FOOD, man cannot live by whisky alone.

Jaimie’s recipes are so straightforward and so good, you can’t go wrong. I’ll be trying that chicken one ASAP. M

@BlueNote I’ve got a bunch of Jamie Oliver cookbooks. His stuff is always tasty. Of course, as a French-Canadian, I always have to triple the amount of garlic he calls for.

@OdysseusUnbound I’m with you on the garlic. Makes almost everything taste better and ensures social distancing.

@BlueNote @OdysseusUnbound - Jamie Oliver was a big inspiration for me. I guess you could say he made cooking 'cool' for 'lads' in the UK, which it certainly wasn't prior to him coming on the scene.

The faux cockney patter does grate a little but he's great at keeping things simple and tasty. There's a video of him doing a roast chicken for the royals doing the rounds that I'm going to have to try. Not a fan of his curry recipes though, saw him use a jar of Patack's once!

@RianC Patak's is a godsend for those of us too lazy to make our own sauces from scratch ! Unfortunately, my sons aren't as fond of spicy food as I am, so curry is almost never on the menu here. Royal roasted chicken sounds good though.

@OdysseusUnbound I’m all over the Patak’s Butter Chicken and Tika Masala. Sharwood’s is good stuff too. Some cubed up chicken breast quick fried in some oil, garlic and cayenne; dump the Pataks on it; get out the Major Gray chutney and the naan and dig in.

@OdysseusUnbound @BlueNote - I will concede that Patak's lime pickle is pretty decent

@RianC Lime pickle; that’s for the hardcore.

@BlueNote - An acquired taste for sure. In India it usually sits on roadside eatery table tops and the first time I tried it there it was so spicy I was like a cartoon character with steam out the ears ha!

One of my favourite indian breakfasts became paratha (an Indian farl, basically) with lime pickle and curd. Sounds underwhelming but boy did it give one's taste buds a wake up call. All washed down with a spicy chai ... Happy days!

Despite his faults, I have to give it to Jamie oliver, along with Patricia Llewellyn (she was the one you could hear speaking from behind the camera in the early Naked Chef series) they revolutionized the cooking show format into the behemoth that we have today.

While he borrowed liberally from his mentors and peers* he really did care about food and hitting home the point that it could be done by almost anyone. I cut my teeth on those early series, I remember buying NTSC converted VHS bootlegs of the first two series on Ebay as it wasn't yet released in North America. Those were the days.

• If you read the River Cafe books and you'll see their influence all over his Italian cooking side. The brilliant don't measure anything style was lifted from Nigel Slater...who's book "appetite" remains probably the best book for people who need to learn to cook away from the constraints of recipes

I always liked Nigella. I turned into a 14 year old boy every time I watched her shows. I think they were about cooking, not sure.

@BlueNote I feel that way about Giada DeLaurentiis. I think she cooks too....

@OdysseusUnbound I’m looking her up as we speak.

@BlueNote oh man, those first two seasons of Nigella Bites. There was something disarming about her charm... and her figure. I could listen to her say "ya-gert" instead of yogurt all day.

@OdysseusUnbound I always felt Giada seemed afraid to actually touch the food she was cooking. Ina Garten....now how great is that?

@BlueNote - 'I turned into a 14 year old boy every time I watched her shows'

Funny how some women have that effect. Watching her innocently open a tin of beans somehow seemed to reek of double entendre ...

Below is step one of a two day prep to make a lamb biryani. This is near 2.5kg of lamb shoulder covered in a home made rub and will marinate for 48 hours before being slow cooked for 5 hours in garlic, tomatoes and onions before adding rice and chick peas.

@RianC I've never ventured to make lamb biryani with a whole cut like this but it must be killer. Please post updates.

@Nozinan I never paid much attention to the food. I'm not really that crazy about pasta. Giada's smile on the other hand...

@OdysseusUnbound That lovely smile is just one of her fine physical attributes.

@BlueNote Agreed.

@cricklewood - Will do. In truth, I've never used a cut quite this big before, but this is what can happen when your shopping is done on line! It wouldnt fit in the clay pot I'd normally use, and I didn't fancy hacking through bone with a blunt cleaver, so I'll have to use the dish in the pic and hope for the best.

I'm assuming, as it will be cooked low, in a little liquid, and with foil tightly covering it, it will be OK. What do you think, chef?

@RianC I know what you mean. I've been ordering online more myself and when ir comes to meat its challenging to figure out especially one supplier I used. Their photos don't really make sense to me so it's frustrating to know if I'll get the right thing or enough of it.

Covered with some liquid and aromatics, low and slow is a sound plan. You know what you're doing chef.

If using an acidic liquid like wine or something like that I would put a piece of parchment between the meat and foil. I've had the foil degrade over long braises with acidic liquid, the parchment will help prevent that.

Here's the finished lamb biryani. Had to skim a LOT of fat off (not all, though) before adding the rice and maybe should have added some salt to the rice as it cooked but hey; the lamb literally fell off the bone after 8.5 hours in the oven and the rice soaked up all the spice and lamb flavour beautifully.

@RianC looks good, there's nothing like cooking rice in the juices of braised or roasted meats. Did you have this with some lime pickle?

@OdysseusUnbound @BlueNote

Today for Mother's Day I'm going to try to make eggs Bene for the first time.

This is not the way I'm planning to do it but I figured I would post this method with what appears to be a favourite host of yours...

@Nozinan There is an old saying from some old chefs I apprenticed under:

"Never trust a thin cook."

That Hollandise is an Aioli. Whatever it is make sure that the eggs are at room temperature. This helps to create a good emulsion.

@cricklewood - ha! Sides would just in the way of all that lovely meat

@fiddich1980

It worked out... the second time. The Hollandaise was fine when I made it the first time but for some reason it separated just before I poached the eggs. The second attempt worked out fine, and with some fruits courtesy my daughter, a brunch was created.

@RianC That lamb looks delicious after that long slow cook. I love the meat to rice ratio too

@fiddich1980, the same advice was shared in the kitchens of the boarding houses and community halls, where I spent a lot of time delivering groceries in my younger years. Often there wasn't a lot of room to get by some of those old girls....but man o man, they could cook up some tasty dishes.