Easy Croque Monsieur Recipe - Sandwich Idea

Croque Monsieur is basically a grilled ham club style sandwich, with a lovely cheesy béchamel sauce poured over and popped under the grill to melt and brown. 

Delicious as a snack of with a few thick cut chips and salad.

Chicken with Parma Ham and Goats Cheese

Simple to make and good to eat.  Lovely moist chicken with a slight saltiness from the Parma ham but also a bit tangy from the goats cheese - what's not to like?

Arm yourself with a shallow baking tray or one of those amazing tin foil trays which are disposable but you can re-use them as I do.  Just pop into a dishwasher or soak over night.  Okay, they go a funny colour but it's all okay.

Prosciutto and Salami Pizza Topped with Sacla' Char-Grilled Peppers

 It is seriously easy to make this plate of melty, cheesy goodness in the way of a pizza!   

Slight saltiness from the Prosciutto and a little heat from the Salami, dotted with colourful Sacla' Char-Grilled Peppers.  Add a mixture of Mozzarella and Cheddar and I think you’ll agree you have the perfect pizza.

     Of course you don’t have to use the exact toppings that I chose, just use this recipe as a suggestion and add whatever takes your fancy.

Cheesy Leek and Bacon Muffins - Easy Recipe

Having been sent a Great British Bakeware Muffin tray to review, I thought I'd see if it lived up to it's non-stick claim of there being any need for paper cases.

   Verdict:

Well it has to be said, it was brilliant.  Just lightly oil and pop your mixture in.  Straight into the oven to cook and when your muffins are done they slide out really easily.

The tray was really easy to wash up after the baking was done.  It can go in the dishwasher but there really isn't any need, just hot soapy water and your all done.  

Ciabatta with Chilli Cheese and Chorizo

 Ciabatta filled with oozy melty cheese and crispy chorizo, so very easy to make and can be knocked up in next to no time.

 No recipe at all - just lightly fry some slices chorizo - that's if you like yours crispy like we do, otherwise there's no need.  Now slice open a ciabatta bread roll and on one side put some slices of chilli cheese and on the other side the slices of chorizo.  Pop under a hot grill until the cheese melts nicely.

Job done.

 

Sponsored Video – Blacksticks Blue Cheese

Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses based in Inglewhite, Lancashire have been making a range of hard, blue and soft cheese since 1932.  Their Blacksticks Blue (love the name) has a lovely ‘amber hue’ made its first appearance in 2003 the cheese has a huge following of fans including celebrity chef Simon Rimmer who describes it as “The Daddy of all Blue Cheeses”.

Using milk that’s delivered fresh everyday by their tanker driver Dougie who picks up from farmers just a down the road.  When the creamy milk has been lovingly transformed into cheese, it is then matured until it hits its perfect age and,as we all know, a good cheese takes time.   Once the cheese has passed Butlers experienced grader Bill’s stamp of approval, it is then ready to be released for sale across the country.  

Blacksticks Blue is milder and creamier than Stilton yet still has a tangy taste. The lovely amber colour looks great on any cheeseboard.  Available in all good supermarkets but can also be found in miniature whole truckles in Sainsbury’s and Booths this Christmas.  Marks & Spencer’s are selling a mouth-watering mini truckle with a fig glaze and dried fruits. 

The ideal cheeseboard really only needs to consist of three types of cheese: One hard, one soft and one blue.   Blacksticks Blue makes a nice change to the Christmas cheeseboard from the usual Stilton.

Butler’s have launched this fun animated video, have a look I think you’ll like it:

For more information on Butlers cheeses including their online shop and recipes, have a look at their website.

You can Like Butlers on Facebook and follow them on Twitter

This post is sponsored by Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses.

Giveaway - Cooler Bag of Assorted Boursin Cheeses

Do you fancy winning a Cooler Bag Full of assorted Boursin Cheeses?

I'm already a huge fan of Boursin cheese so I didn't say no when I was asked if they could send me a range of their cheese to try.  Boursin with Fig and Nuts is just the thing for Christmas.

Containing a mixture of fig and nuts such as walnut, pecan and cashews it sounds great and everyone at a recent dinner party thought so to.  Personally I wasn't over keen although I've no idea why - this sort of thing is usually right up my street.  However, statistics show (from our dinner party) 5 out of 6 people love it.  Conclusion - it must just be me.

