Yummy British Food - Beautiful Pictures

OMG! That is all.

>>>OMG!<<<

You do not need to worship those British chefs. Their cooking may be divine - but after all, they are not gods.

These bring back lovely memories of eating in the UK. Whilst some of the food isn't exactly the healthiest on the planet I have had great and fun meal experiences there.

My favourites would be #35, Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Others inclulde the lamb chops (around #90 something). There are several British food I love as well, including steak and Guiness pie which I make often and bangers and mash.

michael,

what on earth are you trying to do? put off all those lovely foreign tourists? kill us all by cholesterol by proxy?

some of it was so grim even i couldn't recognise it, and as my family will testify, I'm pretty undescriminating when it comes to fry -ups!

do tell me that this was a p..s-take!

yours in horror, ann

I also admire no. 21: "Steak pudding, corned beef hash and a toasted roll. Pre-digested food!" I had always thought pre-digested food was a patented invention of McDonald's.

Hi trav,

Love no. 4

As my old mum would say, "God bless his (the compiler's) stomach!
I have never seen a TV dinners version of a Christmas dinner before

Sissy stuff!
Have a look at the Munchy Box
http://tinyurl.com/cazrm3

Yummy Glasgow salad

I couldn't get beyond number 40 before I started to feel really queezy...............what revolting, revolting, revolting meals! Now go and have a cholesterol test before you keel over Traveller.
PS: I found the ONE floret of brocoli lying beside the roast beef quite sad.

You have to wonder about previous browswers on the site traveller's found though.

Some ghastly commercial concoction of yoghurt, sugar (branded 'honey' of course, as if that made it any healthier than stuff out of a Tate & Lyle packet) and vanilla gets the voters behaving like a bunch of nutritionally iliterate California girlies. While they mostly go "yeuch" at a decent haggis.

Wooses, the lot of them.

That was fascinating. I confess I'm now craving mushy peas.

I'm troubled by the omission of what I understood to be Britain's national dish, chicken tikka masala.

What is the white substance on top of the pork pie in No. 109?

I now consider myself warned.

My vote to #125, grilled trout, as an attractive dish. The jam tart at #129 second place. I started at the end.

Could there be anything more gross and utterly unnecessary than a Spam fritter?

traveler1959, thanks for your great tour de force in everyday British cooking and eating. Looks as if you folks had a great time - here's to the bangers and mushy peas!

Traveller1959, I am almost speechless. Are those dishes what the typical Brit eats? And travel2live2, if the photos bring back lovely memories of eating in the UK I am truly speechless.

Hi loveitaly,

they are NOT typical of what we eat. some of us occasionally eat the odd pea or lettuce leaf or something that hasn't been fried. some of us ..oh, what's the point? all your prejudiced about British food have now been re-inforced and nothing i say will make any difference.

Here's to the hardened arteries of the entire population of the UK.

regards, ann

I'll see your mad pictures of "British Food" and raise you American recipe cards from the 70s.:

http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/czarina.html

Just click through the gallery.

I managed the first 10 pictures. This is undergraduate and lardy chav fare. But I think they have been stolen from a Dennys menu.

ps if you do look at the recipe cards - check the information bar thing at the top of the screen.

What's a biltong? (#50) A tongue?

What's a biltong? (#50) A tongue?>>>

For a start is South African not British! It's wind dried meat that people used to take on long journeys. It's horrid, and no Englishman would voluntarily eat it.

I like brown food but that just looked nasty.

Note the artless way he's arranged the fig (saucy thing) on what is no doubt his favourite jumper. Do you perhaps suspect he's a bit short of company?

I've had a look at that site and here's a few observations:

Firstly this bloke is obviously a northern monkey so can't be trusted on anything - especially food or beer - they can't do either. Have I ever mentioned it's grim up north?

Cock soup - #4 - is Jamaican - so unless the site owner has an 1880's view of what "British means"....(and it makes a great gag gift)

#7: Fish, chips, mushy peas, a Spam fritter and curry sauce. This is like ordering soup steak and apple pie and having them all served on the same plate. Sadly it is true that some poor deluded fools eat spam fritters - they were a staple of my school dinners.

