Why Jamie Takes the Cake - Recipe: Jamie's Perfect Roast Chicken

Source: really short from NYC, USA (wikimedia commons)

As a new food blogger, I thought that it was only right that  I pay homage to the celebrity chef that has been a constant source of inspiration to me. While I do love a good gourmet meal now and then, I am a home chef by and large, thus, I have tended to gravitate towards real food by real people such as Rachel Ray, Emeril Lagasse, Amy Beh and Nigella Lawson. I have to say that although there are certainly many talented chefs out there, I am an avid Jamie Oliver, a.k.a The Naked Chef, fan. 

So, in no particular order, I present to you, dear readers, 10 Reasons (in my humble opinion) Why Jamie Takes the Cake:

• He was one of the first celebrity chefs in the UK to advocate on the issue of food sustainability;
• He cares about children. I remember watching "Jamie's School Dinners" for the first time and being moved by his enthusiasm and exuberance;
• His recipes capitalize on the natural goodness of food, without being overly seasoned, treated or blasted half to death;
• Moreover, his no-fuss approach to cooking doesn't make you feel overwhelmed. In his words, "cooking has got to be a laugh." The Naked Chef welcomes you into his kitchen, partakes in a glass or two while he prepares the food.  It feels as though he is having a conversation with you, rather than instructing. He assures you that while you may have never attended Cordon Bleu, you can still prepare great food at home;
• His recipes are detailed and personalised. Unlike other chefs that I know that jealously guard their secrets, he's always been open about lessons that he's learned;
• Having dined at Fifteen some years back, I was impressed not just by its mission but how great the food was;
• He loves a bacon sarnie, which indicates that at the heart of it, he's an old-fashioned, solid, British chap;
• He is good to dogs; 
• He is unabashed in his affection towards Jules, and as a die hard romantic, that melts my heart;
• He's just so darn cute, with his impishness and his mop of hair, and a hint of a tummy that is a sign of a happy man. He's probably the only guy that I know that can look adorable dressed like a giant crustacean.

Roast Chicken is one of those dinners I've experimented generously with. I've previously used an old recipe by Jamie that features loads of butter and where you chop up prosciutto and stuff in between the skin of the bird and the meat. I've tried flavouring the roast with oranges, spice rubs, all sorts of herbs, and Asian seasonings. I've also tried the French style of cooking which requires you to turn the chicken over several times to even out the browning process, and to baste the bird with the pan juices every ten minutes. What I liked about this particular recipe (see original here), which was the centerpiece of a recent dinner party, was the ease in which it came together. I did make several minor modifications to it, which I'm indicating below, but overall, I was very happy with the results. Do try to get an organic chicken, as I did this time around - the difference between the results you would get from a chicken from the pasar and the supermarket is like day and night. The roast was tender and juicy at the same time, according to my guests. So thanks, and cheers, Jamie!

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

1 x approximately 1.6kg chicken, preferably free-range, organic or higher welfare

2 medium onions 

2 carrots

2 sticks of celery

1 bulb of garlic

olive oil 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon 

a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture 

To prepare your chicken:

• Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven 

• Preheat your oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9 

• There’s no need to peel the vegetables – just give them a wash and roughly chop them 

• Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled 

• Pile all the veg and garlic into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil 

• Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the bird 

• Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in these for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavour) 

• Put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity, with the bunch of herbs) 

To cook your chicken:

• Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting tray and put it into the preheated oven 

• Turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes 

• If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time to crack on with them – get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking 

• Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning 

• When cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so 

• Cover it with a layer of tinfoil and a tea towel and put aside. Now is the time to make your gravy.

Serve, carved, at the table, together with gravy and side dishes of your choice. 

Modifications/Suggestions:

• I used a baking tray and placed the chicken on a roasting rack instead of directly on the vegetables, as suggested here. I think it helped the browning process. 
• I bought a 1.8 kg chicken, and roasted it for 1 1/2 hours instead. I roasted the bird breast side up first, for about 45 minutes, and then basted it thoroughly with the pan juices before turning it over on its back. After another fiteen minutes, I turned it back over breast side up, again basting it with the pan juices, to crisp the skin.
• I used a combination of all four types of herbs suggested above - generous bunches of rosemary and sage, with a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf and the flavour was great
• Be careful about microwaving the lemon. I had the juice squirt into my eye and it was hot!
• Instead of water, I added about 1/2 cup of light chicken stock to the tray. This not only added flavour to the roast, but provided a good base for the gravy later. 

A Tale of a Dinner Party

They paved paradise, they put up a parking lot

A pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot

Don't it always go to show

You never know what you got till it's gone ?

They paved paradise, they put up a parking lot.

I've always enjoyed hosting dinner parties. It's such a joy to be able to gather people around the dining table over conversation - there's a certain civility and warmth about the atmosphere that you can't somehow get at a restaurant. And as a budding cook, there's a major plus side for me as well - that is, having a perfectly legitimate excuse to spend most of the day in the kitchen, completely unfettered - humming to music, banging pots and pans, chopping up veggies and with a certain four-legged rascal running circles around my feet. Sure, it's a whole lot of effort, and I've been told that I'm borderline obsessive and a nervous wreck before the dinner (always worried that I forgot something on the list, or that one of the dishes will not turn out right or that people will not enjoy themselves).

