Remember my dear friend Angela invited me to a taping of the Canadian lifestyle show called Steven & Chris about a month ago? Well, she kindly invited me to another one in October and you’ll never guess who the special guest was! Jamie Oliver! He is as friendly and charming as you would imagine. They had a little question session during the show and my friend Angela had an on-camera question about how he balances his family life with such a busy schedule and his answer was quite surprising; he gave all the credit to the three ladies who manage his life and he even went as far as to say that he just shows up where-ever he is supposed to be! He is very humble but cheeky at the same time. Someone asked how long it takes him to write a cookbook and he said he reserves a year to do it during which he does nothing else. We were thoroughly entertained and as a super bonus, we received his new cookbook Jamie’s Comfort Food as a gift!
Here are a few pics of our very cool time watching the show being taped at the CBC building downtown. By the way, my food styling segment will air Thursday, November 20th at 2pm on CBC.
A Review of Jamie’s Comfort Food. Scrumptious, Happy, Classics:
The book is a beautiful collection of 115 world-wide comfort foods with Jamie’s usual fresh spin on it. It’s a hard-cover, perfect bound book, wrapped in orange fabric with lay flat binding which doesn’t exactly lay flat. The fabric may not have been the best choice for a cookbook. The recipes are divided into slightly less obvious chapters, such as Nostalgia, Good Mood Foods and Ritual to name a few, but the index at the end is alphabetical and it is easy to find what you are looking for. The recipes are traditionally laid out with the instructions in sentence form. I left my cookbook on the dining table to avoid getting it messy in the kitchen and it was difficult to keep track of where I left off in the instructions, I prefer numbered instructions. I found an error in the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe where three ingredients were listed as part of the marinade but half should have been reserved for the sauce (which was listed separately). Usually ingredients listed that are used in two preparations in a recipe are listed as “xxx, divided”. It won’t stop me from making a few other recipes, but I’ll be sure to proofread first. A real bonus of this book is that every recipe shows the calorie count per serving and at the end of the book, each one has nutritional facts for Calories, Fat, Saturated Fats, Carbs and Sugar so that you may make informed decisions when deciding to make a recipe. This book is definitely gift-worthy and for $37.99 Canadian is quite reasonable considering every recipe has at least one beautiful photo but more like a few. As well, there are a few lovely family photos and some of Jamie cooking dispersed throughout the book, so it’s fun to flip through while sipping on a glass of wine, even if you don’t intend to make anything from it.
During our cottage closing weekend in early October, I took the cookbook and all the ingredients and to make Jamie’s Chicken Tikka Masala! What a dish, full of flavour and all of those warm, comforting spices you would associate with Indian cuisine. JT heard Jamie in a CBC interview saying that Chicken Tikka Masala is now rivaling Fish and Chips as the most popular food in Britain right now. It’s no wonder, this Chicken Tikka Masala totally rocks and I urge you to make it. The nutritional facts for this recipe read a little worse than I prefer at 415 calories, 21 g of fat, 10.8 of which are saturated per serving, so I modified the recipe to make it a wee bit healthier, for the real deal, please click here or purchase Jamie’s book.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Serves 8.
Ingredients for the marinade:
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp each, sweet paprika, smoked paprika and garam masala (see recipe below)
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 6 cloves of garlic, grated finely
- 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 each red and green chilies thickly sliced
- 800 g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Directions for the marinade:
- Heat the dry spices in a frying pan until you can smell them. Put into a bowl and allow to cool.
- Combine all of the ingredient up to and including the yogurt. Mix well.
- Cut the chicken breasts into similarly sized chunks about 2-3 cm (1 inch) cubbed.
- Rub the marinade into the chicken cubes and then string them onto a meat skewer alternating themwith a thickly sliced chili. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours or overnight.
- Remove excess marinade and reserve in the refrigerator. Grill chicken until nice and “golden and gnarly on all sides”*
Ingredients for the Sauce:
- 2 sweet onions, sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 cup of cilantro stalks, chopped finely (reserve leaves for garnish)
- 1 tsp each, sweet paprika, smoked paprika and garam masala (see recipe below)
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 3 tbsp ground almonds
- 500 mL chopped tomatoes (canned is fine, I used San Marino)
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk (or 2 tbsp coconut milk powder and 1/2 cup water)
- Remainder of the marinade after you have cooked the chicken.
