Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter

    Thursday, March 31, 2016

    My Minestrone with Chicken Meatballs - Kid Friendly Food

    Once again always looking for Kid Friendly Food
    I found a recipe on The Epicurious Website and adapted it for my kids
    Added vegetables that they like… e.g. Broccoli instead of just Spinach
    Onion instead of leeks and I also added courgettes
    So here's My Minestrone with Chicken Meatballs

    It was very popular, the kids devoured it.
    Will make this again
    The meatball recipe made around 48 little balls
    I cooked them all and froze half for next time

    Meatballs
    600 gms ground chicken (2 cups)
    1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
    6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
    4 garlic cloves,  minced,
    5 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
    2 large eggs, whisked to blend
    Sea salt,
    Freshly ground pepper

    The Broth
    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    1 red onion finely sliced 
    3 cloves garlic peeled and finely sliced    
    1 large carrots, finely sliced
    1 courgette finely sliced
    1 cup corn
    1 litre chicken broth
    2 cups water
    1 cup Orecchiette Pasta

    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 small head of broccoli finely sliced and or spinach, I used both

    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Garnish
    Chopped fresh basil
    Extra Grated Parmesan


    To make Meatballs
    Mix chicken, breadcrumbs, Parmesan,garlic cloves,
    Chives, eggs, Sea salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl.
    Form into little meatballs
    I used a melon baller. Nice size

    Heat oil in a pot over medium heat.
    Cook meatballs until golden all over, about 3 minutes (they will finish cooking in soup).
    Transfer to a plate;
    Set aside.
     
    To Make Broth
    Add onion to pot and cook,
    Stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
    Add thinly sliced garlic cloves; cook for 1 minute.
    Add carrots and courgettes, cook for another 3-4 minutes
    Add broth and water; bring to a boil.
    Stir in pasta 
    Simmer until pasta is almost al dente, about 8 minutes.

    Meanwhile in another pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil to medium heat
    Just lightly saute the corn and the Broccoli and or Spinach for about 2
    minutes

    Add meatballs to soup
    Simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots are tender, and meatballs are cooked through,
    About 3 minutes.
    Add cooked broccoli
    Season with salt and pepper.
    Ladle soup into bowls.
    Garnish with chopped Basil and Parmesan

    Wednesday, March 23, 2016

    Don't waste Food - Make something for your freezer. Egg, Cheese and Ham in a Tasty Sauce

    I'm about to go away for a few days. I went to clean out my fridge. There were so many bits and pieces tucked away in there
    Spring onions, red and green pepper, celery in the Vege bin
    Some shaved champagne ham, 3 eggs, milk just on it's last legs, and some chunks of old cheese
    A few cherry tomatoes

    Surely I can do something with this.

    Yes I can!
    Here is the finished dish ready to go into the freezer, for a meal when I get home
    I will either cook up some yummy mashed potatoes and smother the sauce with them
    Or Might just cover it with a Golden Puff Pastry Lid
    Going to be tasty, no matter what
    To fill this plastic container
    I used
    75 gms butter
    75 gms Flour
    450 mls of milk

    salt and pepper

    1 small green pepper chopped
    1/4 red pepper chopped
    3 spring onions chopped
    2 sticks celery chopped
    6 cherry tomatoes cut in half

    Handful of shaved ham chopped
    2 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped
    1/2 cup of chopped leftover cheese

    Over medium heat, melt butter
    Add chopped vege
    Season with Sea salt and Ground Black pepper
    saute about 3-4 mins till tender

    Add flour
    Stir well
    Cook for about 2-3 minutes to get the rawness out of the flour
    Add the milk
    Keep stirring till sauce is thickened
    Let cook again,
    You may need to add more milk, don't want it too gluggy
    Add the protein
    Gently fold in, then I plonked it into a plastic container, and it is now in the freezer
    Yumo




    Monday, March 14, 2016

    Joyce's 7 Layer Dip - Perfect for Drinks Party - Gluten Free as well

     
    In the early 80’s, ...our friend Joyce Baker, (pictured below, on the right)... note the 80's hair styles... from California, came to stay with us here in Auckland
    In those days, New Zealand was a bit behind the eight ball, with current food trends.
    We decided to have a party while Joyce was here, (as we did), Tex Mex Food was beginning to
    rear it’s head. Up till then, I could make a good chili.
    Gilli’s Chili, it got called in fact.
    I’ll post it one day, still like it...however, we weren't really together, with some of the real flavours of Mexico.

