MY MAC & CHEESE

It is sometimes quite difficult being in a relationship with different nationalities as we all have our own traditions especially around Christmas - in France they celebrate on 24th December with presents and a huge supper - just like we have but on 25th. The logical (although expensive) idea would be to celebrate on both days but the thought of two huge Christmas meals is not appealing to Pascal, Arabella & I. So we decided to celebrate on Christmas Eve with one of our favourites - Mac & Cheese - in fact it turned out to be a perfect day of eating for me as I had had my other favourite for lunch - a cheeseburger!!

I rarely cook when I am in France, this is one of the first times, I couldn't buy all the correct ingredients so had to improvise in places (for example Arabella broke up the bread into tiny pieces to make the breadcrumbs and the cheddar was a combination of emmental, mozzarella & Comte cheese)!

Ingredients for 4 people:

250g macaroni
2 big leeks trimmed and chopped
splash of olive oil
100g spinach
2 x 125g balls of mozzarella cheese
200g half fat creme fraiche
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
150g mature cheddar cheese
50g fresh breadcrumbs
50g Parmesan cheese, grated or flakes
350g lardons (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C fan/ 200C /gas mark 6.

First of all cook the macaroni according to the packet instructions (the macaroni should be slightly undercooked). 

At the same time fry the lardons and the leeks for about 8-10 minutes. If you are vegetarian you can always leave the bacon out.

A couple of minutes before the macaroni is ready, add the spinach in the same saucepan.

Once this is ready take the pan off the heat and drain away the water in a colander. Then put it all back in the pan and mix in the bacon and leeks.

Now for my favourite part - tearing in half/two thirds of the mozzarella and mixing in the cheddar (I'm always over generous with the amount of cheese obviously), creme fraiche & Dijon mustard.

Put the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Top with the rest of the mozzarella and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Then cook in the oven for 25 minutes until it is crispy and golden. 

And then tuck on in!!

Absolutely delicious - it was devoured by both adults and child. We adore it as it's a naughtyish dish but it also has the added bonus of healthy green veg. 

We all enjoyed it immensely (I wish I could have had it all over again for Christmas lunch) - and it is the perfect heart warming dish for miserable weather….although I would be happy to eat it on a beautiful summer's day or anytime for that matter!! I once cooked it for a dinner party and Arabella cried as there was none left for her the next day!!

To save time you can easily prepare it the day before or that morning and then put it in the fridge until you are ready. It will take 30-35 minutes if you cook it straight from the fridge. 

Enjoy!

JENNIFER'S CRAB PATE

My friend Jennifer gave me this recipe 3 years ago and I have never looked at it since! However as my sister was coming round for a Christmas drink at the weekend I thought it was the perfect time to finally make it as Kirsty adores anything with fish. It was quick and simple and I think I will be making it for every dinner party from now on....in fact thinking about it now makes me want it again. 

Ingredients:

100g fresh white crab meat
100g Philadelphia cream cheese (I used light to save on calories)
2 handful of flaked almonds
6 drops of Worcester Sauce
A squeeze of lemon
Black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Put the crab in a bowl with the cream cheese and mix together. Squeeze in some lemon and add the Worcester sauce and some black pepper.

Cover the crab mixture with the almonds.

Put it in the oven for 10 minutes until it is warmed through and the almonds are toasted, then serve with crisp breads or toasted baguette.

This was absolutely delicious and I would really recommend making it as it is so simple and is a different canape to the usual crudites and hummus. I had also tried to make Heston Blumenthal's Bagna Cauda dip but it was totally revolting and so went straight in the bin - Jennifer's recipe was far superior!!

One tip is don't be as lazy as me and wipe the top of the dish before you serve!!

Enjoy :-)

SAUSAGE ROLLS WITH CHEESE & WHOLEGRAIN MUSTARD

One of the mummies at school is a chef and she makes the most amazing sausage rolls - in fact they are so good she sells them at a butchers in Notting Hill. We had them at our school Christmas party recently and Pascal couldn't stop eating them....he then raved about them so much that I had no choice but to try and make them myself! I don't think mine were a patch on hers but Arabella, Pascal and I all adored them and they were super easy so I will certainly be making them again over the festive season.