I already buy Boursin with Garlic and Herbs and we love it.  If you like garlic then you'll love this one.  I'd have liked to have tried the Boursin with Tomato, Onion and Chive but I think someone put two of the fig and nut cheese in my parcel and didn't send me any tomato, so I've still to try that one!

Boursin Light - same taste just a good few calories less - marvelous! 

  You can see the rest of the Boursin range over at their website.

They also have a great range of yummy looking recipes using Boursin too.

  

Tell me about the Competition!

One lucky reader of A Glug of Oil will win a Cooler Bag full of a assorted cheeses as shown in the picture above.  Please note: This prize can only be sent to an address in the UK.

*Please note the tomatoes and cheese board are NOT included.

 How do I enter?
To be in with a chance of winning a just follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter.  The Rafflecopter widget enables me to check that you have Tweeted and or FaceBooked.  Entries will be verified.  Closing date 12:01am 29th November 2012 EST
To see a short video on how easy it is to use Rafflecopter click here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crispy Crumbed Chicken Topped with Blue Cheese and Bacon

Crispy crunchy crumbed chicken fillet topped with blue cheese and bacon - what's not to like?  If you're on a diet or not, I'm pretty sure this recipe won't do you a bit of good but it tastes nice.

So easy to do there isn't even a real recipe!

Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Onions - Made Easy with CoreStuff

Stuffed onions made so easy with this marvelous invention - CoreStuff from Judge. 

 Using this nifty gizmo means you can stuff almost anything you want to and the unique depth gauge means you don't have to go all the way!

Good Energy Cooking - Vegetable Filo Pastry Tarts

 How to cut the carbon calories in your kitchen - Good Energy has teamed up with Arthur Potts Dawson for a second year to encourage a low-carbon approach to cooking.  I was set a challenge to cook one of Arthur's four new recipes.  With the mention of Feta in the ingredients, for me it was easy to choose, Vegetable Filo Pastry Tart it had to be.  

  Scrummy yummy feta cheese with very slightly crunchy vegetables in a creamy sauce, all encased in crispy filo pastry - what's not to like?!

Philly Chilli Pasta Bake - Super Quick Recipe

Philadelphia have just launched some super speedy recipes that even Paul (the husband) could make!  I was asked to give one of them a go to see if they really are that easy and quick.

Okay my picture isn't the best but at least you can see I really did make it.

Baked Chicken with Cheese Bacon and Pineapple

Easy tray baked chicken topped melted cheese, pineapple and crispy smokey bacon.  Sort of pub grub food - what's not to like?   

 I use those disposable foil baking trays (which can actually be washed and re-used) to make life easier.  You can also prepare this a few hours or so in advance - just cover with cling film, pop in the fridge ready to bake later on.

Forman and Field Tasting Hamper - Review

I was recently sent a lovely 'Tasting Hamper' to review from Forman and Field.
The hamper arrived around early in the morning, was perfectly packed and full of loads of yummy food.....

 What was inside?!

Spicy Crispy Crumb Chicken with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

Chicken fillets with a spicy, slightly herby crispy crumb coating served with a blue cheese dipping sauce.  

   If that isn't enough add a couple of jacket potato halves that have had the potato removed, add butter, season and then put back into the skins and baked till the top goes crispy.

Kitchen Gadgets Grate to Plate - Review

Okay this may not be the fanciest looking grater you've ever seen - but it does the job of grating and slicing really well.  

It comes with three different steel blades that are easy to change.  Just slide one out and slide another in.  

The suction feet grip to virtually any work surface including wood making it non slip and safe to use.  The feet then fold neatly underneath for storage after use so it won't take up much room in your cupboard.  

The Grate to Plate is also easy to clean and the blades are dishwasher safe.

The body is made from hard plastic and can only be cleaned in hot soapy water.

Now to put the Grate to Plate to the test!

First I thought I'd grate some Parmesan as it's such a hard cheese. 

Put a bowl or small plate underneath and away you go.

In just a few effortless turns of the handle I had a bowlful of nicely grated Parmesan!

What about potato?  Just change the blade to the slicing one and pop your potato in.

Hold down the clamp - turn the handle and away you go.

