Category: Blue Cheese

The Return of the Australian Vegetable Cookbook

Hello friends, today I am revisiting a book I first wrote about in 2012 – The Australian Vegetable Cookbook. I am taste-testing two recipes from that book – a Cornish Leek Pie and a Roquefort Wedge Salad. The book contains a lovely line drawing and a brief history of each vegetable. So, without further preamble let’s get to the recipes!

Cornish Leek Pie3

Cornish Leek Pie

I was dubious as to how authentic the Cornish Leek Pie would be.  However, I found a few references to a Leeky / Likky Pie which dates from 1865 and is remarkably similar!

I layered boiled leeks and bacon into a pie dish and covered with pastry.  Now, I made a mistake here as the recipe quite clearly says to season the layers with salt and pepper.  I thought the bacon would be salty enough which turned out to be true so I didn’t add salt.  But I totally forgot about the pepper.  But by the time I remembered the pepper, the pie was already in the oven. 

 

Cornish Leek Pie2

Then, the recipe itself got weird.  After cooking for a while, I needed to make a hole in the pastry top and pour in a mixture of cream and parsley. I have never added ingredients to a pie in this way before!  But it did allow me to add the missing pepper in with the cream and parsley.   I thought it would be really hard to cut a hole in the pastry once it was baked so I did this before it went into the oven.  

Cornish Leek Pie4

The recipe which I have linked above adds eggs and cream to the bacon and leek mix which I think would be a lot more sensible.  This would have thickened up on cooking to form a quiche-like filling.  As it was the cream did nothing except make everything a bit wet! It also kept bubbling up out of the hole in the pastry and made a bit of a mess. 

Cornish Leek Pie

There was nothing wrong with the cornish leek pie.  It was just not something I would make, in the format given in the Australian Vegetable Cookbook.  Full marks for the illustrations though!  They are beautiful!  

Cornish Leek Pie – The Recipe

Leek Pie Recipe w frame

Roquefort Lettuce Wedges

The night after I made the Cornish Leek Pie I made the Roquefort Lettuce Wedge from the same book. 

The roquefort dressing was sooo good!  But overall this dish lacked something.  I served it on a gorgeous plate I bought when I was in Darwin earlier this year to try to fancy it up a bit.  Plate 10/10.  Dish…kind of meh…I would defintely make this again,  However, I would add some bacon or croutons or some chives to the salad (or all three) just to make it a bit more interesting!

Roquefort Lettuce Wedge 6

 

They say you can’t step in the same river twice and, to be honest I was disappointed with my revisiting of The Australian Vegetable Cookbook.  There was nothing wrong with either recipe but they were also not amazing.  One or two more ingredients to each one might have brought a bit more flavour or texture or just some va va voom to the dish.  

oquefort Lettuce Wedge 1

Whether this was due to bad recipe choices on my behalf or a comment on the state of vegetable dishes in the 1970s remains to be determined.  There are still a number of recipes I have flagged as “to be cooked”. so I may well have another crack at it in the future.  Just not for a little while!

Roquefort Lettuce Wedge – The Recipe

Lettuce wedge recipe (1)

Roquefort Lettuce Wedge 4

I hope your cooking adventures this week fare a little better!  Have a great week!

 

Stilton and Leek Soufflé – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

Hello food lover and crime readers!   Welcome to a festive edition of Dining with The Dame.  Today’s menu contains a Stilton and Leek Soufflé inspired by Agatha Christie’s 1938 novel Hercule Poirot’s Christmas.  It makes me wonder – of all the people who received this book as a Christmas present that year, who would have guessed that within 12 months the world would be plunged into a second and terrible world war? Ok, sorry, that was not a very festive way to start this post.  But really despite being set at Christmas, this is not an overly festive novel!

Before we move into that, let’s briefly talk about the wonderful combination that is leek and blue cheese.  I first came across this many years ago at a pizza restaurant not far from my work.  They had a lunch deal which was two slices of pizza and a drink for a very small amount.  My favourite slice of pizza was a leek and gorgonzola.  I ordered it every week for years!

