Cheese, please.
Sunday night always involves cheese in our house. After a big roast dinner, I really look forward to the evening when we can collapse in front of the telly and tuck in to cheese and biscuits. I have an absolute weakness for cheese in all its forms – which probably explains why I’m terrified to get on the bathroom scales.
Lovely leftovers…
It does mean that we are left with small parcels of different cheeses wrapped in foil in the fridge. Much of it ends up on my plate for lunches during the week, as the kids think stilton is revolting. I’m not complaining! However, due to my expanding waistline I’ve decided to cut down, so I’ve been looking for crafty ways to use up cheese in other dishes for the family (while I suffer another salad…)
Special sandwiches and super soup…
Tortilla sandwiches or quesadillas are great for any bits of leftover cheese, as are savoury muffins too. Soups are an easy way to use up cheese, which adds a creamy depth – stilton works well with broccoli, brie compliments spinach and watercress, and roquefort is fab with cauliflower.
Stirred, sliced, or spread?
Cream cheese can be stirred into mashed potato, a creamy pasta sauce or a risotto. Goats cheese or feta is gorgeous crumbled over a dish of steaming green beans. Fresh tomatoes are delicious with sliced mozzarella and chopped basil, and ripe juicy plums are amazing spread with gorgonzola. Cheshire can be incorporated into the dough when making pastry for savoury tarts and is perfect for sprinkling over a shepherd’s pie.
(All this talk of cheese has made me hungry. I think there is some apple-smoked cheddar that needs using up – perfect with… a salad!)
Let me know your cheesy rescue recipes.
Oh yes…a “light supper” of cheese and biscuits on Sundays was part of my childhood. The challenge, though, is when to stop, as cheese and biscuits has to be one of the most moreish foods on the planet. You know…”just one more cornish wafer, with a soupcon of cheddar” or “a little piece of brie will clear the palate”.
If there is ever any bits and bobs of cheese, a toastie has got to be pretty hard to beat.
Hungry now!
I was grappling with that very problem this week. It’s so hard not to overbuy cheese! Quesadillas are certainly good but you can also make a good spread the French call fromage fort by whizzing up odd scraps of cheese in a food processor with a bit (or a lot!) of crushed garlic and enough white wine to make a smooth spread. Season with a little cayenne pepper or black pepper – it should be quite punchy – and keep in the fridge to serve on crackers or toast.
http://thefrugalcook.blogspot.com
A brilliant tip passed on by my waste hating Mum is to buy strong cheese to cook with instead of mild. That way you don’t use as much in the first place. Does that mean we can eat twice as much ………..?