The Way of Eating in Europe (well UK actually)

[Twinky]

Okay you Brits.

There's a topic in Open / In the Kitchen about regional dishes. When you're brought up with a particular kind of food, it's hard to think what's unique about what you're used to. And of course in the UK there are also regional differences. So let's have our own sub-topic on this one.

Specialties:

Roast beef and Yorkshire pud

Fish and chips

Processed peas

Toad in the hole

Welsh:

Laver bread

Bara Brith

Scottish:

Haggis

Please, nobody mention black pudding (yeuk).

[Tom Strange]

Hi folks! Tom here (Ex10 and paw said y'all wouldn't mind me visiting your area)...

Shepherd's Pie... I don't know that I've ever had a 'real' shepherd's pie... could someone post a recipe and instructions? Does it really exist or is it only a myth?

Thanks folks! Glad to "meet" you!

[Twinky]

Hi Tom, welcome to Europe! Take three shepherds, marinate for two days in brown ale, mince up with onions, peas and overcooked carrots, and ...

Just joking. No harm intended to any human being. It's a left-over lamb dish (hence the shepherds). Will post something tomorrow on the main thread In the Kitchen.

[Tom Strange]

It has LAMB in it??? ..see how strangely I've been misled? ...I had some once and it had ground beef in it!!!

...and thanks for the welcome... I've always wanted to visit Europe!

Edited November 30, 2006 by Tom Strange

[ex10]

I love mushy peas! ;) especially with shepherd's pie.

[Twinky]

Ex10, you appal me. Thought you had better taste. How can ANYONE enjoy those dreadful mushy peas? (ducking for cover!)

Tom, recipe is In the Kitchen/Leftovers

Edited November 30, 2006 by Twinky

[ex10]

Ha, Twinky. I think mushy peas are the reason God invented England.

[danteh1]

And isn't Haggis actually made in a processed sheep stomach?

The filling sounds good but thinking that it's cooked in a cleaned out stomach kind of turns mine a little.

[Outfield]

A traditional Irish breakfast -- I sort of miss it!

Not the black pudding though.

Hey, where's the toast -- they left that out!

I couldn't believe there wasn't any peanut butter in England

And the Brits sure love their baked beans on toast.

Edited November 9, 2007 by Outfield

[doojable]

What is "Toad in the Hole"?

[Outfield]

I always thought Toad in the Hole was this - which also goes by "egg in a basket, Moon over Miami and Bulls Eye."

But I've also read it is a traditional British dish comprising sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, usually served with vegetables and gravy.

Toad in the hole is also a pub game, involving throwing brass discs at a hole in a box. A variation of this game has been played in pubs in East Sussex, UK, the 'hole' being in the centre of a large wooden seat set against the wall, the back of the seat being a surface to rebound your shot off. Toad in the hole is a more refined version of the coin-throwing game Pitch penny.Seems like the Brits love "toads."

Edited November 9, 2007 by Outfield

[doojable]

Thanks Outfield. I was told that "egg in bread thing" was called a "One-Eyed Sailor."

[Eyesopen]

Twinky, where's the cheese dip?

The Irish breakfast looks good...but what are those little round things on the far side of the bacon?

[Twinky]

Toad in the hole is sausages (English sausages, that is) in batter and baked in the oven. Delicious!

[doojable]

Toad in the hole is sausages (English sausages, that is) in batter and baked in the oven. Delicious!

Similiar to what we call "Pigs in a Blanket" or even Sausage Kolaches...

I bet the English version is much classier.

[Outfield]

The Irish breakfast looks good...but what are those little round things on the far side of the bacon?

Black pudding - an Irish staple.

I did try a bite once -- just to do it. It wasn't bad -- but just knowing what it was made from was more psychological.

"Black pudding or less often blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The term blood sausage (first attested in 1868) is a North American term that may be a translation from German "Blutwurst". Blood sausage has become a useful term for similar blood-based solid foods around the world.

Pig or cattle blood is most often used; sheep and goat blood are used to a lesser extent. Blood from poultry, horses and other animals are used more rarely. Typical fillers include meat, fat, suet, bread, sweet potato, barley and oatmeal."

[George Aar]

I'm not sure the words "English" and "cooking" should be used in the same sentence.

Sure, there's all those really wonderful favorites like blood pudding, spotted dick, and drippings,

but some of the stuff is actually kinda icky.

Geo. <<<<< wondering how those guys ever ended up ruling the world...

[doojable]

Spotted Dick...? :huh: :o

[What The Hey]

Hmmmm.... Where are the kippers?

[doojable]

Found this:

Spotted Dick is a steamed pudding, containing dried fruits, usually currants. The dessert originates in and continues to be especially popular in the United Kingdom, usually served either with custard or with butter and brown sugar. Spotted refers to the raisins (which resemble spots) and Dick may be a contraction/corruption of the word pudding (from the last syllable) or possibly a corruption of the word dough. [citation needed] It is also known as spotted dog, plum duff, steamed dicky, dicky pudding, figgy dowdy, as well as plum bolster, and Spotted Richard.

From HERE

Edited November 9, 2007 by doojable

[Belle]

I LOVE SPOTTED DICK!!

ESPECIALLY with Custard on it!

I used to work for a very international company and we would have the most interesting pot luck dinners. I learned a lot about international cuisine, including Indian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Jamaican, Australian, and, of course, spotted dick!

[WordWolf]

The movie "King Ralph" had a LOT of fun with that.

This American is trying to immerse himself in British culture, history, etc, at

one point, and this included sampling all sorts of traditional foods.

When he was introduced to "spotted dick", he winced and didn't look right at it.

Later, when he was offering someone dessert, he couldn't finish the name.

=====

I also saw one comedienne who brought back a menu from Great Britain,

where one dessert was big enough to share.

She held up the menu so people in the front could read it.

"Great Big Spotted Dick."

She continued reading.

"'A feast for one, plenty for two, enough for three or four to share.'

*closes menu*

Now THAT, my friends, is a lot of Dick."

=========

Sidenote for the trivia fans.

Alan Moore refused to accept any credit-or blame- for "V for Vendetta."

He wrote the comic book the movie was supposedly based on, and took his money,

but he disconnected himself from the adaptation process, since it generally means

a lot of departures from the original work.

(IMHO, that was an improvement with "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,"

but a problem with "V".)

I'll skip the theatrics, but one thing that came up was how poorly they worked

the script, not making sure the expressions, the colloquialisms, matched.

The expression that keeps getting mentioned involved "eggs in a basket."

Apparently, they don't have that name, and probably not that food at all.

However, the character not only used the name, but used a made-up

pseudo-British version, "Eggy in a basket".

That phrase has gotten a LOT of mileage in spoofing the movie.

(A spoof I saw had him saying

"Are you surprised I made you Eggy in a Basket?"

and her replying

"No, I'm surprised you think British people use the word "Eggy.")

[nyunknown]

I don't want to know what that is made of! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

[likeaneagle]

dooj, you made me laugh so hard!! thx

[doojable]

dooj, you made me laugh so hard!! thx