I'm going to confess to a liking for (ordinary, youthful) Red Leicester with digestive biscuits. Sorry about that.
I think it's the pairing of cheese with sweet biscuits that you have the most to be apologetic about.
Might as well have steak and custard, or apple pie with gravy.
Digestive biscuits are included in most boxes of 'biscuits for cheese' in the UK, the Hovis biscuits. It's a pretty normal choice especially with a sharper cheese like a blue cheese. And serving fruit or sweet things with cheese is very traditional - from Cheddar with apple pie to the Italian habit of serving pears with Pecorino.
Someone recommended cucumber sandwiches recently, which I remember from childhood (peeled, thinly sliced cucumber slices - optional sprinkle of salt - on thin slices of buttered, crustless bread cut into neat little squares or triangles) and posted a couple of Victorian methods. One included chopped tarragon and/or chervil sprinkled on the cucumber. I tried one last night with tarragon, freshly picked from the garden, and it was indeed nice.
The problem was the cucumber, as supermarket ones are quite insipid these days, but with a good one with some flavour this would definitely be something I'd add to the repertoire. It feels like a nice healthy thing to be eating, too.
@la vie en rouge and any other SOUP lovers, a very easy and simple recipe I cobbled together as something to use storecupboard staples:
One carton of passata or can of chopped tomatoes, one can of coconut milk plus a canful of low-salt chicken or vegetable stock (or even just water), a dollop of curry paste or a spoonful or two of curry powder of your choice (this can be salty hence low-salt stock) plus any other optional seasoning, some lemon or lime juice to finish.
Fry the curry paste or powder in half of the coconut milk until it smells fragrant and the mixture has reduced by half - if you want to add any extra veg add it here (I like sliced mushrooms,
halved baby corn, baby spinach or sliced spring greens, diced carrot or courgette - it's very flexible depending on the curry type used). When it's a thick paste texture add the rest of the coconut milk and stir very well, and then add the stock/water and tomatoes. Add any extra seasoning here like fish sauce or tamarind or bay leaves etc, before simmering until reduced enough to just coat the back of a spoon. And obviously taste as you go! Turn off the heat and add the lemon or lime juice now to preserve the fresh acidity of the juice.
I like using Thai curry pastes here (or even tom yum paste for a very inauthentic spin on tom tum soup!) and recommend the Mae Ploy or Maesri brands. Light coconut milk just uses a higher proportion of water to coconut meat, so you're just paying for more water and less coconut - if you want a lower-fat soup just add more stock or water.
Old Amsterdam is indeed very nice. Darllenwr is fond of Worcestershire Hop - which used to be sold as Hereford Hop until there was a copyright issue. What is sold as Hereford Hop is a very different cheese to what we were used to buying. Thankfully, there’s an excellent cheese shop in Hereford which sells Worcestershire Hop. (They also sell a fig and honey cheese which is pretty good and certainly worth a try 👍)
I'm going to confess to a liking for (ordinary, youthful) Red Leicester with digestive biscuits. Sorry about that.
I think it's the pairing of cheese with sweet biscuits that you have the most to be apologetic about.
Might as well have steak and custard, or apple pie with gravy.
Digestive biscuits are included in most boxes of 'biscuits for cheese' in the UK, the Hovis biscuits. It's a pretty normal choice especially with a sharper cheese like a blue cheese. And serving fruit or sweet things with cheese is very traditional - from Cheddar with apple pie to the Italian habit of serving pears with Pecorino.
I know this happens. It always tastes terrible to me. I always pick those Hovis ones out and put them in the sweet biscuit barrel where they belong.
Grapes served on a cheeseboard get eaten at the end, after the cheese. Not with or before.
Don't think I've ever bought a box of "biscuits for cheese", mainly because I know they'll have ones I don't like in it e.g. Hovis. Currently enjoying Sainsbury's rosemary and garlic crackers.
