Hey everyone! A big massive thank you to my lovely jade for doing my last 2 days posts for me I've been so super busy i have barely had time to even wash! (i have though i promise).

So today i'm going to share with you Jamie Olivers get ahead christmas gravy! We had this the year before last with our christmas dinner and it was delicious and...... (don't fall of your chair people that know my husband)... Chris made it!! Chris doesn't cook, he can do bacon sarnies and normal sarnies but thats about it so for him to make a contribution to the Christmas dinner was like a life altering moment!


He Watched Jamie make it on the tv programme he did and he said he really wanted to do it so he did and it was lovely! And the best thing about it is you can make it up ahead of time and freeze it so its one less job on the big day!

Here's the recipe hope you like it, have a lovely Saturday!

Get-ahead gravy

Makes 1 litre

Ingredients

• 2 celery sticks, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly sliced
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 5 fresh bay leaves
• 5 fresh sage leaves
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 star anise
• 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, the best quality you can afford
• 8 higher-welfare chicken wings
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 60 ml sherry or port , optional
• 2 heaped dessert spoons cranberry sauce, for finishing
  
  
  
  
  Method
  I reckon gravy has the power to transform, or even save, a meal. What I want you to do this year is open your mind to a slightly radical idea: making it a few days, or even weeks before Christmas. If you do this, you'll have it on standby, so you can finish it on Christmas Day. I use chicken wings to give the gravy that roasted bird flavour base. Not only are they dead cheap, they're also the most flavourful part of the bird.
  
  Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Put the veg, herbs and star anise into a sturdy bottomed roasting tray. Scatter the bacon on top. Break the chicken wings open then put them onto a board and bash the bones up with the end of a rolling pin; this will release more of their flavour. Put them in the pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over a few pinches of salt and pepper then toss everything together and put the tray in the oven to cook for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
  
  Take the pan out of the oven, and put it on a hob over a low heat and use a potato masher to really grind and mash everything up. Keep mashing, moving and scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan as you go. Gradually mix in the flour to thicken the mixture. The longer you let everything fry, the darker your gravy will be. When the flour is combined pour in 2 litres of hot water, turn the heat up and bring to the boil for 10 minutes, till thickened, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want to add 60ml sherry or port for flavour, do that now.
  
  When it's reached the consistency you're looking for, check the seasoning then push it through a sieve into a large bowl. Really push and mash everything through so you get as much flavour as possible. Discard anything left behind. Once it has cooled down to room temperature put it into containers or freezer bags and pop it in your freezer. You'll finish it off on Christmas Day.
  
  Finishing the gravy
  To finish the gravy, take your it out of the freezer when you're ready to cook your turkey. That way, it will defrost as your turkey cooks. When the turkey is perfectly cooked, put a carving fork inside the cavity and use that to pick the bird up and tilt it over the pan so all of the juices inside run out.
  
  Spoon away as much of the fat as possible, then pour your pre-made gravy into the pan with the rest of the turkey juices. Bring it to the boil over the hob and scrape all those flavourful bits and pieces from the bottom of the pan. Have a taste then add the cranberry sauce. It won't taste sweet but it will add a wicked background flavour.
  
  Once your gravy is piping hot, strain it through a sieve and into a pan. Leave that on the lowest heat to tick away until you're ready to serve. Skim away any fat that rises to the top and add any extra resting juices from the turkey before serving.
  
  

Slow Pulled Pork!!

Happy Saturday but most importantly Happy 6 Year Anniversary to my wonderful best friend Leeanne and her equally lovely husband Chris!!! 6 years!! xxx Its 7am i wonder if Lee has cried yet? my money is on yes xxx

"I don't eat pork" This is what i always always say! I hate pork chops or roast pork with a passion! When i was at school my best friend Victoria said it had worms in it and from that day forward i never ate it!!! Gross!!! So therefore my nieces and nephews don't eat it as i wiggle my fingers at them like worms whenever pork is mentioned haha!

On Christmas day we normally go to my Godparents and we normally have Pork and Turkey (I don't eat either) so my Godmother always makes me beef or chicken.  I'm like the difficult child! 

However at my cousins childrens birthday my aunty did a slow pulled pork dish which everyone had in a bap with apple sauce! I was starving so thought oh its worth a go! Well i now love pulled pork!!! Granted i still can't bear pork chops but pulled pork is my new fave meat!!!