Ingredients for 6 sausage rolls:

375g pack ready rolled puff pastry sheet
6 sausages (I used Cumberland)
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of milk
9 tablespoons of cheddar cheese
6 teaspoons of wholegrain mustard

Take the pastry out of the fridge at least 10 minutes before you start cooking and preheat the oven to 200 C (fan) / 220 C / gas mark 7.

Then unroll the pastry and cut it down the middle length ways.

Next remove the skin from the sausages - I have never done this before and it was pretty icky but I think it is a necessity for the recipe. It did make me think of dodgy things too rude to post!

Then place the sausages down the length of the pastry, evenly spaced, and cut the pastry across so that each sausage sits on its own rectangle.

Next it is time to add the cheese and mustard. I put 1.5 tablespoons of grated cheese and 1 teaspoon of mustard with each sausage but you can put more or less depending on what you prefer. Arabella chose to go without mustard and I think next time I will adding more cheese (surprise surprise)!

Mix the milk and egg yolk and brush it on to the edges of the pastry and then wrap it up - like a sausage roll! Press the edges gently together and lay joined side down on a lightly oiled baking tray (to save on calories I used the 1 cal 1 spray oil for the tray).

Brush the tops with the rest of the egg yolk and milk mix and if you like you can sprinkle with some sesame seeds (we didn't as Pascal doesn't like them). Finally bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until golden and then serve - they are best hot!

And voila!

These were delicious - Arabella had one, I had two and then Pascal liked them so much he had three! We were very naughty and served them with some fries and ketchup but next time I will probably add salad. Arabella enjoyed them with carrot and cucumber sticks. 

These are brilliant for a quick supper or for a party or even a picnic as you could also eat them cold and they are just so simple to make. Plus you can play around with the fillings....next time I am thinking of mixing the sausage meat with some pancetta or adding some tomato with the cheese or even just using different types of sausages would make a difference - my favourite are always the Toulouse ones.

If you are having a Christmas party I bet these will be a real crowd pleaser and your guests will be begging for more!!

PORK WITH A MUSTARD & CHEESE CRUST

This has to be one of the quickest and easiest recipes I have ever made. I got stuck in the supermarket the other day with the 3 meats/fish for £10 offer - I was buying the cod and salmon for last week and so needed to buy something else but was stuck without my recipe file. In the end I chose pork....and then have been hunting through my cook books all day on how to cook it.

I chose this recipe as for once I even had all the ingredients in my fridge which is some kind of miracle as I like to keep my fridge bare and tidy (as I said before I am slightly OCD).

I had collected Pascal from the airport early afternoon and when discussing supper he had said he wasn't hungry and wouldn't want to eat later....I should have known this wasn't true as by 5pm he was ravenous. Thankfully I had planned ahead and so I cooked this recipe with peas on the side.

Ingredients for 2 people:

4 pork loins

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

50g grated cheddar cheese

2 tbsp creme fraiche or cream

Preheat a medium grill and while this is heating up, mix together the mustard, cheddar and creme fraiche / cream in a bowl.

Cook the pork according to the instructions on the packet as it might vary, however mine needed to be grilled on both sides for a total of fifteen minutes.

So I grilled them for 7 minutes on one side and then turned them over for 3 minutes on the other side. Five minutes before the end, take them out the oven and spread the cheese mixture over the pork. 

Finally cook for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

We served with peas as they were the only vegetable I had in the house but the recipe suggests some potato wedges and seasonal green vegetables.

Another successful dish - so quick and easy to make and ever so delicious. I think I would even consider this as a dinner party meal, with an alternative more exciting side, as it is so yum and something different. I have to say it reminded me of welsh rarebit which is one of my all time favourites! 