Grapes in between when the saltiness of the cheese gets a bit much. Cherry tomatoes are also good as accompaniments, if you can find ones with a decent flavour.
I can say that freshly baked sundried tomato bread (with or without Parmesan or Cheddar added into the dough) is excellent with, yes, more cheese, any kind of cheese. We used to have lovely Cheese Days at the office, BC (Before Covid) when someone would bring in a homemade loaf to go with the cheeses, and a very good time was had by all.
Chop them up and put them over any kind of soup (a potato or cheesy soup might be best, though Vietnam uses them on beef broth with noodles). Or put them over a baked potato, possibly loaded with other stuff, like cheddar and bacon bits.
Chop and stir fry together with diced pork or beef, grated ginger, chopped garlic, soy sauce (or Chinese sauce of preference) and serve with noodles or rice depending on mood.
Make a quiche with spring onions, bacon and cheese. There are variations on this theme e.g. use whatever cheese you want, swop bacon for ham, etc. Throw in a side salad to make it seem healthy.
I add them to sweetcorn fritters sometimes. I don’t bother buying spring onions at this time of year, as chives are often a good substitute (definitely preferable in potato salad - less aftertaste) and we have an extremely healthy clump of chives in the garden.
Thanks everyone - I'd have got chives if Tesco's had had any.
I did think about champ, and I like the idea of it on top of a fisherman's pie.
I've only had gazpacho once, and while it was nice, I'm not sure it's something I'd actually want to make. I'm quite taken with Lamb Chopped's oriental beef broth idea too - does it work with the sort of beef stock you get in cartons (as opposed to made with cubes)?
Thanks everyone - I'd have got chives if Tesco's had had any.
I did think about champ, and I like the idea of it on top of a fisherman's pie.
I've only had gazpacho once, and while it was nice, I'm not sure it's something I'd actually want to make. I'm quite taken with Lamb Chopped's oriental beef broth idea too - does it work with the sort of beef stock you get in cartons (as opposed to made with cubes)?
I'm sure it does. You just chop them into little pieces and float them on top.
Oooh - an omelette with cheese and spring onions - there's an idea! I happen to have some Double Gloucester with onion and chives (or something like that) - with a few chopped spring onions as well that would Do Nicely!
This is a very nice recipe for carrot and ginger soup from Rose Elliott, posted in response to a request from @Stercus Tauri.
Recipe serves four with 100 calories per serving. 1 onion peeled and chopped, 15g (1/2 oz) butter, 1 medium sized potato peeled and cubed, 450g (1lb) carrots scraped and sliced, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 800ml (1½ pints) water, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and (optional to serve) 4 tbsps of cream.
In a large saucepan cook onion gently in butter for 5 mins. Add potato, carrots and ginger and a sprinkling of salt and cook for a further 10 mins with the lid on the pan, stirring from time to time. Add water and bring to boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the veg are cooked. Sieve, or liquidise/blend and sieve. Return to rinsed out pan and season to taste. If using cream, top each bowlful with a spoonful.
It can be frozen, which may intensify the gingeryness.
I make something akin to BroJames' version, usually substituting butternut squash for potato and adding a wee bit of nutmeg.
I also make either a vegan or non-vegan version of this: https://gustotv.com/recipes/soups/carrot-and-cashew-soup/ because I love the freshness of the orange brightening up a wintery soup.
This is a very nice recipe for carrot and ginger soup from Rose Elliott, posted in response to a request from @Stercus Tauri.
Recipe serves four with 100 calories per serving. 1 onion peeled and chopped, 15g (1/2 oz) butter, 1 medium sized potato peeled and cubed, 450g (1lb) carrots scraped and sliced, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 800ml (1½ pints) water, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and (optional to serve) 4 tbsps of cream.
In a large saucepan cook onion gently in butter for 5 mins. Add potato, carrots and ginger and a sprinkling of salt and cook for a further 10 mins with the lid on the pan, stirring from time to time. Add water and bring to boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the veg are cooked. Sieve, or liquidise/blend and sieve. Return to rinsed out pan and season to taste. If using cream, top each bowlful with a spoonful.
