Having people over for dinner can seem a bit over whelming, the idea of making a meal for a large number of people, to have everything ready at the right time and to provide something everyone is going to like- eek!

I find the best way to alleviate all those worries is to put together a very casual spread of tasty things that guest can help themselves to. Formal dinner parties have their place but when it's friends popping over for something to eat it's nice for the attention to be on the conversation and not on you dashing about in the kitchen and the mountain of dishes that's piling up!

This is a real crowd pleaser, the gooey cheese is seriously good and baked in its own box it creates (almost!) zero mess.


Ingredients:

1 camembert cheese- choose one that has its own wooden box, if you can get that don't panic
3/4 garlic cloves
a few small sprigs of rosemary
a glug olive oil
salt and pepper
a drizzle of honey to serve

Method:

Unwrap your camembert from its box and remove the plastic wrapper within.

Stab some holes all over the cheese makeing sure to piece through deeply. Chip the garlic lengthways into thin slices and slot these into the holes in the cheese. Tuck a few spring of rosemary into the holes as well, you will only want 3 or 4 little spring as rosemary is a very strong flavour, you only want to lightly infuse the cheese.

Take some greasproof/waxed paper and re-wrap the cheese in it- use my tip if you paper is being unruly.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the cheese before tucking the paper around it completely and popping it back into it's box with the lid on.

Be sure to remove any plastic tags or wrapping on the box then wrap it in foil. If your cheese is boxless just wrap it in waxed paper and foil.

Pop your parcel into the oven at 350F for 30 minutes, it will be done at this time but if you guests are late or don't fancy eating right away just turn the oven right down to around 240F to keep the cheese melty and warm.

When you are ready to serve, unwrap the foil, take off the lid of the box and pry open the paper at the top, leave the cheese in the paper and bottom part of its box to serve.

Drizzle with honey before letting your guests dig in with crackers or my ciabatta chips- on the blog soon!