Leek and Stilton Soufflé

I realised the minute I took the soufflés out of the oven that I had left my copy of Hercule Poirot’s Christmas upstairs.  There was no going to get it, the soufflés were falling by the second!

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – The Plot

Simeon Lee is a very rich old man.  And, like many rich old men, he is what they might have called back in Agatha Christie’s day, an old curmudgeon.  I can think of a few more modern descriptions but, it’s Christmas so we’re keeping it clean!  He’s angry at his family primarily as none of his sons have given him a grandson to carry on the family name.  He is also somewhat of a braggart and likes to talk about all his sexual conquests and how he likely has many sons “on the other side of the blanket”.  Which is gross, partly because he speaks at length about this to his granddaughter and no one, not even a formally estranged adult granddaughter needs to hear that grandpa was a f*ckboy!  Also, because cheating on your wife and knocking up numerous women is not cool.  He also has some uncut diamonds in his safe which he likes to fondle whilst he reminisces about his younger days in South Africa,  Think Monty Burns crossed with Gollum and maybe a Bond villain and you have my interpretation of Simeon Lee.

He gets his though, as on Christmas Eve, not long after calling his family together to announce that he is changing his will, Simeon Lee has his throat cut.  However the murder takes place in a locked room.  And the diamonds are gone!

Who is the guilty culprit?

  • Harry, the prodigal son.  Did he return just to do his father in?
  • David, the son who has always resented the way Simeon ill treated his mother.
  • George, the pompous son scared his father was going to reduce his allowance.
  • Alfred, the son who has remained steadfastly by Simeon’s side, jealous because his father favours Harry
  • Pilar Estravados, Simeon’s granddaughter, recently arrived from Spain.
  • Stephen Farr, the son of Simeon’s former business partner, come to England from South Africa
  • Horbury, Simeon’s possibly shifty valet.
  • All in all, we have many people who potentially Simeon Lee dead.
  • And a  second murder attempt
  • And way too much blood!

Good thing we also have Poirot on hand to discover who did it and to explain the significance of a bit of rubber and a small wooden item found on the floor near Simeon’s body!

 

Leek and Stilton Soufle 2

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – The Covers

Hercule Poirot's Christmas Collage

We have some absolutely cracking covers here, and a fair number of them from non-English speaking countries, which is something I love!  My favorite is the pulp fiction cover from I’m going to say the 1950’s  which I have shown below in full.  Just take a closer look at the lady in red.  Yes, I know all our eyes are drawn to her cleavage but the expression on her face is  not even remotely congruent with the sight before her!  “Pffftttt…another dead body just in time to ruin the holidays” she seems to be saying.  “And by the way, have you seen my breasts?  They’re real and they’re spectaular”

The Recipe – Stilton and Leek Soufflé

You might be wondering why I chose a stilton and leek and soufflé for this post.  I was thinking I could make some sort of pun on Simeon Lee and Stilton Leek.  The more I tried, the more laboured it became until I trashed it.  Sometimes, as per Kenny Rogers, “you gotta  know when to fold ’em”.

Good lord, who knew wen starting this we were going to get a Seinfeld quote and a Kenny lyric?

Here’s the recipe.  It is from a  1992 book by the Australian Women’s Weekly called Brunches and Lunches.

As mentioned, I love the combo of leek and blue cheese.  However, if you are not a lover of blue, you could sub in a cheese of your choice!

Stilton and Leek Soufflé

Tresilian went round with the soufflé.  It struck him, now that hi interest in the ladies’ toiletries and his misgivings over Walter’s deficiencies were a thing of the past, that everyone was very silent tonight.  At least, not exactly silent:  Mr Harry was talking enough for twenty – no not Mr Harry, the South African gentleman.  And the others were talking too, but only, as it were, in spasms.  There was something a little – queer about them.

Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

 

Stilton and Leek Souffles

Links to The Christieverse

Colonel Johnson refers to “that Cartwright case” when conversing with Poirot.  This is reference to Three Act Tragedy.

