Sexy chicken with Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver and The New York Times' The Minimalist cook up a chicken breast that will make your whole life better.

Tue, Jan 13 2009 at 9:54 AM EST

Photo: protohiro/Flickr

One of the many food books on my list to read is Food Matters by The New York Times columnist Mark Bittman. Fortunately, I don’t have to wait to read his book to learn from him. I can read his column and watch his The Minimalist videos on The New York Times’ website.

One of his recent videos has chef and cookbook author Jamie Oliver showing him how to cook a quick and healthy parmesan chicken. Chicken breast, prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, and herbs come together in a pan to make a moist main dish that made me want to eat some even though it was early 6:30 a.m. Oliver went so far as to call the chicken dish sexy. I’m not so sure I’d call it that, but I’d certainly call it yummy looking.

Throughout the video Oliver and Bittman banter about cooking, pounding a chicken thin to cook it evenly, and blessing food with salt. It’s their banter at the end of the video that really caught my attention though.

Oliver: If you’re going to eat three times a day till the day you die, why not be good at. It will save you money. It will more than likely make you healthier.

Bittman: Probably you’ll lose weight cause once you know what you’re putting in your mouth you don’t eat crap.

Oliver: You’ll be healthier, I’m sure, with a mixed diet and you’ll be happier. You’ll probably be a better lover, a better husband, a better wife … I’m going off now aren’t I?

Bittman: Even your children will love you.

They were having fun with it, but there’s truth in what they were saying. Being good at eating, not just at shoving food in your mouth, but good at cooking enjoyable foods from healthy ingredients can make your life better.

You can watch the video on The New York Times website.