Chicken and Salad from Jamie Oliver

I received 'Jamie's America' for Christmas - just a beautiful book. The photos of not only the food but also the places visited are spectacular. I haven't spent a lot of time with this book yet, but 2 recipes jumped out at me and demanded to be made- Southern Pecan and Apple Salad, and Competition Chicken.

I have a weakness for bbq - good bbq, real(ish) bbq, and this chicken is definitely the best bbq chicken I've made. That didn't use a bbq.

Southern Pecan and Apple Salad

So delicious. I was really pleased with this. Super easy and very tasty. And if you click this link here, you can see the nutritional info courtesy of Health.com (although they've scaled it down to 6 servings and in the book it's 4).

Bargain Shopping at Grocery Outlet

I love a good deal, so you'll frequently find me perusing the wares at garage sales, thrift shops and outlet stores (not to mention sale racks!). Bargain hunting might as well be called 'treasure hunting,' as far as I'm concerned. Nothing beats the thrill of finding a long out-of-print copy of Better Than Store Bought cookbook, a discarded Moulinex meat grinder, or Santander chocolate priced to move (all things I've scored). Actually, the thrill is in just the possibility of finding something, which is exactly why I like shopping at Grocery Outlet.

Grocery Outlet buys closeouts and discontinued items so you never know what they will have. Unlike similar stores, they focus on quality brands and they have just about everything you'd find at a regular supermarket, including some organic produce. Sometimes you can figure it out why the product ended up there, because the size or the packaging gives it away. It might be something that was packaged for food service or a big box store. Or it might have been a seasonal promotion or flavor.

As you can imagine, each product has a story to tell, on an insider tour I learned why a terrific wine ended up being sold at a bargain price (a bank note was due and the winery needed cash) why an expensive beauty product ended up being discounted (the packaging changed and they needed to reduce inventory), why some fancy imported cookies were available (an order was cancelled after the shipment had already left Germany for the US) and why an adorable stuffed toy was being cleared out (a typo on the label). Prices vary but are often discounted 50% or more.

I also learned that Grocery Outlet is a third generation family owned company and that each store is independently operated and very involved in the local community. Employees even participated in a 'hunger challenge' style effort to experience what it was like to live on a food stamps budget.

Here are some the excellent finds from my most recent shopping trip:


Ok, so clearly this is NOT Baby Romaine! But who cares? It's an organic salad mix for an unbeatable price.


Greek yogurt. This stuff normally sells for $1.65 each at my local supermarket, and here it was 2 for a dollar!


Thomas' English Muffins really are the best you can find at any supermarket as far as I'm concerned, and $2.49 a pack is a steal.


I am crazy about Numi's puerh tea! Even with a coupon I can't get it this cheap.


Not on my usual shopping list, but how could I resist Terra Chips with Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic and Parmesan and for only $1.99 a bag? They are delicious by the way.


I'm guessing the new name 'mascarpone fresca' is what caused this to end up discounted from what the regular price $5.49 to only $1.99 (is it just me or does mascarpone sounds like the name of an Italian crime syndicate?) All that really matters is that the price is amazing for this luscious ingredient necessary for tiramisu. It's not on my regular shopping list, but like I say, I can't resist a bargain...

My thanks to Grocery Outlet for giving me a tour, introducing me to your buyers, sharing your stories and for giving me a gift card. (It will probably come as no surprise that I spent much more of my own money because I found so many good deals!)

What's the best closeout you've found or store where do you routinely find them?

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Braised chicory with Roquefort

Having spent the last 10 days in France it's struck me again what a mystery it is that you can't order more vegetable-based dishes in French restaurants. It's not that they don't have the produce. Down in the Languedoc they have gorgeous leeks right now and great bagfuls of chicory which is something you rarely find in the UK - or not at a reasonable price. Yet the only greenery most restaurants seem to offer - and have done for the past umpteen years - is salade de chèvre chaud (grilled goats' cheese salad).

Anyway I took advantage of some very good prices (about €2.50 a kilo) to buy 5 heads of chicory to make a side dish to go with yesterday's roast chicken. This is roughly the recipe.

Braised chicory with Roquefort
Serves 4-6
5-6 heads of chicory
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
About 125ml chicken or vegetable stock
50g Roquefort or other blue cheese. Or almost any leftover cheese for that matter - Comté would be good.