#8 Fray bentos tinned pies. These are my achilles heel, my secret vice. They're lovely when you've had a few.

#13. What on God's good Earth is that?

#17 I had a holiday job working in kipling's factory. Believe me there's plenty of mouse in their pies. (I actually got sacked from this job for being useless. This is not a high point on my CV)

#19 Despite appearances this is lovely - you will see pie and mash shops in the bits of London that never see a tourist.

#21 Steak pudding, corned beef hash and a toasted roll. Pre-digested food!
there is nothing the british like more than to take the piss. This is taking the piss.


30 - this isn't a real northern british fridge. It's not full of cans of tescos value lager.

37 - Meat and Potato Pie, Mash, Mushy Peas, Gravy, a few Meatballs and some Pease Pudding . More piss taking. Now with added balls.

Northerners have given us three foods that are edible - pork pies, mushy peas and chips and gravey (which I had never had until at 20 I moved to the north. Why didn't we shandy drinking southern softies think of this?). The welsh invented chips and cheese which is if anything better. However they eat seaweed so are best ignored at all levels.

What is the white substance on top of the pork pie in No. 109?
>>>>>

Salad Cream. Trust me - you really really don't want to know about this stuff. There are foreigners who can tolerate Marmite but there are none who can cope with Heinz Salad Cream.

...Sadly it is true that some poor deluded fools eat spam fritters - they were a staple of my school dinners...

Even more sadly, they were one of the few things at my school that were actually edible.

I believe that Heinz decided to stop producing their salad cream and there was an outcry.

Sadly; as a boarding school boy I had a rather resticted childhood diet which means I actually like the following things: Salad cream; angel delight; banana custard; Camp coffee (it's a brand - not a lifestyle choice); and lemon curd tart.

I think I need expensive therapy.

The Glasgow Salad hardened my arteries by just looking at it. Unfortunately some of the dishes have made it across the pond to Newfoundland and the Maritimes resurrected as Jiggs Dinner, boiled navel bone sort of like corned beef, with pease pudding, root vegetables, an overcooked roast with gravy as well. I call it "heart attack on a plate". I am heading to London, will try mushy peas and a pork pie - will have my cardiologist on speed dial.

You know that bit in the Simpson's when the unparented kid goes "ha ha" well......

Despite spending many years in the UK and only looking at the first 40 or so pictures I have only seen two of these dishes *fish and chips and Frey Bentos* and only eaten the Argentinian dish once.

So I guess either this is a Brit taking the piss or a Chav's idea of heaven

Cholms, candyboots is a hoot. Thanks for that.

OMG - the growing waist-lines of many of the US population are now explained - the recipe cards found by CW were from weight -watchers.

no wonder no-one diets don't work!

regards, ann

I could care less about everything being deep fried. It's the fact that all those dishes look like vomit on a plate that has me heaving. And whoever that is holding up the jam tart for the close up could have at least dug the dirt out from under their fingernails.

That blog is a good diet aid. Guaranteed to make you make you lose your appetite.

I'm off to look at that candyboots site now...

Okay, those Weight Watchers receipes are brilliant. That's from back in the day when diets DID work, and no wonder. People stuck to their frozen coffee on a stick and lost weight the old fashioned way. Starvation.

LOL, those Weight Watcher receipe cards are as disgusting as the pictures of the British food. I had a few friends that were on the Weight Watcher's diet back in the 70's and they did lose a lot of weight. Probably because they never ate I assume.

Hi ann, how are you? My mother managed to cook all the fresh vegetables in plain unsalted water for hours..and she then had the nerve to wonder why I hated vegetables, lol. It was child abuse I swear. I was always told I had to remain at the dinner table until I ate every single bite. I finally figured out it I started gagging and upchucking I was removed from the table and sent to my room. That worked for me!

If it's a rainy day and nothing else pressing to do, follow candyboot's links (or whatever you call those underlined words in red) in the text. Liver Pate en Masque, for instance. I'm off to work and way too busy.