I've been meaning to host a dinner party for the people who have, in small but meaningful ways, made a difference to my life in Singapore. These are the friends I've made at the School who noticed when I was down and took me aside to have a quiet word, sat with me patiently while I complained for weeks on end about why I refused to accept that the marginal utility of slippers and shoes were the same, and shared with me the notes (and perhaps, just perhaps, might have signed in for me...hehe) for one particularly dreaded course. :) But I'll admit that I've put it off for weeks now, always citing the crazy schedule at school, or having too many things on my plate, or being overwhelmed. But last weekend, I listened to an old favourite of mine, Big Yellow Taxi, and it dawned upon me that in just a few more months, my life in Singapore will be packed up, labelled and waiting by the door in 20 x 20 boxes as I begin a new chapter in my life. I remembered an old Malay saying, "cakap tak serupa bikin," (Say one thing, but do another) and I realised I too, shamefully, hadn't lived up to my word.

Of course, as luck would have it, I got completely drenched trying to navigate 4 large tote bags of groceries through the thunderstorm this morning, and I may just have fallen down and broken the eggs when I slipped on the floor at the Bukit Timah market, but I'm none the worse for wear. It was a great night - my friends ate, I drank, as the laws of the universe dictated. Recipes to follow, I promise!

No dinner party is complete without the infamous kitchen accident

Nothing like a lovely bowl of salad to start off a meal

Clockwise from left: Herb Roasted Chicken,  lemongrass ice jelly (Thanks, KT), French vegetable tian,  sage and sausage stuffing, focaccia with pesto

Alamak...the aftermath!

Sunday @ the Botanic Gardens

Flowers, flowers everywhere! Hellaconia, orchids, jantung pisang and hey, what do you know, Malaysia's national flower, the Bunga Raya (hibiscus)

Cooper and I were out bright and early yesterday for a trip to the Botanic Gardens. I'm always somewhat surprised when people tell me that there is nothing to do in Singapore except shop. Believe me, a great day out doesn't have to start or end with Orchard.  The city state actually has a great number of parks, water bodies, and other sites to keep you preoccupied. There's no doubt that Singapore can't rival Borneo in terms of nature but as I've said before the facilities are clean and well maintained, which I can't say is the case in most parts of Asia. And they definitely get props for allowing dogs in public spaces. Here are some photos from our outing. 

A smoke-free, litter-free, perfectly engineered tropical paradise

Frederic Chopin's guest appearance in Singapore

I "r" Cooper

Family life in Singapore...or at least in Bukit Timah

As Ma used to say: "Fried Chicken is Indian"

I love this video. It reminds me of the times I spent watching my grandmother and my mother whip up wonderful treats in the kitchen. I do believe I, too, once was told that the Chinese invented pizza. :)

Hot Dogs

It's been extremely hot these past few weeks. G and I were at the Singapore Hot Dog festival recently and she caught this great picture of two buddies getting some much needed relief from the heat. Thanks, G!

A morning out at Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

Doesn't this picture make you want to smile?

I was fortunate enough to tag along a field trip this morning to the Children's Garden at the Botanical Gardens. I have to hand it to Singapore, its management of public facilities is excellent for the most part. Entrance is free I believe, but you need to be a kid to get in. Here are some photos which I managed to take.

Solve the mystery

Lately my friends have been wondering why I've been showing up in class with books that have all their edges gnawed away. It's quite a mystery, I tell them. Theories abound. Any guesses? :)

Sunday Mornings

I love going to the market on weekends. It is my mother's influence. I've always admired how methodological she was in creating her grocery list (and checking it twice) and shopping for the week's food. As a child my job was to help pick potatoes and onions, since I was pretty hopeless at being able to pick out fresh fish. Even after I moved out of my parents' house I continued to go to the same market in KL. It was nice to bump into her in the market on Saturday mornings. Some of the sellers have seen me grow up over the years.  I enjoy looking at the fresh vegetables and fruit on sale, and talking to the people who sell the produce. This morning there was a community event at the Bukit Timah Market in preparation for Chinese New Year. It was a visual feast.

Pilot: Unlearning rigidity

I never realised how set I was in my ways until July last year, when I moved 400 km away from the Kuala Lumpur that had been my own for most (give or take) of my life. After deferring my decision to do my Masters for five years, I decided it was time to leave my career. It's not as if life stands still - there was a whole lot of working, learning, playing and loving in between. The decision to go back to school was made in light of the fact that I was quickly approaching thirty, after which point, in my analysis I would most likely never do it. It was a decision to improve myself, and one which I don't regret.

But back to my original point. I always envisioned my life as a linear forward projection. I didn't realise how much I had become accustomed to living in my own space, setting my own rules, until I moved here and moved in with my younger brother. The first few weeks were sort of a honeymoon period, I guess, because we were both being mindful of each other. And then our true selves were revealed. I discovered, much to my horror, that we had vastly different notions about cleanliness and keeping common spaces neat. One week, we had decided that I would vacuum and mop the floors while he would do the bathrooms. I peeked in the bathroom to see him standing at the edge, holding the bidet and spraying water pretty much indiscriminately all around. After about three minutes he said, "Ok. Clean what."

So these days, in between disciplining myself to sit for three hours to listen to my octogenarian professor (bless his soul) lecture about the imperatives of urban planning, and learning the whats, whys and hows of public policy, I cook. Listening to french music, sipping my glass of wine, and whipping out things from scratch helps me heal. Literally. I feel good. In the kitchen you quickly learn that you can't follow everything by the book - cooking just doesn't work that way. So I guess it's about unlearning rigidity. Some days my time in the kitchen seems to be the only thing which vaguely resembles my life in KL. And my brother, for all the things that annoy me about him, eats. And that makes it seem all okay.