This week I'm really pleased to bring you not only something tasty (Cheese Straws) but also really useful... 🙂
Recently I have been contacted by Steamer Trading Cookshop and asked whether I would like to write a post using Joseph Joseph 9 Piece Multi Nest Bowls Plus. You can only imagine my excitement. 🙂 I must admit, I was a little bit biased as I absolutely love Steamer Trading. I tend to visit it on pretty much every single occasion I'm in town (they have one of their shops near me in Chichester). It is a foodie heaven with lovely and helpful staff who are there to assist or leave you be if you're only in for a browse. 🙂 I would highly recommend you check them out. They have 41 stores across the UK but in case there isn't one near you, you can always visit them online at Steamer Trading Cookshop
Joseph Joseph 9 Piece Multi Nest Bowls Plus
I knew Joseph Joseph bowls set pretty well before I received it. It was one of my "wish/lust over" items. 🙂
Space saving qualities and good looks of this set are obvious so I won't go there. There are, however, quite a few additional attributes which I think are worth a mention.
- The set consists of 2 mixing bowls, colander, sieve and 5 interlocking measuring cups.
- The bowls themselves have non-slip bases which are really useful if you don't want them to be all over the kitchen counter while you mix your ingredients. There are very handy measurements on the inside of the smaller bowl which also has useful spout for when used with liquids.
- I love the size of the colander, perfect for draining pasta or washing salad leaves etc.
- The sieve appears really robust. The huge plus for me is that the stainless steel mesh is really tightly attached to the plastic rim so no more cooked rice getting stuck (my favourite method of draining rice). No very keen on absorption method but that's the story for a separate post. 😉
- The measuring cups are all your standard, useful sizes (1 cup, ½ cup, ⅓ cup, ¼ cup, 1Tbsp and 1 teaspoon together). These sizes are also shown in millilitres.
- The set is dishwasher safe.
- The set is not to be used in microwave which is fine although the small bowl with the spout could be quite useful for warming milk or softening butter etc. but that is by no means a deal breaker.
Cheese Straws
Showcasing this gorgeous piece of kitchen equipment are my delicious Cheese Straws which I made with the help of the very Joseph Joseph bowls set.
These lovely snack things are to die for. They are very moreish and extremely addictive. They are perfect portable/picnic food as well as little pre-dinner snack enjoyed with a glass of red. I must warn you though, they disappear before you know it so you might want to double the quantities. 🙂
This recipe is great to make with kids as it is so easy and quick to put together.
I tend to use mustard with my cheese straws but feel free to experiment with flavours and add some smoked paprika or chilli flakes. When adding dry spices instead of mustard you might want to add dribble of milk to the mix to help bind it.
Now to the recipe itself.
📋 Recipe
Cheese Straws
Ingredients
- 100 g plain flour
- 60 g cold salted butter you can use unsalted type and add pinch of salt to your flour
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or English mustard
- 100 g mature cheddar
- 1 egg beaten
- Parmesan for grating over the biscuits before baking
Instructions
- Sieve flour into the bowl and add cubed, cold butter and mustard.
- Rub in the butter until you reach breadcrumb-like consistency.
- Stir in grated cheese and knead until mixture comes together.
- Cover it in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 180°C and line baking sheet with grease proof paper.
- Roll out the pastry into rectangle shape (approx 32x13cm). It should be approx. 0.5cm thick.
- Cut into straws approx. 2cm wide.
- Brush gently with beaten egg and sprinkle over some grated parmesan.
- Bake for 10-12min until lovely and golden.
- Enjoy!
Giveaway
That brings me to the most exciting bit which is a giveaway itself. Thanks to the generosity of lovely peeps from Steamer Trading, I have one set of very same Joseph Joseph bowls for you my lovely readers. All you need to do is to follow instructions on the gleam widget below and share with me (in the comments) your most useful and/or loved piece of kitchen equipment you couldn't live without. Don't worry if you don't see your comment straight away, it will appear, I promise. 🙂 Once you've entered the giveaway by commenting you will have some additional options to gain more entries if you wish. The winner will be picked at random from all the valid entries after the giveaway closes.
Steamer Trading Cookshop Giveaway! Joseph Joseph 9 Piece Multi Nest Bowls Plus
adele knight says
My Grandma's 50p shaped cake tin, it's quite shabby and very old but I love making cakes in it, as she taught me to bake!
DANIELLE VEDMORE says
My electric whisk - I cant go back to whisking cream and egg whites by hand again!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
Wow, these look amazing! I am a cheese fiend and I would be keeping these all to myself! Love how golden and simply delish they look! Thanks for linking up to #TreatPetite
Louise Fairweather says
I LOVE homemade cheese straws. My best kitchen item is a microwave steamer - use it for veg most days #bakeoftheweek
Jacqui says
As I love the colourful Joseph bowls I'm gong to enter the giveway - what a fabulous one it is. The item I couldnt live without are my kitchen knives (i'm sure no explanation needed) but more frivolous would be the kenwood chef because it takes the hard work out of batch baking.
As for cheese straws great recipe perfect for parties and snacking. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I love my electronic digital scales - they're so much more accurate than the old scales with a finger dial and they're great for accuracy and even measuring liquids. Bit boring but I use them at least once every single day. I don't know what I'd do without them 😉 !
Jenny Paulin says
ooooh I love the Jospeh and Joseph range and have a few items.
your cheese straws look delicious Jo - perfect for parties and Christmas. Thanks for linking to #Bakeoftheweek
PS. Actually I am going to enter your comp, so the item I could not live without in my kitchen is probably my recent Ninja Kitchen System, as I can do so many things in it and I use it a lot. thank you x
Corina says
I immediately thought of my hand blender just like Monika. I especially use it in winter for soups and it's so much easier to clean than my bigger blender.
Monika Dabrowski says
I couldn't live without my hand blender
Eat Explore Etc says
As I'm in Germany I won't enter, but this is a lovely competition! Joseph Joseph do some great kitchen bits and even though I'm not always a fan of some of their colour choices, their products are just so good it doesn't matter. 🙂
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you lovely! 🙂 Shame you are in Germany 😉 I am so pleased I am able to run it and offer such a great prize! I am absolutely in love with this bowl set and hope somebody else will be too!