When the children were growing up I used to make up bottles and bottles of jams, jellies, pickles and conserves every year.  It was just a matter of course and something which I really loved to do and it all got used.  The end of August and months of  September/October my house was filled with the smells of a great harvest being put up for the winter months.  It was a glorious smell.  A Home Sweet Home kind of a smell.  Not to brag or anything but one year I did up 52 quarts of Dill Pickles and yes . . . .  every single pickle got eaten!

I confess we eat a lot of chicken in this house and if you have been reading my blog for any appreciable of time that won't be news to you.  Sorry about that.  It's affordable protein, adaptable to lots of flavours and techniques and we like it.  It was a lot more expensive when I was a child.  I don't think we had it very often then.  It was a real treat and usually came in the form of a roast chicken . . .

No doubt about it rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits.  I look forward to rhubarb season every year and all of the treats I can cook up with it!  Pies!  Cakes!  Crumbles! Butter!

Rhubarb Butter?  Say what???

I was recently sent a gift pack from Godminster Cheese, just in time for Valentines day . . . their sweet "Heart to Heart" set,   is a tasty combination of a delicious 200g Vintage Organic Cheddar and 150g Heart-Shaped Organic Brie, both heart shaped and presented in their very own unique gift box.



 Godminster Vintage Cheddar is completely organic, containing no preservatives and encased in a ruby coloured wax.  There is no need to remove the wax as it makes the perfect case to keep it in.  You can simply slice the top off and scoop out the cheese and then replace the "lid" when you are done.  Best served at room temperature, this lovely chedddar is rich and creamy.  Quite delicious!

Godminster Traditional Organic Brie, is an organic soft cheese, created using fresh milk from the Godminster Farm.  With it's fresh flavour and creamy texture, this was also quite delicious.



Inclued as well was a round of their lovely Organic Brie which I decided to do something interesting with.   I wanted to make something which would be wonderful as an appetizer for your Valentines Day Celebrations.

Brie cheese is just wonderful baked . . . it melts beautifully and it's delicious flavour and texture are a wonderful canvas upon with to layer other flavours.



I cut it in half whilst it was still really, really cold from the fridge and then place the bottom round, cut side up on a square of Puff pastry.  



I spread the creamy top of the bottom layer with some Jalapeno Pepper Jam that I had picked up at Morrisons at Christmas time but hadn't had occasion to use yet.  It was so pretty and jewel-like . . . and flecked with lots of red jalapeno pepper flakes.  I then placed the other half on top and covered encased the round completely with the puff pastry, sealing it shut.  (You want to do this really well or you could have a blow out!)



I decorated the top with heart cutouts placed in a round to resemble a pretty blossom, with a few little stamen balls in the centre, and then brushed the whole thing with some beaten egg yolk and ater.



Fifteen minutes later we were rewarded with gloriously rich and creamy gooey brie mixed with that hot pepper jam . . . perfect for spreading onto soft slices of a fresh French loaf . . . and topped with a few leaves of rocket . . .

 

Or  onto buttery  pepper crackers, and served with some crisp slices of a sweet red eating apple, it went down a real treat.   We both enjoyed this immensely.  Not only was it attractive, but it was quite simply . . . delicious.  How often do you get an appetizer that is so delicious without having put much effort into it.  I would serve this to anyone . . .




Bang the Brie into the preheated oven.  Bake for 15 minutes or so until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.  Place on a serving board and arrange with crackers, sliced baguette, some rocket and sliced apple.




You can purchase the Godminster Heart to Heart set    of cheeses on the Godminster site for £17.45
Do visit their page for information of stockists near you, and other information about their products.

Although I was given this cheese to try out, all opinions are expressly my own.  It was to be perfectly honest . . . quite simply lovely.  Many thanks to Godminster for sending it to us.  I would buy this cheese quite happily for any special occasion.