    On this particular visit, Joyce introduced us to the Famous 7 Layer Dip
    Joyce was amazed that we didn't have Cilantro here
    Of course, that was a language problem
    You couldn’t google it then
    We finally worked out that Cilantro, in American English,
    was, in New Zealand English…Coriander
    Plus, I don't think we could get refried beans
    So I think we just squashed up some red kidney beans, with some garlic
    But now, all of these ingredients are readily available

    We were very impressed with this dip and have been making it since

    In fact, I selfishly, didn't pass on the recipe, to anyone but our family
    Don't know why I did because as it turns out, it came from
    a Californian Food magazine and is widely known in the States
    So anyone can find it and make it
    But we prefer to call it Joyce’s 7 Layer Dip
    Very Simple

    For the basic recipe of 7 layers
    You need
    1 tin refried Beans
    Guacamole, your favourite recipe
    Salsa… Spicy is good. Any good brand
    Grated Tasty Cheese
    Fresh Tomatoes, finely chopped, seasoned with S & P
    Sour Cream flavoured with Taco seasoning
    Spring onions and Coriander, chopped  Handful of each

    This time, I changed a couple of things,
    I made my own Salsa
    1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
    3 spring onions, finely chopped
    1 cob fresh sweet corn, Pop in Microwave for 3 minutes
    Slice the kernels off
    Add to onions and tomatoes
    1 red pepper finely chopped
    2 tablespoons chopped coriander
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    A little olive oil
    Mix well


    I could only buy ready made Guacamole
    Not as good as homemade unfortunately
    To improve it… I mixed it in with the salsa, which also helped the salsa to stick together
    So 2 layers became 1!

    In fact the Dip this time, was only 5 layers, but still tasted pretty good
    To assemble this particular version

    Find a nice flat dish about 4 cms (1 1/2 inch) deep
    Cover the bottom with the refried beans

    Cover with Salsa
    The Grated Cheese
    Mix the Sour Cream with 3-4 tablespoons of  La Morena Taco seasoning
    Spread the sour cream over the grated cheese
    Top with the chopped herbs

    Best to make a few hours in advance for the flavours to meld

    Serve with Taco Chips
    Excellent

    Sunday, February 21, 2016

    Roast Chicken on a Bed of Greens with Yummy Potatoes

    Keeping on with the chicken theme of this week
    It was our Granddaughter’s 14th Birthday and Grandma was on dinner duty
    A chicken dinner seemed to tick all of the boxes

    Amongst recipes I have saved over the years, I found this idea from Angela Hartnett,
    a British Chef I really admire
    This is a dish that can be eaten at room temperature

    Potatoes with Chicken, sitting on a salad of Green Beans, Leeks and Red Pepper
     Very pretty and particularly tasty

    Crispy skin, was not important on the chicken this time, just wanted lovely juicy breasts
    But I left the skin on, to self baste the breasts
    Removed it for serving
    Perfect
    So prepare the Salad first

    600g/1lb 5oz green beans
    16 baby leeks

    ½ tsp Dijon mustard
    50ml/2fl oz cider vinegar
    250ml/9fl oz olive oil
    2 banana shallots, finely chopped
    2 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
    4 tsp finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

    1 red pepper chopped

    Place a large pan of salted water over a high heat and bring to the boil.
    Add the beans and leeks and cook for 2-3 minutes,
    then drain and refresh in iced water.
     Place the mustard, vinegar and 250ml/9fl oz olive oil into a bowl and whisk to
     combine.
    Slice the beans and leeks into three on the diagonal and add to the dressing.
    Add the shallots, tarragon, parsley and red pepper
    Then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
    Set aside

    Now the Chicken 
    4 large chicken breasts, skin on
    Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Method
    Preheat the oven to 180C
    Season the chicken breasts, both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
    Into a roasting pan and into the oven for about 12 minutes
    Remove and test with a skewer or sharp small life
    Just push it half way through the breast
    Hold for 10 seconds
    Remove
    Put it to your lips, it should be hot
    And the juice should run clear
    If not quite done… back into the oven for another 3 minutes
    Remove and set aside to rest for a few minutes

    Drain the salad, keep the dressing
    Slice each breast into 4 pieces and place into the dressing that is drained
    from the salad
    Lay out the salad on a large serving platter
    Place the dressed chicken slices on top

