The Magic of Lemon Stilton

Hidden treasure lies
Deep in the back of the fridge.
You just have to look.

A couple of nights ago, I suggested that my friend and partner-in-blogging, Debby, and I get together for a glass of wine. I suggested that we do it at her house, since she was temporarily sans children. Then I suggested that we drink her wine, since I was all out.

I almost suggested that she cook me dinner, too, but I knew not to push my luck.

Having arranged all of this, I began to feel a wee bit guilty about not contributing anything to our little gathering. I also knew I had nothing in the fridge to share, in light of days and days of snow and winter holiday break that kept me from stocking the shelves. But I desperately dug through the refrigerator wreckage anyway, only to discover — Ah Ha! Treasure!

The treasure was half a wedge of stilton cheese with lemon rind, or lemon stilton. It's delightfully refreshing and light-tasting because of the lemon, yet satisfying because it's - you know - cheese!
As an added bonus, it keeps in the fridge for a long time. (Because Debby reads this blog, too, I can't say how long it had been hiding back there. Let's just say it wasn't opened yesterday...)

I coupled the cheese with an unopened box of water crackers I found in the pantry (leftover from a party at Debby's house) and I was good to go!

I've also found it to be delicious with sliced pears — either red bartlett for a sweeter taste and some color, or with bosc, for a crisper finish.

For those of you who simply MUST have things in recipe format, here you go:

Sliced Pears with Lemon Stilton
One red bartlett or bosc pear
One small wedge of lemon stilton
water crackers (optional)

Slice the pear and the cheese. Top pear slice with cheese slice. Place on cracker if desired. Eat, smile, repeat.

comfort food from a can of soup

In my frazzled state,

The can opener beckons

My seductive friend...

I'm using canned soup.

But if I don't confess it

Then is it cheating?

I know my mother relied on it often, anticipating a casserole to die for, but if I decide to start dinner from a can of cream soup, I am being supremely lazy. If I make a casserole, usually every layer is homemade. From scratch – not a can.

But I wanted a creamy pasta casserole for dinner – comfort food. Getting over a cold, I was in the mood for something yummy but I did not have the energy to go all out. So I decided to use a can of soup instead of homemade white sauce in chicken lasagna.

This recipe was just the ticket.

Chicken Basil Lasagna

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1 (8-ounce) container ricotta cheese

1 roasted red pepper from a jar, drained and cut into strips

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/2 cup refrigerated grated Asiago cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

6 no-boil lasagna noodles

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded provolone cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix soup and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

Layer 2 lasagna noodles on bottom of a lightly greased 9-inch square baking dish; spoon and spread one-third of soup mixture on noodles. Sprinkle with one-third of cheese. Repeat layers three times.

Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 15 minutes . Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Makes 4 to 6 servings.