the end of the cooking process so you keep the fresh flavour.

I made it with mashed potatoes to soak up all the gravy goodness. You could make egg noodles, rice or even polenta and it will all soak up the juices and make you feel fully satisfied.

This is a great winter dish and something you can just prep and forget for a while. You can feed a large family or you can freeze it for a quick heat up after work on a cold winter night.

Either way it's going to be tasty and great comfort food.

If you had it at a restaurant I am sure it would cost you between $12-$25 dollars depending on what restaurant you go to. Why not attempt to do it yourself. It just takes a bit of prep work and some time left alone to do it's thing.

You will be very proud to serve this to friends and family because it's not the kind of thing you can get at your local take out restaurant and it will bring you back to the good old days when moms cooked that way for a sunday dinner.

Break out your crock pot and have sunday dinners any day.

Enjoy!