Cheese

Garlic bread with bacon and cheese

Dear Reader,

I hope you’ve had a good week.

I have had a mixed week, but in terms of work, I’m like a pig in mud.

During the week, Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella wrote about her garlic bread with ham and cheese. It looked very fancy, and I’m sure it’s decadently delicious. Lorraine’s cooking always looks amazing and reads fantastically.

I thought I’d make a Yummy Lummy version. When I compare what Lorraine does and what I do, I reckon I’m on the bogan and coarse end of a scale that extends up to refinement and sophistication; my version is cheap and cheerful. Because I’m me, I’m using bacon rather than ham.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Toaster oven

Ingredients

  • Bread roll. The bread I’m using is a cheap sourdough roll from Coles. I buy three in a packet and freeze them. This one has been frozen for a few weeks, so it isn’t at its best.
  • Butter. I usually buy Lurpak® because I like it, so that’s what I’ve used.
  • Garlic. I had a tube of garlic purée in the refrigerator plus some garlic powder as Lorraine recommends. It’s within its use-by date. If you wanted to you could buy fresh garlic, peel it, and then mince it with a sharp knife.
  • Bacon. I bought a rasher of streaky bacon from the delicatessen section in Coles.
  • Chives. I bought a bunch from Coles.
  • Cheese. I like the Devondale three-cheese bag, which comes grated. I’m sure it has enough antifungal chemicals to treat a yeast infection. (That’s a joke, pre-grated cheese needs to be sold with antifungal chemicals, but the amount would hardly treat a good going yeast infection.)

Instructions

  1. Thaw the bread. I took the roll out of the freezer in the morning, put it into a Ziplock bag, and left it on a kitchen bench all day.
  2. Soften the butter. I cut off a hunk of butter and left it on a plate on the kitchen bench for about an hour.
  3. Mix the garlic and butter. When the butter is soft, mix in the garlic purée. Use as much as you like or can tolerate. I live alone, so there was quite a lot of garlic.
  4. Chop the chives and fold that into the garlic butter.
  5. Like Lorraine I melted the garlic butter. I used microwave radiation.
  6. Cut the bacon. Eyeball the width of the bread roll and cut the bacon to the same length.
  7. Cut the bread through to the crust on the bottom. Make the slices as thick or as thin as you like.
  8. Unlike Lorraine who used a brush I used a teaspoon to spoon the garlic butter into the cut surfaces of the bread.
  9. Insert the bacon between the cut surfaces of the bread.
  10. Place the bread on some aluminium foil and place a strip of baking paper over the top and close the foil around the bread. Bake for about 20 minutes at 200 °C.
  11. Pull the garlic bread out of the oven, open the foil, and remove the baking paper. Add the grated cheese over the bread roll and put some between the cut surfaces of the bread on either side of the bacon.
  12. Place the garlic bread into the oven (with an open surface) until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.
  13. Remove the garlic bread and allow it to cool enough to pull apart with naked fingertips.
  14. Give thanks to the Lord.
  15. Consume
  16. I ate the garlic bread with lamb shanks.

Thoughts on the garlic bread

I liked it. It was buttery and cheesy and it had bacon. What more could you want? It probably also had enough cholesterol and other lipids to ensure a disgusting lipæmic layer if I collected a tube of blood and subjected it to centrifugal force in a centrifuge. I expect, Lorraine’s had better mouthfeel and flavour (take a look at how she made hers and you’ll see why).

I added a lot of garlic powder and garlic purée so tomorrow will be interesting at church. My pores will exude garlic.

Photographs

Endnotes

Pig in mud. Happy, joyful, and contented.

Bogan. Oxford Dictionary of English | bogan / ˈbəʊɡ(ə)n / noun Australian New Zealand informal, derogatory an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status: some bogans yelled at us from their cars my family are culinary bogans. | ORIGIN 1980s: perhaps from the surname Bogan.

Antifungal microbial agents. I like the idea of using microorganisms which elaborate antifungal chemicals to preserve food.

Click on this and read the replies from Lorraine.

Eating in Adelaide

Dear Reader,

There wasn’t a post last weekend. I was with my girlfriend in Adelaide. I did a little cooking, but nothing I want to post about. Instead, I’ll share some thoughts on what we ate when we went out.

Adelaide Zoo Pelicans

Adelaide Central Markets

On Saturday, we went looking around the central markets at lunchtime. The Central Markets in Adelaide are a must-see. There is a good diversity of outlets with something to suit everyone, including those who have specific dietary needs.

I suggested laksa, but I should have gone with the suggestion to enjoy an Italian meal. The laksa was okay, but it could have been spicier. Why is it that I seem to be wearing a white shirt when I feel like eating laksa? Yes, I soiled my shirt while slurping noodles from my chopsticks. You can’t take me anywhere! We went for a combination laksa with chicken, pork, beef, seafood surprise, and prawns. We decided to eat our bowls of coconut creamy noodles and meat outside a vegan laksa outlet. It wasn’t until after we sat down that I noticed how wrong my choice of seating was. Sorry vegans 🫤

We both have a fondness for cheese, and the cheese shop in the markets didn’t disappoint when we asked for suggestions for a hard, soft, and blue cheese. The blue was a Roquefort, the hard was a cheddar, and the soft was a creamy brie. We enjoyed eating some cheese late that afternoon with some lavosh bread. We also had some Beerenberg fig and pomegranate, perfect with blue cheese.

Locavore

On Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at Locavore in Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. The restaurant is known for using produce sourced locally.

