Showing posts with label Cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheese. Show all posts
I was perusing Pinterest as you do the other day and saw what looked to be a delicious recipe for Mac & Cheese from the blog Plain Chicken. I used to follow her a long time ago and always loved her recipes.
She called this her favorite Mac & Cheese, which made it sound even more promising. Can you ever have too many recipes for Mac & Cheese? I think not!
I love mac and cheese and while I have my favorites, I am always looking to try out something new. You just never know when you are going to discover a new favorite.
Her recipe sounded quite intriguing, if not more than a little bit different. It used egg and cottage cheese. I have never used those things in a mac and cheese before!
It reminded me very much of the type of mac and cheese my grandmother might have made. There was no faffing about with making a sauce, so it looked quick and easy as well!
The only problem was it made 8 servings and there is only me here in this house. I did what I always do, I cut it down to serve only 2 people, and you are getting the cut down version today.
I did have to buy cottage cheese to make it and now will have to figure out some ways to use up the rest of the cottage cheese. I am sure I will come up with something.
I wish they sold smaller cartons of cottage cheese here were I live. That is one thing I really liked about the UK, although when I first moved over there I used to think it was awful how everything came in such small containers.
Now I wish I had those smaller containers to use. They were ever so convenient for the smaller family or the singleton! They had little single serving sized snap pots of beans, etc. What I liked about them was that there was little to no waste.
Idiotically the smaller sized did work out to be more expensive in the long run than the larger containers. But, you didn't have anything to throw away or try to use up either.
It was just better to have a small pot than a large can that would take a person three days to eat, or stuff your freezer full of small bits of everything, that never got used up anyways. Just my thoughts on that.
Anyways, if you have any recipes that you enjoy which use cottage cheese, other than lasagna, do let me know!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE OLD FASHIONED MAC & CHEESE
Its not a long list of ingredients and for this version, not a huge quantity of any one ingredient.
- uncooked elbow macaroni (I used Barilla)
- grated cheddar cheese ( I grated my own and used strong/sharp cheese for the most flavor)
- cottage cheese ( I used regular full fat creamy cottage cheese, in for a penny, in for a pound)
- dairy sour cream ( again I used regular full fat)
- milk (again I use whole milk)
- 1/2 of a large beaten egg
- Cajun seasoning (its very easy to make your own, see note on recipe)
- paprika to sprinkle
HOW TO MAKE OLD FASHIONED MAC & CHEESE
Once you cook the macaroni, nothing could really be easier. I am all for easy these days! I don't know how I ever managed to get all the things done that I did when I worked full time because I can hardly get the things I need to do done now!
All you need to do to make this is cook the macaroni. While the macaroni is cooking, whisk together both cheeses, the egg, sour cream and milk and seasoning together in a medium sized bowl.
Once the macaroni is cooked, drain it well and you can rinse it if you like. I didn't bother.
Just stir it into the mixture in the bowl and then pour the whole lot into a buttered baking dish. Because I was only making enough for two, I used a much smaller casserole dish. I did want to have as much surface as I could, so I used a 7-inch square baking dish, but you can use whatever size dish you have that is small/large enough to hold the mixture.
Once you have done that, sprinkle the top with paprika and then cover it tightly with some aluminum foil. She said to butter it, but I didn't bother because I knew my macaroni would not be touching the foil.
That's it. Bake for half an hour covered, uncover and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more. Because mine was a much smaller size it did not take as long to cook as the full sized version.
It was a bit more solid than most versions of mac and cheese. I reckon that was down to the use of egg. The egg works with the milk, etc. to make a sort of custard.
The texture was really lovely and the flavor was really lovely and cheesy. You couldn't really tell that there was cottage cheese in it.
The flavors were lovely and rich. I really enjoyed it. I served it with some shake and bake chicken wings (don't judge) and broccoli/cauliflower cheese. (frozen Green Giant, again don't judge.)
Altogether this was very filling and quite delicious. Just the thing for a cold Winter's day. We got lambasted with a ton of snow last night, so a bit of comfort food was in order!
I am going to enjoy the leftovers tomorrow. I will probably melt a bit of butter and make a hash of them, serving it with some pickled beets and brown bread.
What I loved about this is that it was very easy and quick to throw together. It also tasted delicious. There was actually nothing that I didn't like about it, so I would consider that a win all round!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I am not a person who eats red meat very often. I tend to eat mostly chicken or fish. I do occasionally enjoy a good steak, and of course would never turn down a roast dinner. I also happen to like sausages.