I don't normally do the roasts in my house - Nick is so much better so here is his favourite recipe from Jamie Oliver!!!! I hope you really enjoy this easy dish! Nicks trick is prepare pork and pop in over early doors then go to golf knowing he has enough time not to worry!

The best things about this dish are its easy, fool proof, can be used for a roast, bar b q, party, lunch in a bap or dinner! perfick

Love
J xxx

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 kg higher-welfare shoulder of pork, bone-in, skin on
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 red onions, halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
• 2 sticks celery, halved
• 1 bulb garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
• 6-8 bay leaves
• 600 ml water or organic vegetable stock

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string. Rub salt right into all the scores you've just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to.

Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Place your pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3, cover the pork snugly with a double layer of tinfoil, pop back in the oven and roast for a further 4 and a half hours.

Take out of the oven, take the foil off, and baste the meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Spoon all but a couple of tablespoons of fat out (save it for roast potatoes!).

Add all the veg, garlic and bay leaves to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork back on top of everything and return to the stove without the foil to roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender.

Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover again with tinfoil and leave to rest while you make your gravy. Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you've got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it.

Serve the pork and crackling with your jug of gravy and some lovely roast potatoes (As a treat, you can try roasting them in the fat you spooned out of your roasting tray. Some stewed red cabbage and a dollop of apple sauce will finish this off perfectly.)

Thank you Jamie Oliver - your cooking rocks our world haha! xxx

Pizza Fun

We love pizza! Who doesn't love pizza? Homemade pizza's are one of Sienna's most favourite things to make. This pizza dough recipe from Jamie Oliver is surprisingly easy to do and you will never buy premade bases ever again. This is a lot of fun to do with the kids and they will love being involved in making dinner. Sienna likes having lots of separate bowls with her pizza toppings in to choose from.

You know how pizza toppings go its not rocket science, a bit of tomato cheese and whatever else your heart desires. Just a quick note the recipe makes 6-8 pizza bases so if your not having the street over for dinner you might want to halve the quantities.

So heres the recipe, enjoy! 

Love 

Lee xx

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Serves makes 6 to 8 medium-sized thin pizza bases

Ingredients

• 1 kg white bread flour or Tipo '00' flour, or 800g strong white bread flour or Tipo '00' flour, plus 200g finely ground semolina flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 x 7 g dried yeast sachets
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 650 ml lukewarm water

  Method

  Sieve the flour/s and salt on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.
  
  Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
  
  Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands – this is called knocking back the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using straight away, divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas – this amount of dough is enough to make about six to eight medium pizzas.
  
  Timing-wise, it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Don't roll them out and leave them hanging around for a few hours, though – if you are working in advance like this it's better to leave your dough, covered with clingfilm, in the fridge. However, if you want to get them rolled out so there's one less thing to do when your guests are round, simply roll the dough out into rough circles, about 0.5cm thick, and place them on slightly larger pieces of olive-oil-rubbed and flour-dusted tinfoil. You can then stack the pizzas, cover them with clingfilm, and pop them into the fridge.

Lovely one dish Chicken

This dish is a firm family favourite!!! I love making it as its simple and not much washing up!!!

"Crispy and sticky chicken thighs with squashed new potatoes and tomatoes"
by Jamie Oliver, Jamie At Home





Ingredients: (serves 4)

800g new potatoes, scrubbed
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
12 boned chicken thighs skin on (i use breast too)
Olive oil
600g cherry tomatoes different shapes and colours
A bunch of oregano
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar






Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked.

While potatoes are cooking preheat your oven to 200C/400F/gas6.  Cut each chicken thigh into 3 strips and place in a bowl.  Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss.  Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in one layer, put the chicken into the pan skin side down.  You can do in batches if your frying pan isn't big enough.  Fry over a high heat for 10 mins or so, until almost cooked, then remove to an oven proof dish.

Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife.  Place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a minute or so.  Drain and, when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins.  You don't have to but this makes them really sweet and the flavour will infuse the potatoes.  By now the potatoes should be cooked.  Drain them in a colander and then lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb.

Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar (i use dried oregano and just sprinkle over the dish.  Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and mix it all up.  Add this to the chicken along with the potatoes, the tomatoes and some more oregano leaves.  Mix everything carefully and lay it all out so its on a single layer on a roasting tin and back for 40 mins in the preheated oven until golden.

This is lovely served with rocket salad!!

My children love this and my husband always asks for it!!! Winner winner Chicken Dinner!!!

Love
J x

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