It can be frozen, which may intensify the gingeryness.
This I like. I shall get some ginger and try this out on my glut of carrots.
Tomato tart - this can be made with non-spicy peppers (link below) if you don't like tomato, but you'll need to prepare your peppers first.
You need some ready-rolled puff pastry, tomatoes (probably best to buy large tasty ones), onions and garlic, a jar of tapenade and some mild goat's cheese.
Chop and fry the onions until they're melted, then add some sugar and red wine vinegar to help them caramelize. That should take about 5 mins. Then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile prepare your baking tray, fit the pastry onto it and spread it with tapenade. While waiting for the onions to be ready, slice your tomatoes. When the onions are ready, spread them on top of the tapenade. Now arrange the tomato slices on top of that. Sprinkle your crumbled goat's cheese on top, and bake in a medium oven until the pastry is golden brown and risen, c. 15-20 mins.
Serve with whatever you please, but green salad goes well and a side helping of fries (rather than chunky chips) won't go amiss either.
Leftover pastry? Cook's Perks - make yourself some jam tarts or mince pies or whatever you fancy. Tiny little scraps? Decoration for the mince pies.
Are Black Russian tomatoes darker than usual tomatoes? I 've never seen them here.
Yes, they are very dark. I've never seen the actual tomatoes for sale in the shops. They are, I suppose, a beefsteak type. I imagine they are tricky to harvest and sell commercially as they appear miss-shaped and creased.
The plants are available from some UK garden centres, and online. I got mine off Sarah Raven's website this year.
They produce lots of sideshoots, which I break off and stick in pots of compost to increase my stock. They root very easily, as I have found most outdoor tomatoes do - hence my glut this year.
Probably closer to the original solanum than the modern tomato. I have seen them somewhere - might have been at a farmers' market - but never tried them.
Thanks, for the description. I think I may have come across them somewhere. I'm going to consult with friends who garden and also keep an eye out in the markets,
I recently came across this recipe for a healthy version of Salt & Pepper chicken cooked in an air fryer rather than deep fried (if you don’t have an air fryer, just scroll past). This tastes as good as anything you’ll get in a Chinese restaurant. Serves two.
You will need:
2 chicken breasts cut into roughly equal bite sized pieces
Salt
Pepper - white or black or both if you prefer
Chinese five spice powder
Soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
20g cornflour
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
1 green chilli, chopped (and deseeded if you’re a lightweight)
3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or very finely chopped (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 spring onions, sliced
Put the chicken in a bowl and season well with salt & pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. Ensure all the chicken is coated and leave to marinate for about an hour.
Dip each chicken piece in the beaten egg and coat in the cornflour. Cook in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 180c
About 10 minutes into the cooking time, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan or wok. Add all the veg and then 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir fry for a few minutes. When the chicken is cooked, add to the pan and mix everything together. Serve with rice or noodles.
Was persuaded to buy a pizza (to support a Stephen Lewis Foundation fund raiser) yesterday. It was fairly normal except that it had honey sprayed on it. Words (almost) fail me. I had never heard of such a thing before and hope I never do again. Has anyone else encountered such a gastronomical atrocity?
Sugar shortages here. In case these years of war and pandemic were not feeling quite enough like the 1920's, here in the 2020's we can't get sugar. I drove my mom around town a few days ago in her quest for brown sugar for Christmas baking. Nope.
I think honey can be substituted in some cases. Martha Stewart says it won't work in recipes that require sugar and butter to be creamed together - so sugar cookies and shortbread are out. I'm not an experienced enough baker to know how much to reduce the honey quantity (apparently it's 2/3 cup honey = 1 cup sugar) in terms of reducing the corresponding liquids in the recipe. No one seems to give a standard answer, just, "reduce the other liquids a bit and maybe add some flour?"
