What Are They - And How to Make Spicy Cheese Straws
How it came about
We have a couple of very good friends that we have over to us or that we go over and visit on a regular basis.
We usually break bread together these occasions, nothing fancy, a burger or a pizza, when we go over to visit them during the week nights, as they both have fairly erratic work hours, one of them is a teacher and the other is self employed and runs a graphic design company from home.
As I had been released form hospital, for the fourth time this quarter, they had come over to visit, and check up on me, to see if i was really OK!
What-Happened-to-a-Month-of-my-Life
This relates to the first part of this marathon saga.
Well, as I was feeling a lot more like myself, I decided that I would make an unusual and light tasty nibble for the table.
A Tray of Cheese Straws
As You Can See - Golden Brown and Tasty
The came out perfectly, a not too difficult recipe to follow and the advantage of a tasty treat at the end of the toatl of an hours labour.
Preparation Step 1
Grate up a good strong tasting cheese.
This time I used a yellow cheddar cheese, next time round, I would experiment and try a nice mature Wensleydale for the next time I make a batch.
You will need to grate up two and a half cups of the cheese, this must be done on the small hole side of the grater.
Raw Materials Needed
Assemble the Following
Ingredients
2 cups of cake flour
1 cup of butter or hard margerine
2 and 1/2 cups of grated cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
Making the Dough
Preparing the Flour and Butter
Add the flour into a mixing bowl, cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour.
Rub the butter and flour between your fingertips, constantly breaking the butter down into smaller flour coated pieces so that they resemble bread crumbs.
The photo on the side shows what they look like, about a third of the way through the 'crumbing procedure'.
Continue until all the flour and butter now resembles a bowl full of fine bread crumbs.
Add the Final Ingredients And Mix
Click thumbnail to view full-size
The Mixing Stage
Now add the cheese and all the other ingredients, mix thouroughly unti it is a smooth dough and all the ingredients are well blended together.
Finishing the Straws
Roll out the Dough and up comes the Straws
- Place a piece of grease proof paper that will fit your baking tray,
- Place it on a flat surface, and dust with some four
- Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees Celsius
- Cover your rolling pin with flour
- Place the dough mix on the grease proof paper
- Roll out the dough from centre to edge
- Give the paper a half turn
- Roll from centre to edge
- Repeat again, and then again
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5mm
- Transfer the baking sheet to the baking tray
- Cut the dough into shapes if you like
- I chose to cut them into straws, as that is what I felt like at the time.
- Once oven is at the desired temperature
- Place the baking tray in the centre of the oven
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until a nice golden brown
- Remove and place on a park plate to cool down
- Once cooled to room temperature
- Remove from the tray and place in your serving platter.
