Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - P J HARVEY

This one was a request by Dave. 

His favourite of her songs is Snake.

So, as a homage to that (quite risqué) track, here is a suitable snack and a cocktail inspired by the lyrics :

You snake, you dog, you fake, you liar
I've burned my hands, I'm in the fire
You salty dog, you filthy liar
My heart it aches, I'm in the fire

BAGEL SNAKE 

To make one snake:
2 bagels

half a pack of soft cheese

skin from ¼ cucumber
about 5 small tomatoes
1 small piece of radish skin

1 small olive

Slice each bagel in half and then cut each slice in two.

Spread each with soft creamy cheese and arrange in sequence to form the parts of the snake. Join together with a bit more cheese.

Then add the details to make stripes, eyes and tongues.
Decorate with leaves.

PINK SALTY DOG COCKTAIL
This is a 'female' twist on the usual 'Salty Dog'.

Make a salty rim around each short glass
Mix 6tbsp sugar with some warm water in a bowl to make a syrup.
Place a large sprinkling of salt on a plate.
Dip the rim of the glass in the sugar syrup, then roll in the salt.
Allow to set.
Fill half the glass with ice
Pour 50ml gin and 50ml pink grapefruit juice on top.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - MATTHEW PERRY

'Mac and Cheese' is quite symbolic in Friends, one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. 
Joey takes a role in a failed TV show called Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E where he acts with a robot. 
But it means even more to Chandler who has it as his favourite 'Thanksgiving' meal. 

So, Zelda would choose it to serve to Matthew Perry if she was lucky enough to have him to dinner. 

MACARONI CHEESE

250g dried macaroni

500ml milk

50g plain flour

50g butter
2tbsp single cream
salt and black pepper

200g cheese, grated

Heat a pan of salted water and add macaroni when boiling.

Cook for 10 minutes, then drain.

Heat the butter in a pan and, when frothing, add the flour. Stir and cook for a minute. Then add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously.

Cook until it thickens, then turn off the heat and add the cream,150g of the cheese and season, stirring to make a cheesy sauce.

Mix with the pasta and place in a dish. It should be fairly sloppy at this point as it will thicken in the oven. 

Cook at 230°C/ 450°F/ Gas 8 for 10 - 15 minutes. 

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.

Cook for about 10 minutes more until the cheese is bubbly and golden. 

Serve with baked beans, garlic bread or salad.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - ROGER FEDERER

Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time. 

Each generation has its favourites, but in an age where success depends upon not only skill, but intellect and athleticism, he has won a record 8 Wimbledon titles, 6 Australian Open titles, a French open title and 5 US Open titles. 
Not only that: he is a joy to watch, making the most complicated shots look effortless. 

Zelda would like to serve him this cheesecake. It is baked in the New York style and accompanied by strawberries, thus reminding him of the two major tennis tournaments of the summer, and using the colours of the Swiss flag.

NEW YORK CHEESECAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES

85g butter

175g digestive biscuits

1tbsp granulated sugar

300g golden caster sugar

900g soft cheese (such as Philadelphia)

3tbsp plain flour

1½tsp vanilla extract

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3 large eggs + 1 additional yolk

450ml soured cream

First make the base:

Line a 23cm springform tin, or grease well.

Either blitz or bash the biscuits to make fine crumbs and add the granulated sugar.

Melt the butter in a pan. Stir in the biscuit crumbs so that all are moist.

Press this into the bottom of the tin.

Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas 4. Then allow to cool.

Then make the filling:

Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a spoon until creamy.

Add 250g of the caster sugar, the plain flour, a pinch of salt, the vanilla extract, 2tsp lemon zest and 1½tsp of the juice. Stir well to combine.

Using an electric hand whisk, whisk in the eggs, one at a time.

Then whisk in 200ml of the soured cream until it is smooth, light and airy.

Pour into the tin on top of the biscuit base.

Cook for 10 minutes at 220°C/ 425°F/ Gas 7.

Then reduce the oven temperature to 140°C/ 275°F/ Gas 1 and bake for another 45 minutes.

Turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake inside for another 2 hours.

To make the topping:

Mix the remaining 150g soured cream with 25g caster sugar and 2tsp of lemon juice.

Spread over the top of the cheesecake.

Cover loosely with foil and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

Remove from the tin and the paper, placing on a plate.

To make the strawberry sauce:

Wash and hull 100g of the strawberries. Place in a pan with the remaining 25g caster sugar and 2tbsp of water. Warm gently until the strawberries become soft and pulpy. 

Set aside to cool.

Press through a sieve.

Keep to one side into a bowl.

To serve:

Decorate the top of the cheesecake with about half of the sauce and the remaining strawberries.

Cut and put on plates with the remaining sauce.

KATSU SUB

Makes 6

6 submarine rolls

1 block firm tofu

salad items of choice

2tbsp mayonnaise

2tbap Katsu paste

3tbsp soy sauce

50g panko breadcrumbs

4tbsp plain flour

4tbsp cornflour

Sunflower oil for frying

First, prepare the tofu.
Drain and rinse. 
Cut in half and then slice each half into three, lengthways.

Place in layers between absorbent paper and add weights on top to squeeze out the moisture.

Then place in a bowl and sprinkle with 2tbsp of the soy sauce. 
Allow to marinate while you make the breadcrumb coating. 

Mix the cornflour with water to make a thick, sticky liquid. 

Put the breadcrumbs and flour in separate bowls. 

Dip each slice of tofu in the flour, then the cornflour mixture, then the breadcrumbs.

Mix the katsu paste and soy sauce in a saucepan. 

Take 1tsp of this and mix with the mayonnaise. Leave the rest in the pan.

Cut each roll in half. 

Spread the bottom of each with the katsu/ mayonnaise mix.

Then load with the salad of your choice. (I used crispy lettuce, radish, yellow pepper and spring onion.)

Heat the oil and fry the tofu in two batches, turning when needed, for a few minutes until golden. 

Set aside to drain.

Warm the katsu sauce.
Cut each piece of tofu in half.

Drizzle with the sauce.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - AGATHA CHRISTIE

Agatha Christie wrote 66 detective novels and is one of the widest-read authors ever. 

She created Miss Marple and the wonderful Hercule Poirot. 

In 1938, she bought Greenway, a beautiful house and grounds in the Devon countryside.

It was the setting for a few of her novels and it, along with the grounds and the boathouse, has been used in some of the recent TV adaptations.

Zelda was privileged to visit recently, with friends Julie and Adrian. 
It seems fitting, therefore, to invite her to dinner.
At Greenway, we enjoyed some delicious apple and cider cake, so I have recreated it here, served with her favourite clotted cream - apparently she used to keep some beside her as she wrote her novels!

APPLE AND CIDER CAKE

100ml medium sweet cider

225g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon

225g caster sugar

225g butter, softened

2 large free range eggs

2 large cooking apples

Prepare the tin. Grease and line or use a liner. Heat oven to 180°C/ Gas 4/ 350°F

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand-held electric whisk.

Beat in the eggs one at a time. Then mix in the cider.

Add this to the flour and mix well.

Peel and core the apples. Chop into cubes.

Add to the bowl and stir.

Spoon into the tin and level the top.

Cook for about 1½ hours until an inserted skewer or knife will come out clean.

Allow to cool fully, then remove from the tin.