Good sausages. Quality sausages. I am not a fan in the least of cheap and nasty sausages. I like meaty sausages without a lot of fillers and fat in them. I know they need a bit of fat, but I hate sausages that have the texture of wall paper paste.
A nasty paste textures sausage usually means two things. They contain a lot of fillers, and they are overly fatty. Do. Not. Like.
I especially enjoy roasted sausages. There is something magical which happens when you roast a sausage in the oven.
A good sausage, roasted in the oven, takes on a beautiful caramelized coating, sticky and gold all over. Roasting sausages is probably one of the easiest ways to cook them as well.
There is no need to stand over a hot skillet, turning and turning them so that they brown evenly. Just pop them onto a baking sheet, and roast, turning them over half way through the cook time.
You are guaranteed a perfectly cooked sausage, with a lovely crisp, sticky golden skin. A finger licking caramelized skin that is to die for.
This recipe which I am sharing today was inspired by a recipe I found in a cookbook by Annie Bell, entitled The Country Cook.
I became a huge fan of Annie Bell's cooking when I was in the UK. I can't remember how I stumbled onto her books as she didn't have a television series or anything. I just remember picking up one of her books and falling in love with her style of cooking.
Basically it was simple and unpretentious. I hate pretentious cooking. I am a simple person with simple tastes, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy my food or don't serve delicious food.
Food doesn't need to be complicated to taste good. Simple foods, simple methods, cooked well . . . make for incredibly delicious eating. There is no need to re-invent the wheel when it comes to cooking, or at least no need to overcomplicate things. Know what I mean?
A good basic recipe can be adapted to use a wide variety of ingredients, in a variety of combinations, each coming out delicious in the end. This was one of those types of recipes.
Annie used British bangers of course, but they looked to be chipolata type of sausage, or what we might call breakfast sausages here in North America. I chose to use the PC Free From Breakfast Sausage. I don't think they were quite as large as hers, so if you are a heartier eater, adjust the amounts accordingly.
Annie used a waxy new type of potato, a salad type of potato. I could not get those here, so I chose to use some smaller sized red potatoes. I knew they would hold their shape and I was right.
The potatoes are boiled for a short time before roasting them (skins on) in a hot oven, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. She specified roasting them in a dish which held them snugly. Not sure why, but I followed her instructions.
I hazard to guess that it makes sure the potatoes cook beautifully through without them drying out or becoming too crisp on the outsides. My potatoes ended up perfect.
They had crisp skins, and were golden brown, but still yielded slightly when gently squeezed.
Annie used Portabello mushrooms. She said you could use any flat cap mushroom. I had no flat cap mushrooms, but I did have some rather large white mushrooms.
I chose to remove the stems and use them in place of the other shrooms. In this case I decided three of these mushrooms roasted were the perfect amount for each person.
She also used stilton cheese to stuff the potatoes with. I love adore stilton cheese. It was not something I would have ever eaten prior to my move over to the UK. Heck I didn't eat any kind of strong cheese before moving over there.
It was when I worked at the Manor as their Chef that I developed an appreciation for real cheese at all. I had to prepare cheese trays for the cheese course of their dinner parties, and you pretty much had to know what you were putting on the tray. This required tasting.
I found myself wondering why I had ever avoided tasting these cheeses before. I had been missing out on loads of deliciousness! In short, I fell in love with cheese.
I had no Stilton to use, except for a small piece of white stilton with ginger and apricots. I did not think that would work. Well . . . it might have done, but I decided to use something else.
I had some lovely soft goat's cheese flavored with garlic left over from my lunch with Jacquie the other day and decided to use that up. I really love goat's cheese. Especially soft goat's cheese.
I think I first had it in a salad served with roasted beetroot and I can tell you, I fell so in love with it at that moment. Tart, soft and intense, it goes wonderfully with a host of other flavors.
And it worked beautifully in this instance. You had those sticky, crisp skinned sausages, along with the buttery roasted mushroom caps and then those crisp skinned baked potatoes, with soft garlicky melting goats cheese centers.
This was heavenly bliss. Add to that the touch of herbed flavors from the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaves, and this was one really delicious meal indeed!
I served some fresh French style fine green beans on the side, or haricots verts as they are also known to complete the meal It was as good as any fine dining . . . but it was pure and simple, unpretentious and delicious. I highly recommend.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Roasted Sausages with Goat's Cheese Stuffed Baby Potatoes
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 H & 35 MTotal time: 1 H & 45 M
I love a tray bake supper and this is one of the best with sticky sausages, buttery mushroom caps and crispy baked baby potatoes, stuffed with garlic goats cheese. What's not to love?
