GAV'S ROAST CHICKEN AND VEG

Ok, so we're wrapping up our March Madness. We got through Paddy's Day and the birthday. I finally turned 30, what a relief! Thanks to all for the good wishes and the teabags too, Mum. You never know when they'll arrive but they always do.

I've decided to finish up with the focus on vegetables. I know I've covered the more "Irish" types (potatoes, cabbage and parsnips) but today we're talking about Baby carrots, Brussels Sprouts & Cauliflower. Even though Ireland is really known as a meat and potato country, veg plays a big part. Today I'm going to spice them up a little to make them a bit more interesting.

Baby carrots: I use these all the time and love the sweetness. You just want to trim the stalks and rinse them. Don't peel them as you'll loose too much. All I did was cut the very thick ones in half lengthwise. You want to keep them all the same size/length so they cook evenly. Toss them in 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. ground cumin, S&P and a drizzle of honey/agave. Pre-heat oven 375 and roast for 20 mins. approx or 'til tender. I like them to have a slight bite when they come out of the oven as they'll keep softening a little once free from the heat.

Brussels Sprouts: Not exactly indiginous to Ireland. They actually get their name from the origional place they were cultivated as opposed to being really popular in Brussels. They come from the cabbage family which I suppose if you look at them you can see that. When cooking them, peel off the outer layers and cut a cross in the stem which helps get the heat into the stem. Cook them in boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool. To finish cut them in half lengthwise and in medium hot saute pan, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and saute 'til golden. Season with S&P. To finish squeeze fresh lemon juice.

Cauliflower: Another vegetable not originating in Ireland but one you'll find on almost every dinner table. They come from the same species as cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli and collard greens and are very nutritious. My preferred technique is to roast them. Pre-heated your oven to 375 degrees and cut the cauliflower into florets. In a mixing bowl add 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. curry powder, S&P, and a drizzle of honey/agave. Place on foiled sheet pan and roast in oven for about 20 minutes, approx. or until tender. They'll stick a little to the foil but once cooled a little they'll come right off. These taste amazing and work great with fish as well.

And then there's the chicken. This is pretty straight forward but you'll have to watch the webisode to see how to do it.

So we'll tuck away March Madness until next year. Just think, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner...

Roast Turkey Breast w/ Cranberry Orange Relish

For most people the holidays are all about eating, drinking and usually lots of leftovers especially turkey. We end up having turkey sandwiches out the ying yang for days afterwards. I bet a lot of you are only interested in white or breast meat, or maybe you're only having a few people round so here's a recipe just for you.
Some stores offer just the turkey breasts so you don't have to buy the whole turkey. This is great for smaller portions and cuts the cooking time so you won't be up at the crack of dawn to get the bird in the oven. Regardless of meat size, I always brine my turkey the day before. Brining is soaking the meat in salted water which helps add flavor and keeps the meat moist during roasting. You can add a variety of other ingredients such as spices, herbs, bay leaves or even beer if you like to enhance the flavor. I find that a lot of people when cooking poultry, in particular cook the daylights out of it so they won't poison anyone. It always ends up dry and flaky, not good. Brining also provides a temperature cushion during cooking, so if this is your tendency, brining will help lock in the juices so it won't taste like rubber. Another note on brining is that brined meats tend to cook faster than unbrined meats so keep your eye on the internal temp about 2/3 of the way into your normal cooking time.

BRINING RECIPE:
11/2 lb. organic turkey breast
8 cups water (enough to cover)
1/3 cup kosher salt
3 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp. peppercorns
1 cup fresh herbs (thyme, marjoram, sage)
2 lemons-zested
Dissolve salt in the water. Add remaining ingredients and submerge turkey. Put in fridge overnight. When ready to cook, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.

TURKEY RECIPE:
11/2lb. brined turkey breast
1 lg.carrot-roughly chopped
1 lg.parsnip-roughly chopped
1 med. white onion-roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic- halved
2 tbsp. fresh ginger- roughly chopped

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Mix all vegetables together and lay on roasting pan. These will be used as a base for roasting the turkey which not only prevents the meat from sticking to the pan but are used for the gravy. Lay the seasoned turkey on the vegetables and place in oven. After 15 mins. reduce heat to 350. When cooked internal temp. should be 160 degrees. It took 50 mins. in my oven so keep an eye on it. When done, let rest for 15 mins. before carving.

CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH
Cranberries are quite bitter so the majority of recipes use sugar when making. It's usually 1:1 water:sugar. I try to avoid sugar as much as possible as there are so many great alternatives. I prefer to use agave nectar which although is a real sugar and has similar properties to many sugars its glycemic index is much lower which makes it less likely to raise blood sugar levels. Agave is 40% sweeter than sugar so you also use less. Check out http://www.allaboutagave.com/ for more info.
Recipe:
1 12 oz. bag cranberries
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup agave or honey
1 tbsp. fresh ginger-chopped
1 med. orange-zested
Place all above into sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once the cranberries start popping reduce the heat and stir until blended, 10 mins. approx. Taste for sweetness (add more agave if needed) and refrigerate. This can be made a day or so in advance.
Yields 3 cups.