Directions for the Sauce:
- Dissolve the bouillon cube in about 1 cup of boiling water.
- In a small splash of olive oil or cooking spray, cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, the dry spices and stir until you can smell them then add the ground almonds and toast lightly. Add the cilantro stalks and cook for a few minutes. Add the dissolved bouillon cube and coconut milk and cook for a further 20 minutes. Using a stick blender, blend this smooth then add the chopped tomatoes and the left over marinade and simmer for 20 more minutes.
- Serve with home-made Naan or Basmati rice.
WARNING: You’d best portion this dish out for left-overs before serving because you won’t be able to stop eating. It’s that good!
Garam Masala (recipe from HeartSmart flavours of India by Krishna Jamal, 1998)
- 4 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground cloves
- 1 tbsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground mace
- When ready to use in a recipe, heat a large heavy bottomed, unoiled skillet, heat combined spices until fragrant. Allow to cool before use. Store in a cool, dry place.
- Left overs are delicious spread onto a fajita shell and dotted with bocconcini cheese, topped with another fajita shell and grilled like a quesadilla. Serve with a cucumber mint raita.
- Although there seems to be a lot of garlic, it’s not overly garlicy, so definitely don’t skimp.
Directions for the Garam Masala:
Notes:
Here we go, bad winter lighting.[/caption
*from the cookbook
[…] Jamie Olivers Chicken Tikka Masala (by far our favourite Indian Recipe) […]
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Lucky you!!! What an experience!
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Lucky you, Jamie Oliver, how cool is that. You got a free cookbook too.
What a fun experience! He looks great, has lost a lot if weight too! Cool!.
A great tasty recipe too! Yummmm! 👍
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It differs from the chicken tikka masala I made but it looks and sounds delicious. For many people J.Oliver’s recipes look chaotic and not promising, but he has such amazing simple and quick ideas… the rare times I did something inspired by his shows it turned out delicious. I hope you will share some more Jamie Oliver’s recipes with us soon!
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Thank you kindly Sissi, I haven’t made many of Jamie’s recipes either but I definitely am looking forward to making more of them. I’ll be by your blog to see what your recipe looks like. If I understand correctly, Tikka simply means small pieces and masalla is just another word for spice mix, so I suspect there as as many versions as cooks!
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What a fun experience! I’ve actually not cooked that many of Jamie’s recipes, but every one that I have is a winner. Note to self: buy more of his cookbooks!
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Thank you kindly John, I haven’t made many of his recipes either but I’ve heard such good things about them that I’ll have to change that.
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That is fantastic! So fun that you got to meet him and that’s so interesting about the cookbook. But how does he find that year? He does so much!
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Hi Lorraine, it was really cool to see him at such close proximity. I know what you mean about how much he does, so I suspect he plans his cookbook years well in advance.
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I have to say Jamie Oliver is the one on-screen chef that inspires me most. It’s that adorable face, lovely little cottage and his relaxed style. Lucky lucky gal to get to meet him in person! I hope I get the chance to see your show! I will try to tape it. I will also try this recipe.. we’d all love that one for sure!
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Hi Barbara, it really was such a blast to see him live at such close proximity. I’ve heard he sometimes comes to the Sony Centre (the old O’Keefe Centre in Toronto) but it wouldn’t have been this close. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
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Now, Eva. I’ve tried to be as supportive of your new career as I could possibly be BUT I’m finding it hard to be supportive while blind with jealousy. You met Jamie Oliver!!!!! How cool is that? I really am happy for you. I’ve cooked a number of Jamie’s recipes and never had a complaint. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered Chicken Tikka Masala, so, to be able to make it at home is really great. Being it’s Jamie’s recipe guarantee’s success. I’ve heard so much about his new cookbook that I’ve already placed it on my Amazon wishlist. Once I’ve taken care of everyone on my Christmas list, I’ll start shopping for myself and I can’t think of a better purchase to start. 🙂
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Thank you John, The show was great fun and he was really good with the audience. You shpuld check Costco for the cookbook, often they sell it for less than our bookstores.
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This sounds like you had so much fun. And the food looks absolutely amazing.
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Thanks Kay and welcome to my blog. The show was great and the food was delicious.
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Sounds like a blast!
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It sure was Greg.
