NibNibs

When I was just at the most jaw-clenchingly awful moment of morning sickness I very kindly got sent a box of assorted NibNib products to try. I carried the box through to the kitchen and then studiously ignored it for a month. It wasn't just the box. For most of the first three months of this pregnancy I avoided the kitchen. There was an incident involving morning sickness, norovirus, absent husband and cooking for a 2 year old that put me off the whole concept of non-M&S sandwich food for at least 7 weeks.

Then as my appetite returned I wanted salty, delicious, mostly cheese-based nibbles and so I finally opened my box of NibNibs. My hopes weren't high as there is quite a lot of competition out there so I wasn't paying too much attention as I tore open the (really handy) packaging and started shoving the Exceptional Cheese Straws in. But they were really delicious - cheesy, the right consistency for a cheese straw and a really nice nibbley size. Not bad I thought.

The Cheddar and Spicy Chilli Staws were opened (and finished) a couple of nights later when my mother came to stay. I trust her taste buds as, like me, she finds most things under-salted. Not these, these she approved of whole-heartedly. We opened the Cheddar and Cheeky Onion Straws and were again really impressed. These are definitely my favourite - just the right amount of onion. Seriously, I have a very sensitive stomach at the moment and I was anxious about too much onion. These are incredibly delicious and slightly addictive.

The last on my to-try list were the Salt and Black Pepper Jumbo Peanuts (yes I know I shouldn't have peanuts when pregnant but I am ok?) and again, although these come in a really easy to store, easy to open, closable tub they didn't last very long. Perfectly seasoned and good-quality peanuts.

Without a doubt I would buy these again - they are fantastic nibbles and the aforementioned packaging makes them great to have in the cupboard for when you need them. You don't need to eat them all, they'll keep very nicely in their tubs, but you probably will eat them all. But don't worry if you do - all the ingredients are personally sourced by the NibNibs team and where possible, they are all British and all products are made in their bakery in North Yorkshire. Find your local stockist here or buy online and try them - the perfect go-to store cupboard treat for Christmas

Chorizo and Parmesan Puffs

Every year we have a Christmas drinks party and every year I try to make enough canapes to sink a ship. This year I had my hands fuller than usual so I wanted to do as many things as possible ahead of time and these are incredibly easy to assemble and can sit in a disposable foil tray in the fridge until you are ready to cook them - I also do an anchovy and goats cheese version.

Chorizo and Parmesan Puffs

Makes 16-20 squares

350g pre-rolled puff pastry sheets
6 tbsp grated Parmesan
20 slices chorizo
1 egg, beaten
garlic oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. I use disposable foil trays for this so I can throw them out when they are cooked and because they are easy to stack in the fridge.

1. Lay the pastry out in a rectangle (or roll it out into a rectangle if you haven't got the pre-rolled stuff). Brush with beaten egg all around the outside edges.

2. Brush the middle of the pastry rectangle with garlic oil and gently draw a line down the centre of the pastry top to bottom so it looks like an open book.

3. Layer half of the chorizo along one half of the pasty and sprinkle with half the Parmesan. Then do a second layer with the remaining chorizo and sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan.

4. Fold the empty half of the pasty over the top of the chorizo and Parmesan layers (like you are closing a book) and press down the edges.

5. Brush the top with beaten egg - you can either chill or freeze it now - or cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

6. Slice into small bite-sized squares and serve.

Leftover Cheese Sandwich Pudding

The title of this sounds a bit gross I know and I have to say when my mum first suggested it I thought she had gone nuts but it was totally yummy and has now made me believe that any form of leftover can be made into something delicious. Which is true to a certain extent. I made cheese, ham and cucumber sandwiches for Ned's first birthday party (along with lots of other things) and there were some leftover which I was determined not to throw out. I ate the ham for lunch but really they would have been lovely in this but I was hungry. So there.

This is a hard recipe to write up as the amounts depend on how many sandwiches you have. It would also work well with lots of other kinds of sandwiches - ham, tomato... probably not cucumber... so don't feel restricted by the fact that this recipe is mainly cheese. You can also add whatever you like - my husband doesn't think something is cooking if it doesn't involve an onion. Garlic would be nice too but this is the basics - do with it as you will.

Leftover Cheese Sandwich Pudding

Leftover cheese sandwiches (I had about 20 which were quarter squares on a mix of white and brown bread)
2 eggs
¼ to ½ pint of milk
Cheese (preferably something tasty and melty - cheddar, red Leicester etc)
Parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5 and butter an ovenproof dish that will suit the amount of sandwiches you have - you want at least two layers of sandwiches in the bottom and enough room for this to rise a bit.

