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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Probably one of the best things to make on a cold winter night. It is sweet, spicy, and full of flavor. Next to cream of crab soup, this is my favorite soup to make. It is hearty enough to be a complete dinner by itself, but just enough to have as a small cup with your lunch. It has all of the usual ingredients you would associate with chili: beef, peppers, onions, beans, and tomatoes. You start by browning the beef then the peppers and onions. Then, you add diced and crushed tomatoes along with beef stock and vegetable juice such as V8. Now, the crucial part is adding the spices. Among others they include chili powder, paprika, and cumin. These give the essential chili flavor. When it comes to the spicy factor, my teacher and friends like to turn your mouths into lava. I like a noticeable heat but not knock your lights out hot. I add a little cayenne pepper and Frank's Red Hot sauce. It is up to you if you want to add more spice to it. The next part is the sweetness. I add chocolate chips and brown sugar. The chocolate adds flavor to the chili without giving it a chocolate taste. The brown sugar gives a nice sweet taste and cuts through the harshness of the heat. Then, you simply add the beans and simmer for about an hour to allow all of the flavors to meld. All you then have to do is serves some up with a dollop of sour cream and a nice big pile of sharp cheddar cheese. I like to crumble in some saltine crackers. But again it is all up to you. If you are looking for a chili recipe that will knock the socks off of your guests or possibly win a prize, then this is the one for you. This recipe can also be found on page 29 of my cookbook above. Bon Appetit!
This dish is both comforting and high-class. I absolutely love it. Ina Garten certainly knows how to take classic flavors and put them to a new/old comfort dish. She took the classic flavors of Beef Borguignon(wine, garlic, herbs) and paired them with a good old fashioned pot roast. The result is a delicious yet elegant meal that will easily serve 6 people. I think the best part is the leftovers. When I first made this, I made it for a few of my family members. Most of it was gone, but there was enough for me to reheat the next day. I am so glad there was, because it was just as, if not more delicious the next day. When it comes to side dishes, she chose to add a baked potato with sour cream and yoghurt. Those are absolutely delicious, but I am partial to herb roasted potatoes. However, if you are on a time schedule, you can of course opt for the baked potatoes which are less strenuous. Bottom line is that this is another Ina Garten specialty that I will always promote. Bon Appetit!
I made this a few semesters ago when I was researching British food for my International Cuisine class. We each chose a country and we spent a semester doing research on cuisines of that country. We also had to take one recipe we found and make it for the students to try. It was recieved with a lot of skeptiscism, but a lot of people enjoyed it including myself. I have been making it ever since. Coronation Chicken is a great way to use up leftover chicken. It is basically curried chicken salad. It is lovely served with a rice salad, as a baked potato filling, and great for lunch boxes, picnics and buffets. How versatile! The dish was designed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 as a representation of the, then, colonial nature of the British Empire so includes fruit, curry and mayonnaise. There may no longer be a British empire but this recipes remains a firm favorite all over the British Isles. Coronation Chicken has made something of a comeback with a resurgence of interest in serving it at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. If you are interested in that curry flavor, this would be the perfect dish for you! 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! This idea came to me when I was researching various ways of making pasta sauce. I was watching "Barefoot Contessa" on Food Network and she was making the classic Pasta alla Vodka. I was drawn towards the creamy looking sauce. I thought how could I make that without the vodka and add more flavor. Then, I thought of red wine. As I say, any good wine can add great flavor to any savory dish. So I started experimenting, and as a student at Allegany College of MD for Culinary Arts,when you have a recipe to test, the best way to do it is to make it for the students for lunch. I made it and it was very well received. So I thought, this is a keeper. Bon Appetit! Note: The picture above was my first attempt. The recipe as it is now is not as chunky.
On such a wonderful sunny day with a nice breeze, what could be better than a good Ploughman's Lunch. Its good in a nice corner of a London park or right in your back yard right here in the good old USA. This dish is a traditional composed meal that was taken into the fields of the hard working ploughmen. It was a quick bite to have on the go. It is just a mixture of meats, breads, fruits and or vegetables. This is served with a variety of condiments. I will give you a list of all the different items for a great Ploughman's Lunch.
The great thing about this is you don't have to have everything on the list. You can have just an apple and some cheese and bread, or whatever you happen to have in your fridge. For a complete recipe, click on the picture below. Bon Appetit! This is an idea that is hugely popular. We once had it on our menu at my college's student-run restaurant. It is a great combination of Italian flavors that is used in many ways. This is one of them. It is basil (in the form of pesto), mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes. Only in this case I am substituting the tomatoes for bacon. I am not fond of that raw tomato taste. You can of course add some tomato slices. Start out with some crusty bread like Tuscan or Ciabatta bread. I had a french baguette so that is what I used. Spread the pesto over each slice of the bread and put the slices on a toaster oven baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes until bread is warmed through. In the meantime, fry up four rashers (slices) of bacon. If you wish, slice about two thick slices of tomato. Take the bread out of the oven top with tomato slices, bacon, and mozzarella cheese. In the restaurant we used slices of thick buffalo mozzarella, I had shredded cheese, so that is what I used. Place under the broiler for about a minute until the cheese melts. Serve open faced, or sandwich them together. It is a great flavor sensation. The salty bacon plays very well with the basil pesto, and the creamy mozzarella. Please try this one. You will end up making it all the time! Enjoy...
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