The Easiest Sweet Treat for Kids - Eton Mess Tarts - Just Like a Bought One

This dessert was so popular with our grandkids.
If you really want to be in control, you can make the components yourself
But for speed. Go Shopping

1 packet mini Tart Shells 1 doz
6 Bought Medium Meringues 
Frozen Raspberries - 1 cup
A Little extra sugar, about 1 tablespoon
Cream - 1 cup

Place the Raspberries in a pot with sugar and heat till defrosted and sugar is dissolved
Blend with a hand blender till rough puree
Set aside to cool

Meanwhile, whop the cream till fairly stiff
Break the meringues up and add to cream

Take half of the raspberry puree and marble through the cream mix

Fill the tarts with the mix
Top with remaining puree

Guaranteed a huge hit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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