HERBY SALMON AND COUSCOUS PARCELS

I am such a recipe fanatic that if I see one in a magazine or book and I like the look of it, I will take a quick picture of the recipe so I have a copy. I do this from magazines at the doctor's surgery etc or from friend's cookbooks. Hope that doesn't sound too weird?! 

This summer we stayed in a villa in Menorca and there was a fabulous little cook book there focusing on meals for just the two of you - I wish I could remember the name of the book as it was full of some excellent cooking ideas....luckily I took lots of recipe photos.

I had not cooked any of them yet but as Pascal was out on Thursday and my lovely friend Ceri was coming for supper I decided to try one out and I was very pleased with the results!

Ingredients for 2 people:

110g pack of lemon and garlic couscous (I could only find sun dried tomato and garlic couscous)
200ml hot vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
A handful of fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, tarragon or rosemary is good)
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
6 sun blush or sun dried tomatoes, chopped (you could always add a couple more if you fancy - I did)
2 salmon fillets, about 140g each

Start by preheating the oven to fan 180C / 200C / gas mark 6.

Put the couscous in a bowl and stir in the stock and oil (I actually used a measuring jug)! Cover with cling film and leave to stand for 10 minutes, then uncover and fluff up with a fork. 

Keeping back some of the herbs for later, add the rest to the couscous along with the tomatoes and spring onions and season to taste.

Cut out two large sheets of non-stick baking paper, then divide the couscous between them. Sit each fillet on the couscous and top with the remaining herbs and season.

Fold the paper over and twist the edges to seal - a bit like a Cornish Pasty. Put the parcels onto a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 15 minutes (until the fish feels firm through the paper).

You can either serve in the bag or dish out onto a plate.

I don't like to blow my own trumpet but what a fantastic meal - it was absolutely delicious - Ceri and I couldn't believe it!! It is a great alternative way to cook salmon and the couscous with the sun dried tomatoes goes perfectly with it. Plus it is healthy and roughly only contains about 500 cals and it is very very simple ad quick. 

The next day I told Arabella and Pascal about the success of the recipe and how I must cook it for them....you can imagine the response, Pascal saying "all we ever eat is fish" and Arabella moaning that she doesn't like couscous. I am going to prove them wrong as I think it would be hard not to love this recipe!!

COD WITH BACON, LEEKS AND LENTILS

Arabella really made me chuckle the other day - we were practising her spellings and she got them all right so I praised her and told her what a clever little girl she was. Her reply was "Of course I am mummy, I eat a lot of fish!" 

Since as long as she can remember I have been telling her fish will make her clever and improve her memory...I think it is working!!

No surprise then that we were having fish again tonight, in typical fashion Pascal complained but I was looking forward to it as I have been eating the smokey bacon and two cheese pasta every meal since Sunday!

I chose a Sainsbury's recipe as it looks delicious and only takes about 35 minutes in total to prepare and cook as it's our busy Wednesday. I am looking forward to next term as Arabella and I have decided  that both ballet and gym after school is too much.

Ingredients for 4 people:

2 tbsp of olive oil
250g pack of smoked bacon lardons
1 onion, finely chopped
4 leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced
1/2 x 15g pack fresh thyme, leaves and picked (I hate picking at herbs)!
2 x 410g tins green lentils in water, drained
260g pack of skinless and boneless cod fillets, cut in half
Plain flour for dusting if you prefer to fry the fish rather than grill or oven cook
300ml vegetable stock
5 tbsp double cream
1/2 x 28g pack fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, washed and chopped
A white baguette (optional)

There are a few different ways you can cook the fish, the recipe card suggests you dust each fillet in flour and then fry it. As I am always trying to be that little bit healthy I oven cooked mine after seasoning it and spraying it with olive oil. It probably doesn't have as much flavour as frying it but it saves on calories. I followed the advice on the packet which was to cook it in the oven for 15-17 minutes at 180C in some tin foil. 

Once the oven has preheated and the fish is in, start by heating a tablespoon of olive oil and frying the lardons for about 4-5 minutes until golden and then remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl, leaving all the oil in the pan (Sorry no photo)!

