Tag Archives: snacks and party food

February 3, 2015 · 1:45 pm

Twice-Baked Hebridean Blue Soufflés

Twice Baked Hebridean Blue Cheese Souffle

The problem (admittedly not a very serious problem) with buying lots of cheese in one go is that you suddenly have an awful lot of cheese to eat. ‘Stop it!’ wailed the Other Half last week. ‘Stop buying so much cheese, I have to stop eating so much cheese!’ Whilst the obvious retort would be ‘Well, stop eating so much cheese then’, I did have some sympathies and so, with a lunch visit from the in-laws on the horizon and a mammoth chunk of the bluest cheese in existence in the fridge, I decided to cook something up with it. Obviously by taking this approach we are still, in real terms, ‘eating so much cheese’, but it doesn’t feel like it. A bit like when you eat the whole box of chocolates at once and therefore consume less calories than if you ate three a day for the next fortnight. Honestly.
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October 14, 2014 · 9:49 am

Smoked Goat’s Cheese and Squash Tarte Tatin

Smoked goat's cheese and roasted squash savoury tarte tatin

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while will know about my nostalgic obsession with autumn. It’s always sad to say goodbye to summer but nice to welcome hot water bottles, cocoa and the smell of real fires. Alas, there is a long-running debate in our house about adding a real fire or logburner and I appear to losing, so I have to take my smoky fixes where I can (note: I realise that this makes me sound like an arsonist so, for the record, I’m not).
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October 7, 2014 · 10:23 am

Roasted Green Tomato and Cheddar Bread Tarts

Roasted Green Tomato and Cheddar Bread Tarts

My garden has not been a roaring success this year with the exception of one tomato plant which must be from the genus triffidius. I grew it in a pot but it has nevertheless cleared the fence, encroached across the lawn and invaded next door.

triffid tomato plant
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September 30, 2014 · 9:47 am

Making Sparkenhoe Cheese and Disguising Cauliflower

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Red Leicester cheese has got a bad rep and, in many cases, deservedly so. Like many British cheeses, farmhouse production was wiped out by the Second World War and, as a result, most Red Leicester comes in a sweaty, claggy block. But, thanks to David and Jo Clarke, farmhouse Red Leicester has risen, zombie-like from its cheesy grave. I discovered Sparkenhoe last year and was blown away by its rich taste of biscuits and brown butter, surrounded by an earthy rind. If you’ve never tried it, get yourself to a monger forthwith; you won’t be disappointed.
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September 24, 2014 · 9:11 am

Cheddar and Apple Scone Bread

cheddar and apple scone bread

It’s a funny old time of year. The leaves are falling, the squirrels are going nuts (arf!) but the sun is shining and the tomatoes continue to ripen, thwarting all of my plans for green tomato chutney. I have no idea what to dress in on any given day and so spend much of my time shivering foolishly or sweating attractively. But there’s definitely a whiff of autumn in the air and so I thought I’d pair up those perennial favourites, apples and cheddar. I was pondering scones when I came across this recipe and was so intrigued by the thought of cooking with Shreddies that I had to proceed. The result is quite a dense but tasty sort of soda-esque bread which goes well with soup. Next time I’d cut down on the mustard though; as my six year old patronisingly informed me: ‘Mummy, next time you cook for children, you should think about leaving out the mustard and chillies.’ Yeah, thanks for that, mini-Ottolenghi…
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September 2, 2014 · 1:27 pm

Suffolk Gold and Courgette Fritters

Suffolk Gold and Courgette Fritters

I’ve been away from the blog for a while but never fear on the cheese front; a holiday in Italy ensured that I could eat my own body weight in fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola and pecorino. Expect some diet cheese recipes coming your way soon (if that’s not too much of a contradiction in terms).
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August 5, 2014 · 8:15 am

Sourdough Focaccia with Basil and Laverstoke Park Farm Mozzarella

Sourdough focaccia with basil and laverstoke park farm mozzarella

A little while ago my Italian food-loving friend pressed some of her sourdough starter on me. Those of you that have followed this blog for a while will know that my success rate with foodstuffs requiring cultures or fermentation is not good. I confess that I wrapped the starter in some clingfilm and put it in the fridge. I then tried to forget about it, put some vegetables on top of it and generally abused it foully for several weeks. But one day I caught sight of it and felt a bit bad. I took it out, poked it, stuck it in a bowl and stirred in a random amount of flour and water. By some miracle, after a few hours, it started to bubble. Praise be, it was still alive!
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July 29, 2014 · 8:12 am

Glamorgan Sausage Rolls

Glamorgan Sausage Rolls

Last weekend was my vegetarian friends’ annual barbeque. Although they are happy to tolerate carnivores and even rig up a separate grill for us to drip our saturated fats all over, I thought I would make an effort and take something veggie-friendly (as well as a pack of sausages and some halloumi…and some beer, obviously). I’d heard of Glamorgan Sausages about a year ago (or Selsig Morgannwg to give them their proper name) and so thought I’d turn them into the ultimate summer picnic food for my herbivorous chums.
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July 2, 2014 · 10:46 am

July’s Cheese, Please! Recipe Blog Challenge – Summery Cheese

The Big Cheesy Barbeque: Halloumi Rosemary Skewers vegetable kebabs

It’s early in the morning as I write this but the sky is bird’s egg blue and the sun is shining. Of course, in the blink of an eye the rain could be cascading through the drainpipes but nevertheless it feels like a sort of summer has arrived. So, in its honour, I declare July’s Cheese, Please! Recipe Blog Challenge to be all about cheesy summer food.
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July 1, 2014 · 7:39 am

June’s Cheese, Please! Challenge Round-up – Cheese and Herbs

June has been a busy one, so much so that I’ve had little time to even eat cheese, let alone write about it. A sad state of affairs indeed. Fortunately, my fellow bloggers have waved the cheese standard, passed the cheese baton and generally paid homage to the fromage and so this month’s Cheese, Please! Challenge, as usual, has some lovely recipes, all featuring the abundant, fresh herbs that are verily flourishing at this time of year. So without further delay, I bring you cheese and herbs…
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