Ingredients
- 6 smallish red potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- light olive oil
- 3 rounds of soft garlic goats cheese (each about 1/3 inch thick and cut in half to make semi-circles)
- 6 - 8 well flavored chipolata style sausages ( breakfast sausage size)
- 3 dried bay leaves
- several sprigs of fresh thyme
- 6 large white mushrooms, wiped clean and stems removed
- 2 TBS butter
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a medium sized pan of boiling salted water and bring back to the boil. Cook for about 8 minutes, then drain well.
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Put the potatoes into a dish that holds them snugly. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper, turning them to coat them completely.
- Roast the potatoes in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until knife tender, and lightly golden. Remove and set aside.
- Clean and remove the stems from your mushrooms.
- Line a medium baking tray with a double sheet of aluminum foil. Place the sausages onto the baking sheet. Roast them in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and flip them over.
- Place the bay leaves (broken), sprigs of thyme and mushrooms on the baking tray with the sausages. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Pop a bit of butter into the center hollow of each mushroom and then season with salt and pepper.
- Return the sheet pan to the oven and roast for a further 15 minutes.
- While they are roasting prep your potatoes for roasting. Cut a slit into each to within 1/3 of an inch from the ends. Squeeze open and top each with a half round of goats cheese, pushing it into the potato a bit.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, turn your sausages again. Add the potatoes to the baking sheet, and return to the oven for a further 10 - 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately with an additional vegetable on the side.
All nutritional data is calculated by the recipe card program and may not be entirely accurate.
Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés. I am really excited to share this recipe with you today for these fool proof twice baked cheese soufflé. Wonderfully rich and incredibly easy to make, the recipe makes 6 individual soufflés.
These are just perfect for when you are wanting a nice light supper. They are also great as a first course when you are entertaining as they can totally be made ahead, napping with cream and cheese and reheating just prior to your needing to serve them.
Quick, easy and convenient, what more can you ask for? Not a lot I tell you. These are fabulous!
I discovered the recipe many years ago when I was waiting in the Doctor's office when I was living down in Brenchley. I discovered it in a magazine in the waiting room, copied it out onto paper and have been making them ever since.
In fact, they were a real favorite in the Manor where I worked also. They just loved them! I served them at various functions and they were actually something which was I requested to leave in the refrigerator for them to heat up at the weekends on occasion.
A lot of people are really intimidated by the idea of making soufflés, but trust me when I tell you these are very simple to make. I have never had the go wrong. Never.
They also use incredibly simple ingredients. Eggs, flour, milk, butter, grainy mustard, a good cheddar, an onion, some seasonings and aromatics and cream to finish. Nothing extraordinary here. Nothing.
It should go without saying that you want to use a really good cheddar cheese for these. I like to use a quality extra sharp cheese. This will give you a lovely flavor.
Oh how I am going to miss the great cheddars I was able to buy in the UK. They made the absolute best cheddar cheese there. Rich and delicious.
Just buy the best that you can get and you will be okay. Since cheddar is one of the main flavoring ingredients, this is really important.
The recipe does require the use of whole milk. Don't be tempted to stint on this. You will not get as nice of a result if you use low fat milk.
The milk is steeped with the flavor of a whole peeled onion, bay leaf and a whole clove. This adds additional flavor.
The milk is used to form the basis of the soufflés, which is basically a very thick cream sauce into which you will melt most of the cheese and beat in the egg yolks. If you can make a cream sauce, you can do this.
The only thing you really need to be careful of here is that you don't scramble the egg yolks. Whisk the creamy cheese mixture until it is lukewarm and then beat in the yolks one at a time. This is also when you add the grainy mustard.
You can use any whole grain mustard you like, but I, personally, like a Dijon style of grainy mustard.
Next thing you do is to whisk your egg whites until stiff and begin folding them into your mixture. This is best done in thirds. Stir the first third in and then fold in the remainder.
Its okay to have a few visible streaks of egg white. What you don't want to do is to knock all of the air out.
These are baked initially in well buttered single sized ramekins. Straight sided ones work best. Butter them really well so that they don't stick.
The filled ramekins are put into a roasting tin and boiling water is added to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is called a Bain Marie.
I always find this a lot easier to do if I put the roasting tin holding the ramekins into the oven first and then add the water, carefully from the side.
