They had a really good deal on bulk baguettes in the grocery store the other day so I picked up a pack. As per normal . . . we only got two of them used on the day, and the next day I had 3 left and no room in the freezer to store them.



I decided to make baguette pizzas, which is a great way to use bread that is not at it's freshest and makes even stale loaves taste freshly baked.



You pay a premium price for one of these tasty pizzas in all of the sandwich shops. They're very easy to make at home though, and are great ways of getting rid of little bits of whatever you have to hand, and leftovers you might have floating around your refrigerator that need using up.



Kids LOVE making and eating them too! They can choose their own toppings, customized to their own likes and tastes. They're a great slumber party snack for the teens, or perfect for game day as well!



I love to use chopped baby pickled sweet and sour hot cherry peppers and dry cured olives on mine. Oh so yummy! The pesto base makes a nice change from tomato sauce!



*Baguette Pizzas*
Makes 6
Printable Recipe

These can be whatever you want them to be. Dress them up or down. The choice is yours.

3 (12-inch) French Baguettes
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
green pesto (I use the fresh one from the chiller cabinet in the store or make my own)
Selected toppings: (Any or all)
grated cheddar cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, ham, pepperoni, parma ham, cooked bacon, salami, black and/or green olives,
sun dried tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, sliced red onion,tuna, roasted peppers, pickled hot peppers



Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Slice each baguette in half lengthwise through the middle. Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven until they are a bit crisp. Remove from the oven and while warm, rube each baguette half with the cut side of the garlic. Discard the spent garlic.

Spread each toasted half with some pesto and then top with a variety of toppings as desired. Pop back into the oven and roast for 6 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the toppings are heated through.


My Pampered Chef party went ever so well last evening. I think everyone had a fabulous time. We got to see some really quality products and to try them out first hand. We got to eat some really delicious food as well . . . "FAT Free" Yorkshire puddings, baked in the Pampered Chef stone ware muffin tin. They were enormous and crispy and oh so delicious. It was hard to believe that they were fat free, but it's true! Fat free Yorkies! I've been waiting all my life for these! There was a fabulous Hot Broccoli dip and some really tasty Rolo Tarts as well. If you were unable to attend and were wanting to order anything, you still have time to do so.

The party page for my party doesn't close until tomorrow and you can visit my party page and place an order online. Don't forget anyone who places an order online will be put into a draw for a five card selection of my own personally designed and handmade Greeting Cards (Your choice), a Pampered Chef Season's Best Cookbook and a Mini Measure All Cup.
You can't lose!

What you have to do:

First hop on over to Julie's page . . . HERE.

Once you are on Julie's Page click on the Shop Online link. Once there, it will tell you that there are two ways to shop, first if you've been invited to a show . . . (This is the one you want)
This is where you have to put my name in the host area:
Marie in the first bit, Rayner in the second bit (make sure you spell it right, with an er not an or or an ar . . . then click . . .
it will then list my show as a hyper link . . . click on the link and shop away. I've only had one online order thus far, so your chance of winning the prizes are quite good!

 

 

I just love sandwiches . . . and I'm not alone in that either. The British all love sandwiches! They're a big business over here.  They're sold in all the shops, convenience stores, grocery shops, coffee shops etc.  Of course if you hadn't guessed already . . . Sarnie is another name for sandwich!

 

Makes it sound like something  quite exotic doesn't it?

 

One of my favourite places to buy a ready made sarnie is in M&S.  Their sandwiches are the best.  The bread is always fresh and the filling generous, and spread to the edge . . . not like some of the cheaper places where you get a dollop of filling in the  middle of two slices of dry bread . . . with more bread than filling!  Ugh!  Nasty.



I was quite suprised when I moved over here to the UK at the different varieties of sandwiches that were on offer as well.  Cheese and onion . . . delicious!  Cheese and tomato . . .  likewise!  There's salad sandwiches, sandwiches made with crab, or prawns or tuna.  Tuna and Cucumber seems to be quite popular.  As is Tuna and Sweetcorn.

 

Then there are Egg & Cress, Coronation Chicken, Corned Beef (made with tinned corned Beef, which is actually quite nice),  and a host of others . . . too many to list here I think, but you get the idea, I'm sure!



Anyways, the point of all of this is that I made Todd and myself a couple of very tasty sandwiches for our lunch one day at the weekend.  In  my quest to cut back a bit, I made them open faced sandwiches, so only half the bread.

