Jalapeno Pepper Jam Baked Brie and Valentines Day . . .

I was recently sent a gift pack from Godminster Cheese, just in time for Valentines day . . . their sweet "Heart to Heart" set,   is a tasty combination of a delicious 200g Vintage Organic Cheddar and 150g Heart-Shaped Organic Brie, both heart shaped and presented in their very own unique gift box.



 Godminster Vintage Cheddar is completely organic, containing no preservatives and encased in a ruby coloured wax.  There is no need to remove the wax as it makes the perfect case to keep it in.  You can simply slice the top off and scoop out the cheese and then replace the "lid" when you are done.  Best served at room temperature, this lovely chedddar is rich and creamy.  Quite delicious!

Godminster Traditional Organic Brie, is an organic soft cheese, created using fresh milk from the Godminster Farm.  With it's fresh flavour and creamy texture, this was also quite delicious.



Inclued as well was a round of their lovely Organic Brie which I decided to do something interesting with.   I wanted to make something which would be wonderful as an appetizer for your Valentines Day Celebrations.

Brie cheese is just wonderful baked . . . it melts beautifully and it's delicious flavour and texture are a wonderful canvas upon with to layer other flavours.



I cut it in half whilst it was still really, really cold from the fridge and then place the bottom round, cut side up on a square of Puff pastry.  



I spread the creamy top of the bottom layer with some Jalapeno Pepper Jam that I had picked up at Morrisons at Christmas time but hadn't had occasion to use yet.  It was so pretty and jewel-like . . . and flecked with lots of red jalapeno pepper flakes.  I then placed the other half on top and covered encased the round completely with the puff pastry, sealing it shut.  (You want to do this really well or you could have a blow out!)



I decorated the top with heart cutouts placed in a round to resemble a pretty blossom, with a few little stamen balls in the centre, and then brushed the whole thing with some beaten egg yolk and ater.



Fifteen minutes later we were rewarded with gloriously rich and creamy gooey brie mixed with that hot pepper jam . . . perfect for spreading onto soft slices of a fresh French loaf . . . and topped with a few leaves of rocket . . .

 

Or  onto buttery  pepper crackers, and served with some crisp slices of a sweet red eating apple, it went down a real treat.   We both enjoyed this immensely.  Not only was it attractive, but it was quite simply . . . delicious.  How often do you get an appetizer that is so delicious without having put much effort into it.  I would serve this to anyone . . .

* Jalapeno Pepper Jam Baked Brie*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

This is the easiest and tastiest appetizer.  Everyone loves it.  

1 8-oz wheel of Brie Cheese

1/2 package of all butter, ready roll puff pastry

4 TBS Jalapeno Pepper Jam

1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water  

To serve (optional)

Sliced French Baguette

crisp crackers

rocket leaves
sliced apples  

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper.  Set aside. 

You will want your cheese to be really cold.  Using a sharp knife, cut the cheese in half horizontally through the middle.  Place the sheet of puff pastry onto the lined baking sheet.  Place the bottom half of the brie in the middle.  Spread the Pepper Jam over top almost to the edges.  Top with the other half of the Brie, cut side down.   Cut the corners off the pastry, so you have a rough circle shape.   Brush the edges of the circle with some beaten egg.   Bring the pastry up to cover the round of Brie, folding and pinching to seal.  Using the scraps cut out decorative shapes to decorate.  Brush the outside of the pastry with some egg and then place the cutouts on top of where you have sealed the Brie shut in a decorative manner.  Brush them with egg too.   

Bang the Brie into the preheated oven.  Bake for 15 minutes or so until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.  Place on a serving board and arrange with crackers, sliced baguette, some rocket and sliced apple.




You can purchase the Godminster Heart to Heart set    of cheeses on the Godminster site for £17.45
Do visit their page for information of stockists near you, and other information about their products.

Although I was given this cheese to try out, all opinions are expressly my own.  It was to be perfectly honest . . . quite simply lovely.  Many thanks to Godminster for sending it to us.  I would buy this cheese quite happily for any special occasion.

Christmas Chutney

One thing I like to make each year for the Holidays is my Christmas Chutney.   It's sooooo good and makes a wonderful change from the regular Cranberry Sauce.



It has a tiny bit of a bite, which you can adjust by the amount of chili's you add.  I usually err on the side of caution because we don't really like things that are tooooo hot, but by all means you can adjust it to your own tastes.



I always make enough for us to have here at home (it goes so well with all sorts of meats and cheeses) and I make some to give as gifts to our friends.  I think they would be quite disappointed if I didn't have some for them each year!



There is nothing really out of the ordinary in it.  It's basically just fresh cranberries, chopped onion, sultanas, citrus peel, vinegar, two sugars, and a mix of tasty spices.  It goes together lickety split, and tastes better with each day that passes.



