Snacks
Snacks are important, we need snacks, they help us get through the day and they make us happy. A snack is like having a nap in the afternoon but you can eat it. Snacks are awesome.
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CHEESE ON TOAST
Ingredients;
Good quality strong cheddar cheese
2 slices really good bread, brown or white
Butter
Thyme
Cayenne
I know this may sound a bit daft and a bit patronising but...in the U.S they like a 'Grilled cheese sandwich', it's good but not as good as this, this is more gooder.
Pop the bread into a toaster and butter it, grate the cheddar onto the bread and as always be generous. Place under a hot grill or broiler and as the cheese starts to melt sprinkle a good pinch of thyme and cayenne on top and grill until the cheese is starting to brown.
Serve with your favourite chutney, pickled onions etc, fantastic. You could add some Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, green onions, pretty much anything is good with cheese on toast.
CRAB CAKES
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Ingredients;
8oz crab meat
2 or 3 tbsp of mayonnaise
1 egg
3 or 4 spring onions, chopped
chilli flakes
Lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce
Saltine or Ritz crackers, crunched into crumbs
This is a very simple and quick recipe but its really good.
Put the mayo, egg, onions and chilli in a bowl and whisk it all up until its good and mixed, add a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and 3 tsp of lemon juice. Then fold in the crab and add the cracker crumbs until the mixture has become manageable and you're able to form it into 4 large patties. Pan fry in a little butter until golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges and tartare sauce.
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POOR MAN'S PIZZA
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Ingredients;
2 slices good bread
Left-over spaghetti sauce
Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Toast the bread on some tin foil under the grill and heat the left-over sauce in a pan. When the toast is done spoon a healthy portion onto each slice so its spilling over the sides and add the slices of cheese, put back under the grill until the cheese has melted, add the parmesan and a sprinkle of thyme and a little bit of cayenne pepper. Back under the grill until its all bubbling and yummy. Serve right away.
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SAUSAGE ROLLS
Ingredients;
1 ball of pastry dough
½ lb pork sausage meat
1 large shallot
Flour
1 egg
salt/pepper/herbs
I always make a pile of these every xmas when I have a party and annoyingly there has never been any left over for me to finish off the next day.
Begin by rolling out the dough on a flat work surface, sprinkle a little flour around so you don’t get a sticky mess, and rub a little flour onto your rolling pin. Roll out the dough until it is just thick enough to work with, you don’t want it too thin or it will fall apart.
Finely chop the shallot and about a tablespoon of Sage, add to a bowl with the sausage meat. Add some Thyme, Salt and White Pepper and mix it all up with your hands.
Once its rolled out take a handful of your sausage mixture and roll it in your hands to make a sausage-like thing about an inch thick and lay it along the dough leaving enough space to fold the dough over, say two inches. Keep doing this all along the dough until you’ve run out of space or meat!
Fold the dough around the meat and gently press down the edge with a fork to seal it. To cut the little darlings to size I use a pizza cutter, but a sharp knife will work just as well. Lay the rolls out on a baking tray and wash with the egg mixture before popping into a pre-heated oven (425f) for about twenty minutes or until golden brown.
Let them cool a little bit and then devour with some Bacon Marmalade, good mustard and/or brown sauce.
I’ve also made these with minced lamb and harissa sauce, yummy.
For a tasty and slightly decadent touch, crumble a some blue cheese into the meat before you roll them up. Mmmm.