In this same pan fry the leeks and onion for about 8-10 minutes. Pascal wanted to add some more olive oil, I was too tight about it apparently, hence the colour of the pan! 

Next stir in the thyme and drained lentils.

If you would prefer to fry the fish, now is the time. You need to put some plain flour in a shallow dish and dust each cod fillet all over. Then heat a tablespoon of oil in a non stick frying pan and cook the cod for 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

When you are cooking the fish if you choose to fry it, add the stock and double cream to the pan with the lentils and then stir in the cooked lardons. Bring to the boil and cook for about 3-4 minutes and then stir in most of the parsley.

Finally divide the lentil mixture between 4 bowls / plates and top with a piece of cod. Garnish with the remaining parsley and if you like, serve with crusty baguette (sadly for Pascal and Arabella I hadn't bought any)!

It is a good recipe, the lentil mixture tastes delicious with the bacon, leeks and thyme. We had plenty of it left over and I am thinking it will make a nice lunch for me tomorrow on it's own....maybe with some cheese rather than fish though! I was surprised that the recipe only suggests such a small amount of fish per person, you could definitely add more and I think the bread is a good idea as the meal is very "saucy". Pascal, Arabella and I ate all our plates and we enjoyed it, it wasn't our favourite favourite but I would still cook it again....got to continue working on our brains and memory!!

SMOKEY BACON AND TWO CHEESE PASTA

As it has been a couple of weeks since I cooked pasta, I promised Pascal we would cook some for Sunday lunch. He has been having serious withdrawal symptoms from his favourite food! I thought it was also a good opportunity to use up some of the mountain of cheese we have in the fridge. We also invited my lovely friend Ceri to join us.

One mistake we made was going shopping on an empty stomach!! Pascal bought enough food to feed the five thousand - I now have a mountain range of cheese in my fridge, mainly strong french cheeses that are already starting to smell slightly whiffy.

This is a recipe I ripped out from a Hello magazine - I always find they have some good ones. Pascal decided we should double the ingredients just in case we ran out of food - seriously unlikely seeing the recipe was already for 4-6 people and there were only 3 of us!! But for once I didn't argue...

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

300g of extra large pasta shells
Half a small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into small cubes (I cheated and bought ready cut and prepared ones)!
200g oak smoked premium back bacon rashers, cut in thirds
An onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
200g Taleggio cheese, roughly sliced
200g Gorgonzola cheese, roughly sliced (we actually used Stilton)
Salad and crusty bread to serve, optional

Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4.

Cook the pasta together with the butternut squash in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. The pasta we bought said it only took 5 minutes to cook but it took over double that! You want the pasta to be cooked but still have a slight bite and for the squash to be tender. Once cooked, drain.

While this is cooking fry the bacon, onion and garlic in a large frying pan until the bacon has cooked and the onion is softened. 

Add the tinned tomatoes and heat through.

Finally add the cooked pasta and squash to the saucepan and mix well, to help the mixture fill some of the shells. Next spoon the mixture into a large ovenproof dish and scatter over the Taleggio and Gorgonzola cheeses.

Cover loosely with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes and then eat up!

If you are serving this to six people you might like to add some salad or crusty bread, however if it is just four of you, you have more than enough food. As we did double the ingredients I think we have enough left over to feed us for the entire week!!

Luckily it is absolutely delicious and Arabella and I had it again for supper tonight and Pascal is already dreaming of having it again tomorrow. The butternut squash tastes very fresh, the bacon adds lots of flavour, the pasta shells are great to scoop up all the ingredients and it is cheesy cheesy - for once I didn't even need to add Parmesan which is a miracle. 

Ceri thankfully enjoyed it too - it was a successful meal - we then had a cheeseboard, chocolates and ended it with shots of Pascal's white liquor - Apricotine and Poire William to "digest" the huge amount we had eaten. I was in bed by 8.15pm and the drinks obviously worked as I felt right as rain in the morning and even made it to Bikram yoga although my balance was a bit off!!!