Mini lemon cheesecakes – photos and tips

It's all very well needing muffin cases – can I find any?! I thought I had loads, clearly not. The nearest I could find were foil baking cases – not ideal – the cases taper at the base but the upside is that they look good and are actually quite robust – it could have been worse.

Here's the result :

Not too shabby – better than expected

Ideal if you want to serve with ice cream

or raspberries on the side

These will be better still made in muffin or cupcake cases – accidentally though there's a serving choice!

The other plus with this recipe is that the cheesecakes don't require baking. I've frozen them wrapped in cling film and then bagged – as usual I'll let you know how it goes.

I did serve one with vanilla ice cream – it disappeared in the blink of an eye – comment - “the perfect size, just enough”.

Note to self – muffin cases on the shopping list for next week!

Bye for now …

Musing mini cheesecakes

Like I said sweet stuff isn't normally on my radar but these mini cheesecakes appealed because they are lemon and use mascarpone cheese which is the perfect product for this dessert, silky and glossy - easy to use and they are quick and easy to make.

Here's the recipe :

Mini lemon cheesecakes

6 digestive biscuits

50g/2oz unsalted butter

250g mascarpone cheese

6 tbsp lemon curd

1 tbsp lemon juice

120ml/4 fl oz double cream

3 tsps lemon curd for decoration - optional

You'll need muffin cases

plus a bag you can seal for the biscuits

and your trusted rolling pin for bashing purposes

Place the muffin cases on a tray, ready for transferring to the fridge. Put the biscuits in the bag and bash to a fine crumb, using the rolling pin.

Melt the butter and stir into the crumb then divide between the six muffin cases. Press the crumb firmly to form a base – you can use your fingers, I used my trusted piece of kitchen kit the pastry tamper. Chill in the fridge.

Beat together the cheese, lemon curd and lemon juice – I used a wooden spoon and elbow grease. Whip the cream to soft peaks, fold into the cheese mixture. Spoon the filling into the muffin cases. Decorate each with half a teaspoon of lemon curd and swizzle with a small cocktail stick.

Chill in the fridge until ready for serving.

There's more ...

Miam Musings IV

Have you noticed how some weeks are better than others? Don't know about you guys but in this house we were on the edge of our seats for “easing” news last Sunday. In reality for us, no great change except … I can run with my friend – yippee! Whether I'll be saying that after the event is another matter entirely.

Anyway, an update. Remember me sending out a distress call to the North West re the alien abduction of all the Marmite Peanut Butter Smooth? Nobody likes a challenge better than my Sister, Whizzer (it's her nickname btw – those of us of an age will remember Billy Whizz from The Beano Comic – so called because of his speed everywhere – entirely appropriate in my Sister's case!) Having issued the challenge last Sunday it took her until Wednesday to find the illusive spread – I have awarded three Gold Stars for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity. Two jars with my name on both – it'll be worth the wait!

Moving on, here's my menu for this week :

Menu

Corned beef, potato and onion pasties

Raw slaw and roasted beetroot

A reprise of scallops and prawns with teriyaki

sauce and rice – by popular request

Pasta Alfredo

Fishcakes with stick blender mayo

and a slaw, seasoned wedges

You may have noticed there are only four mains mentioned above – that's because this week is “wing it week” or Treasure Chest week, or Lucky Dip week – any of the above will do! In other words, now is the time to reap the benefit of all that batch cooking over the last few weeks – a week off – three days really but it still counts.

My options are :

Venison

Pork

Spie

Braised steak

Four meat options to choose from on whatever night you want – jiggle them around to suit you. If you've done like I do and have cooked jacket potatoes in the fridge all you have to consider is the other veggies to serve with. Alternatively you might have new potatoes to serve and then leftovers to roast for wedges. Fly by the seat of your pants, but with help!

Last week the treat was cheese scones – they were yum by the way – this week it's a sweet treat. Not my favourite stuff but you have to look after everyone, all the more so at the moment. Mini cheesecakes here we come – lemon.

