Cheese Straws

These are really good.

Don't believe me? Just ask this man -

I set about making these as a snack for him (I'm trying to get more calcium into him via cheese etc). I had these made before I would have even got the length of the shop.

When I first set out blogging food I used to think that I should only blog my own original recipes but I've since laid that notion to rest. First of all, I cook far too many other people's recipes and, secondly, I actually like reading other people's experiences and twists of 'celebrity's' recipes and so must assume others like reading mine.

Here's Debs recipe for Cheese Straws (adapted ever so slightly). She's not a celebrity but she does have some seriously good recipes.

Cheese Straws

1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dbl cream (milk would probably work just as well)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a food processor, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and red pepper in five 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

3. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 8- by 10-inch rectangle that is 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife (or a pizza or pastry wheel; both worked great), cut the dough into thin 8-inch strips, each 1/4- to 1/3-inch wide (dipping the knife in flour after every few inches ensures a clean cut). Gently transfer the strips to an ungreased cookie sheet (though I lined mine with parchment), leaving at least 1/4-inch between them. The dough may sag or may break occasionally in the transfer, but don’t be concerned — just do your best. The straws can be any length, from 2 to 10 inches.

4. Bake the straws on the middle rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool.

5. Serve at room temperature. (I stored some in an airtight container for eating over the next day or two and bunged the rest in the freezer.)

Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta

As you can see I am still coming up with ways to use the crop of basil I have in my back garden and well, the tomatoes just seem to creep in there everytime. This dish was soooo simple. The tomatoes just sit in the oven for hours until you're ready. I served cheese straws alongside (recipe to follow another day) but obviously you don't have to and any a nice crusty piece of bread will be just lovely.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta

serves 2

1 punnet cherry plum tomatoes

pinch caster sugar

1 tblsp sea salt

1 tsp dried thyme

2 large bunches basil (a whole supermarket pot)
1 clove garlic, peeled

2 tblsp creme fraiche

2 tblsp grated parmesan (plus more for serving)

Olive oil (or garlic oil works well)

150g fusilli

Optional: 150-200g cooked chicken

1. Pre-heat oven to 100C

2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place on a baking tray cut side up. Drizzle with 1 tblsp olive oil (I used garlic oil here but you don't have to) and scatter over the sea salt, dried thyme and sugar. Place in oven and leave for about 4 hours until they have wilted. Leave until needed on the baking tray with any juice.

3. Put half of the basil in a food processor with a lug of olive oil (again I used garlic oil), the garlic clove and the 2 tblsp parmesan. Process to a paste and set aside.

4. About 20 mins before serving put your pasta on to boil. Pick the leaves from the rest of your basil.

5. Put your basil paste in a frying pan over a low heat. Add the chicken, if using, and the creme fraiche. Stir to combine and check seasoning. Add a splash of the pasta's cooking water and then drain the pasta. Toss the pasta in the sauce then stir through the remaing basil leaves.

6. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Cherry Tomato and Basil Roast Chicken

Because (a) almost every Sunday I cook roast chicken for lunch and (b) we have a bumper crop of basil in the garden. I decided to make this.

It's from 'Jamie's Dinners' (with one or two 'tweaks'). I'm not a huge Jamie fan (despite having 4 of his cookbooks), as I've found quite a few of his dishes disappointing. However, this turned out to be a wonderful summery, dish.

Apart from tasting great, it has the added bonuses of being made in one pan (less washing up) and you don't need to make any gravy when it's ready - the tomatoes sort of 'melt' into juice and take care of that.

I would have loved to have made this with some home-grown tomatoes but until we find someone willing to donate us a greenhouse we'll have to make do with good-quality store-bought ones. If you do have a crop of shiny little red marbles in your greenhouse then I urge you to make this, that is, of course, if you haven't already eaten them!

