Say Cheese!

This little indulgent snack is one I quite often whip up when I'm feeling like a bit of cheap luxury- it's definitely food for the soul and maybe not a favourite if you're watching the scales, but who could resist it, honestly?

There is something about melted cheese that begs to be eaten. I don't know about you, but I'm the kind of person who will pick the stringy mozzarella straight off a pizza and gobble it right down, or eat a tosty burning hot so the liquid cheese will drizzle  into my waiting mouth. 

Well, if those cheesy dreams are not the most appealing to you, this yummy treat will allow you to get the same effect just with the illusion of some sophistication at the same time. Neat, huh? Its pretense at elegance makes it a great little recipe to dig out if you have guests and are in need of some sort of sharing platter- they may say you can't buy friends, but whoever 'they' are obviously never fed their would-be-friends this! It's also so mind numbingly simple it will literally take you 10mins which will buy you a little more time to natter and relax. 

All you need is a wheel of brie (or camembert), some honey (here I used the squeezy sort, but the thicker stuff is much nicer if you have any!) and some rosemary (again here I had to use dried, but if I'm at home I like to use the fresh stuff, straight off the bush).  For dipping I just used some nice crusty bread, but grapes, cranberries, figs, slices of apple, apricots and walnuts go deliciously as well! 

Take your cheese and put it in some kind of heat proof container- I used mini pie dishes. Stab some holes in it and drizzle over your honey. Then, sprinkle on your rosemary and put the whole thing in a warm oven (I normally put it in at around 180 degrees).

When you see your honey starting to bubble and the skin of the cheese 'doming' slightly it's done- don't let the honey burn! 

We caught her...

...then dived in ourselves!

 When you break the skin, you should find all the cheese inside to be deliciously melted. Dive in and dip to your heart's content!

One happy Gracey 

'Chicken Itame' - Chicken and Coconut Soup

When ever I go to Wagamama's, the dish that I order nearly every time has to be the 'Chicken Itame Soup.' That may sound unadventurous to you, but the delicious mix of mouthwatering, light, spicy flavours literally leave me begging for more. So 'more' is what Jossi and I decided to create.

We had a sneaky look at the Wagamama's website to try and work out what we could put together to get a similar result. I have to admit, ours didn't turn out quite the same, but it definitely captured the 'essence' of the dish and was a pretty good home made attempt!

Ingredients:
chopped chicken breast
noodles
garlic
ginger
lemongrass (we used a teaspoon of the powdered type, but the real stuff would be better)
can of coconut milk
one chili (we also threw in some chili flakes)
a red onion
stir fry veg- we used bean sprouts, pepper, bamboo shoots and cabbage
a couple of cups of water
a squeeze of lemon or lime
a twist of salt and pepper

Chop all of your ingredients and heat up a little oil in your pan. Sizzle the chili, garlic and ginger for half a minute of so and then add your chicken. When your chicken is mostly cooked through, add the rest of your veg and stir fry together.

Then simply add your can of coconut milk, noodles (we used fresh ones, but if you use the dried type, cook them first!) and a couple of cups of water to your stir fry and let this simmer. Pour in your lemon juice and sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Joss and I also added a few more pinches of lemon grass here as well.

Leave on the heat for 10 or 15mins just to let the flavours infuse through and there we are, one delicious (almost) restaurant quality dish, made by you!


P.S. I think this would be amazing if you added a teaspoon of thai green curry paste to your veg- if you do, tell us how it tastes!

Soup, Glorious Soup!

Why oh why does it keep on snowing? This is England and the only snow I'm used to is the odd sprinkling here and there- present one second and gone the next. This must be the third time it has settled just this year! This weather calls for something seriously yummy to keep away those cold winter blues...

This soup is not the most glamourous of foods, but is something I always make when I have lots of odds and ends floating around as it's great for using them all up and tastes delicious in the process! It's not too heavy, the veg provides a helpful winter immune system boost and  it fills you up in the same way any hearty meal would! I'd definitely recommend it for cozy winter's nights beside the fire, or as in my case, as a last ditched attempt to stay warm in a freezing student house- I'm already wrapped up in fifty blankets and my (equally un-glamourous) fluffy pink dressing gown so this will hopefully tip the balance!