 

Stilton and Leek Souffles2

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

  • Coffee
  • Hock    I was not familiar with this name for Riesling but I feel this would work very well with the souffle!
  • Claret
  • Pear

January’s read will be the final novella in the Murder in the Mews Collection – Dead Man’s Mirror.  And if anyone can get the pun on Simeon Lee and Stilton and Leek to work, please let me know!

 

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

Today’s recipe for Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons is inspired by a recipe from the December 2001 / January 2002 edition of Super Food Ideas.   Which makes it twenty years old this month!

Berry And Blue Cheese SaladWe are currently sweltering in a hot summer so this salad hits the spot perfectly. And, without tooting my own trumpet too much, can we just stop and take a moment to reflect on how pretty this salad is?

It’s almost too pretty to eat.  But only almost.  Because it’s also delicious

Before we jump into the recipe, let’s take a look at what else was hot in Dec/Jan 2002 with the seasonal eating guide.

What’s Peaking in January – Fruit

Apricots

Why not make some apricot and rhubarb frangipane tarts?

Bananas

Banana Breakfast Cream is a great way to start your day!

Banana CreamBlueberries

Get your Scottish on with some Rhubarb and Blueberry Cranachan

Breakfast Cranachan2Grapefruit

And if you don’t like eating fruit, why not drink it.  This Navigator cocktail has gin, limoncello and pink grapefruit juice…yum!

What’s Peaking in January – Vegetables

Asparagus

Why eat normal sandwiches when you can have these cute as a button Easter Lily Sandwiches?

Easter Lily Sandwiches2

Mushrooms

The vol au vent is, for me, the archetypical retro food.  Why not check out my mushroom vol au vents from way back in 2012?

Retro Food For Modern Times – Holiday Wrap Up

Potato

Step back in time to Pieathalon3 when Ruth sent me a Lemon Potato Pie!

Sweetcorn

Another cookalong resulted in this Cowboy Caviar.  It was delicious.  Thanks Greg for organising our Cowboy Day Cookalong!

Ok, so now onto the main feature!

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons – The Recipe

Print

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

A delcious and gorgeous salad, perfect for summer days.

Ingredients

Scale

For The Croutons

  • 1 baguette sliced into 1cm slices
  • 50g creamy blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola dolce)

For The Salad

  • 100g rocket (arugula)
  • 1 cup berries (I used raspberries and strawberries)
  • 2 carrots, cut into thin ribbons
  • 1/8 red cabbage, finely sliced
  • 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

For The Dressing

  • 1 tbsp raspberries
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

For The Croutons

  1. Spread each round of bread lightly with the cheese.
  2. Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for 5-10 minutes until crisp.
  3. Allow to cool.

For The Dressing

  1. Puree the raspberries.
  2. Whisk in the oil, vinegar, sugar and seasonings.

For The Salad

  1. Place the rocket leaves in a bowl.
  2. Add the berries, carrots, red cabbage and walnuts.
  3. Toss to combine.
  4. Top with the blue cheese croutons.
  5. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

Notes

  • The original recipe contained spinach and asparagus. I didn’t have either when I made this so I subbed in the carrot and red cabbage. Go your own way on this!

I was back to work this week which was a shock to the system!

 

 

Berry And Blue Cheese Salad2

 

I’ll be back ,mid-week with another cheese heavy post.

In the meantime, have a great week!

Broccoli & Stilton Quiche – Rye, England, 2019

I’ve been having a few holiday blues.  You know that time where the last one feels like a long time ago and the next one seems like a long way away.  So,  I thought that it might help my malaise to revisit some of my favourite meals from holidays past.

Rye was our first stop on our holiday this year and I ate an incredibly tasty Broccoli and Stilton quiche from the Rye Deli.

Broccoli & Stilton Quiche1

Rye is such a pretty town and full of antique and retro shops.  Well worth a visit!  If you are heading to the UK and want a great quiche and some cool glassware!  I bought some repro Babycham and Martini glasses. And some gorgeous vintage Laura Ashley cups and saucers.

