Stuffed potato skins and homemade soup (adapted from Sophie Dahl)

This is adapted from Sophie Dahl's original recipe of  Roasted tomato and thyme soup with double baked cheese and chive potatoes which I tried:

I loved the potatoes but wasn't keen on the tomato soup. So this time round I decided to do the potatoes with a bowl of my homemade chicken soup (recipe found at this link) and it worked a treat.

Just half or quarter or double this recipe as you need to:

For the potatoes

4 baking potatoes
knob of butter
2 tbsp crème fraîche
small bunch fresh chives, finely chopped
200g/7oz soft goats' cheese  (or your choice of grated cheese)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

(I've chosen to leave the eggs out of this recipe both times of cooking it as I'm not very much into eggs personally, I think it's delicious without but I couldn't tell you what it is like with - it's one of those things which is just down to personal preference I think)

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5/ 170-180C fan

2. Bake the potatoes directly on the wire rack of the oven for 1- 1¾ hours (depending on the amount of potatoes and your oven), or until tender.

 3. Remove the potatoes from the oven and using a cloth to hold the hot potato, cut each one in half and scoop out the insides into a bowl.

4.Mix in the butter, crème fraîche, chives and goats' cheese, and stir in the egg.
5. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and spoon the potato mixture back into the skins. Place onto a baking tray in the oven for
a further 15-20 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp on top.
6. To serve, reheat the soup and divide among four bowls, with two potato halves each on the side.

Enjoy!

Carrot Mac & Cheese (from pinchmysalt.com on facebook)

I found this recipe on pinchmysalt page on facebook. Though I am a massive fan of the pinchmysalt blog this is actually the first recipe of Nicole's which I have actually got round to cooking and it was just as delicious as it looked and a great option whether you are vegetarian or not. Here is the original link. 

Ingredients

8 oz. medium pasta shells
3/4 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 t. olive oil
1 t. butter
1/3 c. dry white wine
1/3 c. water, plus more
1/4 c. half and half (or whole milk)
3 oz. cheddar cheese
1 oz. grated parmigiano reggiano
1 T. chopped fresh tarragon (will probably leave out next time)

Topping:
1/3 C. panko bread crumbs (or whatever breadcrumbs you have)
1 t. butter
dash of garlic salt

Some more grated cheese to finish off

Method

Cook onions and carrots in 1 t. olive oil and 1 t. butter until slightly browned, 10-15 minutes. Deglaze with 1/3 cup white wine. Allow the wine to boil off then add 1/3 cup water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Scrape carrots, onions and liquid into a blender and puree until very smooth. You might have to add a bit of water and scrape down the carrots to get a good puree. Carrot puree should be thick and very smooth.

Meanwhile, boil pasta shells for 8 minutes (or until al dente) then drain. Return carrot puree to the pot over low heat, stir in 1/4 cup of half & half (milk). Add pasta and stir until pasta is well coated. Stir in cheeses and herbs then season well with salt and pepper.

Pour into greased casserole and top with buttered crumbs (in a small skillet melt butter over medium-high heat, add panko, cook stirring until evenly coated with butter and crumbs are starting to brown. Stir in a dash of garlic salt)

Bake at 350(F) degrees (about 180’C) for 20 minutes, place under broiler (grill) for a minute to brown the top.

Serves 4

nutrition info per serving:

Calories: 465
Total Fat: 15 grams
Saturated Fat: 8 grams
Total Carb: 61 grams
Dietary Fiber: 5 grams
Protein: 18 grams

Potato Dauphinoise (my first atempt)

I've always fancied trying to cook Potato Dauphinoise, it is previously something which I have only had in restaurants. Anyway had my sister Tess round for dinner this evening and thought I would try it out as something different with potatoes to accompany my maple chicken drumsticks which I was already cooking. 

I googled it and came up with this recipe from the Potato Council (which I had never heard of - but figured they of all people will know what they are doing when it comes to potatoes)

To summarise this recipe in just a couple of words they would have to be naughty but delicious! Treat yourself

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Serves: 4
Oven Temperature: 180˚C, gas mark 4

Best Potato Varieties

• Desiree
• King Edward

Ingredients

 

• 500g King Edward potatoes, thinly sliced
• 200ml double cream
• 100ml milk
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 50g Gruyere cheese, grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 4
2. Place the sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning. Rinse then pat dry with kitchen paper.
3. Place the cream, milk and garlic in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the potatoes, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until just tender. Season well.
4. Transfer to a buttered ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until golden.

 

 

New Twist on Macaroni Cheese for dinner (BBC Good Food)

Tonight I am cooking a new twist on Macaroni Cheese from this lovely cookbook. I honestly recommend getting as many books as you can from this series and the Good Home series too - they're are such great books, really well put together with tons of excellent and inspirational ideas.


Here is the original recipe (click to see it full size):

I have added a couple of ingredients over the course of cooking this dish over the years, I warn you it doesn't make it any healthier, but in my opinion adds to its yummy factor!

Here are my ingredients:

So I added a little grated cheese and a pack on honey roast ham...

The quantities are deceptive - this recipes does go quite a long way and also reheats from frozen very well.

Here is my finished dish:

Hope you add this recipe to your store-cupboard recipes too - let me know what you think....enjoy!

Cheese Toastie with a bit of a kick!

Great for a lunchtime snack...

• Use whatever bread you like/have in
• Take two slices
  
• Tear up some salami and ham on one slice
  
• On the other slice spread a little tomato and chilli chutney
• Back to the meat side of the bread.... now add a handful of rocket and as much cheese as you like in whatever variety you like (my cheese of choice this time was Aldi Mountain Cheese - European and slightly smokey)
• Then simply put two slices together
• And pop in your toastie bag, toastie maker, or as I do, my George Forman Grill and cook until the bread looks toasted and the cheese melted - only a couple of minutes this should take
• Slice in half and serve with a nice cold glass of juice... yum yum yum