 The potato slices weren't the neatest of slices but they sliced nice and thinly and it was so easy to do. Washing up took a minute in some nice hot soapy water so there's no need to use a dishwasher if you don't have one.

Love the idea that the food goes straight onto a plate or bowl - a large dinner plate wont quite fit underneath, but a slightly smaller plate is fine.

Of course it can grate fruit and other vegetables too.

All in all I'd say it's worth every penny as it does what it says and is so easy and safe to use. 

The Judge Grate to Plate retails around £13.20 and is available from all good cookery stores.  For more information pop over to www.judgecookware.co.uk 

Thank you to Pam for sending me this to review.

Mozzarella and Parmesan Crispy Potatoes

Crispy edged potatoes, soft on the inside.  Topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan and nicely seasoned with a sprinkling of smoked Paprika. What's not to like?

Yes once again I'm using a disposable foil tray as it makes the job so much easier.  You can of course re-use them as I do - just pop them into the dishwasher or soak for a good while.

Roasted Fennel and Baby Tomatoes with Parmesan

Totally delicious and really simple to make.  Fennel becomes something truly special when it's roasted and topped with a good handful of Parmesan.  Add a few baby tomatoes into the roasting dish and you're in for a treat!

  Everyone seems to think that fennel goes with fish and that's it. 
Not true - roasted fennel goes well with loads of different foods including pan-fried chicken for one.  

That said fennel is either something you love or hate - a bit like Marmite! 
It can be eaten raw (slice very thinly and use in salads).  Fennel is quite anisseedy in taste, although once coked the flavour becomes more mellow.

Camembert Baked in the Box with Bacon Dust

Melty, sticky, gooey cheese that oozes from its box and topped with bacon dust.  Ready in no time and all that's needed is fresh crusty bread and you're all set to dive in. 
With some bacon in the fridge in need of being used up what to do but make bacon dust!

  Having had a bit of a Google I think I just might have invented this as there seems to be no other baked Camembert with bacon dust recipes to be found. 

Food and Wine Pairing - The Chablis Wine Challenge!

I was recently sent two different bottles of Chablis wine to taste and to take part in a food and wine pairing challenge.  Now, there are plenty of wine experts out there but I'm certainly not one of them!

The idea behind the challenge is to ask food bloggers that have no experience in wine, or food and wine pairing, to see what ideas they come up with that could work.  Hopefully showing that you genuinely don’t need to be a wine expert to be able to enjoy wine, and food pairing and it’s something that everyone can do!

 Now as I said I'm certainly no expert.  Both bottles of wine had a clear clarity to them.  One bottle was gold in colour with the second bottle being a lot paler and more of a lemon colour.  I've no real idea why but we both said the gold coloured wine tasted far better than the other bottle - and interestingly it was the more expensive of the two.  Trust me to like that one more!

There was a lovely fruit aroma with a citrus lemony taste with a hint of vanilla and oak (you can tell I'm really getting into this wine tasting now)!  

Oh and before anyone asks - I didn't read the label as it was all in French! Probably though, if an expert were to taste the same two bottles of wine they'd be sure to say something completely different!

Chablis is a dry wine and although I usually drink red wine these were both very nice to drink.

 Now for My Chablis Wine and Food Pairing Verdict! 

I picked three different foods that I thought the wine would go well with:

In no particular order, Pan-fried Chicken with Lemon and Thyme would be great. The lemon in the chicken, I thought would bring out the lemony flavors already found in the wine.

Another dish that would go well would be my Prawn Linguini with Chorizo and Sun-dried Tomatoes.  This dish has a slight heat from the chilli which I think goes so well with Chablis wine.  The lovely smokiness from the Chorizo somehow brings out the oak aroma too.

 And finally it had to be Baked Camembert with Crispy Crunchy Bruschetta.

Oh yes - a sip of wine and a dip of bruschetta in the lovely melty, gooey cheese.....and another sip of wine.....and another dip in the cheese! 

Chablis and Baked Camembert totally go together.

 Thank you to Stéphanie for inviting me to take up this exciting challenge.

Garlic and Blue Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

There's no real recipe for these as they are so very simple to make.  Lovely portobello mushrooms stuffed with garlic, red chilli for a little heat and blue cheese.  All topped with crispy panko breadcrumbs - yum!

I used Dolcelatte - an Italian soft blue veined cheese as it melts so easily.