Jamie Oliver's Shortcrust Pie (from Comfort Food)

I love a good pie, mainly because of the crust more than the filling! I've used Jamie Oliver's recipe for a while now and figured I'd share it here. I got this from his cookbook Comfort Food but I found it here on the 'net!

Yay or Nay: Yay

So easy to make and even easier to eat!

Pieminster's Steak and Ale 'Moo 2' Pie (via The Telegraph newspaper)

Whenever the weather gets colder, I always have a hankering for a good ol' fashioned pie. Not a sweet one, not a weird pot pie but a proper shortcrust or puff pastry pie with a yummy, warming filling. Nothing beats steak and ale pie, unless it's a steak and Guinness one but when you can find a single can/bottle of it then an ale will do!

I usually make my crust via Jamie Oliver's recipe but the filling was from UK newspaper The Telegraph. They managed to convince Pieminster (one of the best proper pies around in the UK) to give up their recipe for Moo 2 Pie! 

Yay or Nay: Yay

Although this took over 3 hours to make start to finish, it was worth it! Rich and comforting in the snowy weather, there wasn't much to fault it apart from the time it took! I took out the carrot once I had to put together the pie, I didn't add the squeeze of lemon as I didn't have any and I didn't glaze the pie with an egg wash as I didn't want to waste any more time! I was hungry, it was time to eat!! 

Jamie Oliver's Baked Beans

Summer is officially here! The sun is out and everyone is thinking about BBQ-ing/ grilling/ cooking out/ having a braai! The best thing about whacking things on the grill is that you don't have to spend hours slaving over a stove and you can ask the other half to do it for you!! Thinking of a side dish is probably the trickiest thing for me, I usually want something healthy to counteract the unknown meat in hot dogs! In the States, it's all about adding crisps/chips and corn, and baked beans! However, baked beans here are NOT like Heinz Baked Beans of my youth! I knew I had to make my own, and where else could I look but Jamie Oliver! I got the recipe for Baked Beans from his Comfort Food cookbook but I found a similar one online. 

Yay or Nay: Yay

I warn you, this is not a quick throw-everything-in-a-pan kind of dish. It is low and slow, at least at the beginning, and actually at the end too! But it is worth it - I think one bird-'s eye chili was enough as you could definitely taste the heat. Also make sure to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes as I didn't and I definitely felt the tomato pang!

Jamie Oliver's Gado Gado

As soon as I moved to the U.S. I needed something from home to rustle up dinners while I wasn't working. I remember seeing Jamie do his thing on TV with Gado Gado. It looked delicious on screen and I had never tasted something like this before, so when I needed some inspiration I knew this was the dish to try. First, I had to buy the book, later I realised I could've just looked up the recipe online. Duh! What did we do before the internet?

 

Yay or Nay: Yay

Sorry, the photos are a little skewed! This was a combo of pictures from my last two tries of this recipes. Obviously the ingredients don't match but that's the beauty of Gado Gado, you can mix and match ingredients BUT keep the dressing the same! I substituted the green beans for Thai basil which I had leftover from Pho (although I think I had some Vietnamese coriander in the first pics). Anywho, it was all good, made even better with the nutty tangy dressing which is the star!!

Jamie Oliver's Spinach and Feta Pie

I remember seeing this recipe for Spinach and Feta Pie on TV and I never got the chance to cook it as my living situation at the time didn't allow me to have control of the kitchen! Anyway when I did get the chance I jumped on this recipe. Now, Jamie promised it would be a 30 minute meal which is a big ask! He made it look so easy, would it be like that for me??

Yay or Nay: Yay!

Admittedly it took me a few tries to get this down but the instructions aside from the filo pastry assembling is pretty straightforward. Definitely don't skip the baking sheet part as it makes for less cleaning which no one likes after a long day. I do like to part bake mine if I know it'll be for dinner the next night, then reheat and bake the rest of the way on the night you'll eat it.

Jamie Oliver's Jools' Pasta

I watched this recipe on Jamie's 30 Minute Meals years ago and somehow remembered it when I was craving something Italian and Ragu-ish. Jools' Pasta promised to be flavourful and quick which is a plus in anyone's book. Obviously I didn't make the accompanying parts of the menu, too much work! This post is missing a picture of the finished dish as a late night at work rendered my brain MIA.

Yay or Nay: Yay

This surpassed my expectations, I really do think you need all the ingredients for this as the spices make a difference. I had made it without the spices and it lacked that je nais se quois! Despite my own advice I didn't use a carrot as I didn't have one but substituted it with a pepper. It still tasted delicious, even better the day after as leftovers!