1. Layer the leftover sandwiches in the bottom of your buttered dish and squish them in a bit.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the milk. Beat a bit more and season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour the egg/milk mix over the sandwiches and leave to stand for half an hour or so.

4. Grate cheese over the top (I even splodged on some cream cheese that I wanted to use up) and cook for about half and hour or until the cheese is starting to go golden and it has puffed up a bit.

5. Serve with a salad and some chutney. It was delicious.

Leftover Cheese Sandwich Pudding

Couscous and Feta Salad

I'm always a bit meh about couscous... it either tastes of nothing, or of stock, or of pesto but I've finally found a way to not only make it taste nice but I actually find this salad incredibly moreish and pretty hard to stop eating but lovely to have in the fridge as a yummy lunch. This does have pesto in it but not too much and if you cube the feta quite small and add it when the couscous is warm then it becomes all soft and yummy.


Couscous and Feta salad

Serves 2

100g couscous
200ml hot vegetable stock
2 spring onions
1 red pepper
1/2 cucumber
1/2 block feta cheese, cut into small-ish cubes
2 tbsp pesto, ideally the fresh stuff
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
4 or 5 large fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped or torn

You just need a bowl to make the couscous in and a chopping board and you can do all the chopping while the couscous is brewing.

1. Put the couscous in a large bowl, pour over the hot stock, cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave for 10 minutes until all the stock has been absorbed.

2. While the couscous is cooking slice the onions, peppers and dice the cucumber. Cube the feta and toast the pine nuts.

3. When the couscous is ready, fluff it up with a fork then add the vegetables and mix, then the pesto and finally add the feta, basil and pine nuts.

Garlic Butter and Cheddar Scones

I always get over excited when I buy a new cookery book. I then get intimidated by it and ignore it for a few weeks before I finally decide what the first attempted recipe shall be. So it was with Short and Sweet by legendary baker Dan Lepard. I didn't find the cover to this particularly appealing but one short minute of peering inside and I had to have it. It covers absolutely everything from basic bread to banana fudge cookies via black russian caramels and soft raspberry coconut ice.

The real decider was Joe disappearing off with three friends on Sunday to go and watch the football and I decided that nothing would be nicer for them at half time than some Garlic Butter and Cheddar scones... so that's what they had. Now these aren't going to win any beauty contests because some of the cheese makes a sort of skirt at the bottom of the scone but this is actually a bonus because this garlicky, leaked cheese is amazing and almost better than the scone itself. What I found especially pleasing is I didn't have to tweak this recipe at all!

Garlic Butter and Cheddar Scones

Makes 6 scones

100g plain flour, plus extra for shaping
100g wholemeal or rye flour
2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic, finely mashed
50g unsalted butter, in 1 cm cubes
200g cheddar, diced
1 large egg
about 4 tbsp low fat plain yoghurt

Heat the oven to 210C/190C fan/ 410F/ Gas Mark 6.5.  Line a baking tray with non-stick paper. I'd also like to recommend that you dice the cheddar quite small - mine was pretty small but my cheddar skirts were pretty big. I think the smaller the dice, the smaller the skirt.

1. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the garlic and butter. Rub everything together until the butter has almost disappeared and toss the cheese through.

2. Beat the egg with the yoghurt and stir this in to make a soft dough.

3. Pat this out on a floured surface until it's about 4cm thick and either cut out 6 circles of dough or tidy the edges and cut into squares.

4. Place them a small bit apart on the baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top.

5. Leave on the tray to cool slightly before eating.

Leek and Goats Cheese Tart

Rather refreshingly we have my 19 year old cousin staying with us at the moment before she goes back to uni and she requested a leek and goats cheese tart which I was pretty excited about as I love it and I had a recipe for one that I've wanted to try for ages. It's in Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook and the reason it's so appealing is that the pastry is incredibly easy and use of mustard on the tart base means the rest of the ingredients can be really simple. I did do a couple of tweeks which I'll put in brackets after the ingredients so you can use my version or hers... in fact you should just buy the book. It's wonderful.

So, this tart was delicious, I didn't add all the creamy filling as I was worried about it bubbling over but I could have done, as it was it was fine but I like as much cream as possible!

