At the side

Competition favourites Enterprise Primary secured their berth in the semi-final round of the inaugural Health 2000 Guyana Incorporated Girls Primary Schools football tournament by downing derby rivals Tucville Primary 3-0 in the quarterfinal stage yesterday.

Hosted at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue, Enterprise broke the deadlock early with an own goal in the third minute after an attempted goal-kick struck the leg of a defender and rolled into the net.

It would then become 2-0 two minutes later as Allianna George found the back of the net with a strike to the lower right hand corner from inside the centre of the penalty box. The win would then be sealed in the 20th minute as Aliyah Elaine etched her name on the scorer’s tab, stabbing her effort down the middle of the goal from within the left side of the area.

With the victory, Enterprise will faceoff with St. Stephen’s Primary in the semi-final at the same venue today, after the latter edged South Ruimveldt 2-1 on sudden death kicks after regulation time ended nil-all.

Similarly sealing their berth to the final four section was West Ruimveldt who squeaked past tournament heavyweights F.E. Pollard 4-3 on sudden death kicks after finishing regulation time 1-1.

Nikita Prince opened the scoring in the 19th minute for the eventual winners in stunning fashion, rifling a right footed freekick into the roof of the net from the right side of the field.

However Omefia Langellier would level the scoreline five minutes later, converting a right footed penalty kick effort into the lower left hand corner, after a handball infringement in the left side of the 18 yard area.

West Ruimveldt will now lock horns with Stella Maris in the final semi-final matchup today. Stella Maris in their earlier quarterfinal fixture, defeated North Georgetown 5-4 on sudden death kicks after normal time finished with the score at 0-0.

By Cynthia Nelson

Ask anyone what they remember about a special holiday meal and it is never the main dish, it’s always the sides. The reason is simple: the centrepiece of the meal is usually the same – ham, turkey, chicken, pork roast, etc. However, it’s the side dishes that we mix and match that linger with us long after the meal is over.

The recipes offered this week are nothing new but they have little twists that can make them different from the usual Sunday lunch fare. The Herby Mac Pie employs a generous helping of fresh herbs – thyme, parsley and celery are winnable, especially when mixed with very finely chopped or grated fresh garlic. Taking the pie to another level is the use of a combination of cheeses. This year, splurge a little and get some gourmet cheese, and mix it in with your regular cheddar to make the cheese sauce for the pie. In this case, I used smoked Gouda but any smoked cheese would work fine.

You might decide that you want your pie even more gooey than usual, so use some mozzarella.

Not to be outdone in the realm of side dishes is the warm potato salad. Taking it from cold to warm, at play again is the use of fresh herbs with the addition of bacon. A warm potato salad helps ease the stress of finding a place in your already prime real estate refrigerator and can be served and left at room temperature without the worry of spoilage.

Sometimes all it takes to make something ordinary, extraordinary, is using a different herb or spice. With these baked onions, rosemary is the herb of choice but fresh stems of thyme would work just as well.

Herby Mac Pie with

Smoked Gouda, Sharp Cheddar

Yield: 1 (9 x 13) pan

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. raw macaroni pasta (bucatini long, tubular and hollow in the centre)
• Water to cook pasta
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to butter dish
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh thyme or fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon finely minced marjoram
• 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
• 2 teaspoons grated garlic (paste-like)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 5 cups grated cheese (2 cups smoked gouda, 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese mixed together)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Sliced tomatoes (optional but it adds a nice touch)

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; season water with salt to taste.
2. Add macaroni and cook according to package instructions. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9 x 13” baking dish/pan and set aside.
3. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. When the butter is melted add the herbs and garlic and mix in with butter, cook for 30 seconds then add flour and stir to mix. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring often; do not let the mixture get brown.
4. Check the pasta and drain well and return to the hot pot in which it was cooked and cover. If you are using a pasta pot with the insert then you will need to pour off the water from the pot itself.
5. Back to the butter and flour mixture. Add the milk and stir until butter-flour mixture is dissolved. Raise the heat a little and bring the pot to a simmer; do not let it boil.
6. Stir constantly until sauce thickens; avoid lumps. The sauce is done when it can coat the back of a spoon and does not rejoin when you run your finger along the spoon.
7. Once thickened, remove the milk mixture from the heat and add in 3 cups of cheese, stirring until it’s melted.
8. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (remember the pasta will also be seasoned from cooking in the salted water).
9. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni in the pot and toss thoroughly to coat and mix. Transfer the mixture to the buttered dish and spread evenly.
10. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cup of cheese and arrange slices of tomatoes on top of the cheese
11. Bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until the top is crusty and golden.
12. Remove from oven and let rest and cool before cutting