Which brings me to my rant of the week. I usually make my own lemon curd but decided to cheat and buy a jar of lemon curd – not any old lemon curd, it has to be Sicilian and my absolute favourite is M&S – there's a theme here – not a jar to be seen – in Waitrose they didn't have any “ordinary” lemon curd, consequently my options were limited, grudgingly settling for the Waitrose Duchy Organic version. However, I've set my heart on mini lemon cheesecakes – so just get on with it and stop whinging woman!

Finally, just before I go an update on flour - I'm now thinking that being able to buy a bag of flour was a mirage. If I didn't have the bag in the pantry and produced a photo to remind you what it looks like I'd think I imagined the whole thing. The shelves are completely bare again – the flour famine continues.

See you soon, stay safe and well,

Love xxx

P.s. Wouldn't leave without giving you the mini cheesecake recipe and a couple of photos!

If it ain't broke don't fix it recipe – cauliflower cheese

This dish is always a labour of love and therapy too – the ultimate veggie comfort food that always hits the spot.

Here's the original recipe, as promised :

Baked Cauliflower Cheese

I steam a whole head of cauliflower (medium to large), minus its leaves, until tender and then set it aside on a tray lined with layers of kitchen roll. This allows all the moisture to drain away from the cauliflower, ready to finish later on. Next make a mornay sauce – which can be made ahead and fridged if more convenient. I also grate Parmesan cheese in readiness to garnish the cauliflower dish and plan to be generous and sprinkle liberally!

Mornay Sauce

Serves 4-6

40g unsalted butter

40g plain flour

600ml of milk – I use semi skimmed

150g mature Cheddar cheese

(or a combination of Cheddar and gruyere)

celery salt and black pepper

½ tsp Dijon mustard - optional

Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Cook gently for a minute, stirring – make sure you don't brown the mixture. Gradually add the milk whisking constantly and eventually bring to the boil, whisking until it's smooth and thick. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the cheese, mustard and season. I'd taste before you add salt – there's salt in the cheese – adjust accordingly.

Pat the cauliflower dry and kitchen roll and remove the florets – keep them to a similar size if you can and place in your serving dish (with any additional veggies). Season with celery salt and black pepper, spoon over the mornay sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan and add more black pepper to taste.

It's all cooked so will only need 30 minutes at 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Leftover cauliflower cheese is even better, re-heating gives you crispy, cheesy bits – always assuming you have any leftovers!

Just before I go, a thought - if you can try and look forward to food – if you're self isolating and alone I know that's easier said than done. Treat yourself to an ingredient you love – indulge.

If you're with family get them to pitch in prepping or cooking and make it fun – remember when we sat down at a table and shared not just a meal but a conversation too? If you love to cook how about teaching as you go?

Until next time … x

Musing – the running recipe

I mentioned previously that running helps clear my head and occasionally gives me ideas too, which is why the following is referred to as the running recipe.

Picture the scene … in silent exercise it occurs to me, I love cauliflower cheese but it can be a tad boring, so I've decided to modify what some may say doesn't need modification.

The running recipe – Cauliflower Bake

additions

225g of onion, finely diced

(1 medium onion)

Melt the butter from the recipe given for the Mornay Sauce and sweat the onions gently for about 10 minutes until they are soft, season with celery salt and black pepper. Continue with the recipe, adding the flour, cook gently, don't brown the mixture.

I have leftover cooked potatoes and so am adding 500g of cooked Charlotte potatoes, finely diced to add to the steamed cauliflower.

As a guide, I weighed the cauliflower after having removed the outer leaves – 730g approximately. You could add broccoli – steamed - or any cooked veggies you've got leftover.

If you don't have Charlotte potatoes but have baked jacket potatoes you could use steamed cauliflower and broccoli (plus any other leftover cooked veggies) together with the Mornay Sauce as a base and then add sliced cooked, baked potatoes as a topping, garnishing with grated Parmesan – a Cauliflower Cheese Pie!

If you'd like to introduce a meat element then you could add crispy chorizo and its delicious oil to the topping or, if you have a stash of boxed bacon bits they would be perfect too.

here's the result – for the record adding the onion

to the mornay was the best idea – double yum!