I have always been a fan of Leerdammer cheese.   Sweet and nutty it's long been a choice of  mine for in salads and sandwiches . . . and yes, I confess, I have even been known to just snack on it neat . . . without anything else.  It just has a nice mellow flavour which I enjoy.  That's why when I was recently asked would I like to participate in the Leerdammer Toastie Challenge, I jumped at the chance!

 

I was sent several packs of the new Leerdammer Toastie cheese and challenged to come up with a new toastie sandwich.   This new Toastie cheese is creamier than the original and comes in a new square shape, the perfect size for fitting into a toastie.  The original sweet and nutty flavours remain!



First I played with it a bit, creating a panini pressed sandwich, which had several slices of the leerdammer toastie slices, along with some sliced Italian ham, some grainy mustard and a pickled red onion relish, and whilst it was good . . . I felt it was lacking in some way.  It wasn't quite pushing all of my taste buttons and so I went back to the drawing board.



I decided to stick with the panini bun because I like their texture . . . crisp and yet chewy.   I love a toasted panini, don't you?



Something smokey goes really well with the sweet and nutty flavour of Leerdammer cheese, but the ham wasn't quite doing it so I scrapped that as well and decided to go with something a bit smokier and a tad sweet . . . rich dry cured smoked streaky bacon.   Cooked until crisp . . . 4 rashers because I am greedy that way.



I liked the idea of the pickled onions, but they were too sharp I thought and so I decided to replace them with a really good red onion marmalade.  I had a jar of this particular brand in my larder just waiting to be opened and this is what I chose, but you could use another brand if you wanted to, or even make your own from scratch.   There is a lovely recipe on the BBC Good Food page.



The red onion marmalade added just the right touch.  It is sweet, but not cloyingly so . . . there is just a small hint of sour and a smack of spiciness that goes so well with the bacon and that creamy sweet nutty cheese . . .



So . . . with each bite you get the crisp chewy panini bread . . . buttery (or if you really feel hedonistic, you can pan grill it in the bacon fat from cooking the bacon.  mmmm . . . I was and I did.), the sharp sweetness from that lovely red onion marmalade, the crisp smoky saltiness of that lovely bacon  . . .  all intermingled with that oozingly rich sweet and nutty Leerdammer!



In short, this was a toastie that rang all my bells and tooted all my whistles!  This was a winner/winner toastie dinner!  I just adored it, and I think you will too!  To me, this is the perfect Toastie!  Oh so incredibly scrumdiddlyumptiously good.  The perfectly tasty toastie!



First cook the bacon.  Place it into a cold nonstick skillet and cook according to your preference.  I like mine just a tad crispy, but still a bit flimsy.  Others may want their totally crisped.   Once cooked, drain well on paper towels.  Spread the bottom slice of the panini bun with the onion marmalade.  Top with one slice of Leerdammer, cut into halves diagonally and placed slightly overlapping over the onion marmalade.  Top with the cooked bacon and then top the bacon with another slice of the Leerdammer, again cut into halve diagonally and placed slightly overlapping.  Place the top half of the panini bun over all.   Lightly butter both sides of the panini.  Heat a clean skillet (or a panini press) to medium high.  Add the panini, top side down first.   Grill for  several minutes until just toasted.  Flip the panini over so that the top is upright and continue to toast in the pan until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese has melted and is all gooey.   Remove from the pan and cut into half diagonally to enjoy.   Delicious!



Don't be surprised if you are addicted at first bite!  Many thanks to the Leerdammer people for sending me this wonderful toastie cheese and inspiring me to stretch my creative toastie wings!

Leerdammer Toastie is the latest addition to the Leerdammer range, which also included the original and light slices, as well as the original block.  Leerdammer Toastie is now available nationwide in Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Asda, prices at a RRP of £1.75 for a pack of six slices.

 

I love the holidays.  I miss having Thanksgiving over here in the UK.  It seems to me like the perfect start to the holiday season . . . but alas . . . we don't even really seem to celebrate St George's Day which is kind of odd really, seeing as he is the Patron Saint of England.  Oh well as they say up North . . . "There's naught so queer as folk!"



