Tomorrow marks one year since I began "The British Chef. So, I thought it only fitting to go back to the beginning and re-post my first ever food blog...The English Breakfast!!! It is how any Englishman should start the day. It is so simple and so scrumptious. Some people refer to it as a "heart attack on a plate". They are right in the aspect that it is all fried up in a skillet. The slang term for it is a "fry-up". You start out with frying up some bacon and sausages in a skillet. You then add some Black Pudding. For those who don't know, black pudding is a sausage made from coagulated pig's blood mixed with herbs and spices. When you cook it it turns black, hence the name. You also fry up some tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes and eggs. All of this is also served with some good old Baked Beans. The common brand is Heinz. It is hard to get Heinz Baked Beans here in the US. You can however find them online and at some specialty food stores. Once all this is done, you then make fried bread. Just take some sliced bread and brown it in the pan drippings. It is then all served up with some tea, and a bottle of HP Brown Sauce. It is delicious not only at breakfast but at any time of day. If you would like to find some of these products online, I would suggest the British Food Depot. They have everything from sausages and black pudding to HP Sauce and Baked Beans. Click on the link below to go to their site. Cheers!!
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This is the first recipe I made from Julia Child's "The Way to Cook" cookbook. Although I have to admit I was a little bit overwhelmed by the length of the recipe. So I re-wrote the recipe with far less steps and ingredients. I think it is better the way I have written it. As some of my culinary friends can tell you is that simpler can be better. Not to knock Julia Child of course, I still love her recipes and books. It has all of the best ingredients beef, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and wine. If you look at it, it is a fast and thicker version of Beef Borguignon. You basically saute all of the elements in the same pan, but separately and at the end you make the sauce in that pan and add everything back to it. What you are left with is a stew-like meal. It is quick,delicious, and reliable! Bon Appetit!
I think aside from Fish and Chips, if you were to ask an American to name another classic British dish they would say Shepherd's Pie. This is a go to meal to make if you want to have a one dish meal. We have made this a many number of times for lunch at Allegany College of MD. Originally designed as the poor man’s dish in the late 18th century in Britain, the Shepherd’s Pie or Cottage Pie is one of the greatest dishes born in Britain. It was designed to incorporate potatoes into every meal. It was an option when food was scarce. This is my recipe made American style with peppers and cheese! You start out by making mashed potatoes. The recipe comes with a method for mashed potatoes, but you can make them any way you want. Just make sure you don't make them too liquidy. Once it bakes with the meat mixture it will thin out. You then make the meat filling. Brown your ground beef, and then saute your vegetables. You thicken it by adding flour. Then you add beef stock, cream or milk and your seasonings. Once thickened, you pour this mixture into a baking dish. You spread your mashed potatoes on top. Cover with foil and let it bake for 20-25 minutes. Then, you remove the foil and top with cheddar cheese and let it melt under the broiler for a minute. Normally the British don't put cheese on it, but when in America, where anything is better with melted cheese, I had to do it. You then can serve it plain as is, but I like to eat it with a nice drizzle of HP Brown Sauce. If you are in need of a simple dish, this is perfect for you. Bon Appetit!
I have lived my whole life wanting to eat potato salad. But unfortunately for me, my mother and probably every one else in the world has to put those gross hard boiled eggs in them. So the other day, I thought..."I am making my own potato salad!" I first started thinking about great flavors to mix instead of just straight mayo and salt and pepper. To my luck, Ina Garten was making a mustard and dill potato salad for a picnic. So afterwards, I wanted to make my own sauce recipe. What was born, is what I have been eating all week long. I have had to make another batch. It is so unbelievably delicious. I could just eat this all day long. I have used some of Ina's techniques but created my own recipe. You start out by boiling red potatoes, whole in salted water. The trick then is to drain them just before they are completely tender and cover them with a lid or towel to steam until fully cooked. You then mince some celery and red onions. The final thing to do is to make the sauce. The sauce consists of: mayo, sour cream, good Dijon or brown mustard, dill, celery seeds, sugar, apple cider vinegar, milk. It is a good idea to add a little bit of the dressing while the potatoes are still warm. Then add the rest later. I guarantee once you have potato salad this way, you will never think of adding eggs to it again! Bon Appetit!
Aside from fish and chips, this is a classic pub dish. In my opinion this is British comfort food at its tastiest. It may sound simple but there are a few complex flavors. For example, the baked beans. I would not suggest some highly rich beans like "Bush's". I would suggest getting a neutral flavored brand of beans such as "Campbells" or "Heinz". Like I have said before, you can only get traditional Heinz Baked Beans through the internet or in a specialty food store, due that they are made and sold exclusively in England. If you wish to find them online, I would suggest the British Food Depot. Their link is below. These beans are in a simple tomato sauce. I like to doctor them up a bit myself. What I would add to them is some tomato ketchup. This enhances the flavor of the tomato. Then, add a little bit of salt and pepper. This simplicity of the beans may be boring to some but it is just delicious. Another reason, you don't want to strong of a flavor is because in the end you drizzle some good old HP Brown sauce over the whole lot. The HP Sauce you can also find online.
Then, you have the deal with the Bangers, or sausages which we Yanks call them. I cannot stress this enough...DO NOT BUY SWEET OR HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGES! They simply do not belong in any other dish that is not Italian in origin. Besides, I in general don't like Italian sausages in any rate. What you want to buy is some good beef or pork sausages. They can sometimes be found under the name English or Cumberland style sausages. Something with a nice flavor but again not too strong. Once you have the first two things taken care of, then you just have the Chips (french fries). I don't think I have to explain anything further. Except, just get good fries. By that I mean straight forward fries, no shapes or crinkle cut. Homemade are the best option. Just fry up the sausages and chips. Make the beans and doctor them up. Then, just plate up the chips and bangers and spoon the beans on or beside them. Serve with a bottle of HP Brown Sauce and a nice pint of beer or cider. For all of the products such as the Heinz Baked Beans, HP Sauce and even the Sausages, check out the British Food Depot below. Cheers! Although we beat the bloody Gerries twice in the last hundred years, anyone with taste has to admit...they have some good damn food! This is a classic starter dish made "Vinnie Style"! You have all of the classic ingredients for a German soup: cheese, potatoes,and BEER! Then, you have the Vinnie ingredients: Bacon and hot sauce. Although a usual German dish would have caraway or anise seeds, I find that to harsh of a flavor. It overpowers the taste of whatever ingredients are in the dish. All I can say is, get yourself some soft pretzels, a big old bowl of this, and a large lager and you will have a great meal. Simple as that!!!
For a quick yet elegant steak dinner, turn to a delicious Steak au Poivre. It is a very popular French steak dish. It is a steak of your choice, yet I would prefer a filet mignon steak. You coat it in roughly cracked peppercorns. The longer you let it sit, the better flavor the steak will have. You then sear it on each side for about 4-5 minutes until browned and cooked to your desired done-ness. You then make a sauce from the pan drippings. You saute some minced shallots or onions. Then, degrease the pan with beef stock and French Cognac. Be careful when you pour the cognac. Turn the flame or heat down or off to prevent flare ups. After you boil it for a few minutes, you swirl in some butter to give the sauce a little bit of body. You then serve this sauce over the steaks. For a side dish, I would suggest some sort of potatoes. A classic would be some matchstick fried potatoes. They are excellent with the sauce.
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