Nigella Feasts: Garlic Roast Potatoes

3 pounds maincrop potatoes
1/3 cup regular olive oil
1 head garlic
Kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Wash and dry the potatoes, but don't bother to peel them, and cut them into about 3/4-inch dice. Toss in a large oven tray and pour over the oil, smulching around with your hands to mix well. Separate the head of garlic into cloves adding them to the tray, and roast for about 1 hour, turning once or twice during that time, until crispy and golden but still soft on the inside. When they're done, remove to a large plate and sprinkle with salt.

Nigella Feasts: One Pan Sage & Onion & Sausage

1 large onion or 2 small onions
1/2 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
2 teaspoons English mustard
1 tablespoon dried sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon
1 (4-pound) chicken, jointed into 10 pieces
12 sausages
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped
Peel and cut the onion into eighths, and put into a freezer bag with the oil, mustard, dried sage, a good grinding of pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cut lemon in half, squeeze juice into bag, and then cut the halves into eighths and add them. Squidge everything around to mix (the mustard needs help to combine) and then add the chicken pieces. Leave to marinade in the refrigerator overnight, or for up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature in its marinade.
Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting tin skin side up with the marinade, including all the bits and pieces, and tuck the sausages around them. Sprinkle the fresh sage leaves over the chicken and sausages and then put the tin into the oven to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the sausages over half way through to color them evenly.
Arrange the chicken and sausages on a large platter.

Nigella Express: Buttermilk Roast Chicken

12 chicken drumsticks (approximately 3 pounds total weight)
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, bruised and skins removed
1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns
1 tablespoon Maldon salt, sea salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Place the chicken drumsticks in a large freezer bag, and add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup of oil.
Add the bruised garlic cloves to the bag with the crushed peppercorns and salt.
Sprinkle in the ground cumin and finally add the maple syrup, and then squish everything in the freezer bag around to mix the marinade and coat the chicken.
Leave the buttermilk marinated chicken in the fridge ideally overnight or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Take the chicken pieces out of the bag shaking off the excess marinade, and then arrange them in a roasting tin lined with foil.
Drizzle over the 2 remaining tablespoons of oil, and then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until brown, even scorched in parts, and juicily cooked through.

Roast chicken

I'm suddenly very into roast chicken, but can't figure out the 'trick' behind them. I used to think 200 deg C for 20 mins has been a rather fullproof cooking temp for most things, even for chicken, but somehow it hasn't been working so well recently.

Came across 2 recipes,

Sage & Onion Roast Chicken and Buttermilk Roast Chickenand although recipes call for 220 deg C, and the portion sizes are more or less similar (1 whole chicken or 10 pieces) yet the timing varies greatly. In fact, the 1st recipe is for 10 pieces and takes 1.25 hours, but the 2nd recipe is for 12 pieces yet takes only 1/2 hour.

Well hopefully with more experimentation, I'll get the hang of things. I'm always on the look out for fast and rapid roast chicken recipes cos hey, who's really got the time to sit and wait for a chicken to roast, eh?

Bread and butter pudding

This is a good ole' British dish with a Canadian twist, thanks to Michael Smith, altho he calls it something else. The idea is the same, a custard mixture with buttered bread and baked. Here's my slightly altered recipe, which works out to be a simple Saturday breakfast, simply because I'm too lazy to do more work!

Ingredients
6 slices of bread (he uses crusty bread)
Butter
2 tsp cinnamon sugar
4 eggs
Approx 1/2 cup of milk

Method
1) Lightly toast the bread and cut it up into cubes. Lay half it at the bottom of a baking dish and dollop bits of butter on top. Dust on a thin layer on cinnamon sugar. (At this point if you like, you can add dried fruit e.g. chopped apricots, raisins or even chopped nuts. U can also spread jam on)
2) Beat the 4 eggs and add approximately an equal amount of milk. I eyeball-ed it, so I can't honestly say how much, but I'm mindful not to add too much milk otherwise the eggs won't set. Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar and whisk in well.
3) Pour half of the milk and egg mixture, and leave it to stand, approx 5 to 10 mins.
4) Lay on the next layer of bread and pour on the remainder of the milk and egg mixture. Sprinkle on cinnamon sugar.
5) Let it sit for another 5 minutes, and then use your palms and press down the bread so that it absorbs the mixture.
6) Bake at 200 deg C for 20 mins, until the top is nicely golden brown. The pudding would have magically souffled.
7) Serve with honey or maple syrup.