While checking online ordering, I saw the possibility of ordering a gross of little raw sugar packets, the kind you see in a cafe. They might, possibly, maybe, be delivered by December 21, but no guarantees. Just the thought of sitting and ripping open dozens of those bastardy little packages made me abandon the idea.
So I'm bummed. I can't remember a year when I've done no Christmas baking. Candy is still available here, so I suppose that will be our source of sweets.
Funny how shortage changes your view of things. I was moving some china and discovered that a bone china sugar bowl was still filled with sugar under its lid. Sweet!
There’s a version of shortbread with honey and no sugar, I haven’t tried the recipe myself so I don’t know how good it is.
You can do a fruitcake without sugar, the sweetness comes from the dried fruit.. I think the same applies with Christmas pudding - I did one from scratch about 10 years ago, I got the recipe from the Telegraph, but I have lost it. (I’ll post it if I can find it,)
When my Dad bakes, (he’s diabetic), he swaps out sugar for granulated hermasetas. Which you do by volume, he makes a decent brandy butter this way.
I truly appreciate the suggestions. As someone who bakes pretty much only for Christmas, I'm a bit daunted by the prospect of substitutions. (Adding to my dauntedness is the fact that the kitchen is torn apart with extremely unexpected construction. Literally everything is everywhere, pots and pans filling the living room, cutlery and containers on every surface. We have heat and water, but it's chaotic and unpleasant.)
I've been following social media posts about sugar availability at various outlets. I *think* I may be able to purchase white sugar. I'll reserve my little bit of brown sugar for one bake (cinnamon buns) and I think I have enough for the filling. No gingerbread this year though.
Bought some cookies just in case at a local Christmas market. More offerings were sweetened with stevia and/or Splenda than I had ever seen before.
To make your own light brown sugar, mix 1 cup, or 200 grams (g), of granulated white sugar with 1 tablespoon (tbsp.), or 15 milliliters (mL), of molasses. If you need dark brown sugar, increase the molasses to 2 tbsp. (30 mL). And just like that, you have brown sugar.
Leaf, I just had a thought - you might like to search for diabetic Christmas cakes. I know I used to have a recipe for diabetic Christmas cake and it didn't have any sugar in it.
I just saw this. I can not wait to try it as my home is very cold this time of the year. BEFORE adding your dough, run the dryer for about three minutes with nothing in it. Once the three minutes are done, put in your dough and wait for the proofing to occur as the dough doubles in size. Proofing dough needs a warm environment so a slightly warm dryer can in fact do the trick.
As promised in the Thanksgiving Menu thread, here (belatedly) is a recipe for Southern (American) baked macaroni and cheese. Bear in mind that mac and cheese is one of those foods that can be done a little differently in every family; this is how my mother made it, and how I make it.
Ingredients:
2 cups/8 oz. uncooked macaroni
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1½ cup milk
2½ cup grated sharp cheese (or more, if you want more)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F/177° C.
Cook and drain macaroni.
Mix eggs, milk and butter/margarine.
In baking dish, layer half of the cooked macaroni, then pour half of the egg mixture over it. Top with half of the grated cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. If desired, sprinkle a little paprika on top.
Bake for one hour or until done.
If I’m wanting to kick it up a bit, I replace the middle layer of grated cheese with a good layer of pimento cheese—good pimento cheese, not “pimento spread”—but I know that may not be available everywhere.
Comments
Digestive biscuits are included in most boxes of 'biscuits for cheese' in the UK, the Hovis biscuits. It's a pretty normal choice especially with a sharper cheese like a blue cheese. And serving fruit or sweet things with cheese is very traditional - from Cheddar with apple pie to the Italian habit of serving pears with Pecorino.
The problem was the cucumber, as supermarket ones are quite insipid these days, but with a good one with some flavour this would definitely be something I'd add to the repertoire. It feels like a nice healthy thing to be eating, too.