    Pour any remaining juices over the top
    Done

    Trishie’s Potatoes
    Now you can make this in advance, in fact the more ahead, the better
    Get those flavours infused

    Take 4 large Potatoes peel and chopped into medium cubes
    Bring to the boil in salted water and simmer till they are almost cooked
    Drain and pop into a oven dish
    1 packet of French Onion Soup Mix or  in this case I used this
    Roast Garlic with Tarragon Flavouring, which worked in very well with the tarragon flavour in the chicken
    Plus 200 ms cream

    Sprinkle the potatoes with the soup mix,
    Season with a little salt and pepper
    Funnily enough the French Onion soup mix is not overly salty
    so it needs some extra seasoning
    Pour the cream over
    Toss well and cover
    Let sit for at least an hour or even longer
    so that the potatoes can absorb those flavours and the cream

    Pre-heat oven to 200C
    Cook till cream is absorbed and potatoes are golden and crispy
    Probably take about 30 minutes
    Season with a little extra salt and pepper

    Once again. you can do this earlier and just pop back into a hot oven for 5-10 minutes,
    Just to heat through

    Serve
    Here is our beautiful Mia singing at her Granddad's funeral just 3 weeks ago
    So proud of her
    Cheers Mia, Happy birthday


    Friday, February 19, 2016

    Dinner for One - Family Favourite Roast Chicken


    Sometimes you just need a Roast Dinner and when you are living alone,
    I guess it seems like it's not worth doing, but I assure you it is.
    These days of course you can buy any old cut of meat to feed one, with usually some interesting leftovers for the next day.
    Baby lamb rumps, or in this case a Chicken leg...

    It is so simple, quick prep, into the oven and plonk down in front of TV with your favourite tipple. while it cooks away
    A virtual one pan cook, Less dishes you say?
    Yes, indeed

    Recently I have been cooking my chicken, as I learnt from Thomas Keller of
    The French Laundry, fame.
    Purely season and cook
    Lovely crisp skin, very moist chicken, just the way I like it
    I will post his instructions for a whole chicken, shortly

    The Vegetables.
    Just cut them into small cubes, everything will cook at the same time

    I had some chicken fat in the fridge, extra chicken flavour, so I used that, but normally I would use Olive Oil

    So for my Roast Chicken I used

    1 Chicken Maryland (leg)
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

    2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
    1/2 a capsicum any colour, cut into cubes
    1 red onion large chop
    Olive Oil or Fat of your choice
    Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

    Frozen Peas

    Pre-Heat your oven to 200C
    Add a good slosh of Oil to your roasting pan
    Pop it into the oven to heat the fat
    Throw your prepared vegetables into the tin
    Season with S & P
    Toss well


    The idea with the chicken, is to keep it dry and let it cook in its own fat and juices
    So pat the leg dry, with a paper towel
    Season it well , both sides with salt and pepper
    Place on top of your vege

    Into the oven
    Cook for 25 minutes
    Remove and toss the vege around in all of the chicken juices
    and shuffle the chicken so that it is flat on the pan with all the vege around the sides
    so that they will all brown
    Back into the oven for another 10 minutes
    Slip a sharp knife or metal skewer into the leg, the juices should run clear
    Remove and let rest for about another 5-8 minutes.

    Meanwhile while they are resting
    Cook your frozen peas in the micro wave
    Should take about 2 minutes on high
    Throw into the pan and mix
    Serve, This chicken was so moist, I ate every single little bit.
    Divine
    Yes I did have leftover Vege, They are going to be in a pasta dish.

    Perfect Roast Chicken - Thank you Thomas Keller

    Every morning,  recipes arrive into my email box, from the Bon Appetit/Epicurious Website
    So every morning I scan down to find something of interest.
    One that caught my eye, was
    The Perfect Roast Chicken, from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Cookbook

    I’d love to reprint it, as I love his descriptions,
    but I may get in trouble
    with copyright.
    So here in my words, is how to Roast a Perfect Chicken
    Courtesy Thomas Keller

    Take one 1.5Kg Free Range Chicken
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    Chopped thyme (optional)



    Some important points to note
    First you must dry the chicken completely...
    Inside and out
    The idea is, the less the chicken steams, the drier the heat,
    The better the chicken

    Season the chicken well inside, with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Secondly: Truss the chicken
    You don't have to be an expert to truss
    just make sure the wings and the legs are close to the body,
    this makes a great shape and the chicken can roast evenly