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Look at you two up to fun again!! That’s the best; and how great that Angela got an on-camera question… I especially appreciate Jamie Oliver’s nourishing food initiatives in the schools (the food revolution). Love the flavors in this tikka masala and would eat it any day (every day) of the week :D. But yes, in its current incarnation, tikka masala is better known as a British dish (or as my Indian friend would say, ‘white’ Indian food 😉 ).
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Oh that’s funny, ‘white’ Indian food, I wonder what she would Indian Indian food? The show was a blast.
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oh what fun! What fun and so jealous you got to see him. How cool is that and the dish looks amazing!
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Thanks Jessica, it totally was a blast.
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Ooh how lucky! I love Jamie Oliver, this would have been a brilliant opportunity 😀 He does seem so warm and down to earth!
And then to come home to such a delicious spicy dish, must have tasted fantastic!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thank you so much CCU, it was a fun show and a delicious recipe.
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Eva, what a fantastic opportunity―thank you for sharing the experience and recipe with us! I’ve always wanted to try this dish, so it’s been pinned for a future run in the kitchen.
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Thank you kindly Brooks. It’s definitely a keeper recipe.
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What a thrill. Jamie is such a huge star and so good at what he does and such a natural and he has achieved so much in such a few short years. I would have loved to have been there with you xx
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It was pretty amazing Charlie, thank you.
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How lucky can one get, so happy for you. Your Tikka Masala is comfort food for the wintery weather coming this weekend.
I am going to see if my sister can tape your food styling segment, if she cannot may be she can get a friend to do it. Will you be taping the segment?
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Hi Norma, I think you can see Steven & Chris http://livewellnetwork.com/Steven-and-Chris/
The food styling bit is for Miss Vickie’s cookbook. I made squares, ribs and twice baked potatoes.
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He’s such a live wire… I didn’t really like him much at first, but he has ‘grown on me’ and I do like his way of cooking these days… more particularly, I love how he is trying to change the way children eat!
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Thank you Lizzy, it was great to see Jamie live. I too love how he’s positively influencing how children eat.
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This looks and sounds so good Eva. I am totally craving tikka masala now. Delicious! And it’s so cool that you got a copy straight from Jamie himself! I think I’ll have to find a way to make this soon. 🙂
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Thank you Kristy, it was a great show snd I’m sure to find a few recipes in Jamie’s new cookbook.
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Hi Eva, what a lovely surprise. Jamie has become part of the furniture in the UK. I loved his freshness when he first hit our screens. He has done so much for health awareness in our country(despite him putting a fair few pounds on). His recipes always worked, unfortunately he’s just become a commercial commodity.
I watched one of his programmes the other night, first time in years, he spent 15 minutes making a bacon sandwich. I’m sure I’ve seen him do this on several other occasions.
I’d still love to meet him though.
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Thanks David, he’s a fixture in Canada too particularily now he has partnered with one of our national grocery stores. It was awesome to see him live!
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I too have never made a Jamie Oliver recipe I didn’t like. He seems like a great person as well as a great chef. You’re so lucky to have gone to the show! And to receive one of his awesome cookbooks as well. Nice!
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Thank Michela, it really was a fun show.
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Sounds like you’re having a great time with the food styling. How lucky you were to see Jaimie Oliver who I remember fondly as “The Naked Chef” from his early years. It’s been fun to see him evolve as a chef on tv. I love chicken tikka as an appetizer and the masala version is such a tasty main dish.
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Thanks so much Maria, ah yes, the naked chef. In comparison he was quite awkward in those days.
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wow lucky you meeting Jamie in person!
Your chicken tikka looks fantastic, Eva.
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Thank you so much Angie, it’s a keeper recipe for sure.
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Jamie does have a way of captivating his audience…it must have been fun to see him in person.
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It certainly was Karen, thank you.
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Jamie does seem down to Earth but at the same time, he’s a man who doggedly works to fulfill his dreams. It must be nuts to be on the road as much as he is.
I have never made a Jamie Oliver recipe that I didn’t like. I can’t say that about anyone else.
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Thank you for your comment Maureen, it really must be nuts to be on the road so much, but that’s show business. I have made many JO recipes but I suspect I’ve loved them all.
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Lucky you to be in such a great atmosphere, and to get a new cookbook for free! 🙂 Tikka looks great, interesting to see the cottage cheese version (don’t think I’ve spotted something like that before)…
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Thank you Fati. You must mean the boconccini version😉, I was looking for a replacement for paneer and it worked perfectly.
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