One carton of passata or can of chopped tomatoes, one can of coconut milk plus a canful of low-salt chicken or vegetable stock (or even just water), a dollop of curry paste or a spoonful or two of curry powder of your choice (this can be salty hence low-salt stock) plus any other optional seasoning, some lemon or lime juice to finish.
Fry the curry paste or powder in half of the coconut milk until it smells fragrant and the mixture has reduced by half - if you want to add any extra veg add it here (I like sliced mushrooms,
halved baby corn, baby spinach or sliced spring greens, diced carrot or courgette - it's very flexible depending on the curry type used). When it's a thick paste texture add the rest of the coconut milk and stir very well, and then add the stock/water and tomatoes. Add any extra seasoning here like fish sauce or tamarind or bay leaves etc, before simmering until reduced enough to just coat the back of a spoon. And obviously taste as you go! Turn off the heat and add the lemon or lime juice now to preserve the fresh acidity of the juice.
I like using Thai curry pastes here (or even tom yum paste for a very inauthentic spin on tom tum soup!) and recommend the Mae Ploy or Maesri brands. Light coconut milk just uses a higher proportion of water to coconut meat, so you're just paying for more water and less coconut - if you want a lower-fat soup just add more stock or water.
I know this happens. It always tastes terrible to me. I always pick those Hovis ones out and put them in the sweet biscuit barrel where they belong.
Grapes served on a cheeseboard get eaten at the end, after the cheese. Not with or before.
Grapes in between when the saltiness of the cheese gets a bit much. Cherry tomatoes are also good as accompaniments, if you can find ones with a decent flavour.
I can say that freshly baked sundried tomato bread (with or without Parmesan or Cheddar added into the dough) is excellent with, yes, more cheese, any kind of cheese. We used to have lovely Cheese Days at the office, BC (Before Covid) when someone would bring in a homemade loaf to go with the cheeses, and a very good time was had by all.
Any sensible suggestions (apart from more potato salad) for what to do with the three I've got left?
They're quite big by spring onion standards, but not quite big enough to be classed as anorexic leeks.
Trouble with that - and SOUP - (both of which I love) is the weather's a tad warm for such delights.
And likely to remain so, now that the Scottish schools have gone back ...
Make a quiche with spring onions, bacon and cheese. There are variations on this theme e.g. use whatever cheese you want, swop bacon for ham, etc. Throw in a side salad to make it seem healthy.
Then there's Champ: potato mashed with milk and butter and sliced scallions. Ulster staple. On its own or as a topping for fish pie, say.
You could make gazpacho.
I second the ideas of anything Asian or potatoes, mashed or otherwise prepared.
I did think about champ, and I like the idea of it on top of a fisherman's pie.
I've only had gazpacho once, and while it was nice, I'm not sure it's something I'd actually want to make. I'm quite taken with Lamb Chopped's oriental beef broth idea too - does it work with the sort of beef stock you get in cartons (as opposed to made with cubes)?
I'm sure it does. You just chop them into little pieces and float them on top.
Recipe serves four with 100 calories per serving. 1 onion peeled and chopped, 15g (1/2 oz) butter, 1 medium sized potato peeled and cubed, 450g (1lb) carrots scraped and sliced, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 800ml (1½ pints) water, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and (optional to serve) 4 tbsps of cream.
In a large saucepan cook onion gently in butter for 5 mins. Add potato, carrots and ginger and a sprinkling of salt and cook for a further 10 mins with the lid on the pan, stirring from time to time. Add water and bring to boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until the veg are cooked. Sieve, or liquidise/blend and sieve. Return to rinsed out pan and season to taste. If using cream, top each bowlful with a spoonful.
It can be frozen, which may intensify the gingeryness.
I also make either a vegan or non-vegan version of this: https://gustotv.com/recipes/soups/carrot-and-cashew-soup/ because I love the freshness of the orange brightening up a wintery soup.
This I like. I shall get some ginger and try this out on my glut of carrots.
