Poached rhubarb with blue cheese #165

Serving blue cheese with something sweet like jam or sweet berries is always a good idea, it works great with the fat and salty taste from the cheese. I used fresh rhubarb for this recipe, try to get small ones since their skin is thin enough to chew through, the bigger stalks usually need to be peeled and even though it will still taste good you will loose a lot of the beautiful color.

For the cheese i recommend a Roquefort, you won´t be using a lot since these tapas are served in extra small servings so spend a little bit extra on the cheese if you can. The cracker is an unsweetened rye one with less salt than traditional cheese crackers. I do prefer this kind since the cheese is very salty it brings a great balance but you can of course replace it with your favorite kind.

Also if you don´t have time to poach rhubard then head over to my previous cheese servings like Fresh dates with blue cheese or Roquefort cheese with rosehip jam.

Poached rhubarb with blue cheese

crackers
fresh rhubard
Roquefort cheese
water
sugar
fennel seeds
cardamom
black pepper
bay leaf

Bring equal parts water and sugar to the boil, add a few fennel seeds, a peppercorn or two and a tiny bit of cardamom and a bay leaf and let it simmer for a few minutes. The spices will give the rhubarb a hint of a different taste and will make it feel less like a dessert. Cut the rhubarb in bite size pieces and add them. Slowly simmer for about ten minutes, check it during the process so it won´t overcook. Once done you can let them cool off in the liquid.

Add the cheese to the crackers and put one piece of rhubarb on each one, serve.

Super Bowl recipes! 10 great classics!

Almost time for Super Bowl and it´s time to make some great tasting stuff that goes great with football, this time I will focus on some in my opinion classics like burgers, chicken wings and ribs!

I´ve put together a list of my favourites and below each photo below there is a link to the recipe in case you´ll need it. Most dishes are simple classics so if you´re just looking for some inspiration then you´ll found the right place.

If you´re only looking for some great tasting snacks to enjoy during the game then check out my previous post: 10 great Super Bowl snacks!

OK here we go....

Sliders, who doesn´t love sliders? Serving sliders is a great idea since your guests won´t be too full not to be able to enjoy all the other great stuff you will be serving. I prefer the with classic toppings like lettuce, cheese and tomato.

Sliders!

Crab claws are great to serve since you won´t need to worry about serving them hot, this recipe with a classic aioli and some salt is all that you´ll need.

Crab claws with aioli and salt.

Grilled corn on the cob (how else would you grill them?) with a generous amount of butter, herbs and chili is a barbecue classic and fits great for the Super Bowl.

Grilled corn on the cob with chili and parsley.

A meatball sandwich with loads of Parmesan cheese can be wrong, either serve them like this or just serve bread on the side with the meatballs still in the sauce, this will keep the meatballs warm for longer and your guests can make their own sandwiches.

Meatball sandwich with Parmesan and herbs.

Well it´s salad time, don´t worry since these iceberg wedges are getting a good splash of dressing and some blue cheese on the side you will still like it.

Iceberg lettuce with blue cheese.

You didn´t think I would leave out the chicken wings did you?

Fried chicken wings with Sriracha sauce.

Or the ribs?

Ribs with lettuce and tomatillo and chipotle sauce.

Tortilla bread packed with ham and cheese are a great snack that is easy to prepare.

Tortilla bread with cheese and serrano ham.

I love fries, especially home made and if you try this recipe I´m sure you will to, besides what else are you serving up with those sliders?

French fries with truffle mayonnaise.

Last one, home made onion rings deep fried with Japanese Panko. Crunchy and great tasting.

Onion rings.

Pickled pear with blue cheese and rye bread #112

Pears are in season and if you´re lucky enough to have your own tree then you will probably have to much, so why not pickle a few. I only served this kind of sweet pickled pears as an dessert before, usually with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

But since I got my hands on some high quality blue cheese I decided to try it with the pears. With some fresh slightly bitter endive and some roasted rye bread it turned out great.

The recipe is for ten pears but if and they will keep for a while in the fridge so make some extra. They will come handy. I also added some measurements for this recipe because when it comes to pickling it´s hard to adjust flavors once it´s done.

Pickled pear with blue cheese and rye bread

10 fresh firm pears
1 lemon
250 grams of sugar
a pinch of saffron (used mainly for colour, can be excluded)
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla pod
200 ml white wine
1000 ml water

endive salad
rye bread
blue cheese

Cut away the bottom of the pears and peel them, put them in cold water together with some lemon juice to keep them from browning. Combine sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla pod, water, white wine, saffron and bring it to a boil. Add the peeled pears and simmer until cooked through, it usually takes about half an hour.
Remove the pears from the heat and let cool in the liquid.

Rinse the salad and remove a leaf, trim if necessary. Cut a big piece of blue cheese and put on top of the salad. Dice some rye bread and toast in a dry pan until crunchy, put the bread on top of the cheese and serve.

Roasted beets with gorgonzola cheese # 54

Roasted beets with gorgonzola cheese

Beets
Gorgonzola cheese
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Lemon

Roast the beets with the skin on i oven on medium heat until cooked through. Peel the beets and slice in thick slices. Marinate the beets with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Cut the cheese in pieces, place one piece of cheese on top of each slice of beet and add a little bit of oil and some black pepper.

Blue cheese with fresh dates # 40

Every Christmas I buy one big box with fresh dates that I plan eat during the holiday, usually I eat one or two and then they somehow end up in the back of the pantry until my wife decides to throw them out sometime during the summer. Here is another way you could serve dates that hopefully will make them disappear a bit faster.

Blue cheese with fresh dates

Fresh dates

Blue cheese

Cut the dates in half and remove the pit, cut the blue cheese in small pieces and put a piece of cheese on each date. Voila!



Iceberg lettuce with blue cheese # 35

Iceberg lettuce with blue cheese

Iceberg lettuce
Blue cheese
Cremè Fraiche
Garlic
Olive oil
Pepper, salt

Cut the lettuce in wedges, make sure to keep a little piece of the stalk because it will hold each wedge together so you can pick one at the time. Combine cremè fraiche with a little bit of oil some crushed garlic and blue cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the lettuce on plates or a serving tray, add som dressing and crumble some extra blue cheese on top, finish off with freshly ground pepper.

Roquefort cheese with rosehip marmalade # 3

Roquefort cheese is one of the kings of cheese and have you tried it once you´ll problaby love it forever, unless you´re a child because then you are likely to hate it. The best way to eat it is with a simple marmalade and for this I bought a really good rosehip marmalade but you can replace it with other types if you can´t find a rosehip one. For example pear, fig and apple are also great friend of the Roquefort cheese.

If you are serving a lot of tapas it can also be fun to mix it up with an unexpected dish like this one since you usually serve it after or at the end of a meal.

Roquefort cheese with rosehip marmalade

Roquefort cheese

Rosehip marmalade

Black pepper

Cut the cheese in small pieces, put a spoonful of marmalade on each piece, season with black pepper. Serve at room temperature to make sure you´ll get the best flavor.