As I've already said, you can literally bung anything in this, but here's what I use:

carrots

a few handfuls of mushrooms

one leek

an onion

a handful of chick peas (you could use pasta or even rice here)

pepper (any colour- I used the last of three different ones!)

chicken 

one clove of garlic

vegetable stock cube

cream (soft) cheese

a splash of worcester sauce

butter/oil

a pinch of salt and pepper

Start by chopping up all your ingredients. Pop your stock cube in a deep saucepan, add your salt and pepper and cover with water- normally the stock cube packet will tell you how much water you need but to be honest, I just fill my largest saucepan. Add your chickpeas to this pan now and boil. 

 I then begin by steam frying my leeks (see my chicken pie post if you're not sure what this is). Once you've done this, tip them in your deep saucepan. Next, soften your mushrooms, peppers, onions and carrots in some butter by cooking on a low heat until squishy. Throw them in the saucepan with the leeks.

Now onto the chicken. Fry your chopped garlic until golden brown, then add your chicken pieces and your splash of worcester sauce- fry until cooked all the way through and the sauce is absorbed. Add these to the saucepan. 

This is when I add the cream cheese- just bung it in the saucepan with the rest of the ingredients. Give the mix a good stir and turn down the heat to a low simmer. Simmer for about 20mins and then you're done! Serve with some thick crusty bread. 

P.S. If you're someone who's not a fan of chunky soups, you can give the whole thing a quick blast in a food processor so it becomes a purée. 

Winter Warmer: Chicken Pie

I'm not a big fan of heavy winter food- thick casseroles and stews are simply not my thing. Neither are pies, or so I thought. One of my very good friends taught me to make this chicken pie and I have to say, it's one of the best I've ever tasted! It's also super simple to make and the cosiest of winter comfort food.

So what do you need?
a large leek
one red onion
two handfuls of mushrooms
one garlic segment
cream (soft) cheese
a couple of chunks of butter

pre-made puff pastry

chicken 

salt and pepper

Firstly start by chopping up all your ingredients. 

Then, 'steam fry' your leeks. This is when you put a couple of inches of water in a pan, stick your leeks in with a pinch of salt and bung a lid on. You let the water boil, but you're aiming to cook the leeks mostly by the trapped steam. This means that by the time the leeks are cooked through, most the water is boiled off and you're left with the yummy goodness that seeps out of the veg when it's boiled. 

I use my multi-purpose-amazing-student pan (I think it was 15quid from Asda and was definitely a solid investment) - it's almost wok like and I use it for everything! The only problem is I don't have a lid big enough so I end up using our pizza oven tray...

While you're doing this, start to caramelise your onions. You do this by popping a blob of butter in a pan and then frying your onions in it on a low heat. Make sure you give them a stir every now and then so they don't burn! When they look cooked, just put them in the same pan as your cooked leeks. (Turn the heat off for now- don't worry about your ingredients going cold!)

Next, cook your mushrooms in some butter until they've soaked up most of it. Then throw them in the pan with the leeks and onions.  

Now it's time to cook the chicken. Put a dab of oil on the bottom of your pan and when it's nice and hot, add your chopped garlic. When this is starting to brown, add your slices of chicken. Wait for it to be cooked through and then add it to the rest of the ingredients.

You should be left with a pan filled with the leeks, onions, chicken and mushrooms. Put this on a low heat and add your cream cheese (I normally use in excess- half the packet should do however), another pinch of salt and a hearty twist of pepper. Give all the ingredients a good mix so they're nicely incorporated- the mixture should look thick and creamy. If you think it looks a little dense, add a small splash of water. Hopefully it should already be quite moist from the excess leek water! 

(Nearly done!) Lastly, put everything in a pie dish and cover with a thin sheet of puff pastry. Simply shove it in the oven for as long as the pastry needs (the packet should tell you). Mine normally takes no longer than 15mins on about 180 degrees. 

Eat hot and enjoy! 

P.S. I tend to freeze most things in portions since I'm normally only cooking for one and don't want to eat the same thing every night for a week. I've found this does freeze fine, but the pastry can go a little on the soggy side.

P.P.S Feel free to add different portions of veg- I've just told you what I put in mine, but you may like more onion, less mushroom and to throw in some carrots- make this your own!