That's it! This initial bake will see the rise beautifully. Once this is done, you simply need to tip the out into another baking dish, nap them with some cream, dust with more cheese and bake again.
This is where you can do them ahead of time. You can do everything but the final napping and baking well ahead of time, even up to a day ahead, which makes them perfect for entertaining!
Just make them to that point, pop them into a baking dish, and cover with some plastic cling film, if you are going to bake them all at once. If you are going to bake them in smaller numbers, then just pop them into a plastic container with a lid.
Then you can just take out as many as you need when you need them. Pop into your baking dish, nap with the cream, sprinkle on the additional cheese and bake. Easy peasy!
They rise again beautifully on the second bake and end up with a lovely cheesy crust, not to mention that rich cream sauce. DELICIOUSLY simple!
For a luncheon all you need is a tossed salad on the side. For a heartier supper I would add some cooked vegetables on the side.
I have never frozen these so I can't say for sure if you can successfully do that or not. I suggest you freeze one and see how that works before you freeze them all. (Freeze one, then thaw and bake as below.)
These truly are simple to make and fabulously tasty. I really hope you will be inspired to give them a go!
Twice Baked Cheese Soufflés
Yield: 6
These are wonderfully rich and light and so very easy to make. I got the recipe from out of a magazine in the Doctor's waiting office one day (I couldn't begin to tell you which one) and I brought it home and adapted it to our tastes. They have become a firm favourite in my repertoire.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (300ml) whole milk (1 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 of a small onion, peeled and studded with 1 clove and 1 bay leaf
- 3 TBS (40g) butter, plus more for greasing
- 1/3 cup (40g) plain flour
- 1 1/4 cup (150g) of good strong cheddar, grated and divided
- 1 TBS coarse grainy mustard
- salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg to taste
- 3 large free range eggs, separated
- 1 cup (240 ml) of double cream
Instructions
- Place the milk in a small pan along with the onion, clove and bay leaf. Bring slowly just to the boil, then remove it from the heat and leave it to infuse for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, remove the onion, clove and bay leaf and discard.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.
- Take another pan and place it over medium heat. Melt the butter in this, then stir in the flour. Cook, stirring until smooth and completely amalgamated, for about one minute.
- Remove from the heat. Add the infused milk in a slow and steady stream, whisking the whole time. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened and just beginning to boil. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in 1 cup (125g) of the grated cheese and all of the grainy mustard. Season well with salt and pepper and a good grating of fresh nutmeg. Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.
- Butter six medium ramekins well and place them into a large shallow roasting tin.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric whisk. Stir about a third of the egg whites into the cheese mixture to help slacken it and then gently fold in the rest.
- Spoon and divide the mixture evenly into the buttered ramekins.
- Carefully add boiling water to the roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins and then carefully place the roasting tin into the heated oven. (If you have strong oven racks it is probably best to place the roasting tin into the oven first and then add the water)
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are well risen and nicely browned on top.** (see notes below)
- Remove from the oven and remove from the roasting tin, placing them on a wire rack to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 220*C/425*F.
- Once they are cooled enough to handle, carefully tip them out onto the palm of your hand, one at a time, and place them, right sides down, into a buttered baking dish large enough to hold all six of them.
- Season the double cream with some salt and black pepper and spoon it evenly over top of each souffle. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheddar cheese evenly over top.
- Place back in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are well risen and the cream is bubbling and the cheese is melted and beginning to brown nicely. Serve hot.
Notes:
**You can complete the recipe to the end of the first baking and put them in a buttered dish, cover them, and then store them in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead before proceeding. Bring them to room temperature before finishing them off as outlined in the recipe.
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This dish I am showing you today is a fabulous vegetarian main dish, filled with lovely flavours and textures. this is always assuming that you still eat eggs and cheese.
If not, well, then I can't help you! This tasty one dish supper makes good use of leftover cooked potato. You can also cook potatoes fresh to use in it.
True confessions here, I have also used tinned new potatoes, drained well and sliced into rounds. They worked quite well. I usually have a few tins of new potatos in the cupboard.
Did you know that new potatoes are fairly low GI? It's true and when you combine the with a fat (cheese) and a protein (egg) you lower the GI even more.
When combined with a slice of whole wheat bread and some salad, that makes this quite a diabetic-friendly meal. I am always trying to lower my GI if I can.