Of course the things I love most about the holidays are having friends and family around and the special food that we get to eat.   We do go all out don't we?   I love it.   I am not opposed to taking a few short cuts if I can however.



I like dessert to be something light and not too filling.  After a heavy meal, a heavy dessert seems to be just too much.  That's why I created these delicious little tarts which although not large in size, are just enough to end a celebratory meal in the perfect way.



Little airy indulgences that aren't going to lay heavily on your stomach.   Sweet enough to let you know you have had a bit of a treat without going over the top.   Composed of butter and flaky puff pastry.  ( I always buy the ready roll all butter, which works wonderfully and is ready at the drop of a hat.)  You make a kind of bejeweled jam to top these airy little bites.  Made from chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, cointreau liqueur and cinnamon, it goes perfectly with that crisp and buttery base.



Topped with flaked almonds and baked until crisp and then drizzled with melted white chocolate, these are the perfect ending to a special meal.  You can top with clotted cream or whipped cream if you like.  Oh so good.  



The filling does make a bit more than you can use in the tarts, but it's also handy for other things, so be sure to check it out below.  In the meantime . . . here you are.  Indulge yourself.



Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 20 to 30 second intervals until quite soft and melted.  Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate decoratively across the tarts.   Serve when cool, with or without some clotted or softly whipped cream.  



I re-rolled the trimmings and made a tasty little plate of bite sized turnovers.  I just couldn't let any of it go to waste.



You could also use the excess to create flaky larger sized turnovers. Oh so scrummy with a mid morning or afternoon cuppa.

Alternately you can flavour the custard with some vanilla extract of paste, 1 tsp should do the trick.

 

One of the things I missed when I first arrived here in the UK was tinned pumpkin.  It was very difficult to find and if you did find it, it cost you an arm and a leg.  I used to be able to get it at Waitrose down south and Sainsbury's.   Recently I scored big time when our local Aldi had it in as a special deal.  I bought about 20 cans!  Todd thought they would think I was crazy buying so many, but I didn't care.  If there is one thing I have learned in my years over here, it's to take advantage of a chance when you get it, because you might never get another one!  Kind of like making hay while the sun shines!



Of course you can always make your own.  I have done so in the past.  It's a bit labor intensive and it's not that easy to get a mixture that is as dry as the stuff in the tin, but it can be done.  I usually let mine drain in a sieve overnight, which works pretty well.  You can find a great tutorial on how to make your own here.  It's not really that hard.  The hard bit over here is finding the pumpkin!



So anyways, I decided to use some of my precious hoard of tinned pumpkin  to make the Toddster some delicious Pumpkin Butter as an early Autumn treat the other day.  He loved it when I made him apple butter one year, so I thought he would really enjoy some pumpkin butter.  I also thought that in some part it would help to justify my having bought 20 tins!

 

Pumpkin Butter is like a thick pumpkin jam . . . nicely spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom . . . very nice it is.   Very nice.  And not that hard to make either if you have a tin of pumpkin to hand.



It's as simple as stirring some pumpkin, honey, brown sugar, and the spices together in a pot along with some lemon juice and then cooking it down until it's nice and thick and jammy . . . it doesn't take too long either, only about half an hour.

 

We enjoyed some while it was still warm, spread on our toasted crumpets the other day.  Oh boy, was it ever good.  I am going to use it to fill a Victorian Sponge or a spice cake one day as well.  That sounds like it would be really lovely.   What do you think???



I do hope you will give it a go.  I think you would really like it.  I think if I was to spread it onto a few digestive biscuits, it would almost be like having a pumpkin pie . . . I'm going to try that tonight as a snack while we are watching Downton Abby.  I wonder if the Dowager would approve?



Well . . . .  maybe not.   I don't think I'll ask.

 

pinch salt   

Combine the pumpkin, sugar, honey, lemon juice and spices in a medium, heavy based saucepan. (I use my le creuset pan) Bring this mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely thickened. Serve with baking powder biscuits, scones, breads, muffins etc.  It's also lovely spread between two plain sponge cake layers. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.