Cut the heads of chicory in half lengthwise and remove any damaged outer leaves. Fill a large shallow pan with water, bring to the boil and add the lemon juice to stop the chicory discolouring. Add the chicory, reduce to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon.

Discard the water from the pan, add the oil and then the butter. Once melted lay the halved chicory heads in the pan and fry until well browned, turning them carefully halfway through so as not to break them up. Lay them cut side upwards in a shallow baking dish, pour over the stock and crumble over the cheese. Cook alongside whatever roast you're cooking for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned and the stock pretty well evaporated.

I also made a dish of leeks vinaigrette for which I posted a recipe on the blog a couple of years ago. Good to be reminded how good it is though and leeks are very tasty at the moment.

VAZHAITHANDU /BANANA STEM JUICE - SWEET AND SALT VERSION

I really got bored of making thogayal, pachadi and poriyal with vazhaithandu.My husband hates to eat vazhaithandu just becoz it takes so much time to chew n eat ;). I heard drinking vazhaithandu juice in empty stomach is one of the healthiest way to include in our diet. Its a hassle free job too.Last month when i went to my native ,we tasted this juice in a famous restaurant. We loved it.It was mild in sweet and served chilled.We couldn't find out its the juice of vazhaithandu .I wanted to try the same at home.I tried sweet and salt versions. Both were excellent. I dint serve it cold , i made at room temperature.So its ur choice  !!

 

SWEET JUICE

Plantain stem /Vazhaithandu - 1 /2 no (medium size) Boiled Milk - 1/2 cup (adjust) Sugar - 2 tbsp Water- If necessary

 

Method

Remove the outer layer of vazhaithandu till core ( At this point u dont have layers to remove). Cut into rings while removing the fibre simultaneously that comes between the rings . Chop into small pieces .Grind with sugar and milk.Add more milk & sugar if necessary. Strain in a double cloth filter.Pour in a serving glass. Serve it chilled or at room temperature !!

 

SALT VERSION

INGREDIENTS

Vazhaithandu - 1/2 no (medium size) Sour curd - 2tbsp Salt & water - As needed Pepper powder - 2 pinches (optional) Coriander leaves - To garnish

METHOD

Repeat steps 1 and 2 given in the above version and cut the stem into pieces and immerse in buttermilk to avoid color change. Grind the pieces along with curd and salt. Add more water , whisk and strain in a double cloth filter. Pour in a serving glass and  garnish with little coriander leaves serve chill!!

 

NOTE

1. Drinking vazhathandu juice alone doesnot help u to shed ur weight. U have to carry on the other things like diet .excercise etc.
2. U can prepare the juice in another way .

• Grind the Banana stem with salt , pepper powder and lime juice. Filter and enjoy !! Hope this method sounds easier.

KITCHEN CLINIC

PLANTAIN STEM / VAZHAITHANDU A potassium rich food with high fiber content and it has many other amazing health benefits.       Most people include banana in their daily diet, but very few have ever thought of including banana stem. The banana stem has many nutritive and health benefits. The stem is usually thrown away once the fruit is cut from the plant. So next time if you happen to find one, think of including it in your menu. Here are some good health reasons why banana stem must be part and parcel of your diet at least on occasions. Banana stem is rich in fiber and helps weight loss.  Due to rich content, it helps body to feel full faster.  The intake of food gets reduced by including banana stem to diet.  It can be taken in the form of juice, but eating it as a whole provides more benefits. Including it once or twice a week can help people looking for ways to cut down extra pounds. Like banana, banana stem is also rich in potassium and vitamin B6.  Vitamin B6 helps production of chemicals such as hemoglobin and insulin. Again, it improves the ability of body to fight against infection. Potassium helps effective functioning of muscles including cardiac muscles, prevents high blood pressure, helps nerve impulses and maintains fluid balance within the body. It is a diuretic and helps detoxify the body. Some believe that banana stem can prevent and treat kidney stones. This is fact under study and the effectiveness has not been proven by the western world. It can be taken as a laxative for constipation. Again, the rich fiber content prevents constipation. It cools the body. So overall, banana stem does wonders to our body. How to include them in diet? Very tender ones can be used in salads and not so tender ones can be added to soups or as a steamed vegetable.   Slicing banana stem for dishes might be hard work, but it provides unmatchable health benefits.Its a cooling agent to our body , so use it weekly twice is recommended.

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