Jamie Oliver some how has been cooking up a wild spell on both Americans and the English. With his Food Revolution in play, it seems as if a little Jamie Oliver is always whispering in my ear to cook dinner, not order it from a menu. His English accent is enduring as he chimes away, telling every “normal” person that they too can make three salads, a main course, and a dessert in 30 minutes. His newer show Meals in Minutes is everything that Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals is not = He makes good food. There has always been something very heavy about Rachel Ray’s cooking, but some how Jamie’s cooking seems light and tasty. He uses his food processor religiously to cut up vegetables quickly. It is just genius his fast cooking skills. I must admit after buying Meals in Minutes on itunes, I have now bought the cook book, as well as another season.
I recently went home to visit my parents, and decided to cook up some Jamie Oliver recipes. I had recently watched the episode entitled “Jool’s Pasta”. Instead of using sausage, because I do not eat meat, I used vegetarian ground beef substitute. My dad hates tofu, and he was surprised that the pasta was all vegetarian. I haven’t seen him enjoy food like that in a while.
For dessert I made the addicting frangipanes. Jam and almond tarts are so addicting that I thought of going to hiding in my closet and eating them by myself. I did make some changes to the recipe however. Because I did not have any premade pie shells, I used premade pie dough. I cut the dough into sections and put the dough into cupcake holders, so it would be easy to pull out of the muffin tin. This was delicious and made clean up easy. I also did not have to worry about the little tarts sticking. Try the recipe. It is truly amazing, and a great dessert for parties and there is no reason to feel guilty about eating the lot, as I did.
My Last Dinner in Brooklyn 