Jalapeno and Cheese movie snack

Just thought I would share this with you all.... a quick tasty snack ideal for a home movie night.

Spicy cheese tortilla movie bread type thing...

Ingredients:
2 Corn tortillas
Cheddar (large handful grated)
Jalapenos (as many as you dare)


Method:

Lay 1 tortilla in a fry pan
place onto this chopped Jalapenos and cheese
cover with second tortilla

Heat turning occasionally for 2-4 minutes (or until cheese is melted) then cut and enjoy..... you can of course vary the cheese and chilli to your heart desire this however is just what we had in the fridge that needed eating.

Penne with Cream Tomatoes and Pesto

Right tonight for dinner a simple and hearty pasta that is all about the sauce. As with all of my favourite recipes this is impressively simple to make... perfect for a quick supper after a hard day at work.


Ingredients:

Pesto

25g Fresh Basil
20g Pine nuts
100ml Olive oil
25g Pecorino Romano
25g Parmesan
salt

Plum tomatoes:
4-5 large plum tomatoes (peeled if fresh, strained if canned)
250g double cream

Pasta:
Penne Rigante (or any large tube pasta)

Method:

First the pesto:
blend the basil leaves,pine nuts, oil and salt briefly in a blender or hand mixer attachment then add the cheese and blend again.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
Meanwhile pour the cream into a pan and add the tomatoes cook this slowly for about 10 minutes. After ten minutes or so remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly... then pour in the pesto and mix. When this is mixed add the pasta mix again and serve..... (you may need bread to mop up the sauce as this is far too good to leave)

A light bank holiday lunch with a Peach and Mozzarella Salad

Today we had lunch with a guest... the remit was a light salad lunch! Not an easy task for us butter lovers. So in this instance we have had to fall back on butters' favourite friend, cheese. This lunch is laughably simple and tasty, perfect for a sunny afternoon.

Todays lunch: Roasted vegetable salad and Salad with peach, mozzarella and parma ham (with crusty bread).

Roasted vegetable salad:

1 Red pepper
1 Yellow pepper
1 Round courgette (regular will do but since it was a bit unusual...)
3-4 Large tomatoes
drizzle of olive oil
a pinch of dried oregano
salt and pepper

Peach salad:

2 Peaches
3 Tomatoes (large)
1 Ball of mozzarella (the best you can afford)
3-4 Slices parma ham
Small hand full of rocket (or watercress or a mix of the both)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

bread:

Waitrose (or your local baker)
Butter (ditto or local dairy/deli)

Method:

Roasted vegetable salad:
cut all of the ingredients coarsely toss into a roasting pan. roast for 20mins at 200 degrees then tip into a bowl to serve

Peach salad:

coarsely chop the peach and tomatoes and place in a ball. Tear into this the mozzarella and parma ham then add the the rocket and mix. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serve with you favourite bread and of course... good quality butter.

Tandoori chicken with Roasted vegetables

Tonights dinner (typed in lieu)

Tandoori chicken with roasted vegetables

Vegetables:
5-6 large green chillies (not particularly spicy is perfect)
4-5 tomatoes (large and fresh)
2-3 Peppers (red/yellow/orange)
2 cloves Garlic (large or 3 small)
oregano
olive oil

Tandoori chicken

chicken drumsticks
tandoori spice mix
yogurt (1 large pot of cheap shop bought runny yogurt)
Lemon

Method:

This does take a little preparation and the chicken needs to marinade overnight but is well worth it in the end.

The day before:
1. Using the a large cooks knife remove the bottom 1-2cm of the chicken drumstick ( this causes the meat to shrink up the bone giving you a little nub of bone to hold onto)
2. Make slits 5-6 on the fleshy part of each drumstick and then place this in an oven proof dish ()just big enough to fit the drumsticks in.
3. Rub with tandoori spice mix (best to buy this) making sure to get this into all of the slits you have cut in the chicken. BE GENEROUS with the spice...
4. Cut the lemon in two and squeeze the juice over the drumsticks and then cover with the yogurt give this a little stir then cover and leave in the fridge over night.

On the day:
1. Cut all of the veg into pieces and place in a roasting dish
2. Crush (dont chop) the garlic and add these with a healthy sprinkle of oregano and a liberal amount of olive oil.
3. Remove the chicken drumsticks from the marinade and lay these on a tray (grease proof is better here than tin foil as it doesn't stick so badly)
4. Place both dishes in the oven (place the veg on the top rack) at 200 degrees for about 20 mins (during this time baste the chicken with the extra marinade)
5. Remove the veg and place these into a bowl, at the same time move the chicken up and grill briefly to give the appropriate finish.

Serve with flatbread or pitta and some mint in yogurt. tasty and quick (well on the day at least)