    Pre-heat your oven to 220C/ 450F
    Rain sea salt over the chicken and grind some pepper over the top
    You should see those flakes on top

    Place the chicken into a roasting pan and place in the oven

    Do not touch it, just let it cook for 50-60 minutes
    Check after 45 minutes don't want to overcook it
    Best way to test for “doneness”
    Just poke a skewer into the leg
    Hold there for about 10 seconds
    The juices should run clear
    Put the skewer to your lips
    it should be hot
    Not quite right,
    back into oven for a few more minutes

    Remove from oven
    Place thyme (if using) into pan and baste the chicken
    Baste with the thyme and chicken juices

    Let sit on cutting board for 15 minutes to rest

    Remove the twine and break up into pieces
    The aroma is divine, it’s so hard not to rip into it and eat it all by yourself

    So unselfishly,
    Dish out good portions to your guest/guests
    Serve with a simple green salad, maybe some simple boiled potatoes
    So so simple in fact!!!

    Guaranteed a huge success

    n.b. Thomas Keller slathered the chicken with butter, before serving, but I did find that made the skin a little flabby
    So in my wisdom. Serve as is.
    I want some right now

    Monday, November 30, 2015

    An Excellent Chocolate Cake


    Always looking for a recipe to feed several people. Namely The Staff at St Andrews
    I found this on a previous post 
    I got this recipe from my daughter Katie
    She found it in a Cook book called The Cake Bible
    It is very moist and delicious.
    At this time, I just served it as it, but I think it lends itself to being cut in half and filled with say some whipped cream, or you could do a layer of the icing
    That also would be good

    My friend Catherine gave me this great hint.
    Warm your sugar before creaming. It makes life so much easier.
    Try it…it works
    So you need

    Also as an addition, I added a cup of Craisins
    I love their citrusy bite

    125 gms softened butter
    2/3 cup sugar warmed
    ½ cup icing sugar
    2 eggs room temperature

    1 ¼ cup SR flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    ½ cup cocoa
    Pinch salt

    1 cup Craisins

    1 cup milk
    1 teaspoon vanilla


    Heat oven 180C
    Grease and flour your tin.
    I like to line the bottom with a circle of baking paper.


    Cream butter and sugars
    Add eggs one at a time
    Beat well

    Sift dry ingredients
    Add Craisins to the dry ingredients
    Mix milk and vanilla

    Add dry ingredients milk mix alternately


    Bake 40-50 minutes check after 35 minutes cake is ready when a skewer comes out clean
    I found it took 40 minutes in my oven
    Let cake sit on a rack for 10 minutes in the tin then turn out and cool.
    It’s important that the cake is cold before you iced.

    I was going to make a Ganache icing but I didn't have any cream, so I searched the net for
    an icing made with Chocolate Chips and Icing Sugar
    I found this one on Food Network.com and it worked
    Doesn't have the fabulous dark colour of a Ganache but tasted good
    This is Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

    Ingredients

    1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
    3 cups icing sugar
    1/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    Directions

    In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, 
    beat the butter until light and smooth. 
    Beat in the icing sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

    Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and place over a small pan of barely simmering water. 
    Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. 
    Remove the pan from the heat. 
    Add the melted chocolate to the vanilla frosting and stir until smooth.
    Ice your cake
    When I originally made this cake I frosted it with a raspberry frosting and filled it with berries 
    It looked beautiful, so if you would like to see that
    Click here

    I see there is an interesting Savoury Tea cake on that same post. Nice to serve with drinks



    Sunday, November 29, 2015

    Salad Nicoise - My Take on It

    What I love most about Salad Nicoise, is how beautiful it is. So colourful
    Also an excellent lunch dish when you are having friends over
    This was always a winner when we were on the boat.
    Some crusty bread on the side. Superb
    The good thing is that you can prep in advance
    Just assemble just before serving

    It's really up to you what you add, there are arguments. Potatoes or Not, Green Beans or not
    What must be in is Tuna, Black Olives, Capers,  Eggs, Anchovies, Crispy lettuce and Tomatoes

    So here is my take on it
    Amounts entirely up to you
    I have set some guidelines below

    1 tin good tuna in Olive oil
    1 tin Anchovies
    1 hard boiled egg per person, peeled and quartered
    1 med potato per person
    1 Red onion pickled Recipe below
    Roasted peppers
    Green beans

    Cos or Iceberg lettuce
    Handful chopped Parsley
    Cherry Tomatoes Halved 
    2-3 Tablespoons capers

    French dressing

    So preparation as follows

    Peel and chop potatoes
    Cook in salted boiling water till just tender
    Drain and toss with 2-3 tablespoons french dressing

    Red Onion
    1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
    ½ tsp dried oregano
    5 black peppercorns
    2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
    Juice ½ orange
    ½ tsp sea salt
    1 bay leaf
    ½ tsp ground cumin

    Bring a small pan of water to the boil
    Blanch the sliced onions for about 30 seconds
    Drain
    Place in a glass or ceramic bowl
    Cover with the other ingredients
    Marinate for at least 1 hour
    The onions will turn a vibrant pink. Pretty as.