As a diabetic, it can be really difficult to balance your diet, especially if you live with others who are not diabetics. My father is also a diabetic so we are both in the same boat.
You can leave it just as it is, with just the potatoes, onions and cheese. You can also amp it up a bit by adding some other vegetables to it.
I add cooked green beans to add a small portion of your five a day, and to add some colour.You could add any cooked vegetable you enjoy. This adds interest, texture and colour.
My friend Jacquie used to make a potato pie that was absolutely gorgeous. It had plenty of green beans in it. I lost the recipe after I moved over to the UK.
The last time I e-mailed her, my e-mail bounced back. I will have to contact her daughter on Instagram to see if there is a new e-mail address I can contact her with. I really hate losing touch with good friends. She is actually just living down the road from me now.
I seem to recall she also used filo pastry in hers as a crust.
I always called Jacquie my White Angel because she had beautiful white hair, just like a shining gossamer halo. She was so good to me when my previous marriage broke up and I was on my own. She was a wonderful friend, along with her husband Tom.
I could not have asked for two more loving and supportive friends. They are just two very special people. Tom was a vegetarian and Jacquie practiced the art of food combining. She was an iridologist, reflexologist, and herbologist and was very good at all three.
I think that she is the one and only friend I have ever allowed access to my feet. This says a lot. I have a thing about my feet.
If you have never been to a reflexologist, you really need to treat yourself sometime! You will feel like a million bucks afterwards, truly!
Jacquie always told me that all disease starts in the bowel. She could look at your eyes and see what was wrong with your organs, etc. She was a really special gal and very good at what she did.
Her home always smelled wonderful, like herbs and garlic. I loved Jacquie, being in her home, her potato pie, and I loved her Tofu Burgers. They were very tasty as well.
But back to this delicious casserole. You could serve it as a side if you wanted to and it would serve more people. I cannot think of anything it wouldn't go with. Being Friday, I think grilled fish would go well.
As a main, however, it serves 4 to 6 depending on appetities. It really has fabulous flavours . . . and yet it is so simple.
Cheese, onions, potatoes, and green beans are layered up in a dish. A seasoned milk and egg mixture is poured over top.
It doesn't get much easier than that. Really simple. We are going to be eating so much rich food over the next couple of weeks, simple just fits the bill for now. We are resting before the Christmas onslaught!
You bake it, covered, for about 20 minutes or so, uncover it and give it a stir and then bake it for another 20 or 25 minutes, until all of the flavours have melded and the custard has set properly.
It is almost like a baked potato and cheese omelet. I think personally that it is very, very good. If you are looking for somehing simple and yet very tasty, you really can't go wrong with this.
I always really enjoyed the way the British called any kind of layered casserole a pie. They didn't really call them casseroles, unless they involved stewed meat. Then it might be casseroled beef, etc. That was a casserole to them.
Anything layered like this was called a pie. It didn't have to have a crust. It was just a layered bake.
I suppose every country has its own quirks and ways of doing things. That is what I love most about travel and about different cultures.
I love to learn and embrace new things, and this was one that I personally loved. But then I am a foodie.
Potato & Cheese Pie
Yield: 4 - 6 as a Vegetarian main
prep time: 15 Mincook time: 50 Mintotal time: 1 H & 5 M
Simple and delicious. Serve warm with fresh bread, sliced tomatoes and a salad.
Ingredients
- 700g waxy new potatoes, peeled and sliced (2 pounds)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 275ml whole milk (9 1/2 fluid ounces)
- 125g grated cheese (generous cup, I use Parmesan and Cheddar)
- salt and black pepper
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- a handful of cooked sliced green beans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Parboil the potatoes for about 5 minutes in lightly salted boiling water. Drain well, and cool slightly. (Alternatively use leftover cooked new potatoes, peeled and sliced.)
- Butter an oven-proof dish. Layer in the potato, grated cheese, onion and greenbeans alternately, ending with a layer of cheese.
- Beat together the eggs and milk, seasoning lightly with salt and black pepper. Pour this mixture over the potatoes and cheese in the dish. Cover tightly with a buttered sheet of foil.
- Cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and stir the potatoes from the outside to the centre. Cook, uncovered for a further 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.
This really makes for a lovely light supper. We have it with buttered whole wheat bread and a mixed salad on the side. I love the supersalad salad greens which have baby kale, rocket, spinach and baby chard in them, along with shredded beetroot. They are fabulous. I hope you will give this a go!
This content (written and
photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting
or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please
know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at:
mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come
again!
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