Sunday spinach-cheddar pie

Sunday Spinach- cheddar pie

Good evening!

I know that I have not posted for a while but I had been pretty busy recently, new work, new adventures  each day so its been pretty challenging  to convince myself to get  back to the kitchen… but, it was indeed more than releiving and energizing to grab the knife again and pamper myself with something cheesy and indulgent.

I usually eat a lot of spinach,..I am basically addicted o it…I love each form of these green leaves from eating it raw in a salad, mixing it with garlic or making a quick soup, but as I enjoy playing with different types of pies I really thought it would worth trying outit  in this form …and without any unbearable self-esteem this spinach – cheddar- cottage cheese pie has turned out to be more than I wished for for a relaxing  Sunday evening.

Why Sunday??? I think it is especially  important to finish a week in the most fullfilling way to be able to start the next Monday  with full energy and positive vibes, and also its not the worst thing to have some pie leftover to bring to work for lunch and remind yourself that you had made something delicious the other day. 🙂

This pie is even better on Mondays served cold…but be aware that your colleagues might ask for a bite.

Enjoy! 😉

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 25 dkg ( 2, 5 cups) wholegrain flour
• 8 dkg (0, 8 cup) butter
• 1 dl cold water
• salt
• 1 egg

Filling:

• 1 cup ( 10 dkg) of cottage cheese
• ½ cup of cheddar
• ½ cup of créme fresch
• 6 eggs
• salt
• pepper
• ½ onion
• 2 cups (20 dkg ) of spinach

Preparation:

• Put the flour in a big bowl, pulse it together with salt.
• Add butter and one egg and mix until it resembles a coarse meal.
• Slowly add water and process until a dough comes together.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 30-40 minutes in the fridge before rolling out.

 

Meanwhile, prepare filling as follows:

• Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook it until transclucent, than add garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until the garlic is just beginning to brown.

• Add the spinach to the pan, stir it with the olive oil, cover the pan and cook for 1 minute. Uncover and turn the spinach over again. Cover the pan and cook for an additional minute. (If you cannot find fresh spinach you can also use frozen ones.)

• Lightly whisk 6 eggs in a mixing bowl and add créme fresch, cottage cheese, cheddar, salt and pepper than pour the mixture on the spinach and stir it together.

The „final” steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. ( 180 C)
• Take the chilled dough, roll it out and press it into the bottom of a 10-inch pie dish.
• Prick it with a fork all around, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Take it out from the oven, pour the filling in and put the pie back in the oven for 60 minutes, or until the filling is set.
• Allow it to cool for a bit before serving.

 

Beverage  pairing recommendation: I would highly recommend to have a pint of Guinness or a coffee stout along with the dish. The strength and creamyness harmonizes with the salty  and soft texture of the pie. If you are more of a wine person I’d advise to have a glass of Chardonnay.

Let me know if you have any comments to share, I hope you enjoy this tendering dish.

Trust me, you won’t regret this happy ending for the week. Stay cheesy and enjoy!!! 🙂

 

Amazingly boozy Cheddar-Stout muffin

I have been hunting for good cheese and beer recipes  for a long time but it seemed  that the only chance I have is to  either start eating stout beer- cheddar dips in a thousand versions or start inventing new things myself.

I actually  did start to feel down about not finding any creative options for the usage of my 2 favourite ingredients together when I bumped into my new idol’s blog just randomly.  Beeroness herself is a really inventive lady whose aim is to show all sides of beer and open people’s eyes to the zillion opportunities a beer can offer even as a drink or a proper meal.

So I started browsing in her recipes and could not decide where to begin actually. The exploration of the goodies just got me too excited to decide  which one should be the first.  Thank God I was already extremely hungry so I  saw the words  „ stout” and „bread” and „muffin”… totally hooked on it…

So here you are the recipe from Beeroness , of course a little bit modified to totally fit my needs, but I would like to thank this awesome lady for creating the basic idea of the beer-cheese muffin :).  Originally its with all purpose flour and  Lagunitas Red, an imperial red ale, but unfortunately it was only a limited edition, so I had no chance to get it anyway.

So I shut my mouth …. here is my version, the Cheedar- Imperial  Stout  bread muffin with Tarragon Pear souce.

Ingredients

For 10-12 muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups flour whole grain flour
• 1 tbsp cain sugar or Xilitol
• 2 tsp baking powder ( half a package)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup shredded  red cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup shredded Mimolette cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped   leek
• 1/4 cup melted butter + 2 additional tsp
• 6 oz / 1.8 dl  Agressor Imperial Stout beer 

For the sauce:

• 4 pears
• 1 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp cain sugar or Xilitol

How to?

Preheat oven to 350 F ( 180 C) .

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese and onions, stir until well combined. Pour in the melted butter plus the beer, stir until just combined.

Put muffin papers in the muffins tins and pour the dough  into it until each  is about 1/2 full. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter on the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between each muffin. Top with additional shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 F ( 180 C)  for 18-20 minutes.

 

Meanwhile chop the pears to small pieces and put in a pot with the tarragon, sugar and a 1 tbsp of water and simmer it together until the pear gets almost creamy.

Put 2 muffins and 2 tbsps of sauce on a plate,  serve immediately.