Leek and Goats cheese tart

Serves 4-6

For the pastry:
120g butter
1/2 tsp salt
200g flour

For the filling:
2 tbsp Dijon mustard (I think one large one would be fine)
4 leeks, thinly sliced (I used three large and there was still too much)
285ml single cream
Salt and Pepper
2 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks
200g goats cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
200g soft goats' cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. You need a 23cm flan tin lined - I find it helps to rub a bit of butter round mine.

1. Make the pastry by sifting the flour with the salt and either rub the butter into the flour with your fingers, or pulse in a food processor, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough cold water to bind the dough together.

2. Roll out the dough and line the flan tin. Prick the base and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Tart base

3. Cover the tart base with baking paper and fill with baking beans and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove the baking beans and leave to cool.

4. When the pastry has cooled a little, spread the Dijon mustard over the tart base.

5. Beat together the eggs, yolks, cream and seasoning.

6. Gently fry the leeks in the oil until they are soft and put them in the tart. Crumble over the goats cheese and pour the egg mixture on top.

7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the tart is set - I found it was more like 25.

Finished tart

Hot American Chicken Salad

I've taken this recipe from Some Food for Thoughts - a cookery book sold in aid of Le Court Cheshire Home, Hampshire and other charities. This is a great amalgamation of recipes from residents in the care home, their friends and families - ranging from Chiang Mai Noodle Soup to Roast Monkfish and Pancetta with Herbs and loads inbetween. I'm not sure if it's available on the Internet but do get in touch with me if you'd like to know of any other recipes or details or how to order one.

This salad is so incredibly simple but wonderfully mayonnaisey and decadent and lets face it if the sun's out you don't want to be slaving over a hot stove or doing anything with chickpeas... do you really? We poached the chicken in stock the night before so it was all ready to go the next day.

HOT AMERICAN CHICKEN SALAD
Serves 4 

Ok so it's just cheese but I LOVE CHEESE

340g (12oz) cooked chicken, chopped quite small
4 sticks celery, finely sliced
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1/2 pint mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
113g (4oz) cheddar cheese, grated

For the topping:
1/2 packet kettle potato chips, crumbled
a little bit of paprika

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F. You will need an ovenproof dish for this - we used a medium sized rectangular one - you need to be careful not to overcook this or the sauce will separate!

1. Put all the ingredients into a bowl with 85g of the cheddar cheese, season and mix together. The cheese will be quite salty so taste it before adding too much salt.

2. Turn into a shallow ovenproof dish, top with the remaining cheese, crisps and dash of paprika. We added some tobasco do this - just a few drizzles over the top should do.

3. Bake at 200C for 10-15 mins.

Finished Chicken Salad

Mortadella and Mozarella Frittata

This was a fantastic supper for when you've possibly been the pub for a couple of large glasses of rose and then realise that you need to make supper for a couple of your friends. It would of course work with any ham and any cheese but this is a really fantastic combination and both can be in your fridge ready for a frittata emergency.

As you can probably tell I've been on a bit of a Nigella's Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home binge - this is not going to turn into a Nigella blog but I looked through her book just before going to Sainsburys and so ended up getting lots of ingredients for her recipes...

MORTADELLA AND MOZARELLA FRITTATA RECIPE
Serves 4-6

6 eggs
125g mortadella. chopped
125g mozzarella, chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp butter
a drop of garlic oil

1. Turn on the grill so it can get hot. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the chopped or diced mortadella and mozzarella.

2. Whisk in the parsley, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Be careful with the seasoning - the ham and mozzarella are both quite salty.

3. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan (with oven proof handle) or cast iron skillet and once it's hot and foamy add the omelette mixture.

4. Cook for about 5 minutes over a gentle heat without stirring, until the frittata is set underneath and golden.

5. Transfer the pan to the hot grill (keeping the handle away from the heat) and cook the frittata until it is set on top - don't leave the pan unattended as this can happen quite quickly, and remember to wear oven gloves to remove the pan.

6. Leave it to stand for a couple of minutes, then run a knife or spatula round the edge of the frittata and ease it out of the pan, keeping it the same way up, onto a board or plate.

7. Cut into triangle like a cake, then sprinkle with extra parsley and serve with salad.

Red Onion and Feta Quiche

I'm pretty obsessed with feta. Everyone says they tire of Greek food quickly but for me it's like heaven. Tomatoes and feta... I don't really need anything else. So any opportunity to find new things to do with feta is very welcome and this quiche was yummy with a tomato salad and some chutney.

Red Onion and Feta Quiche

Serves 3 (or 2 hungry gardeners)

For the pastry:
170g plain flour
85g butter (cold)
3tbsp cold water

For the filling:
1 red onion
150g feta cheese
150ml milk
2 eggs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. You will need a loose bottomed quiche tin buttered and ready to go.

