"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Friday, October 30, 2009

Jamie Oliver Friday & Thankful to Be Able To Post!

This is the Jamie Oliver meal we had last Friday. Here I thought I was a good little Girl Scout and prepared ahead of time with delicious results. However reality and life do exert their prerogative to totally thumb their noses at me and usurp my plans. I know this NEVER happens to any of you. Shortly after my last post our computer caught a virus and had to be sent to the computer hospital , whereupon we paid an extra fee to have our dearly beloved computer restored quickly. Our computer came home with amnesia and thanks to a dear friend ( and NOT the computer hospital ) we have some semblance of computer function and now I have to relearn my computer, and he has to re-learn us. Namely , I have to figure out where all the files and pictures are hidden , as the back-up disks the computer hospital made for us grouped all my precious pictures in strange ways and places. As I work out the game of hide-and-seek with my pictures I was able to locate Jamie's picture and download the last meal we made using his book. Here goes... Jamie's Balsamic-Baked Onions & Potatoes With Roast Pork "This dish has attitude-it uses a lot of balsamic vinegar but, trust me , it works really well!....I've chosen to serve them with pork, but beef or lamb works just as well." J. Oliver You Will Need:
  • 3 and 1/2 pounds medium sliced waxy potatoes ( all purpose..we used potatoes from our garden) peeled and quartered lengthwise
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • olive oil
  • 7 ounces butter, cubed
  • a bunch of fresh rosemary leaves picked and chopped
  • 1 whole bulb of garlic, quartered or smashed
  • 5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
  • 1 and 1/2 cups cheap balsamic vinegar
For The Pork
  • a small bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly ground fennel seeds
  • 1 - 3 and 1/2 pound pork loin ( or beef or lamb of choice)
  • olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
  • 2 sticks of celery trimmed and chopped
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 wineglasses of white wine
  • extra virgin olive oil
"Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the potatoes into a pan of boiling water and cook for about 8 minutes, then drain and return to the pan. Chuff them up a bit by shaking the pan. To prepare the meat, scatter a handful of finely chopped rosemary leaves onto a large chopping board. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and the ground fennel seeds. Roll the pork ( or roast of choice) across the board, pressing down hard so all the flavorings stick to it. Get a large roasting pan that your pork will fit snugly into, and place it on a burner over medium high heat. Pour in a little olive oil and place the pork in, fat side down, sprinkled with any flavorings remaining on the board. After a few minutes, when the pork fat is lightly golden , turn it over and add the garlic cloves, onion, celery and bay leaves to the pan. Place on the bottom shelf of your pre-heated oven for an hour, basting it halfway through. ( For the last 20 minutes of cooking you may need to cover the pork with a bit of damp waxed paper to stop it coloring too much.) Get another roasting pan into which you can fit the potatoes in one layer, and heat it on the stove. When hot, pour a glug of olive oil into it and add the butter, rosemary and garlic. Add the potatoes and toss them in all the flavors. Add the onions and all the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on the burner to reduce the balsamic vinegar a little. Place the pan on the top shelf ( of oven ) and cook for around 50 minutes until potatoes and onions are dark, sticky and crispy- removing the pan to toss the onions and potatoes half-way through. After an hour , the meat should be cooked. Prick it with a sharp knife- if the juices run clear, it's done; if not, pop it back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, keeping the potatoes warm . Remove it from the oven and let it rest on a plate for 10 minutes. Pour away most of the fat from the pan and mash up the garlic and onion. Place the pan over the burner and add the white wine. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half,scraping all the meaty, marmitey goodness off the bottom to make a tasty little sauce, and season if necessary. Pass through a sieve into a serving pitcher. Then slice the pork and serve it with your incredible baked onions and potatoes, drizzled with the pan juices. Great with some nice greens on an arugula salad." J. Oliver The vegetable portion of this recipe is delicious all by itself! We decided the wine sauce was not worth the effort because the sauce from the vegetable dish was superior to it. The pork loin I bought was on sale, however this would be delicious as a beef or lamb dish too. And don't think this recipe requires an expensive cut of meat, it does NOT! Worth making and great eating. Thanks again Jamie! BTW, I served home-made buttermilk biscuits slathered in REAL butter and home-made yellow plum jam along-side this dish.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the computer problems Kathy. This meal sounds so good to me. I always look forward to the meals you have tried on Friday's posts. I hope that you and your family will enjoy the weekend.

