Creamy Crunchy Baked Leeks and a Giveaway!

I was asked by TLC Book Tours to review Jamie Oliver's new cookbook Great Britian.

First off let me say, if I ever had a cookbook published, it would so much like Jamies. I love that it's loaded with photos and the whole style is very unpretentious. It just flowy and fun. Just like his cooking. The recipes are authentic British foods and in most of the recipes you get a nice little history lesson to boot.

I've been watching Jamie since he was the Naked Chef. I love his casual style of cooking. I love how he will grab things up in handfuls, or gobs as he says, or how he will just say throw a bit of this in or add just a pinch of this in. My favortie Jamie saying is "this or that are best mates". Like this:

"rosemary and pork are best mates"
"apples and brown sugar are best mates"
"avocados and lime are best mates"

You get the picture. I also love how he always says "brillant". Most of the Brits do and it just tickles me to know end.

My maternal great grandmother was English so I'd like to think there are some recipes in this book that she might have grown up eating. There are a few that I had never heard of like......St Clement's Cake, Cranachan, Welsh Cakes, Arbroath Smokies, etc.

So I poured over all the recipes in this book and I had it narrowed down to two recipes. This one for Creamy Crunchy Baked Leeks and his Jammy Coconut Sponge Cake. As luck would have it, my friend Amy at Very Culinary made the cake. You should go check it out! Click here! Amy and I always seem to be on the same wave length when it comes to food so I'm a little surprised that we both didn't post the same recipe.

I'm a leek lover. Caramlized leeks just send me over the top. Leeks baked with cheese. I can't even speak.

This recipe was every bit as delciious as I expected it to be.





Creamy Crunchy Leeks
recipe from Jamie Oliver's Great Britian
1 rasher of bacon, finely sliced (I used 3 strips) I hear from my Brit friends a rasher is normally 1
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fresh bay leaf
¾ lb baby leeks (I used regular ole leeks)
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 cup organic chicken stock
5 tablespoon light cream
1.7 ounces cheddar or any delicious cheese crumbled.
1 clove of garlic
3 thick slices of stale white bread, crusts removed
Small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked.

Oven to 400.

Put a medium sized pan on medium heat. Put the bacon, the oil and the bay leaf into the pan and fry for a few minutes until lightly golden. While that’s happening top and tail the leeks (cut off the bottom and the dark green tops), cut in half lengthwise and wash well. Slice them into 1 inch pieces and add them to the pan. Stir together, season generously with salt and pepper then pour the stock and cream in and bring ot a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. At this point turn off the heat and stir in most of the cheese. The mixture will still be quite runny at this point but don’t worry; it will thicken up in the oven.

Meanwhile, put the garlic and the bread into a food processor with the thyme leaves and pulse until you have nice coarse flavored breadcrumbs.

If your pan is ovenproof you can simply pop it straight into the oven, if not, place into a shallow 8x10 inch pan. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese. Cook on the top shelf for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden and crispy. Serve with absolutely anything you like.

So I want to share this wonderful cookbook with one of you. Here's what you need to do to win....

Leave a comment answering this question: What's the last thing you ate?

One lucky U.S. or Canadian reader has a chance to win a copy of Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain.

If you don't have a blog, please leave me email address to contact you!

There are three ways to enter: (1) leave a comment on the blog (2) go “like” The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on Facebook or (3) Already a fan? Just leave a comment on The Wall. Want to increase your chances? You can leave a comment here and on Facebook.

Giveaway ends on Friday November 2 at midnight EST. Good Luck!