Rachel Allen's Macaroni Cheese

Often at the weekend, I cook something nice for my family. While I was looking through Rachel Allen's Favourite Food At Home, I came across this recipe. I've always been a fan of Macaroni Cheese and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. This tastes delicious with salad.

Rachel Allen's Macaroni Cheese
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
75g (3oz) butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
75g (3oz) plain flour
900ml (1½ pints) boiling milk
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
225g (8oz) cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g (11oz) macaroni pasta

Method

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the chopped onions and cook gently until soft.
2. Stir in the flour and cook for minute, then add the milk gradually, whisking all the time, and the mustard.
3. Whisk in three-quarters of the cheese and allow to melt into the sauce, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta with a teaspoon of salt, until just soft.
5. Drain the pasta, and then toss into the cheese sauce and transfer into a gratin dish, about 25cm (10in) square.
6. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pop under a grill for a few minutes to brown the cheese on top, or if you wish, put the aside for later.
7. Put the dish into an oven preheated to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 to reheat. Leave in for about 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

Polka Dot Cookies

This cookies are from Rachel Allen's Food for Living. They are remarkably straightforward to make. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle . Cookies would absolutely be one of my favourite treats.

Rachel Allen's Polka Dot Cookies

Ingredients
225g (8 oz) Butter
375g (15 oz) Soft Brown Sugar (or light muscovado sugar)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs, beaten
350g (14 oz) Plain flour
½ tsp Salt
1 Level tsp Baking Powder
1 Level tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
150g (5 oz) Smarties / Chocolate Chips

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 ̊C / 350 ̊F / Gas Mark 4 /
2. Cream butter and sugar together. Add in the vanilla extract and eggs.
3. Mix the flour and salt into a bowl. Sift in the Bicarbonate of soda and Baking Powder and mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet.
5. Add the smarties last.
6. Roll into little balls (walnut size if you want small ones or golf ball size if you want larger ones. I pressed in a smarty on the smaller ones so that there would definitely be a smarty on the top of each cookie.
7. Bake for 12 – 16 mins. If you want chewy cookies, bake until the edges are turning brown but the middle is still pale. If you want crunchy all the way through then bake until golden all over.
8. Cool on a wire rack.

Rachel Allen's Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Cheese

Rachel Allen's Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Cheese

This recipe is from Rachel Allen's Food for Living. This is definitely my favourite recipe with eggs.

Ingredients
2 tsp tomato purée,
4 tbsp double cream
freshly ground pepper and sugar
16 thin slices Chorizo
8 eggs
2 tbsp grated Cheese, such as gruyere or cheddar

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8. Mix the tomato puree (if using) with the cream and season with pepper and a pinch of sugar.
2. Spoon half of the cream mixture into the base of four ovenproof cups, bowls or ramekins. Add two slices of chorizo to each dish, then crack two eggs into each, season with a little more pepper, and top the cups with the remaining two slices of chorizo.
3. Spoon over the remaining tomato cream, then sprinkle each portion with the grated cheese. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the whites are set and the cheese is bubbling. Serve the eggs on their own or with fingers of buttered toast.

Rachel Allen's Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream

This is a great pasta dish from Rachel Allen’s Rachel’s Favourite Food. I think this is one of my favourite pasta dishes ever. They make this a lot at Ballymaloe Cookery School, and people always love it. Just leave out the sausage for a vegetarian pasta sauce. It also freezes well. I met the wonderful Rachel Allen while my Mam was on a course in 2008.

Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream 

Ingredients

25g Butter
700g ripe Tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or use 2x 400g tinned tomatoes)
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 tsp Rosemary, chopped
1 pinch fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp caster sugar
225g chorizo sausages, or kabanossi sausage, cut into ½cm slices
1 pinch dried red chilli flakes
175ml cream
2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
500g penne pasta, or use rigatoni or farfalle
50g Parmesan, grated

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and rosemary.
2. Season with salt, pepper and sugar (the sugar really helps the tomatoes).
3. Cook until the tomatoes have just begun to soften, about 5 mins.
4. Add the sausage to the pan with the chilli flakes, cream and half the chopped parsley. 5. Allow to simmer with the lid off until the mixture has reduced by half, stirring frequently.
6. Take off the heat and taste for seasoning.
7. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, into which you have added 1 dst salt, until it is just cooked, then drain and toss with the sauce.
8. Put into a great big serving bowl and scatter with the grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the parsley. 

NOTE FOR COOKING PASTA If you need to cook your pasta slightly ahead of time, keep about 50ml of the pasta cooking water in with the pasta and a good glug of olive oil.