My three girls initially had an aversion to cheese when they were very little. This was a concern to me because cheese is a tasty, convenient and versatile way of having the daily recommended intake of dairy. The key to overcoming their dislike of all things “cheesy” was finding a cheese they actually liked the taste of. They fell upon a French fromage d’affinois with gusto and that opened up their appetites to the wide variety of glorious cheeses on offer. I often find them smoothing slabs of this creamy cheese over hot toast as quick weekday breakfast or after school snack. 

I always have a selection of cheeses available to snack on, from smooth ricotta made by Sydney based Paesanella cheese company, triple cream brie from King Island Dairy, to nutty flavoured Jarlsberg dubbed “mouse cheese” by Luka. There are always containers of tiny baby bocconcini, authentic Greek feta, and wax wrapped blocks of sharp tasting Margaret River cheddar. When it comes to making traditional toasted sandwiches, the sliced colby and Mainland tasty cheeses are a convenient and tasty option. Yum, I feel like fossicking through my fridge for some cheese right now!

Grating or dolloping cheese over roasted veggies or adding to a salad just before serving, is an easy way to add interest to the common carrot, pumpkin, potato or selection of salad greens. Plus it is an excellent way of tempting the tastebuds of children who hesitate when presented with a platter of vegetables as part of their meal. 

I grated grana padano parmesan over this dish of bubbling Creamed Potatoes that accompanied the juicy scotch fillet steaks and little lamb cutlets (pictured below) for this evening’s dinner. Look at the big bowl of beautiful deep green salad leaves that I also served up, tossed through with salty kalamata olives, crisp cucumber and baked ricotta wedges. The simple, lip smacking dressing consisted of a drizzle of vino cotto, Cobram Estate’s robust flavoured extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.  


Quite often as I reach for the block of parmesan or other favourite cheese, my brother Milan pops into my head. You see, my brother likes cheese. A lot. When eating Spaghetti Bolognese for example, his plate resembles a generous portion of parmesan with the sauce and pasta on the side. At least he will have strong bones(!!).  

Creamed Potatoes to serve 5 – 6 people

To avoid snipping off the tips of your fingers I recommend using a food processor to finely slice the potatoes. I doubled this recipe and managed to slice up 2 kilograms of heavy purple skinned potatoes in a minute using my Magimix processor. If you don’t have one of these handy kitchen essentials then slice each spud with a cook’s knife, and take your time in order to avoid a trip to the emergency department. 

Ingredients
1 kg firm fleshed potatoes cut into 0.5cm thin slices
1 medium sweet potato (kumera)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
600 ml pouring cream
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 200 degrees fan forced. 

Slice all of the potatoes and put them into a deep mixing bowl. Sprinkle over the nutmeg, salt, pepper and pour in the cream. Mix together so the potatoes are well coated with the mixture. 

Spoon this into a baking tray (I used my rectangular 35 cm Le Creuset cast iron pan), cover with aluminium foil and place into the oven for 25 minutes. After this time, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes until the top layer of potatoes are a deep golden brown and the creamy liquid has reduced. 

Just before serving, grate over the parmesan cheese. Serve as a side dish to your favourite form of protein – fish, chicken, steak or chops. This can also be refrigerated and then reheated in the oven the next day.