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Ricotta & Parsley Ravioli with Tomato & Cream Sauce
The offer of some Valentine themed goodies from our friends at Interflora and a cooking apron from our latest chums at The Last detail, prompted us to cook up something which would make an ideal romantic dinner for two. Besides, it was the day before the day [...]

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If our recent trip to Prague is anything to go by, it would appear the only vegetarian option available in the Czech Republic is deep fried Edam with boiled potatoes. Nothing wrong with that of course – cheese and spuds are two of my favourite food groups especially if the former is heavily grated over [...]

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Kale, Cheese & Bread Soup
For what is essentially a soggy cheese and cabbage sandwich, this is very, very tasty.

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I found this Lemony Cheese delight in a back issue of the excellent Donna Hay magazine – the eponymous title from food editor, best-selling cookery writer, and from what I can gather, Queen of Australia.

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As with the mackerel, so with the cheese. It was in the same Fearnley-Whittingstall spread* as the potted mackerel and required cheese, butter and a splash of vin rouge or some vine-based glug, thereby having all the markings of a winner about it. The man himself suggested you play with the recipe and use whichever [...]

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We were so impressed by the chocolate coloured wax casing of this fine cheddar when it arrived from our friends at A&C that we immediately took it down to north meadow and photographed it among the wild fritillaries. We have a particular fondness for cheese here at Yumblog Hall so we stayed pure and did [...]

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If you follow the link you’ll discover this young Gorgonzola came to us from Sardinia via Acton.
Roasted Tomato and Gorgonzola Tarts with Balsamic Vinegar Caramel

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A couple of weeks ago we had a slap up anniversary feed at St John in Smithfield, and this dish was on the menu. Obviously visiting the home of ‘Nose to Tail eating’ and plumping for the vegetarian option is like… (Note to Blogger-D: Please insert apt and amusing analogy here.) (Note to Blogger-R: Can’t [...]

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The plan is at some stage to make our own Ricotta from the whey left over from Yumblog Amalgamated Dairy Industries yoghurt-making enterprise. However I suspect the quantities involved will be minute and certainly a lot smaller than our massive combined appetites.

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The obsession with yoghurt continues – this time using it to fashion a traditional Middle Eastern-style cheese called Labne. Once made it is rolled into small balls, coated with fresh herbs, placed in a jar and covered with olive oil. Simple and delicious.

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I got this recipe from an article called ‘Five ways with potatoes’ in this months OFM. Nigel Slater calls it ‘Potato pancakes with herb and youghurt sauce‘ but I changed the name as for me the feta was the main event and therefore deserved higher billing. I’m also not sure my brain can accommodate yet [...]

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Spelled rarebit. Pronounced rabbit. Tastes delicious. Incidentally this cheesy delight can also be used in the construction of an Illinois delicacy known as a Horseshoe Sandwich (aka Freedom Sandwich). To make one simply take a thick slice of toasted bread and top with a quantity of cooked meat (hamburger/deep fried pork tenderloin/chicken/etc.). Next cascade with [...]

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There’s that fork again.

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In accordance with government guidelines and the criteria laid down by the Foods Standards Agency (FSA) (and because you are all, dear readers, lazy obese mollycoddled porcine cretins incapable of making a decision unless the myriad complexities of an issue are reduced to a simple 3-digit number) yumblog will in future state the calorific value [...]

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Yet more allegations that Yumblog, 42, has been having a sordid (and utterly predictable) affair with a desperate publicity-seeking blonde slapper, 37. This is of course untrue, and to prove our innocence we bribed bought Mrs Yumblog, 33, a fucking massive diamond ring from fucking Theo Fennell!

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… or cauliflower cheese in liquid form. A perfect winter warmer for the snowiest (and therefore the most exciting) day in 18 years.

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Ok, pay attention. Blogger D’s archaeologist sister (from hereonin known as ‘Sherdkicker T’) came to Yumblog Towers for dinner. She brought along her ‘friend’ who is also an archaeologist and so for continuity should be known as ‘Sherdkicker J-P’. However Sherdkicker J-P is a handsomely moustached Frenchman and so perhaps needs to be translated as [...]

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The first rule of owning a freezer is always have some puff pastry in it. Other than that you can include what you want, though be sure to have at least one novelty ice-cube tray. Here at Yumblog Mansions it’s a toss-up between the Lego piece tray and the green Ampelmann tray, though for the [...]

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A delicate piece of cod smothered with cream and cheddar and then baked along with avocado – now this is a retro dish the great and terrifying Fanny would be proud of.

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It’s a Hallowe’en tradition at Yumblog Cottage to celebrate the 31st October with this pumpkin fondue devised by the mighty GREGG WALLACE! himself. I say tradition, we made it for the first time last year, however, it is so tasty I am sure we’ll tucking into it again in 2009*

Phwaaaar!

