Yummy breakfast - chessy egg cups!

So I got the idea for this from Annie's Eats, which I saw on a friends post on Facebook. I couldn't wait to make them, they looked so good and is my favorite combination - cheese and eggs! I particularly like that it makes cute little portions.

I made a slight change to make it vegetarian - instead of bacon I used sundried tomato.  I used the dried type, rather than the one in oil, as the oil would probably have made it too wet.

Cheesy egg cups

Serves 2

4 eggs

Shredded cheese

1 sundried tomato, finely chopped

2 slices of oval bread

1. Preheat the oven to 200

2. Grease a 4 hole muffin tin with butter.  

3. Cut each slice of the bread and place each half into each muffin hole of the tin.

4. Sprinkle a bit shredded cheese and sundried tomato in the center of each slice of bread.

5. Break one egg per muffin hole and carefully place on top of the bread and cheese. This is surprisingly tricky so be careful!

6. Bake until the eggs are cooked through - approx 10 mins.

7. Lift the egg cups out and serve - 2 per person

Mac and cheese - comfort food at it's best!

America is home of comfort food.  Everything about typical American food is comforting, filling and perfect for when you need a great big food hug.  Philly cheese steaks are dreamy with a side of curly fries.  Sausage gravy - the world's best hangover cure.  Jambalaya and gumbo warms the soul.  Clam chowder on a cold winter day is necessary.  But my absolute favorite has to be mac and cheese.

There are so many different variations of mac and cheese.  There are the packet ones - Kraft and Velveeta (I always have at least one pack of each at home, specially brought over from the US).   The side options from places like Boston Market (how I miss Boston Market!) and KFC.  Or the gourmet ones that you get at Thanksgiving, made with 4 or 5 different cheeses and often with added ingredients like bacon and/or onion to make it extra special (heart attack on a plate!)

My personal favorite is mac and cheese as a main course (when it is served as a side, I end up eating too much and feeling ill) made with Velveeta and filled with loads of other ingredients.  Every single English person I have ever introduced this to was initially a bit horrified by the bright yellow cheese (as you can see from the picture below!), but after tasting it, understood how very good it is.  It cures any hangover, warms a cold day and is easy and quick to make - comfort food at it's very best!

Ingredients
1 x pack Velveeta (any shape pasta / any cheese flavour)
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
3-4 frankfurters, chopped
Frozen chopped spinach
Mushrooms, chopped
Chillies, to taste, finely chopped (optional)

1.  Cook the pasta as instructed.  Set aside
2.  In a pan put a bit of oil and lightly fry the onions until they are translucent
3.  Add the frankfurters and mushrooms and fry for another 10 mins or so.  Add the chillies and spinach (if it is frozen, cook until it is fully cooked through)
4.  Add the cheese sauce and pasta and stir

That's it - serve warm in a big bowl and enjoy (and if there is any leftover, it is good cold as a snack!)

Brussels - La Tortue du Sablon

I apologise for my lack of recent posts.  I have been oh so busy what with summer, friends visiting, trips abroad, festivals and carnivals.  But now that we've had our last bank holiday, the weather is getting cooler and summer turns to autumn, I will have a lot more time to post regularly!

I thought for this one that I'd do a review of a restaurant in Brussels.  Before going, I had read that while there is not a whole lot to do in Brussels, the food is one of the best in Europe.  So when our hosts asked what type of food we wanted for lunch, the immediate answer was the typical Brussels meal - moules frites!

We decided on La Tortue du Sablon, which translates to the turtle of the Sablon - one of the most prestigious and attractive areas in Brussels.  It is a beautiful little restaurant specialising in seafood.  On arrival we were offered a glass of champagne with a hint of lavender - don't mind if I do!  For food there was a choice of menus - the set menu of the day, a couple of other set menus or the a la carte.  Two had the set menu, one had a specially made vegetarian set menu and I had the moules frites.

The set menu consisted of a starter of fois gras rolled in crushed hazel nuts and a main course of half a lobster served on a salad of greens and beans.  The vegetarian menu began with vegetable tempura, served with wasabi cream, followed by raclette covered with truffles.  The moules came in a white wine, garlic and cream sauce, with a side of french fries (of course!)

All of the food was well cooked and a real delight.  I have to say that with food like this, because I really like quite aromatic food, I can find it quite bland.  This meal though was well balanced and delivered on everything.  Overall though, the best part about the visit was the service.  When we explained that was had a vegetarian, the chef came out from the back to explain what he could make to ensure that the customer was happy and the waiter was extremely friendly and attentive, without it feeling like we were being constantly watched.  A very pleasant meal!