While the menu online (Summer menu when accessed on Wednesday, 20 April 2022) differs from what we read on Sunday, the online menu is a good reckoning of what we had to choose from. We started with a dozen oysters (natural), which came with a south-east Asian inspired sauce and wedges of lime. The oysters were plump and fresh. It’s been ages since either of us has enjoyed oysters, so this was a treat.

We shared a piece of pork belly with sweet potato mash, bok choi, and a delicious relish for one of the main course dishes. The second main we shared was fresh gnocchi with a lamb ragout. We also enjoyed a side of rocket leaves, blue cheese, pear, and red onion.

We were seated in the middle of the ground floor dining area. The restaurant also has a mezzanine, or maybe it’s better to call it an upper floor. The restrooms are located up there, and when I went to use the toilet, I noticed the upstairs area was quieter and set for slightly larger tables. There are also outdoor tables too if you prefer that.

The service was quick, friendly, and attentive. We didn’t have to wait too long for our meals to arrive. As we scanned around the room, some patrons looked like regular customers. I’m guessing some of them lived in the area. The conversations with the waitstaff were chatty and friendly.

The drive into the Adelaide Hills is delightful, with some nicely curved roads and terrific scenery. I kept my eyes on the trees, looking for koalas.

If you’re going to be in the Adelaide Hills and need a place for lunch, check out Locavore. I don’t think you’d be disappointed.

Bakery on O’Connell

On Monday afternoon, I was treated to a delicious vanilla slice. Regular readers will know my fondness for this classic Australian pastry.

The walk-in traffic of this place is high. This is an excellent sign for high-quality pastries and coffee. I wasn’t disappointed. We also tried a Nutella heart which was good. Next time, I want to try the apple turnover. I have it on good authority; it’s incredible. I’m also keen to try a genuine Adelaide pie floater.

The company, coffee, and cake, aka the 3Cs, were perfect, in my opinion.

This place is open all the time, every day and all day (and night), including public holidays. Suppose I had completed my training and resident years in Adelaide. This would be the perfect hangout for after late shift dinner and breakfast after night shifts. I can also see myself turning up at 6 am for coffee and a cake before a day shift. The only time Bakery on O’Connell is closed: Christmas eve to just after new year’s day. Perhaps this is when it’s best not to be in Adelaide! 😆

Prezzo Italian Ristorante and Wood Fired Pizza

After some sightseeing, including the museum and art gallery, we felt like eating pizza, so we headed to Hutt Street and stopped at Prezzo.

Check out the review I wrote on Google Maps; it describes how we enjoyed a good pizza and hot chips. I’d eat at Prezzo again.

Muratti Cakes and Gateaux

On Tuesday morning, we went to another patisserie for morning tea. Along with a delicious coffee, we enjoyed a subtle tasting pistachio slice (Three layers of flourless almond and chocolate brownie, layers of pistachio mousse and milk chocolate mousse dusted with pistachio) and a delightfully tart, passion framboise tart (passionfruit mousse and raspberry jam in a butter pastry shell garnished with fresh raspberries). The savoury offerings also look good. I want to go back and try these.

Where are the food photos?

No food photos for this post. I didn’t shoot many pictures at all. We went to the Adelaide Zöological Gardens and saw the pandas and many other animals. The two species I did capture were some pelicans and a lovely cassowary. When we saw the feet on the cassowary, we did wonder what they might taste like as a yum cha meal. 😉

Final thoughts

I loved the time I spent in Adelaide. I’ll be back.

Best Chicken Maryland recipe ever

This is a photograph of my Cheesy Chicken Maryland on toast
Cheesy Chicken Maryland on toast | Check out my Chicken Maryland recipe

Chicken Maryland posts are reasonably popular on Yummy Lummy. I don’t know why, but I get most visitors who want a Chicken Maryland recipe. This recipe isn’t healthy. This recipe isn’t low fat. This recipe has no vegetables. This recipe is tasty. This recipe is comforting. This recipe means you use your hands to eat the chicken. This recipe has no leftover juices that get wasted.

Best Chicken Maryland recipe ever
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian dude food
Author: [url href=”http://about.me/garydlum” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”]Gary Lum[/url]
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Best Chicken Maryland recipe ever
Ingredients
  • 2 pieces of Chicken Maryland
  • 1 hamburger bread roll
  • 1 handful grated tasty cheese
  • 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
  • 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon chicken salt
Instructions
  1. Heat a benchtop oven to 150 °C
  2. Line a tray with baking paper
  3. Cut a hamburger roll in half and lay out on the tray
  4. Butter the bread if you like or spread some olive oil
  5. Place a piece of chicken on each piece of bread
  6. Sprinkle on the cheese, salt, chicken salt, pepper and mixed dried herbs
  7. Put into the oven for 1 hour
  8. Rest for 20 minutes
  9. Shoot a photograph
  10. Eat with your hands being careful not to be so enthusiastic you eat the bones too
  11. Don’t eat the bones
  12. Wash the dishes
  13. Write the recipe
  14. Blog (verb)

If you make this be aware that you’ll want to do it again. It’s quite moreish, that’s why I did two pieces of Chicken Maryland. It fits nicely too with just one bread roll. The best part is that the bread toasts and becomes crispy with the chicken fat and cheesy goodness in the oven.

This is a perfect meal for when you come home and need to do other things while a quick and easy meal is cooking.

Earlier today, being pay day, I had a raspberry hazelnut meringue torte from Urban Bean Espresso Bar for my lunch.

This is a photograph of my Raspberry and Hazelnut Meringue Torte from Urban Bean Espresso Bar
Raspberry and Hazelnut Meringue Torte

Please try the recipe and let me know what you think.

What do you cook when you want something quick easy and comforting that you can eat with your hands?