It's great with your Christmas Dinner, and then after Christmas with the leftovers, but where it really shines is on a cheese board.  This is some of that Castello Tickler Cheddar I got last week.  Oh boy did it ever go good with that!  Delicious!  Those crackers are fabulous as well.  I got them at Aldi, from it's line of Gourmet Crackers.  They're really nice!  I'm going to go back and get some more.  (They come in three flavours . . . salted, black pepper and rosemary and are a real steal at only 99p a pack!) 

I hope you will give this chutney a go this year.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed!





 *Christmas Chutney*
Makes 4 cups
Printable Recipe

This lovely chutney makes a wonderful gift and is such a lovely change from the usual cranberry sauce.  It goes beautifully with turkey, ham or chicken.  We just love it.

3 cups fresh cranberries (300g)
1 cup sultanas (150g)
1/2 cup chopped candied peel
1/2 cup chopped peeled onion (1 medium onion, peeled and chopped)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup white vinegar (225ml)
1 cup water (225ml)
1 cup white sugar (190g)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (200g)
1/4 cup lemon juice (60ml)
2 tsp salt
2 whole cloves
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp dried chilies

Place the vinegar, water, both sugars, lemon juice and salt into a heavy non-reactive saucepan.  Bring to the boil, stirring to help dissolve the sugar.  Once the sugar has dissolved add the cranberries, sultanas, candied peel, onions, garlic, cloves, celery seed, ginger and chilies.  Simmer gently, stirring often, uncovered for 45 minutes.  Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.  Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.  This will keep for up to a year.  You can, of course, just put it into jars for giving away and immediate use, but if you do want to keep it longer, you really must prodess it in the water bath.  Enjoy!

An Incredibly Tasty Toastie!

I have always been a fan of Leerdammer cheese.   Sweet and nutty it's long been a choice of  mine for in salads and sandwiches . . . and yes, I confess, I have even been known to just snack on it neat . . . without anything else.  It just has a nice mellow flavour which I enjoy.  That's why when I was recently asked would I like to participate in the Leerdammer Toastie Challenge, I jumped at the chance!

 

I was sent several packs of the new Leerdammer Toastie cheese and challenged to come up with a new toastie sandwich.   This new Toastie cheese is creamier than the original and comes in a new square shape, the perfect size for fitting into a toastie.  The original sweet and nutty flavours remain!



First I played with it a bit, creating a panini pressed sandwich, which had several slices of the leerdammer toastie slices, along with some sliced Italian ham, some grainy mustard and a pickled red onion relish, and whilst it was good . . . I felt it was lacking in some way.  It wasn't quite pushing all of my taste buttons and so I went back to the drawing board.



I decided to stick with the panini bun because I like their texture . . . crisp and yet chewy.   I love a toasted panini, don't you?



Something smokey goes really well with the sweet and nutty flavour of Leerdammer cheese, but the ham wasn't quite doing it so I scrapped that as well and decided to go with something a bit smokier and a tad sweet . . . rich dry cured smoked streaky bacon.   Cooked until crisp . . . 4 rashers because I am greedy that way.



I liked the idea of the pickled onions, but they were too sharp I thought and so I decided to replace them with a really good red onion marmalade.  I had a jar of this particular brand in my larder just waiting to be opened and this is what I chose, but you could use another brand if you wanted to, or even make your own from scratch.   There is a lovely recipe on the BBC Good Food page.



The red onion marmalade added just the right touch.  It is sweet, but not cloyingly so . . . there is just a small hint of sour and a smack of spiciness that goes so well with the bacon and that creamy sweet nutty cheese . . .



So . . . with each bite you get the crisp chewy panini bread . . . buttery (or if you really feel hedonistic, you can pan grill it in the bacon fat from cooking the bacon.  mmmm . . . I was and I did.), the sharp sweetness from that lovely red onion marmalade, the crisp smoky saltiness of that lovely bacon  . . .  all intermingled with that oozingly rich sweet and nutty Leerdammer!



In short, this was a toastie that rang all my bells and tooted all my whistles!  This was a winner/winner toastie dinner!  I just adored it, and I think you will too!  To me, this is the perfect Toastie!  Oh so incredibly scrumdiddlyumptiously good.  The perfectly tasty toastie!

*Bacon, Onion Marmalade & Leerdammer Toastie*

Makes 1

Printable Recipe  

I have given the quantities for one sandwich, but these can very easily be multiplied. 

