I adore cheese, passionately. English, French, Greek and Spanish cheeses in particular (and those are expressed in no particular order). Each and everyone have their strengths. The full bodied cheddars, crumbly wenslydales and cheshires of my home. The full bodied cheeses of France. Then, oh my, my favourite cheese of all time the crumbly, tangy, and salty goodness that is Greek Feta. My new home too has the most exceptional matured cheeses, and if you havent tried mahon or other “quesos curados” you have not lived!

Yes, its true, I have a passion for cheese.

When I fell upon these two videos I felt obliged to share them with you. The first of the two is cooking with Goat´s cheese – simply with a slice of crunchy homebaked bread or as part of a dish – such as grilled mushrooms with goats cheese. Absolutely delightful! So, here is the first!

The next is celebrating the sheer variety of french cheese (yes, there is more to french cheese than mere brie and camenbert!). This video will allow you to add a touch of french flair to your dishes with absolutely no effort whatsoever!

Flour Рthis can be used in three ways to make a roux, a beurre mani̩ or simply mixed with water or milk.

• Roux – this is made by melting the butter and mixing in the flour then cooking over a medium heat for 5 minutes. The “classic” recipes tend to call for equal quantities of fat to flour but many prefer more fat than flour which not only gives a richer flavour but also allows the roux to be combined with the liquid far easier. I prefer a lighter sauce and on average use 37 grams of butter to 30 grams of flour per half litre of liquid.
• Beurre manié – basically as above but normally used to add to sauces already made that may need extra thickening. This is a French term ie Beurre – butter, manié – handled – so named as it is normally made by mixing the flour and cold butter together to form a paste.
• Water/milk – flour and liquid combined – water is mainly used to thicken gravies for roast meats, milk to for a quick and easy way to thicken milk based sauces, ie for a simple cheese sauce where you do not have sufficient time to make it using the traditional classic white sauce.

Cornflour – mixed with water or other liquid, this may be used for thickening most sauces, but normally reserved for reduction sauces ie sauces where the liquid (stock, wine etc) is simmered until reduced. Once the liquid is ready and has boiled, removed from heat then add the mixture slowly, while whisking quickly; it will thicken almost instantly so take care not to add too much.

Arrowroot – this is used in the same way as cornflour with the added advantage that it will add a nice “sheen” to the sauce and will not dilute the sauce’s colour. Arrowroot does tend to “clarify” liquid into which it is introduced. This is especially good for fruit sauces but may not be so effective for a sauce of gravy that is meat-based. Many also think It gives the sauce an artificial appearance.

It is extremely difficult to thin down sauces thickened with either arrowroot or cornflour, so it is wise to take care.

In addition to the above, many who do not like sauces thickened with flour resort to using dried potato flakes. When the sauce is nearly read, potato flakes are sprinkled onto the cooking liquid and whisked or stirred in. The sauce must not be left on the heat after it has begun to thicken as apparently it ceases to work and the sauce will become thin again.

Ingredients
50 g (2 oz) butter
100 g (4 oz) icing sugar, sieved
2 x 5 ml spoon (2 tsp) hot water

Method
Beat butter until soft, gradually beat in icing sugar, water and any flavouring.

For Variations of traditional butter cream – try

Vanilla: Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the mixture & mix well.

Chocolate: Add 1 tablespoon of sieved cocoa powder with the icing sugar.

Coffee: Dissolve 1 teaspoon of instant coffee in the hot water.

Orange or lemon: Add finely grated rind of half an orange or one lemon. Replace the hot water with orange or lemon juice.

I was so intrigued to be asked this question via email that I just had to answer. I have only made butter once or twice in my lifetime, but both times it was so easy and the results so effective that I was sure I would never go back to bought butter again.

Butter, as you are probably aware, is produced by churning cream until the fats separate from the liquid (buttermilk) and the butter is in a semi-solid state. Now the butter you buy in the supermarket is more often than not made by extracting small amounts of cream from whey, a by-product of cheese-making, using large centrifuges. The butter made at home, on the other hand uses the cream directly from whole milk.

The common misconception among many is that you would need specialist equipment to make butter, but this is not the case – your regular food processor, for example, would work just as well.

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream, or double cream

Method

1. First fit the food processor with a plastic blade or whisk.
2. Add the cream, and turn on. The cream will become sloshy, then frothy, then take on the appearance of whipped cream. Eventually the cream will seize and it will become less smooth. Keep the food processor running until the glob of yellowish butter seperates from a milky buttermilk.
3. Drain the buttermilk, and you are left with a light tasting but eatable butter. Add 1/2 cup of ice-cold water and bled. Discard ice water, and then add another 1/2 cup. Continue doing this until the water comes away clear. Work the butter to remove all water.
4. Place in a crock or roll in waxy paper.

I have received so many hits for this I thought I would address it with a few handy tips for cooking this under-rated vegetable [besides utilising it in my cottage pie recipe of course]

Preparing Swede

Always handy to have a potato peeler to hand for this. Peel it the same way as a potato, slicing off the root end first with a knife. Then just cut the swede into suitably sized chunks.

Mashed Swede

Cut it into 1 inch dice and steam for about 10 minutes, or until tender, then whiz to a puree in a food processor, or mash with a fork, adding a knob of butter, salt and lots of freshly milled black pepper.

Roast Swede

Cut the chunks larger 2 inch pieces, place the cubes in a bowl, adding a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper. Toss the swede around to get all the pieces coated in the oil. Pace them on a baking tray and roast in a pre-heated oven 220°C for about 35 minutes. The swede should by tinged with light golden brown at the edges.

Hope this helps! I´ve always had a passion for swede since it was a vegetable my Grandfather would grow in abundance. Its vastly under-rated purely and simply because people often fear it – believing it bitter or difficult to prepare. Neither is the case if done properly. Do you have any swede recipes to share? If so, I would love to hear them.

Next time you have a barbecue try soaking wood [the sweetest smelling the better] in water and placing them on the coals. The soaking of the water slows down the burning, and allows the wood to work its magic on your food.

Place some peaches or any fruit you fancy on the griddle and cook as normal. You will find your fruit has a wonderful vanilla flavour when done.

Why?

The molecular and chemical structure which gives Vanilla its flavour also exists in wood. By soaking your wood thoroughly and adding it to the coals when hot you are allowing the wood to release this flavour via the smoke into your food.

But who cares about the science when the food tastes so good?