Four Bird Roast

Well the Four Bird Roast was a great success.

Three and half hours in the oven and resting for forty minutes did the trick. Beautifully moist and very tasty.

Not sure if I would get it again, there was too much turkey in comparison to the other meats stuffed in there, but still very nice to have a mix of meats. Stuffings were nice as well.

Christmas is coming…

As the big day approaches, I am starting to make the final preparations for the festive meal.

We are going to have the four bird roast from Marks and Spencers with Parmentier Potatoes and a spread of vegetables.

Hopefully it should all go to plan.

Christmas Four Bird Roast


Well my plan for a Christmas Four Bird Roast was scuppered last year. I had intended to order one from Marks and Spencers which consisted of Turkey, Goose, Duck, Chicken.

Marks and Spencers Four Bird Roast

However when I went to order it was apparent that many others had had the same idea and it had sold out! I am guessing that a) a lot of people were like me and liked the concept b) the Marks and Spencers version was good value for money at £100. There was no way you could even do it yourself for £100. Waitrose’s version was £120 and only consisted of a three bird roast.

So this year I got in early and managed to order one.

Now from the description I believe that this isn’t in fact four birds one stuffed within another, but a large turkey stuffed with goose, duck, chicken and stuffing. Still it sounds nice, and according to the person at Marks and Spencers who I ordered it from, it went down well at their Christmas last year.

Paella

Made a homemade paella the other day.

paella011009

Took some onions, pepper and some pancetta, and fried them together in a large heavy pan with a splash of olive oil.

Add some diced raw chicken.

I then added the paella rice, and it always makes sense to use paella rice, and never any other kind of rice.

Ensuring the rice was coated in the onions, pepper and oil, I would have added a splash of white wine, but alas there was no wine in the house.

So I then added saffron and chicken stock. The saffron I had infused in hot water. This helps to bring out the traditional yellow colour in the paella. I also added half a tin of chopped tomatoes. In case you wonder what to do with the other half, I made a spicy tomato sauce  for patatas brava.

Simmer for twenty minutes adding more stock if required.

A few minutes before serving add raw prawns and slices of chorizo. I was  using cooking chorizo which I had  cooked separately. A handful of chopped parsley adds flavour and colour.

The dish was the put together and served.

I would have liked to use more shellfish, but all I had was prawns to hand, nice to have used squid and mussels.

paella021009

Yo Sushi

I have had Yo Sushi before, I had some time to wait before my train so decided to sit down and eat rather than buy the takeway that I normally buy.

The concept of Yo Sushi may be familiar to anyone who has been to Japan it certainly is a weird concept for many in the UK.

Sit down and watch as little bowls of sushi pass you by on a conveyor belt. Help yourself to the ones that you want. After you have eaten they count the bowls you have eaten and charge you accordingly. Not all the bowls are the same price and range from £1.70 to £5.00. The price depends on how much is in the bowl and what ingredients are used.

As well as the cold dishes on the conveyor belt you can order soup and hot dishes from the waiting staff.

I looked at the menu and the first two items I chose were not available. So I ordered Chicken Yakitori, char-grilled chicken skewers with a soy-mirin glaze and Prawn Katsu, crispy fried prawns in Japanese bread crumbs, with a fruity sauce. I had wanted to order Prawn Tempura and Chicken Teriyaki .

While I was waiting for the hot food I started off with a crayfish salad which was very pleasant. The hot food then arrived (quicker than anticipated). The prawns were good and the chicken skewers were sticky.

I then picked a Salmon Nigri from the belt. The salmon lacked flavour but the rice was okay.

My final dish was Spicy Pepper Squid which was very nice and a good finish to my meal.

Still think it was cheeky that they charge £1 for water!

I will go again.

Paella

Made a homemade paella the other day.

Took some onions, pepper and some pancetta, and fried them in a large heavy pan.

I then added the paella rice, and it always makes sense to use paella rice, and never any other kind of rice.