    Roasted Pepper
    Lightly oil whole capsicums  
    Into 190C oven for about 30 minutes till skin  blisters
    Place in a bowl cover with plastic wrap and let cool
    Then pull the skin off over the bowl
    Reserve the juice
    Remove seeds and slice
    Place in a container
    Season with Sea salt and ground black pepper
    Drizzle with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil  
    Also pour over the reserved juice
    Let sit and marinate

    Green Beans
    Top and Tail beans
    Cook in boiling salted water for about 3-5 minutes till just cooked
    Drain and toss with French Dressing 
    Set aside to cool

    Tomatoes
    Cut in half, season with Salt and pepper
    Toss with some French dressing and mix in some chopped parsley

    So to serve

    Layer with lettuce on the bottom,
    then I layered down slices of capsicum
    Potatoes
    Green Beans
    Scatter over the red onions
    Cover with Cherry tomatoes
    Place quartered eggs around the outside of the platter
    Break up the Tuna and place over the top
    Dot with olives
    Lay down the anchovies

    Sprinkle over the remainder of the parsley 
    Drizzle French Dressing over the top and serve

    Once again, ... just to prove how pretty it is

    Sunday, November 22, 2015

    If you like Apple Shortcake - Try Strawberry Shortcake

    Only a couple of weeks ago I posted a delicious Apple Shortcake
    Now there are strawberries Galore
    I had a punnet sitting on the bench and thought perhaps I could substitute Strawberries, for the Apples

    What a good idea
    So I am off to visit the Beloved with Strawberry Shortcake in hand

    Click here for the recipe for the Shortcake

    Follow the recipe for the Shortcake
    To prepare the Strawberries
    Slice and sprinkle with a couple of spoons of sugar
    You do need to do this
    Pre-heat the oven to 180C

    So make the Shortcake
    Cut the dough in half
    Roll both halves out, to about 1.5 cms thick
    Spread with the srawberries
    Add the other half on top
    Press edges to seal

    Brush with a little extra milk and sprinkle a little sugar on top

    Bake for about 18-20 minutes
    Cut when hot and devour

    Warm Goats Cheese with Sherried Figs and Onions

    I posted this recipe in 2007. I was on nibbles for dinner with the family the other night.
    I knew somewhere, I had a warm goats cheese recipe, and I also remember it being very popular.
    Below is the original recipe, as usual, I didn't have all the ingredients, no time to go to the shop...
    so I made do.

    So instead of Figs, Sherry, and Rosemary, I used, Craisins with Rum, Mint and Basil
    Also, you don't have to go to the expense of Soft Goats Cheese,
    I had some Goats Feta in the fridge, it was perfect
    What a find

    Perfect for these parties coming up

    Warm Goats Cheese with Sherried Figs and Onions

    300 gms soft goats cheese.


    2 onions sliced finely
    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    4 cloves garlic chopped
    2 sprigs rosemary
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

    10 dried figs sliced
    50 mls water
    ¼ cup Sherry


    For the alternative
    1 250 gm pkt Goats Feta

    2 onions sliced finely
    4 cloves Garlic finely chopped
    2 tbs each of chopped mint and basil
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

    1/2 cup craisins
    50 mls water
    1/4 cup Rum
     
    Method is the same for both flavours

    First place fruit in saucepan add water and booze
    Bring to simmer turn heat off and leave to steep.
    This will plump up the fruit.

    Meanwhile sauté onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil with herbes
    Season with salt & pepper
    Till soft and translucent
    Mix in fruit, which will probably have soaked up all of the liquid


    Break up goats cheese into gratin dish
    Pour over onions and fruit mixture
    Into 170C oven for 20minutes

    Serve with slices of fresh baguette or maybe even croutons.