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The clocks went back this weekend and suddenly it was winter. Time to lay down some much needed winter fat* to sustain us through the long chill months ahead, and what better way then eating refined carbohydrate swimming in cheese and cream.

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And so it came to pass in dying chill days of October that the idea of soup for lunch started to grow in its appeal and so it was that a pair of Thermos was bought. And then Blogger D did make a rather tasty spinach and rosemary soup. And it had been recommended even [...]

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A Russian recipe book lurks on the shelf and is occasionally leafed through, only to be returned to its lofty post due to lack of enthusiasm for heavy egg and pastry-based repast. But then one day I happen upon these chaps and I remember super tasty chewy cheese bun/cake things eaten on the mean streets [...]

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It was obvious from the outset that this was going to be an unfair contest as these products are intended for two very different markets. One is a collection of processed junk cynically targeted at children and the other a holy trinity of ‘Trusted Brands®‘ marketed to grown-ups.

‘Delicious hot or cold’

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As 10 CC once said: “Life is a minestrone wrapped up in Parma ham/cheese. Death is an old D’Artagnan, suspenders in deep freeze”. Or something like that.

Purple Podded Peas from Gwydwr’s garden

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What do you do when you want to contribute something to a party being held in the name of a 1 year old but which quite naturally will be dominated by adults drinking wine and getting the munchies. And when the mother of the host is a fantastic cook and will have covered all bases [...]

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This weekend’s planned camping trip to Whitstable had to be cancelled because of the shitty and weirdly biblical weather we are having this summer. So I found myself on a Sunday afternoon at the beginning of August wanting nothing more than to curl up on the sofa in a dressing gown and eat comforting wintery [...]

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Blogger-D was lucky enough to have a free work jolly to Le Café Anglais last Christmas and said the food was some of the best she’d ever tasted. Blogger-R unfortunately has yet to be offered such a generous perk and so has had to content himself with making this – Rowley Leigh’s ’signature’ dish of [...]

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I came across this Loyd Grossman recipe whilst driving my decrepit G4 along the Information Super Highway. Obviously Mr Grossman recommends we use one of his jars of special authentic Italian-style tomato pasta sauces, but (equally obviously) if you’re taking the time and trouble to cook a meal from scratch, what’s the point?

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Another recipe from the mighty Yotam Ottolenghi. Perfect for an anniversary meal. x

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This recipe involved the dazzling debut of our latest item of kitchen equipment – a Black Iron Omelette Pan bought for the bargain price of £7.60. It came from Dentons Catering Equipment Ltd – a magnificent shop crammed with professional quality cooking gear and definitely worth a pilgrimage – providing you can tolerate the multitude [...]

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Regrettably, and I feel unreasonably, Tower Hamlets Council won’t let us keep sheep on the balcony so making our own feta cheese is out of the question. We do however have a healthy and ever-expanding mint plant and so at least were able to locally source half the ingredients in the title.

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It was in the Guardian magazine and looked tasty and wholesome which is just the thing when you wake up on Saturday morning feeling less than complete and utterly narked by the complete idiocy of the London electorate in voting for an upper class Tory idiot cos he made them laugh on the telly and [...]

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What to do with a squash, that eternal question. Should I bake it, fry it, foam it, render it into a mere suggestion as accompaniment to something less orange, or should I take the soup route. Like the silk road but gloopier, the soup route will inevitably involve stock, garlic and onions, the very essence [...]

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The front page of Ken Livingstone’s campaign website is frozen in pre-election time with the simple message ‘Don’t vote for a joke. Vote for London’. Shamefully, it seems Londoners (or at least the 45% who could be bothered to get off their arses to vote) fancied a bit of a laugh. Anyway, this depressing result [...]

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Regrettably the dodgy photograph below does not do this recipe any justice. Even the desperate and clumsy application of random photoshop filters has failed to give an impression of the deliciousness of this dish.

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For those of you not in the know and unwilling to look it up on Wikipedia, paneer is a cottage cheese used in South Asian cooking. It can either be crumbly or in block form, doesn’t contain rennet and so is completely vegetarian, and refuses to melt when heated. It has a good texture but [...]

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Working until 7 on a Friday is never what I would class as fun. And when there’s a gig to go to then even less so – a gig with a 10pm curfew too. So I got to the pub at 7.30, inhaled two pints of Pilsner Urquell and then to the gig. The Only [...]

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In the U.S. the sweet potato is incorrectly referred to as a yam. But there again it’s the land where they call aubergines – eggplants, courgettes – zucchini, biscuits – cookies, jam – jelly, jelly – jello, and torture – water boarding. That said, it’s not technically a potato either. It’s sweet though.

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WARNING: In order to prepare this dish you’ll have to master the subtle art of crumbling feta cheese. But don’t worry, if you find this daunting and would like guidance, there is a website to help you. If you need help with grating the courgette or holding a spoon then I’m afraid you’re on your [...]

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