If it's a rainy day and nothing else pressing to do, follow candyboot's links (or whatever you call those underlined words in red) in the text. Liver Pate en Masque, for instance.

hi love, well, thanks for asking!

though we just went to supper with some neighbours who are of what I might call an older generation, and the veg resembled just what you are talking about! apart strangely from the carrots which unlike the rest were not grey but carrot coloured. no wonder i never liked sprouts.

Hi Stoke - presumably the "masque" is the sort you put on your face?

regards, ann

Yes, Ann, straight out of Beauty Secrets of the Stars.

Anyway, who wouldn't like lemon curd tart?

>>>presumably the "masque" is the sort you put on your face?<<<

According to candyboots' commentary on the "Liver Pate en Masque" link (the one stokebailey was good enough to point out), yes it is exactly that!

I love lemon curd, especially with gingerbread cake, but it seems tainted somehow after being on that blog.

It's time to give up everything for Lent, anyway.

Oh God! That stuff looked downright nasty! Didn't make it beyond the first 40 or photos...Food quality (or lack thereof) is one of my top reasons for not visiting Britain

If you haven't visited, how do you know what our food is like? It's actually very good. Unless you eat nowhere but McDonalds and greasy spoon cafes, which of course, no-one does.

DeepaSingapore, I think yu have to realise that these photos are of the worst food available for photography in the UK. Food in UK is actually pretty good and we have one of the few Chinese catering colleges in Europe in Leeds. However along with things called Macdonald and KFC there are local UK equivelents which can produce some mind numbing food.

I would have thought a better reason not to come to the UK is the weather

The last time I visited the Three Chimneys on Skye, I noticed an American couple actually photographing each dish.
Click on
http://www.threechimneys.co.uk/three-chimneys-restaurant.php
and click on the first image to see what they were photographing

This is where we like to eat
http://www.josephbenjamin.co.uk/sample-menu.html

Don't tell anyone about it, though because it is tiny and only has 12 covers

British food is actually as good, if not better, than any in the world. We have the best produce, bar none, and thanks to, what could be called euphemistically, our "global experience" the best influences and we can walk all over the French or Italian or any other insular xenophobic cuisines.

And we have bovril too.

DeepaSingapore,

the pictures show authentic British Food how it looks if you are served it in a restaurant of pub.

Pics no. 9/10 are exactly what you will be served even in a good hotel when you order "full English breakfast" (usually accompanied by a grilled tomatoe and baked beans - another kind of pre-digested food).

No. 38 and 63 is a favourite dish for breakfast (Weetabix). It was served in a 4-star hotel whose restaurant has been awarded a rosette for good food by the British Automobile Association. The rosette means "Excellent restaurants that stand out in their local area. The food is prepared with care, understanding and skill, using good-quality ingredients." No kidding!

No. 40 shows the breads which are available in Britain. You hardly find better qualities in English cities.

No. 48 is a British favourite, available in almost every pub (bangers and mash).

No. 55 (cornish pasty) is considered a dish of superior quality by many British. Look at those pictures and subtract the rosmary twig and other garnishes: http://www.pieminister.co.uk/ Then you have exactly what Michael has photographed.

No. 61 shows a cottage pie. Similar pies are sold by one of London's most expensive delicatessen stores (Partridges). They look exactly like the one on the picture. http://www.partridges.co.uk

20, 42 and 75 shows Britain's signature dish, fish & chips. In London's Langan's Bistro, a favourite celebrity hangout (Mick Jagger, Sean Connery gave birthday parties there), the fish & chips look exactly like pic no. 20.

DeepaSingapore and others,

I hope those masterful pictures of authentic British food have raised your appetite. I am so sorry that these are just photos. Unfortunately you are not able to SMELL these dishes!

As has been pointed out already, half those are not British meals ('Kraft dinner' (WTF??), 'Cock' packet soup ??). Those that are indigenous are the worst possible 'axe to grind' examples, and not necessarily representative of what many decent pubs and restaurants serve. I think the site is meant to be firmly tongue in cheek. Of course you can find grim food in the UK (as in every other country), but to assume those pictures represent an average or commonly found standard that we all eat day in day out? No, they don't.