    I took this picture before the cheese was completely covered with the fig onion mix so that the method is shown

    Wednesday, November 18, 2015

    Christmas Entertaining- Food to Have with Those Christmas Drinks - Go Italian Flavours

    It is that time of year again and
    the Jolly, Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly Season, is once again, upon us.

    So let’s add to the usual suspects, some Italian inspired bites
    I am really keen on my pinwheels and they are always popular.
    So many ideas for flavours
    This year, The wonderful Italian Flavours
    Tomatoes, Basil and Parmesan

    This is so simple and you can prepare ahead,
    in fact they need to sit for at least 2 hours, the longer the better in fact

    Remove from fridge just before you need them,
    Slice, brush with egg wash and bake
    Yumo

    I use the bought Pastry Sheets.
    Quantities are really up to you, depending on how many you want to make.
    I make up my simple tomato sauce, for the base
    If you don’t use it all, you can pop into a container and keep for a later date

    So Ingredients

    Tomato Sauce
    1 can good preferably Italian chopped tinned Tomatoes
    2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
    2 tbs Olive oil
    Sea salt and freshly Ground Black pepper
    Good pinch of sugar
    Splash red wine vinegar


    Gently heat olive oil in a pot and add the garlic
    Let cook for a couple of minutes, just to soften, don't overcook it will become bitter

    Add tomatoes
    Stir, season to taste with Salt, Pepper, and Sugar
    Let simmer gently till it becomes quite thick
    Add splash of vinegar

    Put aside to cool

    Sheets of Flaky puff pastry
    Bunch Basil leaves
    Parmesan cheese finely grated

    1 egg beaten with a splash of water


    Lay out the pastry on the bench
    Cover 2/3 of it with the Tomato sauce
    Cover with Basil leaves

    Grate Parmesan over

    Brush to the empty 1/3 with the egg wash
    Reserve the egg wash for cooking
    Roll up and press down to seal

    Cover and into the fridge for at least 2 hours
    Overnight is better
    Heat oven to 200C
    Cut into slices
    Place on lined baking sheet

    Brush with remaining egg wash
    Bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden It may take a little longer, depending on your oven

    Keeping on the Italian theme…everyone likes Club Sandwiches
    It’s one of the times, that only Supermarket Bread will do.

    So I thought Caprese Salad
    Tomatoes, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella

    I’ve done quite a bit of research on Club Sandwiches, which includes, eating plenty of them!
    also reading up on tips.
    If you are watching your weight, well, maybe, only eat one.

    Make sure you use plenty of butter, this protects the bread from getting soggy
    Make sure your fillings are well seasoned and moist

    Cut the crusts off, very important
    Once again quantities, this is up to you.
    So these are the ingredients for the Salad Caprese Club Sandwich

    Nice ripe tomatoes, finely sliced,
    Sit on paper towels for at least 10 minutes to absorb excess moisture
    Bunch of basil leaves
    Fresh Mozzarella, I used Boccacini sliced
    Packet of sliced bread
    Softened Butter
    Sea Salt and freshly Ground Pepper

    You need 3 slices of bread for each whole sandwich
    Place slices of bread on the table
    Butter the bread
    Cover with slices of tomatoes
    Place leaves of basil on  top

    Season with S & P
    Place another slice on top butter side down
    Butter the top side of that
    Cover with sliced cheese

    Season with S & P
    Cover with another slice of bread... Butter side down
    Press very firmly,
    Cut off the crusts
    Slice into 3

    or for pretty little sandwiches, cut into triangles

    Place on serving plate
    Cover with damp paper towels, till ready to serve
    If making further ahead, also cover with plastic wrap
    But I suggest when using tomatoes, eat as soon as possible

    So so yummy

    Some other ideas for fillings
    Just add seasoning to your taste

    Chopped chicken,
    Spring onions finely chopped
    Chopped parsley
    Grated Cucumber (squeeze all of the juice out before using)

    3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
    1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
    Squeeze Lemon juice
    Sea salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
    Mix all the mayo ingredients together

    Add enough of the Mayo mix to the chicken etc... to make a nice moist filling
    Rocket (Arugala)


    Hot smoked salmon
    Gherkins finely chopped

    3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
    Touch of gherkin vinegar
    Sea salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
    Mix all mayo ingredients together 

    Once again. add as much of the Mayo mix, to the salmon as needed


    Rocket

    So, with the two fillings above
    Make the protein layer the bottom layer

    Cover with bread
    Then keep the rocket separate,
    Season
    Top with final slice of bread