Chicken and blue cheese salad

One of my most favourite things to eat is a baby leafed green salad, and BBQ'd something, whether it be brats (the sausage kind, not the annoying child kind) burgers, fish or lamb. I'm not too fussed, but I love the contrast between hot freshly cooked barbequed meat and the cool salad. I get bored though of the same green leaf salad and salad dressing though, so I'll mix it up with chorizo, pomegranate, pinenuts, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes even grapes or apples depending on what I have on hand at the time. This next recipe is lovely and definitely fills all the boxes I have just mentioned.

  Chicken and Blue Cheese Salad

1 bag mixed salad leaves

2 cooked chicken breasts thinly sliced

2 pears, peeled, cored and wedged

25g walnuts, roughly chopped

55g crumbled Roquefort

For the dressing

3tbsp red wine vinegar

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ tbsp. caster sugar

1tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and black pepper to taste

1.       Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a jar with a lid, seal and give it a good shake, test for seasoning and if needed give it a little extra salt and pepper.

2.       Mix all of your salad ingredients, not the cheese. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad between the four bowls and then sprinkle with the blue cheese.

Green Veggies Pasta and Blue Cheese

This is another recipe, where the original was made with ricotta, sometimes though as I have already mentioned, it’s just not for us and this was one of those occasions, so I bought a cheap brand of cream cheese and used that instead and I also didn’t include the coriander, also not a fan of that soapy taste. My added extras to this recipe were the runner beans, asparagus and mushrooms. A perfectly simple but tasty, busy week night meal!

Green Veggies Pasta and Blue Cheese

I added extra green vegetables, runner beans, asparagus, and mushrooms which I sautéed with the scallions/spring onions

4-6 scallions

100 grams mushrooms
400 grams spinach tagliatelle (or other mixed green vegetables, totalling 400 grams)
150 grams cream cheese
150 grams blue cheese
150 grams crème fraîche
1 tbsp coriander
coarse sea salt and pepper
few sprigs of corriander/cilantro (optional, I don't add it because we don't like it)

1. Trim the spring onions/scallions and finely chop them.

2. Cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling salted water, until al dente. Whilst at the same time cooking the other veggies until al dente.

3. While the pasta and veggies are cooking, in a bowl mix together the cream cheese, blue cheese and the crème fraîche.

4. Drain the pasta thoroughly and turn into a heated serving dish. Immediately add the cheese mixture, spring onion/scallions and other veggies, toss to coat. Garnish with coriander sprigs (if you wish to).

Servings: 4

Beef recipe a shame to miss out on



I actually added a handful of cooked shrimp to this one, at the sametime as I added the onion

This next recipe is outstanding. Glen cooked it first because of my knee issues, but I have cooked it several times since – including for guests…. It’s a seriously brilliant recipe and bound to bring that wow factor to the table. The crumbled blue cheese I used was Roquefort definitely one of the more expensive blue veined cheeses but well worth the splurge.

Beef with Mushroom and Blue Cheese Sauce

1 ½ cups soy sauce

¾ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Beef Tenderloin
4 Cloves fresh garlic minced
1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
300ml beef broth

SAUCE

½ cup butter cut into small pieces

½ lb mushrooms, sliced
2 Cloves fresh garlic minced
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp caraway seeds
4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. In a large zip lock freezer bag, mix the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add the beef; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Drain and discard marinade. Rub the beef with garlic and pepper; place in a shallow roasting pan. Add broth to the pan. Bake, uncovered, at 220˚C (425°F) for 45-55 minutes or until the meat is cooked the way you like it. Let the beef stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter, in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté until tender. Add the blue cheese, Worcestershire sauce and caraway seeds; cook over a low heat until the cheese has melted. Stir in the onions; heat through, serve with the beef.

Servings: 4

A alternative spin on potato salad

We love salads, and I was looking for a “jazzy” potato salad. Something a little less “German,” don’t get me wrong, I love German food but for years my cooking was very German influenced. After all I have lived in Germany most of my 33 years, 25 if we want to be totally pedantic about it. So of course it’s going to have a lot of German influences in it. I was trying to get away from that though and start something new.

I found this “Warm Potato And Bacon Blue Cheese Salad,” in one of my cookbooks and if I’m honest it is just a jazzed up variation of a German Potato Salad.

 Warm Potato Salad With Bacon And Blue Cheese

500 grams new potatoes or salad potatoes, thickly sliced

2 tbsp Evoo

2 red onions, wedged

4 bacon strips, chopped

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

100 grams salad greens, torn

50 grams creamy blue cheese

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/450°F. Place potatoes in a roasting tin, rub with a tablespoon of evoo and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes, then add the onion and roast for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are golden and onion is soft. Remove from the oven and allow to, cool, slightly.

2. Meanwhile dry fry the bacon.

3. Whisk together the mayo, red wine vinegar and remaining evoo to make the dressing.

4. Put potatoes, onions, bacon and salad leaves in a bowl, pour over the dressing, then toss well. Crumble over the blue cheese.