                                                     Good Appetite! 🙂

Don’t hesitate to make any comments or ammendments on the recipe.

Source: http://thebeeroness.com/2012/05/31/cheddar-beer-bread-muffins/

 

 

 

The world famous mac ‘n’ cheese

I was always wondering about what could be so exciting about ’mac and cheese’ and why is it so delicious and so addictive that most of the americans consider it the best thing after PB&J. So I decided to try myself out the traditional mac’n’cheese recipe and experience this indulging pasta-cheese combo.

But before revealing the recipe and my score on a 1 to 10 scale here’s some historical background to know who or what is behind this not really extraordinary but delicious idea.

What is exactly mac’n’cheese?

It is actually macaroni and cheese ( what a surprise) – also called “mac and cheese” in American English; “macaroni pie” inCaribbean English; and “macaroni cheese” in the Canada, United Kingdom and New Zealand. The dish itself consists of cooked macaroni pasta and cheese, most commonly Cheddar cheese, though it can also incorporate other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, meat and vegetables.

Traditional macaroni and cheese is a casserole baked in the oven; however, it may be prepared in a sauce pan on top of the stove.  To be authentic I decided to bake the traditional one but soon I think I will have some mac’n’ cheese experiments with the other types.

Biref history

The origins are not 100% clarified, on say that it is English, the others insist on the Italian origins. What is actually known is for sure that pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the 14th century’s Liber de Coquina, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. What is controversial is that it is originally an Italian dish of parmesan and pasta but known in England since the 14th century, where a cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded. It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese.

The first modern recipe for the dish was included in cookery writer Elizabeth Raffald’s 1769 book The Experienced English Housekeeper. In the United Kingdom, during the 2010s, it has become widespread as a meal and as a side order in both fast food and upmarket restaurant, furthermore in Canada the packaged Kraft mac’n’cheese is considered to be one of the national dishes.

American history

The American history of the pasta casserole goes back to the times of  Thomas Jefferson who encountered macaroni both in Paris and in northern Italy, where he drew a sketch of the pasta and wrote detailed notes on the extrusion process. He was such a mac’n’cheese addict that in 1793, he commissioned the American ambassador to Paris to purchase a pasta machine for making it. Afterwards, a recipe called “macaroni and cheese” appeared in the 1824 cookbook The Virginia Housewife one of the most influential cookbooks of the 19th century.

In the United States, July 14 has been branded as “National Macaroni and Cheese” day.

Also macaroni and cheese pizza can be found on restaurant menus and the original recipes has also changed a lot since the 14th century by adding extra ingredients sometimes including tomatoes, onions, tabasco, sautéed mushrooms, cooked gorund brief, hamburger meat, fried bacon, lobster, canned tuna or salmon, peas or broccoli.

The Canadian Mac

Macaroni and Cheese was brought to Canada by British immigrants, coming from other parts of the British Empire. Macaroni and cheese recipes have been attested in Canada since at least in 1845, which suggests a puff pastry lining (suggesting upper-class refinement) and a sauce of cream, egg yolks, mace, and mustard, and grated Parmesan or Cheshire cheese on top. Canadian Cheddar cheese was also becoming popularized at this time and was likely also used during that era.  Currently a variety of packaged mixes mixes which are prepared in a sauce pan on the stove or in a microwave over are available. They are usually modeled on Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (known as Kraft Dinner in Canada), which was introduced in 1937.

Other side of the world

In Austria mac’n’ cheese is called Älplermagronen (Alpine herder’s macaroni), which is made of macaroni, cream, cheese, roasted onions, and in some recipes, potatoes. The cheese is often Emmental cheese or Appenzeller cheese and it is usually accompanied by apple sauce.

In Scotland, the dish is often presented in a pastry shell as macaroni cheese pie.

The recipe

Traditional Americam Mac and Cheese recipe :

• 2 cups of macaroni    
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 big onion, chopped fine
• 2  minced garlic cloves
• 2  tablespoons of flour
• 5-6 dl  milk  
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 15 dkg shredded young cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 °C.
2. While making cheese mixture, cook pasta
3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the onion and garlic in butter until translucent.
4. Add flour to saucepan and stir to combine, leaving no dry flour bits.
5. Add milk all at once to saucepan along with black pepper and some salt.
6. Stir in the chedda until melted, and mixture is smooth.
7. Place cooked pata in a casserole dish. Stir in cheese mixture until combined and hint put some shredded cheddar on top.
8. Bake for approx. 20- 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
9. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Personal impression

After having the traditional recipre prepaired I would not say that it is going to be my favourite food but it definitely worth trying. If you are a cheddar lover and you need an easy to cook meal for you and maybe your flatmate, other half or anybody else, than it is going to be your life saving dish.

My opinion is that the recipe is good, delicious and filling but the taste is not a gastronomical breakthrough. If you like cheese that smells and have a really strong taste than I would recommend you to add extra goat or sheep cheese ( that is what I actually did, I added extra sheep milk cream cheese) and it would not desecrate the original recipe but will give you a satisfying feeling and will make you crave for some more.

What is your opinion? Let me know… 😉

Sources:

• www. foodnetwork.com
• Wikipedia
• http://www.tarasmulticulturaltable.com/alplermagronen-swiss-alpine-macaroni/
• http://www.allrecipes.com