 

I added some sliced ham, sliced turkey, half fat swiss cheese, lettuce, a delicious homemade dressing . . . kind of tangy and yet at the same time a bit sweet . . . some sliced egg, tomato and  . . . naughty but nice crisply cooked streaky bacon.  (Really nice . . .  dry cured and unsmoked is my choice!)



A gal can't be 100% good all of the time can she??  I thought not!!



 *Dressed Club Salad Sarnie*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

An open faced, knife and forker!  Delicious!  (Easily upped or downed to serve more or less people.)

2 slices sour dough bread
2 slices of baked deli ham
2 slices of Leerdammer cheese (Swiss type of cheese, I use the low fat one)
2 slices of deli turkey
1 cup of shredded cos lettuce (Romaine)
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
4 slices of streaky bacon, rind removed and cooked crisp

For the dressing:
1 heaped dessert spoon of low fat mayonnaise
1  tsp of tomato ketchup
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp of chopped sweet pickle
1/2 tsp of finely grated onion
pinch of salt and black pepper

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Lay one slice of bread onto each of two plates.  Top each with 1 slice of ham.  Top the ham with the cheese.  Top the cheese with the turkey.  Divide the lettuce between the two and drizzle each with half of the dressing.  Top each with half of  the sliced egg, sliced tomato and two slices of bacon criss crossed.  Serve immediately.  Pass the knives and forks!

I had a real craving for pasta today and so I decided to cook myself up a mess of noodles and cabbage.



This was a dish I used to cook often for my family when they were growing up. Sometimes we had it as a side dish along with pork chops . . . and sometimes it was the whole dish, served with sour cream and lotsa cheese.



It was a real favourite of everyone. I always made a double batch because the leftovers were always fabulous the day after heated up in a little bit of butter in a hot skillet. The noodles got some brown scrummy bits and it was just wonderful. We liked fried leftover spag bol too.



Todd is not a fan of pasta anything, (as you know only too well), so it's something that I only rarely indulge in these days. I love this recipe because I always, always have what I need to make it in the cupboard. It's quick and it's easy.



You don't have to use white cabbage all the time. Today I had a small head of dark Green Savoy Cabbage and so I used that. I just cooked the cabbage for a shorter time than the white cabbage, and as you can clearly see it gave a nice bright green colour to the dish. Very pretty.


I also added a bit of zip with a light drizzle of cooks&Co Olive Oil with Chillies which I was sent to try out the other day. (Remember the grapeseed oil that I used the other day to make that Treacle Gingerbread Loaf that was so nice?? Same company!)It added a wonderful kick to the dish. Hot chillies are added to this olive oil to help to create a classic condiment for pizza's, pasta dishes, dressings sauces and grilled meats. I really thought it added a lovely depth of flavour. This is great olive oil . . . and a little drizzle goes a long way!



In any case, Todd sat there enjoying his ham sandwich and I sat there enjoying my bowl of Noodles and Cabbage. Everybody was content and happy. ☺ Just as it should be.



*Noodles and Cabbage*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a lovely dish that goes well with most meats, and I have even been known to eat a big plate of it all on it's own. My family always used to love it when I made this. I most often use flat egg noodles such as Fettuccini, but Tagliatele and Farfelle works really well also. I don't think that it is suited to the rounder types of pasta. You can top it with sour cream if you like, but we have always loved to have ours with a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

2 cups egg noodles, or other pasta
(Uncooked)
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, peled and thinly sliced
1 small head of white cabbage, quartered, core trimmed away, and thinly sliced
2 tsp brown sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sour Cream or freshly grated Parmesan Cheese for serving (optional)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions. When done, drain well, rinse in warm water and then keep warm until they are needed. (Tossing them with just a touch of vegetable oil helps to keep them from sticking together.)

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the butter and once it is foaming add the onion. Cook, stirring until the onion begins to soften. Add the cabbage and sprinkle it all with the brown sugar. Cook, stirring and tossing until the cabbage begins to wilt and brown in a few placed, and the onion and cabbage are well mixed together.

Turn the heat to low, pop a lid on top, and cook for five to ten minutes, giving it a stir every few minutes, until the cabbage and onion are nicely softened and beginning to caramelize a bit. Remove the lid and toss in the noodles, mixing all together well. Heat through and season to taste with some salt and black pepper. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on top of a light dusting of Parmesan Cheese. Delicious!!



Cooking in The Cottage today, Cheater's Apple and Cherry Crumble.

This week I baked myself a beautiful loaf of Maple Buttermilk Bread and I have to say that it is one of the nicest loaves I have baked in my bread machine thus far.