Masseys More than just another village Shop

This Dutch masterpiece is a gourmet cheese that has won many European Gold Medals.  The cheese has a pure, rich walnut buttery flavor. Its firm texture is perfect for grating over pasta, and good to savour  with a glass of wine or port.

Slow and careful ripening by 5 master cheese makers develops its unique character and flavor. The result is an outstanding cheese with a buttery flavor and firm sliceable texture. This cheese is ideal for cooking, melting or grating.

The cheese is made with a unique culture which is owned by the Westland family in Holland.

Recipes using Old Amsterdam

1. With parsnips in season at the moment, this Parsnip Bake with Old Amsterdam is a perfect fit for a late January supper.

2. Cheese Lollipops – a different way with cheese. Ideal party pieces, or a fun way to get children eating cheese with relish:

Slice Old Amsterdam Cheese as thin as possible. Cut the shape you fancy for the lollipop. Place shapes on a baking parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave a space between each to allow for melting spread.  Insert a kebab stick about 1/3 into each shape. Heat in a hot oven for about 9 mins. Lollipops will become crisp after cooling down.

Posted under Food ideas, Recipes

We’ve come round to Port Salut again rather soon on our cheese of the week. This cheese is so well suited to making quick meals that children will love, we decided it was a perfect January cheese.

One of those quick meals on a post-Christmas food budget is Bacon, green onion and Port Salut quiche.

And in case you’ve forgotten some of the other great recipes links for Port Salut baked potatoes, pasta bake, and pork supper, here’s our last post

Posted under Recipes

The Quickes Smoked Cheddar we had a our cheese of the week last month was so popular we thought we’d have another of their wonderful cheddars.

So this week’s cheese is Quickes Cheddar with Herbs:

A combination of chives, parsley, thyme, oregano and marjoram is added to the cheese at the milling stage rather than at the end of the process. As the cheddar matures from between 6 and 7 months the flavours can really develop through the heart of the cheese resulting in a product with a good balance between the creamy flavourand the depth of the herbs. This product is made using vegetarian rennet.

There aren’t many recipes out there for something as specific as a Cheddar with herbs, but I did find a couple that could easily be adapted:

- This cheesy crisp recipe could be changed very easily – use Doritos and Cheddar with herbs instead of the cheddar and individual herbs for a scrummy quick snack.

- Use Quickes Cheddar with Herbs for a great quiche filling. Add a bit of ham and some caramelised onions for a fantastic quick lunch or a light supper

- And for the ultimate in comfort food, a merged cauliflower cheese and macaroni cheese makes a fantastic January dish on a budget. Replace the red leicester with a good strong cheddar mixed with a bit of Quickes Cheddar with Herbs and you’ve got a winter meal with a difference.

Posted under Food ideas, Recipes

It’s Christmas. It has to be Stilton!

Stilton (the cheese)  got it’s name not because that’s where it was first made, but because it was in Stilton (the place) that it was first sold. The cheese dates back to the 18h century, although the recipe has changed a number of times since it’s early days. This is a recipe that has evolved over time and through the involvement of many cheese makers. No one person or dairy was responsible for it’s invention.

These days, “Stilton” is a protected name and the cheese can only be made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Stilton comes in a white and a blue variation, Blue Stilton being the variety most commonly associated with Christmas.

If you want to know more about the history of Stilton, here’s the link to a fact-filled page.

And here are some recipes I’ve found that you may fancy trying for an adventurous Christmas meal:

Instead of roast potatoes, why not have some  Stilton Potato Wedges,

If you have some Stilton left over after Christmas, you could warm up with Blue Stilton Soup.

I make a simpler version of this by making a basic onion and potato soup, then adding stilton and either ham or bacon, to make a delicious Bacon and Stilton Soup.

Or, for a different winter warmer, there’s a Stilton Risotto with Winter Squash, Sage and Nuts

Let me know if you have a favourite stilton recipe we can share.

Posted under Food ideas, Recipes

Quickes Oak-Smoked Cheddar is described on their website as:
“A well-flavoured mature cheddar 12-15 months in age” which is “specially selected to be naturally smoked for 3-4 hours over oak chips from the farm’s woodland.”

To ensure the flavour will infuse throughout the cheese, the truckles are cut into 1.5 Kg pieces prior to smoking.  And, no artificial flavourings are added.

I’ve found these recipes that use Oak-Smoked Cheddar:

For a quick snack, try:

Smoked Cheddar and Apple Sandwiches

If you’re feeding the masses, how about

Smokey Macaroni Cheese

and for the more ambitious chefs amongst you,

Ravioli with Oak-Smoked Cheddar and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

Posted under Food ideas, Recipes