1 panini ciabatta bun sliced in half horizontally

4 rashers of dry cure smoked streaky bacon

1 heaped dessertspoon of good quality onion marmalade

2 slices of Leerdammer Toastie Cheese

softened butter  

First cook the bacon.  Place it into a cold nonstick skillet and cook according to your preference.  I like mine just a tad crispy, but still a bit flimsy.  Others may want their totally crisped.   Once cooked, drain well on paper towels.  Spread the bottom slice of the panini bun with the onion marmalade.  Top with one slice of Leerdammer, cut into halves diagonally and placed slightly overlapping over the onion marmalade.  Top with the cooked bacon and then top the bacon with another slice of the Leerdammer, again cut into halve diagonally and placed slightly overlapping.  Place the top half of the panini bun over all.   Lightly butter both sides of the panini.  Heat a clean skillet (or a panini press) to medium high.  Add the panini, top side down first.   Grill for  several minutes until just toasted.  Flip the panini over so that the top is upright and continue to toast in the pan until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese has melted and is all gooey.   Remove from the pan and cut into half diagonally to enjoy.   Delicious!



Don't be surprised if you are addicted at first bite!  Many thanks to the Leerdammer people for sending me this wonderful toastie cheese and inspiring me to stretch my creative toastie wings!

Leerdammer Toastie is the latest addition to the Leerdammer range, which also included the original and light slices, as well as the original block.  Leerdammer Toastie is now available nationwide in Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Asda, prices at a RRP of £1.75 for a pack of six slices.

White Chocolate Glazed Jewel Tarts

 

I love the holidays.  I miss having Thanksgiving over here in the UK.  It seems to me like the perfect start to the holiday season . . . but alas . . . we don't even really seem to celebrate St George's Day which is kind of odd really, seeing as he is the Patron Saint of England.  Oh well as they say up North . . . "There's naught so queer as folk!"



Of course the things I love most about the holidays are having friends and family around and the special food that we get to eat.   We do go all out don't we?   I love it.   I am not opposed to taking a few short cuts if I can however.



I like dessert to be something light and not too filling.  After a heavy meal, a heavy dessert seems to be just too much.  That's why I created these delicious little tarts which although not large in size, are just enough to end a celebratory meal in the perfect way.



Little airy indulgences that aren't going to lay heavily on your stomach.   Sweet enough to let you know you have had a bit of a treat without going over the top.   Composed of butter and flaky puff pastry.  ( I always buy the ready roll all butter, which works wonderfully and is ready at the drop of a hat.)  You make a kind of bejeweled jam to top these airy little bites.  Made from chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries, cointreau liqueur and cinnamon, it goes perfectly with that crisp and buttery base.



Topped with flaked almonds and baked until crisp and then drizzled with melted white chocolate, these are the perfect ending to a special meal.  You can top with clotted cream or whipped cream if you like.  Oh so good.  



The filling does make a bit more than you can use in the tarts, but it's also handy for other things, so be sure to check it out below.  In the meantime . . . here you are.  Indulge yourself.

*White Chocolate Glazed Jewel Tarts*

Makes 10 to 12 (4-inch) tarts  

Printable Recipe  

Delightfully crisp little tarts with fruity flavours along with an underlying hint of spice and orange.   Topped with roasted almonds they bake up beautifully.  A final topping of white or dark chocolate drizzle makes these special. Perfect for bunch, holiday teas or a celebratory dessert table. 

For the filling:

250g of dried apricots, cut into small pieces

(1 cup firmly packed)

(I like to use Hungry Jack's Organic.  They have an almost toffee flavour)

75g of dried cranberries (1/2 cup)

3 TBS Cointreau liqueur

335ml of  boiling water (1 1/2 cups)

60ml of white wine (1/4 cup)

85g of white sugar (1/2 cup)

100g of soft light brown muscovado sugar (1/2 cup)

1 cinnamon stick 

2 sheets of all butter ready rolled pastry

milk for brushing

170g of flaked toasted almonds (1 cup)

3 TBS demerara sugar (Turbinado)

ground cinnamon to dust

4 ounces of white belgian chocolate to finish

(Alternately you can use dark chocolate, or a mix of both) 

Put the apricot pieces and cranberries into a medium sized bowl.  Pour the boiling water over top, along with the white wine and cointreau.  Cover and set aside to soak for at leat 30 minutes or up to an hour.  Transfer to a saucepan and add the cinnamon stick, and both sugars.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thick and has a jam like consistency.  Set aside to cool.  Remove the cinnamon stick once cold. 