May be it's not a case of “if it ain't broke don't fix it” after all … here's the original recipe.

MiamMiam Musings III

MiamMiam

Musings

I hope you're enjoying the random ramblings!

To recap … remember “where has all the flour gone” - a red letter day, check this out :

 

It has become a ritual, down the aisle beginning with the eggs and then a great gaping whole where the flour used to live – I thought I was having a moment, as they say. It took all my self control not to shout with joy and run up and down whooping as I went – not a pretty sight!

I took this as a sign of hope in that very slowly there may be a chink of light? How strange that your mood is lifted by the sight of a bag of flour, a sobering thought – on a lighter note I think it's time to celebrate … with cheese scones!

Here's the musings menu for the week :

Ham hock stack – roasted leftover

cooked Charlottes or any new potatoes, cubed

as the base for the stack - use a ring to build the stack.

Add the ham hock and then complete with a poached

egg

Scallops and prawns, stir fried in teriyaki sauce

serve with egg fried rice

Slow cooked braised steak and onions

with mashed potatoes and parrots

Cauliflower cheese with optional

chorizo or smoked bacon for the meat eaters

Chicken curry, noodles and flat breads

Fish, chips & peas – my way

Baked cod loin with hoi sin sauce

potato wedges seasoned and mushy peas

Lamb with mint sauce

Stir fried shredded white cabbage and onion

with Balsamic vinegar

Roast potatoes

Petit pois

They say everything comes in threes – since the beginning of lockdown :

Number 1 - from nowhere our electrics tripped – resetting just knocked them out again. Long story short thank goodness my electrician is on speed dial, someone, somewhere was smiling, he answered the phone! Well that was an exciting couple of hours – it's process of elimination – the net result of which is … the dishwasher is no longer with us. A telephone call to Bosch, explained, quite rightly, that they were only responding to items deemed to be necessities – ovens, hobs, fridges and freezers. In a moment of madness we said, hey we'll just revert to the old fashioned way and do it by hand. It seemed like a good idea at the time … three weeks in and I'm saying – privately and in jest of course – I'd like to know who decided that a dishwasher isn't a necessity!

Number 2 – three days later and I'm about to start my favourite household chore – NOT – the ironing. Guess what … the electrics tripped again … the iron is no longer with us – can you see a pattern emerging? I'm beginning to twitch every time I go to switch anything on. Thank you Amazon although I suppose I could have justified leaving the ironing to pile up because I didn't have an iron … nice try!

Number 3 - the day after I'd done the weekly shop H went to move my car to get to his and … yep you've guessed - it wouldn't move, another long story short, the rescue squad were called and then a Volvo mechanic, who asked me have you put petrol in recently? Answer – yes, gulp! I can't repeat what I thought – suffice it to say my blood ran cold. A sprint indoors and a rummage for the receipt confirmed that I'd not done the unthinkable and filled my car with diesel … phew! The indignity of watching my car being towed away on a low loader was ridiculously traumatic, like losing a limb. For goodness sake get a grip!

The tide turned, I no longer have a pile of ironing, my garage re-opened its service department and the fault was fixed and I got my car back in time to do the next shopping run, all this excitement is too much.

Just before I go, I have an update on “Marmite Smooth Gate” … the quest continues. It helps when you have family in a different part of the Country. In my case my Sister, Whizzer and grown-up Nephews, Lucas and Nathan all live in the North West. Lucas is also my Editor and IT Consultant and like me a lover of both Marmite and Peanut Butter – I now have them all on the case – they love a challenge – watch this space. Of course it may be that we have visitors from outer space who have never experienced either delight and become addicted, commandeering supplies as they leave the production line! Well really.

Stay safe and well,

Love xxxx

P.s. I mentioned cauliflower cheese in the menu …

Muse to amuse …

...remember the Pilates class and inviting Rose?

Here's what she thought – in photo form!

Will I do or am I over-dressed?

This looks interesting … lets get this show on the road!

I love this, it's really good fun

Time for relaxation … more like a sea otter

than a Tibetan Terrier!

We didn't get too much done but we certainly had some fun and lots of laughs – hope she makes you smile too.