Help - cooking a roast - Sweet potatoes, argghhh!

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Ok someone please please help me, lol! I am in the middle of cooking a full on roast (from scratch - i usually use frozen veg and aunt bessies roasts, etc to cheat a roast) for the OH who comes in at about 11pm - he will be absolutely chuffed as in the 8 years i have been with him i have never fully home made a roast and he loves his true home cooked food:T.

Now i am trying to 'nuke' some of the items in the microwave before roasting so here is where i need advice:

I have stuck the potats in covered in olive oil in the oven ater nuking them- how do i get them crispy? Any tricks or have i done fine?

Sweet potatoes (first time making them) - do i roast them in their skins and then peel after? LOL - i sound thick but i need to learn.

What is a good way to make a gravy - lol - if its tough i'll stick to the bisto, haha.

I think that is all but i thought the lovelies on here might give me some good tips as you all tend to be so fab!:T:A

debtmuncher

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle wrote: »

Ok someone please please help me, lol! I am in the middle of cooking a full on roast (from scratch - i usually use frozen veg and aunt bessies roasts, etc to cheat a roast) for the OH who comes in at about 11pm - he will be absolutely chuffed as in the 8 years i have been with him i have never fully home made a roast and he loves his true home cooked food:T.

Now i am trying to 'nuke' some of the items in the microwave before roasting so here is where i need advice:

I have stuck the potats in covered in olive oil in the oven ater nuking them- how do i get them crispy? Any tricks or have i done fine?

Sweet potatoes (first time making them) - do i roast them in their skins and then peel after? LOL - i sound thick but i need to learn.

What is a good way to make a gravy - lol - if its tough i'll stick to the bisto, haha.

I think that is all but i thought the lovelies on here might give me some good tips as you all tend to be so fab!:T:A

crispy potatoes (for me) are usually got by cooking the potatoes longer than a parboil so they are softer . why are you nuking htem in the microwave by the way? lol

sweet potatoes and gravy , i dont do them so no help on that i am afraid!
what roast is it you are doing?

esio_trot

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle wrote: »

Now i am trying to 'nuke' some of the items in the microwave before roasting so here is where i need advice:

personally, I think it turns out better using really bubbly boiling water for about 10 minutes rather than the micro, they seem to be fluffier that way.

I have stuck the potats in covered in olive oil in the oven ater nuking them- how do i get them crispy? Any tricks or have i done fine?

I would usually put some olive oil in a baking tray in the oven on it's own while I drain the potatoes. while that's heating, drain the potatoes, put them back in the pan with the lid on and give them a gentle shake to rough them up. take the tray out of the oven, oil should be hot enough now, and scatter the potatoes in a single layer, coating all sides with oil. They usually take about half an hour in my fan oven, turn them half way through to get them crispy all the way round.

I sometimes find it nice to sprinkle some dried rosemary and thyme over the potatoes while they roast too, paprika and cajun pepper also works nicely if you like spice.

Sweet potatoes (first time making them) - do i roast them in their skins and then peel after? LOL - i sound thick but i need to learn.

you can treat sweet potato just the same as normal ones - or you can peel, boil and mash 'em up! Depends on your preference really

What is a good way to make a gravy - lol - if its tough i'll stick to the bisto, haha.

take the meat out of the tray and leave it covered in foil to rest for 15 mins or so prior to serving. while that's resting, take the roasting tray skim off the fat, add a big slug of wine (red or white) to the roasting tray and scape off all the lovely sticky stuff and the juice from the bottom of the tray. you can do this with the pan over the heat if your pan is ok with that, or scrape it all into a pot. Mash up any veggies you had in the roasting tin and bubble it away until it reduces some and season as you like. All you need to do now is strain it and serve with the meat.

I think that is all but i thought the lovelies on here might give me some good tips as you all tend to be so fab!:T:A

really quick guide to my roast - though given the fact i'm sleepy, it might not make sense so give me a shout if you're stuck

hope that helps some

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Thank you - Erm - nuking them because his mum told me it was the quickest way, lol, as with the veg. I kind of meant steaming them in the microwave - but they never come out as good as proper steamed potats. They were pretty soft so i hope they come out ok.

Roast whole chicken - his fave - and being early preg the chicken skin is what i have been craving, lol, even though i know i should stay well from it, haha. My mouth has been watering for roast chicken skin for a week but there has had to be other dinners cooked before they go off before i could touch the chicken, so i have been long awaiting this meal, haha. Disguised in the fact he'll think i have made it just for him

I think i will stick to sweet potato mash instead

cheerfulness4

I remember Delia Smith once sprinkling salt over roasties. Maybe not for those watching their salt but it really does make them deliciously crunchy so we do it when we have a roast.

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Oh esio trot - you are fab! Thank you, i am keeping that for future reference too! Sounds silly but i have vowed to start cooking properly - but i have never ever been taught so i'm a little lost. With him being from a family who cooks eveything from scratch i think he'll really appreciate the new me, lol, if i can stick to it, haha!

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Great, i added a sprinkle of salt - thought it was the norm, haha. I also added a tiny bit of all purpose, errrrr....lol, I hope its ok. Thank you all! x

TrixieB

I boil my potatoes for around 8 mins, then drain them and put lid on pan and shake it gently, then I sprinkle over some seasoned flour or semolina as when this hits the hot fat in your pan it crisps up a LOT, gorgeousness!

Can't say I would want to eat a roast dinner at 11pm, but hey hope you enjoy it, and your long awaited chicken skin LOL

cheerfulness4

Sounds like you're doing fine. He'll be over the moon.
Sweet potato is yummy roasted with a little bit of honey drizzled over in the last 10 mins, too.

duncan303

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle wrote: »

I have stuck the potats in covered in olive oil in the oven ater nuking them- how do i get them crispy? Any tricks or have i done fine?

Sweet potatoes (first time making them) - do i roast them in their skins and then peel after? LOL - i sound thick but i need to learn.

What is a good way to make a gravy - lol - if its tough i'll stick to the bisto, haha.

to get them crispy give them a blast after you have taken the roast out. I leave the roast to settle for at least 10mins before carving thats enough time to turn the oven up to as hot as it will go and give the potatoes on the top shelf a crisping. I te.nd not to nuke them in the micra but half boil them first instaed

sweet potatoes- I cook them whole untouched in a separate dish for the same time as the roast and let the people cut them up and peel them themselves. but you can present them peeled and sliced if the guest is a bit squeemish!!

gravy- yes use a gravy mix no probs, and you can chuck any juices you can find in as well. I tend to roast onions with the main raost and then add them to gravy later, I also use the water from the veg to make the gravy up (not potato water)

hell you cant go too far wrong with a roast as long as you do not burn it .

but I guess by now you will be finishing off the pudding............ so how did it go???


..

esio_trot

thanks, actually, I came across these things because of Jamie Oliver - he did an xmas special a few years back with tips that could be transferred to normal Sunday dinners. (I think most of his tips are either on his website, or his microsite on channel 4s website)