Stuffed roast chicken

....and if I do say so myself, possibly one of the best roast chickens ;-)

This was the star of the birthday feast requested by Ben.  This served all hungry four of us (and as it's one of Ben's favourite meals, he actually managed to eat quite a bit.)

Ingredients

• good quality chicken (I chose a corn fed one) approx 1.4kg
• sitck or two of celery chopped into large chunks
• a carrot or two chopped into large chunks
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
• 1 large onion chopped, quartered
• salt, pepper and paprika to taste
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 pint vegetable stock for basting

for the stuffing:

• a few slices of day old bread (or, if like me you don't have any, then just partially toast some normal sliced bread)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 stick celery
• few sprigs of fresh herbs (sage is traditional, I only had rosemary)
• drizzle of olive oil
• couple tsps water to help it bind
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. blitz the bread in a processor until you have fine crumbs
2. blitz the onion, celery, garlic and herbs in the processor until they are finely chopped, then sweat them off in a little olive oil until softened, seasoning with a little salt and pepper
3. add the onion mix to the breadcrumbs, drizzle with a little olive oil and the water and mix together until the mixture is starting to bind a little.  Set aside
4. throw the chopped vegetables into a large casserole dish and drizzle with a little olive oil (make sure the garlic is cut face down

5. clean out the cavity of the chicken and rinse, then sprinkle the inside with a little salt, and pepper
6. lay the chicken onto the vegetables and season all over with salt, pepper and paprika

7. stuff the chicken loosely with the stuffing mixture (do not pack it too tightly as you want the heat to be able to circulate properly)
 
8. drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil and cover loosely with foil
9. put into a pre-heated oven and cook for about 50 mins at approx 175 degrees, basting with the veg stock every 20 mins or so
10. uncover the chicken, turn it onto its breast and cook for a further 50 mins this side down, again basting it every 20 mins or so
11. turn the chicken back the right way up and pour the remainder of the veg stock over it.  Cook now until the juices run clear when you stick a skewer into the thigh - depending on weight of the chicken and how efficient your oven is, probably another 20-30 mins (mine's a very hot oven)

12. Put the chicken on a serving plate and place some of the garlic cloves (which should be all soft and buttery) around it, along with the roasted carrots and cover with foil to rest
13. meanwhile, pour all the lovely stock and juices, with the rest of the roasted vegetables into a pan and bring to the boil.  Thicken with a cornflour mixture, or gravy granules (yes, I confess, I use these sometimes!)
14. serve!  I piled on lots of Ben's favourite crispy roast potatoes with rosemary and served it all with a large yorkshire pudding, a big bowl of vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, spring cabbage), the chicken juices and, because we are caribbean, the ever present bowl of rice.  Yes, rice.  We eat it with almost everything.  oh, and don't forget the hot sauce!
15. Enjoy!

Rhubarb, apple and ginger crumble

And this was the pudding Ben wanted for his birthday feast.  I love a good crumble.  They are really simple to make , in fact so simple, it was the first dessert I ever learned to make. What's more, they are so easily customised with things like oats, dessicated coconut, nuts....and that's just the topping.  I've made everything from a peach crumble, to spiced apple and blackberry, to a tropical fruit one.  The basic rule is this; half fat to flour.  And if, like me, you usually end up making too much topping, you can just bag it and freeze it for a quick dessert another time.  My mother in Law had given me a whole load of rhubarb from her garden which I had stewed with some apple and ginger then froze.  Easy, delicious ending to a good meal.

we had this with custard (Ambrosia - after all the cooking I did that night, no way was I going to make custard from scratch too!), but it would be just as good with vanilla ice cream.

Pork loin chops in a cider and cream sauce

The advantage to being pregnant is that I have the perfect excuse for indulging myself in whatever taste takes my fancy.  Today I was supposed to (according to my week's menu) cook pork souvlaki with tzatziki, lemon rice and salad.  My tastes, however, leaned more towards pork with a cider and cream sauce.  I think the inspiration came from a recipe title I read which is chicken in a cider and cream sauce.  I think pork lends itself more naturally to cider, and I already had the pork.  So, I sent Nick out to catch Sainsbury's before it closed to buyu the additional ingredients of some dry cider and some single cream.  Ben was a little sceptical of the sauce, but cleared his plate nonetheless.  Jasmine - well, she takes after her mother and lapped every last bit up.

Here is what I came up with....

Ingredients:

• 4 x pork loin chops (or the regular ones with the bone in)
• pint of dry cider (we used a south african brand, but any would do)
• some single cream (went by sight)
• fresh rosemary (a small sprig)
• 1 large onion (sliced thinly)
• a handful of mushrooms (cleaned and sliced - these are optional.  Leave them out if, like everyone else in my house, you do not like mushrooms.  I used just enough for myself and kept them whole for easy removal to my plate)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• salt and pepper to taste
• a little flour to dust the pork chops
• some olive oil and a knob of butter
• fresh chopped parsley to garnish

Method:

1. Season the pork chops liberally with salt and pepper, then dust with flour
2. Pour a glug of olive oil into a hot pan and add the knob of butter - then add the pork chops and brown on each side
3. Remove the chops from the pan and set aside, then add the garlic, onions and mushrooms to the same pan
4. Cook on a gently heat until softened, then turn up the heat to high and pour in a lot of the cider (or all - I wanted to keep a mothful back for a cheeky sip!)
5. Bring the cider up to the boil and reduce slightly, then pour in as much cream as you fancy (I used about 100ml) and season to taste
6. Add the rosemary and return the chops to the pan.  Cook until the pork is just cooked (don't over cook it!)
7. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley and serve immediately
8. Eat and enjoy :-)

I chose to serve this dish with rice and lots of veggies (shredded spring cabbage, broccoli, green beans and carrots), but, if you don't fancy the rice, I think it would be equally delicious with potatoes of some sort (mashed or boiled new potatoes). If you want even less kitchen time some fresh crusty bread to mop up the sauce would also be very nice.....

Unfortunately I have no picture to share as I was too hungry by this point to faff about with lighting and angles etc.....when I next make it, I'll be sure to upload one.