NOTES

• I would suggest placing the dish with the macaroni pie on a foil-lined sheet pan just in case there is any bubbling over, it will spill on the pan and not in the oven itself.
• You may use whatever cheese you have on hand but a sharp, salty cheese works great.
• The longer the macaroni and cheese rests after baking, the easier it is to cut and serve in blocks/large cubes; the cheese sauce solidifies as it rests. However, you can serve it right away but it will not be as firm.
• Elbows and tubular-shaped pasta are ideal; penne works well too.

Baked Onions

(Adapted from Jamie Oliver)

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

1 baking sheet lined with foil and brushed with oil

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large, tennis-ball-sized onions (Spanish* or white)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 twigs of rosemary/thyme with their ends sharpened (see notes below)
• 2 tablespoons whole milk or evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices bacon rashers*

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Peel the onions whole and add them to the boiling water. Cook for 12 minutes; the onions will not be fully cooked through.
2. Remove the onions from the pot and let cool until they are easy to handle.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F with rack in the middle.
4. When onions are cool enough to handle, with a sharp paring (small) knife, remove the top of the onions (the pointed part), about 1 inch and set aside.
5. Using a teaspoon or a paring knife, cut/scoop out some of the inside of the onions being careful to keep the outside with at least 2 layers, intact.
6. Add the scooped out onion as well as the cut tops together and mince finely. Remove the bottom leaves of your sprigs of rosemary and chop finely.
7. In a pan, heat the oil and sauté onions, garlic and rosemary or thyme until soft and fragrant. Turn the heat to low and stir in the milk. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cheese; season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
8. Wrap a rasher of bacon around each onion securing it in place with a rosemary twig (trim off any extra bacon).
9. Repeat this process until all 4 onions are wrapped and skewered. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and spoon in the sautéed onion mixture into each onion.
10. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until the top is golden, soft and tender.

NOTES

• Spanish onions are the brown paper-skinned onions that we get regularly.
• If you do not have access to rosemary, thyme would work. To sharpen the stems, after removing the leaves, take a small knife and run it along the bottom tip of the stems to make them pointed. Think of sharpening a pencil or piece of wood with a knife.
• You will need to cut the other end of the onion (the root) slightly so that the onions sit easily. Be careful as the onions need to stay intact so don’t cut too deeply.
• For presentation, you can swap out the cooked rosemary/thyme twigs with fresh ones.
• If you do not want to use the herb twigs, secure the bacon around the onions with toothpicks.
• If you can get larger onions, by all means, use them, however, you will need to get additional bacon to wrap around the onions.

Warm Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds potatoes (Russet or Yukon gold
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ pound bacon rashers (8 rashers)
• ¾ cup very finely chopped red onions
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
• 5 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel and chop potatoes into large pieces; add to a large pot and cover with water. Place a lid on the pot and place on high heat. When the pot comes to a boil, salt the water to taste and cook potatoes until tender but not so soft that they are falling apart. Drain well and set aside.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, cut up bacon into small pieces and add to a cold pan. Place pan on medium. Cook until bacon becomes crisp and has rendered its fat. Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving drippings (fat) in the pan.
3. Add the pan back to the heat along with the 3 tablespoons oil, let heat up and toss in onions and cook until translucent and tender.
4. Meanwhile add lemon juice, and herbs to a large bowl along with a pinch of salt and mix to dissolve salt. When onions are done cooking transfer to bowl with herbs, lemon juice mixture. Be sure to add all the drippings from the pan.
5. Whisk together the ingredients and taste for seasoning. Adjust with salt and pepper and whisk again.
6. When the potatoes are drained from cooking, add to the bowl with the dressing while very hot.
7. Sprinkle bacon all over potatoes and toss to coat the potatoes with the dressing.
8. Garnish with boiled eggs and serve at room temperature.

NOTES

• In order for the potatoes to absorb the flavours of the dressing, they must be added hot to the salad dressing; therefore, you can opt to make the dressing first and set it aside if you think that you will not be able to complete it while the potatoes are cooking.

• Basil and cilantro are herbs that can be substituted in place of parsley OR be added to the parsley in this recipe.

• This salad can be served chilled too.defeated East La Penitence 2-0 compliments of a Britney Sampson double in the second and 19th minutes.