Ensuring the rice was coated in the onions, pepper and oil, I added a splash of white wine. Then add the saffron and chicken stock.

Simmer for twenty minutes adding more stock if required.

I had already cooked the chicken and the prawns, I was also using cooking chorizo which was cooked separately.

The dish was the put together and served.

I would have liked to use more shellfish, but all I had was prawns. I would have probably also cooked the chicken in the rice, but that was done separately on this occasion.

Herb Roasted Chicken

Take some fresh herbs and mince finely. I used flat leaf parsley, rosemary, sage and basil (basically what I had available).

Add to a bowl of chicken thighs and drumsticks, add olive oil and back pepper. Though you can use a spoon, generally your hands work better, mix the chicken in the oil and herb mix until all the chicken is coated. Leave for at least ten minutes, thirty is better.

Roast on a bed of root vegetables for about 30-40 minutes.

I served the chicken with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Tapas

Cooked my own tapas, with variety of dishes.

Pan fried squid and prawns: Simple slice the squid into rings and fry on a hot pan with a splash of olive oil. The prawn, I butterflied and again just cooked in a hot pan.

Patatas Bravas – Fried potato, topped with a spicy tomato sauce. I made the tomato sauce myself, onions, tinned tomatoes, a hint of chilli and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The potatoes, I cheated and used frozen fried potatoes baked in the oven.

Chorizo Frito al Vino: Remember to buy the whole sausage and not the thinly salami style sliced version.

Chorizo

My method is to cut the chorizo into slices about quarter of an inch thick. Fry in a large frying pan until sealed on both sides and just starting to go a little crispy. At this point I add the red wine (Spanish red wine is best, but I am sure you can use any good red wine).

Cook the chorizo for a few more minutes and then serve.

Rosemary flavoured roasted chicken breast: Simple roast a chicken breast on a bed of rosemary with a splash of olive oil.

Overall some delicious dishes.

Photo source.

Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Pancetta

Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Pancetta

I took some chicken breasts and flattened them with my hand. I prefer thighs over the breast meat in the main as I believe the flavour is so much better and is less likely to dry out, though with this method, that is unlikely to happen.

I then took some sausage-meat (by taking the skin of some good quality sausages) and added some finely chopped parsley and some pine nuts.

I laid out four or five slices of pancetta onto a square of foil. I laid the chicken breast out on the foil. I placed some of the sausage-meat mixture on the chicken thigh and then rolled the chicken, and then ensured that the pancetta covered the chicken. I then rolled the foil up into a parcel. I ensured (by squeezing) that all the foil parcels were the same size (for even cooking).

The chicken parcels were then poached for twenty minutes, then they were removed from the water.

At this stage (in theory) you should leave them in the fridge to rest and firm up for some time. I didn’t have the time so I left them for ten minutes.

You can pan fry them (ensure that they are dry), however I roasted mine in the oven for ten to fifteen minutes with a splash of olive oil.

I served the chicken on a bed of sauted mushrooms in a red wine sauce, with steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes and yorkshire puddings.

Delicious.

Grilled chicken on green lentils

 Grilled chicken on green lentils

For the grilled chicken, take a chicken breast, I used a free range corn fed chicken breast which I flattened with my hand (though you could take a rolling pin to it). I seasoned the chicken with seasoning and olive oil before placing under a hot grill for 15-20 minutes.

For the lentils eat a frying pan and add some chopped pancetta. There is no need to add any extra oil as there is usually sufficient fat in the pancetta.

Pancetta

Finely chop an onion. Add the onion to the frying pan with the pancetta.

I softened in a frying pan, the finely chopped onion with the pancetta. When the onion was nicely soft I then added some red wine and beef stock before simmering it down.

I use beef stock over chicken stock just because of the colour rather than flavour. I then reduced and reduced this.

Then add some sliced mushrooms.

I then added the green lentils, I used a tin, for convenience and speed. Once the lentils had heated through I then plated up.

On go the lentils and then slice the grilled chicken and place on top.

Serve with steamed vegetables.