You need some ready-rolled puff pastry, tomatoes (probably best to buy large tasty ones), onions and garlic, a jar of tapenade and some mild goat's cheese.
Chop and fry the onions until they're melted, then add some sugar and red wine vinegar to help them caramelize. That should take about 5 mins. Then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile prepare your baking tray, fit the pastry onto it and spread it with tapenade. While waiting for the onions to be ready, slice your tomatoes. When the onions are ready, spread them on top of the tapenade. Now arrange the tomato slices on top of that. Sprinkle your crumbled goat's cheese on top, and bake in a medium oven until the pastry is golden brown and risen, c. 15-20 mins.
Serve with whatever you please, but green salad goes well and a side helping of fries (rather than chunky chips) won't go amiss either.
Leftover pastry? Cook's Perks - make yourself some jam tarts or mince pies or whatever you fancy. Tiny little scraps? Decoration for the mince pies.
Recipe for making it with peppers
The plants are available from some UK garden centres, and online. I got mine off Sarah Raven's website this year.
They produce lots of sideshoots, which I break off and stick in pots of compost to increase my stock. They root very easily, as I have found most outdoor tomatoes do - hence my glut this year.
You will need:
2 chicken breasts cut into roughly equal bite sized pieces
Salt
Pepper - white or black or both if you prefer
Chinese five spice powder
Soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
20g cornflour
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
1 green chilli, chopped (and deseeded if you’re a lightweight)
3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or very finely chopped (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 spring onions, sliced
Put the chicken in a bowl and season well with salt & pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. Ensure all the chicken is coated and leave to marinate for about an hour.
Dip each chicken piece in the beaten egg and coat in the cornflour. Cook in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 180c
About 10 minutes into the cooking time, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan or wok. Add all the veg and then 1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir fry for a few minutes. When the chicken is cooked, add to the pan and mix everything together. Serve with rice or noodles.
https://cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/local-businesses-feeling-impact-of-sugar-shortage-1.7040717
I'll let you know when my ration card arrives. I suppose it's an app now.
I checked. First delivery date: January 22.
While checking online ordering, I saw the possibility of ordering a gross of little raw sugar packets, the kind you see in a cafe. They might, possibly, maybe, be delivered by December 21, but no guarantees. Just the thought of sitting and ripping open dozens of those bastardy little packages made me abandon the idea.
So I'm bummed. I can't remember a year when I've done no Christmas baking. Candy is still available here, so I suppose that will be our source of sweets.
Funny how shortage changes your view of things. I was moving some china and discovered that a bone china sugar bowl was still filled with sugar under its lid. Sweet!
You can do a fruitcake without sugar, the sweetness comes from the dried fruit.. I think the same applies with Christmas pudding - I did one from scratch about 10 years ago, I got the recipe from the Telegraph, but I have lost it. (I’ll post it if I can find it,)
When my Dad bakes, (he’s diabetic), he swaps out sugar for granulated hermasetas. Which you do by volume, he makes a decent brandy butter this way.
I've been following social media posts about sugar availability at various outlets. I *think* I may be able to purchase white sugar. I'll reserve my little bit of brown sugar for one bake (cinnamon buns) and I think I have enough for the filling. No gingerbread this year though.
Bought some cookies just in case at a local Christmas market. More offerings were sweetened with stevia and/or Splenda than I had ever seen before.
Ingredients:
2 cups/8 oz. uncooked macaroni
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1½ cup milk
2½ cup grated sharp cheese (or more, if you want more)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F/177° C.
Cook and drain macaroni.
Mix eggs, milk and butter/margarine.
In baking dish, layer half of the cooked macaroni, then pour half of the egg mixture over it. Top with half of the grated cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. If desired, sprinkle a little paprika on top.
Bake for one hour or until done.
If I’m wanting to kick it up a bit, I replace the middle layer of grated cheese with a good layer of pimento cheese—good pimento cheese, not “pimento spread”—but I know that may not be available everywhere.