PS I don't think the AA rosette rating is much of a guide to quality, myself.

Y'all doth protest too much.

4 words to you, Stokie.

Grits

Biscuits and gravy.

'Nuff said!

Never touch the stuff.

C_W has accrued so much interest on a promised rarebit recipe that by now he just about owes me a stovetop version. Will settle for the recipe if actual meal is too impractical.

It's rabbit, not rarebit.
I think that somebody poshified it so as not to offend the Welsh, but it's a mocking name, rather like Scotch woodcock.

Anyway
50 Gram Butter (2 oz)
225 Gram Cheddar cheese (8 oz)
Salt
Pepper
1 Teaspoon Mustard, optional
2 Tablespoon Beer, optional
4 Slices of bread, toasted
Method
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, stir in the cheese and add salt, pepper and mustard if liked. Stir over a gentle heat until the cheese melts.
The beer should be stirred in last, if using.

Spread the toast slices with the mixture and brown under a preheated grill for 3-4 minutes.

If you put a poached egg on top, it's a buck rabbit.

Yay!
Thanks, Josser. Now if I could only find some real cheddar cheese. Bring it on, Lent.

Fun thread, and the original link was suitably gruesome, but Cholmondley_Warner's link to Candyboots had me laughing so hard I cried right here at my desk.

Looking forward to my trip to the UK in spring, now I know what to avoid.

PS, Miss Prism, are you insinuating that there is unpalatable about photographing your food for remembrance? I always do, and even bought a digital camera with a cuisine setting

Was that red cabbage jelly??

Surely not.....

I'm amazed that some folks on this board ate this food and became adults.

Or to quote Yoda "how you get so big eating food of this kind?"

RM, red cabbage in aspic was going to have to be my guess. Come on by and I'll whip you up a batch.

My mum had a 50's cookery book full of things in aspic.

There was a party chapter, suggesting you themed your nosh around a particular country and wrote to the appropriate embassy begging flags and bunting. Bet that'd go down well today......

Them were the days.

PS: bring your mum's book if you come. I've never placed anything in aspic in my life.

It's not unpalatable to photograph your food, but I'd never seen anyone doing ot before.
My husband thought that the people might have been in the catering trade,

There's a website where people post pics of their airline meals, and give them ratings.

I am strangely fascinated by it..

http://www.airlinemeals.net/

I am overwhelmed by what I have started two days ago..

I love these links:

http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/czarina.html
http://www.airlinemeals.net

And I loved the posts of our British friends. C_W, you are always a safe bet when we are looking for a humorous thread.

Of all the links, this is my favourite:

http://www.monkeyreview.co.uk/2008/06/09/what-is-a-munchy-box/

Well, I am feeling a little bit guilty that I made jokes at the expense of our British friends (yes, I noticed the differences between British and British. I know for some time that English is not Scottish. Since C_W posted, I know that "Northern English" is even worse than "American". Thank you for enlightenment.)

I will add that we Germans are also very good when it comes to gourmet food:

http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Taxiteller.jpg&filetimestamp=20071128011749

I will add how I came to start this thread. I had been reading about a trojan which served as a spam relay. I looked up the meaning of "spam". The Wikipedia article mentioned "spam fritters". I googled and found Michael's gallery about British food. I remembered my trips to England and thought "that's it"!

Keep on posting!

Hi there, I have visited Britain a few times and I did find that the food was just overall very heavy and very pastry and cream/butter oriented.

No, we do not eat at Macdonalds or KFCs. In fact I think that we have started to eat food that is perhaps verging on the other extreme - all mostly organic, whole grain and very fruit and veg intensive. Certain changes I incorporated into the kitchen since my husband had some scary health issues and since I became a mom.

Obviously we are not expecting food like that when we travel but we just struggled a bit with the food in the UK - much, much more than we do in Continental Europe.

Having said that we all love our occasional cakes and desserts and I was never disappointed in that in the UK.

The tea was great too but I was disappointed in the coffee.