Cherry Tomato and Basil Roast Chicken

(aka Crispy Everyday Chicken)

1 whole chicken (1.5-2kg) jointed into 10 pieces

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a big bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped

2 packets of cherry (preferably plum) tomatoes (about 500g), halved,

1 whole bulb of garlic, broken up into cloves

1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

olive oil

500-750g new potatoes (depending on how many you are serving)

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

Put your chicken pieces into a snug-fitting pan in one layer. Throw in all the basil leaves and stalks, then chuck in your tomatoes and potatoes. Scatter the garlic cloves into the pan with the chopped chilli and drizzle over some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mix around a bit, pushing the potatoes underneath. Place in the oven for 1½ hours, until the chicken skin is crisp and the meat falls off the bone.

Seared Salmon and Singapore Noodles

The Nigella Cookalong has been resurrected and this was the first challenge chosen by 'ManicMummy'. When I bought Nigella Express at Easter I had earmarked this recipe to try sometime but the truth was I didn't think it would go down too well with my two men so I wan't sure how I was going to get round to it. So I was delighted to have to make it for the Cookalong.

True to form though, my two men surprised me and thoroughly enjoyed this meal so I'll be making it again in the future. Both recipes could be made independent of each other. The noodles don't even need anything to accompany them but are a quick, comforting dish on their own. Using madras curry powder to form coating on the salmon is delicious and is great when you want something hot but low effort and quick. It's also a great way of jazzing up a less flavourful piece of salmon.

I made my own curry powder for this recipe (gasp!) but only because I couldn't get Madras curry powder and I had all the ingredients to make it in my spice drawer. It really wasn't much hassle (although I don't reccommend doing it if you can get your hands on Madras curry powder) and now I have quite a potful so I won't be doing that for some time again. I was liberal with the cayenne since I like to be but you can be as restrained as you like.

SEARED SALMON WITH SINGAPORE NOODLES

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons medium Madras curry powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 salmon fillets, approx. 200g each
1 x 15ml tablespoon garlic oil

FOR THE NOODLES:
250g vermicelli rice noodles
50g dried shrimp (I couldn't get these so I used small cooked prawns and chopped them up)
125ml Chinese cooking wine
1 x 15ml tablespoon garlic oil
100g finely sliced Chinese leaf
125g baby corn, sliced into thin rounds
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 teaspoons medium Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
250ml chicken stock (from concentrate)
3 x 15ml tablespoons soy sauce
150g beansprouts
4 x 15ml tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

METHOD

1.Mix the curry powder, salt and sugar in a wide, shallow dish and dredge the salmon in this, turning the pieces all over in the rub.

2.Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and cook the salmon fillets on a high heat for about 2–3 minutes a side, searing the sides of the fillets too if they are very thick.

3.Put the rice noodles into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave them to soak for 4 minutes and then drain them.

4.Soak the dried shrimp in the wine, then heat the oil in a wok and fry the Chinese leaf, baby corn and spring onions for a few minutes.

5.Add the curry powder and finely chopped ginger to the wok, and then the chicken stock and soy sauce. Pour in the shrimps, with their wine, and the drained, soaked noodles, tossing and shaking everything all together in the wok.

6.Finally, stir in the beansprouts and give a final toss, before turning out into a bowl and sprinkling with the coriander.

Madras Curry Powder

Ingredients (1/2 pound)

8 tablespoons coriander seeds
6 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seed
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons peppercorns
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon whole cloves
2 tablespoons ground cardamon
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon cayenne (or less if less heat is desired)

Method:

1. In a dry skillet over very low heat, place the coriander, cumin, mustard and fennel seeds. Roast the seeds gently, shaking the pan occasionally, until they begin to pop. When about half the seeds have popped, add the cinnamon, peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, ginger and cayenne.

2. Continue to heat and stir gently until the mixture is quite hot but not burnt. Pour into a dry blender or food processor, or use a mortar and pestle. Grind into a fine powder. Pour into a clean, dry jar, seal, and let it cool before using