 

Rye Glassware

The only things is…a bag full of glassware and a Broccoli and Stilton quiche are not good bag fellows.  I spent the day shopping and loading myself up with all the gorgeous glasses.  Meanwhile, my lovely quiche was getting squished to bits in my bag. It still tasted delicious but was certainly not in the pristine condition in which I bought it!

Broccoli & Stilton Quiche2

I love quiche but tend to veer towards the classic Quiche Lorraine or a Spinach and Feta quiche as my go-to’s.  The Broccoli and Stilton Quiche squashed and battered though it was after a few hours of being pummelled in my backpack was a revelation.  Such a tasty combination!

And also so pretty! I love how the swirls and branches of the broccolini (which I used instead of broccoli) look like little plants, making this quiche look like some sort of whimsical garden

Because I was trying to keep it British, I used a recipe I found on the Ocado website.   However, in all honesty, this recipe was not as good as my original quiche from the Rye Deli.  I think it was the onions. I don’t recall any in the OG version but do like the way the rounds of the spring onion play off against the straight stems and the flowery whirls of the broccolini. So, my recommendation would be to halve the amount of spring onions and cook them off a bit first.

Apart from the antiquing and the fab quiche, great fish and chips and a v good bookstore,  Rye has some great olde worlde pubs

Rye1

.A very cool castle, complete with stocks for anyone misbehaving!

 

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And literary cred galore!

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My only peeve with Rye was that we arrived just after 9:00 pm.  And everywhere except for the fish and chip shop had closed or stopped serving food for the night.  This was in the height of holiday season so it was kind of surprising.  Having said that, the fish and chips were great so all was not lost.

If you can’t get to Rye, you can always get a taste of it by making a Broccoli and Stilton Quiche!  If you can get to Rye, get there before 9:00 pm!

Have a great week!

 

 

 

Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes

Doh! thought I posted this a couple of weeks ago!!!! I found it in drafts today so I guess not!  

I had an idea about how to do these World Food posts.  I’ll do a recipe from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery from 1972, then I’ll do a modern recipe from the same country or somewhat related to the first post.  It’s going to be a kind of retro/modern vibe.  So, given that last time I featured Potato Maraska, a potato recipe from 1970’s Israel, today, I am showcasing a potato recipe from an Israeli chef, Yotam Ottolenghi.  This is actually my second Ottolenghi recipe on here, the first being his Crespeou from way back in 2015.  No “70’s style retro picnic bling” today but after the blandness of the Potato Maraska, these Spinach and Gorgonzola stuffed jacket potatoes bring all the flavour to the yard!

Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes

If you are one of those people who hate blue cheese, you could use cheddar or whatever cheese you like instead…but the gorgonzola, spinach and walnut combo is particularly nice.

The hardest part of this is scooping out the cooked potato flesh evenly and not putting a hole in the skin. Maximum taste for minimum effort.  Vegetarian.  And gluten-free for those who care about such things. 

Potato skins or stuffed jacket potatoes or whatever you want to call them are fun food! And these have spinach so they’re also kind of healthy!  

There’s not much more to say about these!  They were simple to make and delicious!  And they look just like the picture from the book!

Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes3

This recipe comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s latest book, Simple.  This was our latest Tasty Reads book club selection and was, with one exception,  liked by all.  I love it and can see it becoming a favourite that I turn to regularly for simple, delicious food:

Highlights for me, apart from the potatoes above,  have been so far:

  • Chicken Marbella
  • Bridget Jones Pan Fried Salmon with Pine Nut Salsa 
  • Blueberry, Almond and Lemon Cake

Here’s the Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes Recipe:

Spinach and Gorgonzola Stuffed Jacket Potatoes2

And here’s the book:

I love that cover.  It’s so bright and cheerful and well…Simple! 

Have a wonderful week!

Signature 1 Vintage Valentine Quick as Wink2