1. Put the pastry ingredients in the magimix and blitz together until it forms a ball. Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Cover in clingfilm and put in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2. Toss the onion slices in olive oil and lay on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 10 mins until they are beginning to turn golden. When they are done you can leave to cool

3. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to fit your quiche tin. Then bake the pastry blind (lining the case with greaseproof paper and using baking beans or something to weigh the paper down) for about 15 mins.

Baking balls

4. Put the onions in the pastry case, crumble the feta over (you can cut it into cubes if you want to be neater).

5. Whisk together the eggs, milk and some salt and pepper. Pour this over the onions and cheese and bake for 35 minutes until set and lightly browned.

6. Serve with whatever you like - but tomato salad was just yummy.

I meant to take a photo of a slice of it which was more appetizing... but I ate it all

Cheese Cows

Now I am in no way an animal fascist. You can make these in any animal shape you want or indeed any shape you like. This is not really a 'traditional' cheese straw recipe - which I do in either straw or star shape. For this recipe I like animals though - I have pig, cow and elephant... I want more. I want a whole zoo. Anyway, that's not the point. This is a really easy recipe that's yummy and rather addictively tasty.

UPDATE 2017: these are my most requested treat. For every kids party, christmas party, in face any event I get asked to make these.

CHEESE COWS
Makes approx 25 cows

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas Mark 4.

170g (60z) mature cheddar, coarsely grated
60g butter
95g plain flour
1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp table salt

Pre-heat the oven to 170C/350F/Gas Mark 4. You'll need a food processor (unless you want sore arms), a large baking sheet (or a couple of small ones if you are like me and can never find a suitable big one), and a cooling rack. I only mention it because I only remember I need one when I'm holding the hot baking tray in my hands. You can add more or less of the onion powder as you wish but increase/decrease the salt accordingly as the onion powder is salty itself.

1. Put all the ingredients together in the mixer and blend until it forms a dough. About two minutes.

2. Wrap the dough ball in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour. This makes it much more manageable when you are rolling it and cutting out your shapes later.

Dough ready to be rolled

3. Lightly flour a surface or board and your rolling pin and roll the dough out until it's reasonably thin (about 3mm). Cut your shapes out with the cutter of choice. It's easiest if you flour the cutter in-between using a small plate of flour but I am usually too lazy to do this.

4. Put the shapes onto a lined baking tray. These go up rather than out so they can be quite close together. I got a bit carried away and used a skewer to make eyes but you really don't have to do that.

Cows ready for the oven

5. Bake in the oven for 12-15 mins. Check after 10 though - my oven is quite hot. They need to be browned at the edges although of course it is up to you how cooked they are.

Cooling Cows

6. Put on a rack to cool. And then into a tin to keep them fresh.

7.Try not to eat them all yourself. Although obviously you can if you want.

Crumbly Cheese Mash with Leek Butter

Mashed potato is such an all round favourite I was incredibly nervous about messing with the recipe but then I thought everyone loves mash and most people love cheese so the two combined will probably be a winner. And it was - it was good enough that I ended up spooning it straight into my mouth from the bowl at the end of lunch. I thought it was going to be a lot more sickly than it was but instead it was just delicious and I've craved it ever since. I served this with my Roast Pork Belly but it's great on its own with crispy bacon on top.

Now I saw this recipe in a magazine somewhere and I wrote it down... if it's yours I'm sorry for not crediting you but WELL DONE.

CRUMBLY CHEESE MASH WITH LEEK BUTTER
Serves 6

300g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2tbsp softened butter
1 small glove of garlic, grated
4 tbsp creme fraiche
600g Wensleydale cheese, chopped into small squares

For the leek butter:
1 leek
140g butter

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and either grate or mash. Grating's best but mashing's fine... food processing is just not ok for this.

2. Either while the potatoes are boiling or before you even start cooking your meal, split the leek length ways, trim off both ends and rinse well. Then chop really finely. I was cooking this for Sunday lunch and didn't want to be chained to my stove so I chopped these in the morning and I peeled the potatoes and left them standing in cold water too.

3. Melt the butter and ad the leek and leave this to simmer gently until tender.

4. Once they are cooked put the potatoes back in the pan and place over a very low heat. Add the butter, garlic and creme fraiche and beat with a wooden spoon.

5. Add the cheese a handful at a time and stir, preferably in a figure of eight shape. Season to taste

6. Serve topped with the leek butter.