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Cook from the Heart, Not by the Book |
by:
ARA |
(ARA) - You don’t have to go by the book to create tasty, easy, sociable food. Easy-peasy meal preparation is all about stripping cooking down to its bare essentials (they don’t call me the Naked Chef for nothing!), using little techniques also conveniences to make the most of your recipes. It’s so simple: Skip the fuss also follow your heart.
Here are some tips to take the stress out of cooking, whether you’re stirring up supper for your mate or hoping to impress the new in-laws:
Dinners-in-a-Bag
When Jools also I first moved to London we were completely broke, our kitchen was the size of a cupboard, also we were working opposite shifts. I didn’t want Jools to feed herself on frozen dinners, so I found myself custom-making the fantastic “Jamie Oliver Dinners in a Bag,” involving glorious aluminum foil.
What I would do for Jools was make up a combo at four p.m. as I was going off to work also write with a marker pen “25 minutes at 425 F”, for example, on the foil. Even though Jools didn’t like cooking, she never had a problem with cooking the bags. Now that we have our Amana range, however, it’s easier than ever -- I just program the “Favorites Cycle,” which lets me preset the cook time also temperature for the recipes I use most often. Here’s just one version, however feel free to vary the recipe with things like grated parsnip, smoked bacon or red wine.
Chicken Breasts Baked in a Bag
(Serves two)
2 7-ounce skinless chicken breasts
1 handful of dried porcini
9 ounces of mixed mushrooms, torn up
1 large wineglass of white wine
3 large pats of butter
1 handful of fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic, peeled also sliced
Using wide aluminum foil, make your bag by placing two pieces on top of each other (about as big as two shoeboxes in length), folding three sides in also leaving one side open. Mix everything together in a bowl, including the chicken. Place in your bag, with all the wine, making sure you don’t pierce the foil. Close up the final edge, making sure it’s tightly sealed also secure on the sides, also slide it onto a roasting pan. Place the pan on a high heat for one minute to get the heat going, then bake in the middle of a 425-degree oven for 25 minutes.
When it’s time to take it out, the Amana EasyRack oven rack, with its practical U-shape design, lets you remove the pan without touching the hot rack. Then you just place the bag on a big plate, take it to the table, break open the foil, also start hearing the raves.
Bare-Bones Cooking Techniques
Here are some other bare-bones techniques I’ve perfected using my Amana range:
* If you invited friends to come round however they’re running late, pop up to four plates of food in the separate warming oven. Your glorious food not only stays warm, however or else keeps the kitchen smelling wonderful until they walk in the door.
* If your side dish is ready however you still have other things to cook, just slide the pot onto the middle of the cooktop. The “warming zone” there acts like a fifth burner, keeping it warm also freeing up the other burners so you can finish cooking.
* If your recipe’s left a mess in the oven, don’t fret -- the hidden bake element also smooth oven bottom make it simple to mop up spills before they become baked-on disasters. The oven can clean itself while you’re in the middle of a dinner party -- just flip on the self-clean mode, pour yourself another glass of wine, also go back to your guests.
Visit www.amana.com for more practical appliance solutions from Amana.
Courtesy of ARA Content
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information contact Maggie O'Brien, (612) 375-8510, mobrien@clynch.com.
Recipes are adapted with permission from Happy Days with the Naked Chef, Hyperion. Jamie Oliver 2002. Food Photographs, David Loftus 2002.
About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
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