FLOWER POT KITCHEN: OOZEY CHEESEY LEFT OVER CHRISTMAS MAC N CHEESE

9 Jan 2014

OOZEY CHEESEY LEFT OVER CHRISTMAS MAC N CHEESE

This is one of the best left over dishes ever!!! I just love the thought of all the left over Christmas cheese, heck any cheese anytime of the year, being used for the ultimate Mac n Cheese. I will admit that I prefer macaroni or linguine above penne pasta when it comes to this kind of oozey cheesy sauce, however penne pasta is what I had in the larder when the craving took hold and that is that!

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 4)

1 ltr Jersey top gold milk

1 small onion whole

3 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

100g butter

100g plain flour

500g strong cheddar

(Any left over cheese will do)

Salt and white pepper

Fresh ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

Peel the onion whole and using the whole cloves as a stud pin the bay leaf to the onion, pop in the milk and bring to almost a simmer, take off the heat and leave to infuse while you make the roux.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, keep stirring over a low heat and cook out the roux for five minuets, start to add the milk, a ladle at a time, stirring all the time until all the milk has been absorbed, now on an almost simmer cook out the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring every minute or so.

PAXTON WHITFIELD AGED CHEDDAR TRUCKLE

Funny story, years ago when we first started to become more interested in food we had this TRUCKLE for Christmas, we did not really enjoy the cheese, because we did not realise that the outer was a muslin cloth, this we had eaten as a crust on the cheese !!!! I still do not know how we managed to do that! We still blame the wine !

Season your white sauce with a hint of salt and white pepper, a touch of nutmeg and some freshly ground black pepper then add your grated cheese, the amount of cheese will depend on your left overs and taste buds. Gently warm through until the cheese has melted and you have a smooth sauce.

Cook your pasta and drain, toss in the sauce, now Italian's are more about the pasta and less with the sauce, with this dish I am all about the sauce and less about the pasta! It is the oozey sumptuous rich creamy moorishness of the cheese, a lip smacking gorgeous dinner.

Pour the pasta into a oven proof dish, sprinkle more cheese over the top and pop in the oven for 20 minutes to brown off then enjoy.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.