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Unroll the pastry and using a 4 inch round cutter, cut out five or six rounds from the pastry.   Place on the baking sheet.   Take a smaller (3 inch) cutter and make a light indentation in the centre of the circle.  You will have a half inch rim around the outside of each.  Brush this with some milk and then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.  Dust with cinnamon.  Place a heaping TBS of the apricot mixture into the centre of each pastry, spreading it lightly out to the sugar coated rim.  Don't be tempted to over fill as the mixture will spread upon baking.     Sprinkle the toasted almonds over top of each, dividing equally.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the pastry is golden and crisp.   Remove from the oven and scoop off onto a wire rack immediately.  Allow to cool completely.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 20 to 30 second intervals until quite soft and melted.  Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate decoratively across the tarts.   Serve when cool, with or without some clotted or softly whipped cream.  



I re-rolled the trimmings and made a tasty little plate of bite sized turnovers.  I just couldn't let any of it go to waste.



You could also use the excess to create flaky larger sized turnovers. Oh so scrummy with a mid morning or afternoon cuppa.

Marmalade Pudding with a Grand Marnier Custard

   

  

There is something just so wonderfully warm  and comforting about a steamed pudding (dessert).  They are so homey, just like a warm hug from a much beloved Gran.

I don't know what it is about them . . . stodgy, yes . . . filling, yes . . . simple, yes . . . there is nothing complicated or fancy about them, but somehow they always come across really well.  They are a bit like the country cousin at a city ball . . . you can't help but really warm to them and want to spend time with them, even though there are much fancier puds to be had.    

Somehow I ended up with an outrageous amount of marmalade in my larder.  The Toddster LOVES marmalade on his toast.  I like it too, but not as much as he does.  If I see it on offer I will pick up a jar.  I have yet to make my own, but perhaps this winter I will give it a go.  We'll see.  

Sooooo  . . . anyways, I have ended up with something like 4 jars of it and so I thought I would use some of it up today to make the Toddster one of his favourite puddings . . . Marmalade Pudding.  

It's very old school dinnerish really, but he has very fond memories of his old school dinners, and I confess to having a certain fondness to the pudding side of things myself.  

Served warm, cut into wedges, and embellished with lashings of a deliciously rich custard flavoured lightly with Grand Marnier, it went down a real treat for both of us.  I cut the recipe in half and made a smaller portion as I don't have a 3 pint pudding basin and it turned out beautifully.  

It's nice to know that you can cut things down and they will still work fine.  But if you are game, do make the larger one as  this freezes beautifully, cut into individual portions and wrapped for the freezer.  That way you can always have a tasty pudding at the ready.  

   

*Marmalade Pudding with a Grand Marnier Custard*

Serves 6

Printable Recipe  

A deliciously light and moist steamed pudding filled with the tart flavour of Marmalade and served up with a sweet Grand Marnier Custard.  This pudding freezes well, either whole or in individual portions.  Do not freeze the custard. This should be made fresh each time.

150g soft brown bread crumbs (2 1/2 cups)

25g self raising whole wheat flour (1/4 cup)

120g soft light brown sugar (2/3 cup)

120g butter (8 1/2 TBS)

8 TBS marmalade

3 large free range eggs

1 rounded TBS of bicarbonate of soda

1 TBS cold water

For the Custard:

275ml of full fat milk (1 1/4 cup)

275ml double cream (1 1/4 cup)

six egg yolks (you can freeze the whites to use for meringues at a

later date)

100g caster sugar (generous half cup)

2 TBS Grand Marnier

Butter a three pint pudding basin.  Place the bread crumbs, flour and soft light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl.  Melt the butter over gentle heat along with the marmalade.  Pour the butter mixture over the dry mixture and blend thoroughly.  Whisk the eggs until they are frothy and then whisk them into the crumb mixture.  Stir together the bicarbonate of soda and the cold water.  Whisk this into the pudding mix.  It will increase in volume, but don't be alarmed.  Pour this mixture into the prepared basin.   Cover it with  two pieces of grease proof paper which you have pleated in the middle and buttered.  Tie securely around the rim of the basin.

Place the basin in the top of a double boiler over quickly simmering water.  Cover the pot and allow to steam for about 2 hours.  Check periodically to see if the water needs topping up so that the pot doesn't go dry.  When it is done a toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.

Make the custard during the last half hour of the pudding steaming.  Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar in a saucepan with a heavy bottom, until pale, slightly thick and creamy.  Warm the milk and the cream together in another saucepan, just until bubbles appear around the edges.   Slowly whisk this mixture into the beaten eggs and sugar.  Bring to the boil very slowly over medium low heat, whisking constantly.  It is done when it just begins to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Do not over cook or it will curdle.  Remove from the heat immediately and whisk in the Grand Marnier.  Keep warm. 

Run a knife around the edge of the pudding basin and invert over a plate to remove.   Cut the warm  pudding into wedges to serve along with the warm custard.  Delicious! 

Alternately you can flavour the custard with some vanilla extract of paste, 1 tsp should do the trick.