Susie said...

Glad your computer came back home from the hospital. Hope you can find everything. That sounds like a big pain.

Girl that plate of food looks so good. But your biscuits look really, really good.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Debbie said...

That looks very good! I love potatoes just about any way you make em'. And bisquits with homemade preserves would be a treat. Thanks for your comment on my blog. Yes, I will tell my husband that we must relocate to the NW so I'll have ample solid pumpkin and a friend to canoe with:)
Deb

Deanna said...

Hi there from Kansas.
Your meal had to have been out of this world delicious!!!
Makes me very hungry looking at the pic and the description of this.

Very sorry about the computer bug...may you be able to gather all your information.

I have often thought the root beer bottles in a car could easily be mistaken for beer. Great minds think alike!

Have a nice week-end.
d

Mary Bergfeld said...

Sorry for the trouble you've had with the computer. Your meal looks delicious. Have a wonderful weekend.

Mary said...

The recipe looks and sounds very good, including the butter slathered biscuits.

I need to back up my files. You just never know.

Glad you can post again.

Have a beautiful weekend!

A. Joy said...

Glad to hear your computer is back and running somewhat! Kind of nice to have it out during the week Little T came to visit! KN thinks it's the coolest thing ever that a computer can catch a virus and give it to other computers. ( She hasn't had to pay to have one repaired! )

Nancy M. said...

That sounds good! I'm sorry you got a virus, but I'm glad you got your computer back. I hope you'll be able to find everything!

Julie Harward said...

This meal looks and sounds so wonderful...going to do it! That virus...hope it's not catchy! Take care and good luck with the finding! Come say hi :D

KathyB. said...

Mildred, we are having a great time this week and the weekend looks to be a blessing too. Thank-you.

Susie, it is a BIG , BIG pain and inconvenience, but also allows me to gain a bit more perspective on a whole lot of things....and the food was very good!

Debbie, there are a lot of wonderful places to canoe around here! As far as potatoes, I cannot bring myself to tolerate the taste of potatoes unless they are fried , as in skinny french fries or potato chips,, or baked in bread or rolls to NOT resemble the taste..but my husband loves potatoes and the potatoes and onions in this dish were very good.

Deanna, YES!!! Back up your files now...computer viruses and crashes don't plan themselves to your convenience.

Mary and Mary, thank-you. And as i said to Deanna, yes, back them up now!I am learning the hard way....

A.Joy, KN is so interesting. Her perspective on just about anything really fascinates me, and I love her so much. But you are so right, computer viruses are expensive to treat...the nasty little bugs!

Nancy and Julie, thank-you. As soon as I noticed things were not quite right with my computer I decided not to e-mail anyone until I found out just what was going on. I have since discovered there are many scary computer viruses out there that are too smart. They lurk and wait til the optimum time to strike!I also learned that many very expensive, highly rated virus protection services and spyware do NOT detect them...scary , huh?

LindaSue said...

Sorry about the computer being infected - has happened to us and really is frustrating - why someone wants to spend time and energy messing up other people's computers is beyond me. The meal does look delicious - the Jamie Oliver cookbook has turned out to be the gift which keeps on giving!

Connie said...

This dish sounds wonderful, Kathy. Computers are terrific things when they work the way we think they should and are quite frustrating when they don't!! I hope you get the puzzle worked out so you can locate all that you need to find. :)

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Well, I wondered where you'd been! Sure glad the virus has been treated and computer is now well and healthy again. It's good news to hear from you, to know how folks and things are at Cedar Pond.

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promotional gifts said...

Your shared dish is same as my breakfast dish. Sorry to hear about the computer problems Kathy. This meal sounds so good to me. I always look forward to the meals you have tried on Friday's posts. I hope that you and your family will enjoy the weekend.