6 oz roquefort =or=- other blue cheese
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp cognac (optional)
1 freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped walnuts
4 slice bread (thin)
Directions
Serve these Blue Cheese Toasts surrounding a salad made of finely
shredded bitter greens--radicchio, butter lettuce, endive--and
dressed with a walnut oil vinaigrette. PREHEAT THE OVEN OR BROILER
for the toast. Cream the cheese and butter together. Add the cognac,
if using, season with pepper and stir in the walnuts. Toast the bread
lightly on both sides. Spread the cheese over the toast, then return
it to the oven or broiler just long enough for the butter and cheese
to melt into the toast a little. It shouldn't melt completely, but
just soften. Remove the toasts from the oven, dust them with more
pepper and cut them into smaller pieces. Serve warm. Cool, juicy
slices of pears would make a perfect accompaniment to the cheese and
walnuts.
Servings: 4 servings
Blue Cheese Toasts With Walnuts Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Appetizer; Bread; Breads; Breakfast; Cheese
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to follow the history of transcribed cooking instructions back into antiquity, in truth as far as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. In practice though, sadly, these ancient cook books were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe found, according to academics is a collection of ancient tablets in the Sumerian language which show the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. During Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a number of documents which described recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were split into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and afters, something we still use today. This early Roman chef describes how the cooks of his times used a wide range of spices, including a few you will know such as bay, rue and parsley. Closer to modern times, there were two interesting cookery books from the 14th Century - a cookery book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these are nothing to do with the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but instead accounts of the types of food eaten by the rich people of the time. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new foods, spices and herbs from the East, including coriander, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs prompted a surge in cookery books, many of which are now in private cookery archives. By the arrival of the 1900s, cookery books were increasing in popularity due to increased literacy, people having more leisure time and having more disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Blue Cheese Toasts With Walnuts recipe.