>>In fact I think that we have started to eat food that is perhaps verging on the other extreme - all mostly organic, whole grain and very fruit and veg intensive.<<

We didn't have any trouble finding this type of food when we visited England and Wales in 2007. Maybe it's time for another visit?

Lee Ann

I bicycled on over to Trader Joe's and found tasty "handmade" English farmhouse cheddar for a reasonable $7.49/lb.

Rabbit ho!

I have an easier way to make Welsh rarebit/rabbit:

Toast bread
Spread one side with mustard
Lay slices of cheddar on mustard
Brown under grill/broiler

Less clean-up required.

Those mushy peas seem to be a strange green color I don't remember from when I was growing up in the UK. (And I once worked in a chippy. For a week.)

We just call it cheesy toast.
I find that Lancashire is the best cheese because it melts so beautifully.
Talking of aspic, I once had vegetables served, not in aspic but in lemon jelly. It was interesting
I mentioned this to a group of American friends who gleefully remembered it together with tuna pasta casserole cooked in concentrated cream of mushroom soup.
Before supermarkets had cabinets full of prepared meals, concentrated soups were a standby for the 50s "cook".

There has been a comic making good money with his sketches of cheesy peas (yse mushy peas with a cheese topping) unfortunatly this has now caught on an it can be bought both in chippies and also in supermarkets.

back to the lentils..

Cheesy peas:

http://www.videosift.com/video/The-Fast-Show-Yuletide-Cheesy-Peas


In any case I am happy to have our food dissed by anyone but the septics - who really have the worst food in the world - it's why they are all so fat.

If only they all had Fanny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1fIj6_lDZ8

I hope all your cooking comes out like Fannys.

I think we need a ruling on rarebit vs rabbit.

Not all, sir. Most.

It's rarebit innit? Also on that recipe; "beer optional". People have been burned at the stake for lesser heresies.

If you read the intro to this site, he mentions that they are not all typically British foods, but foods that Brits eat - therefore you have Jamaican cakes and the like.

This brings back fond memories of steak-and-kidney pies... mmmm... must... have...fish...chips...curry... *plop*

H.W. Fowler and Delia Smith agree: rabbit, not rarebit.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/delia-smith-joins-welsh-rabbit-v-rarebit-debate-720968.html

I prefer Mr. Bean's culinary prowess:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r1akLZkVe4

I've always said rarebit, but what do I know? I'm from out of town.

>>>I prefer Mr. Bean's culinary prowess<<<

Every Christmas and every Thanksgiving, my dad STILL does a Mr. Bean routine while stuffing the turkey (pretending to lose his watch and saying "I'm just drying my hair" when someone asks him how it's going)

Your dad and I would get along great.

Is this a joke???

We actually like London restaurants but you do have to pay more to get away from the cheap, unhealty dishes.

Yes, daph. It's all a joke, but tread lightly.

I like their food too, and hope in my lifetime to taste as varied and authentic of it as I can get my hands on -- including Scottish battered and deep fried pizza as linked above -- but have noted a certain transatlantic touchiness on the subj. A touching touchiness, even. A sweet, winning loyalty to Mother England and her bounty.

I wish we Americans had jumped up and banded together to renounce the weight watchers cards. Too late now.

OMG! Too much meat and starch for me. DH might like the food.

Rarebit sounds like something eaten by refined ladies from a plate with a doily on it.
It's rabbit lad, rabbit!

How about a compromise: rarbbit.
If you slur it, people will think you're impaired but correct.

Those pics remind me of why my stomach has never settled while I've been in Britain - even when I've been there for two weeks. My arteries hurt just looking at the photos.

And what's this fascination with overcooked peas?

I am craving a bacon butty now.

thereyet

>>>And what's this fascination with overcooked peas? <<<

Why do people enjoy watching horror films?

I was in my local chippy (mmmmmmm yummy) and noticed some odd looking objects in the hot cabinet. I had to ask. They are now serving battered and deep-fried burgers...

Battered burgers are great. Sort of like flat battered sausages.

You can get a "black pudding supper" in some Scottish chippies.
It's not slices, but about half a standard pudding
Let's face it, the Scots have us all beaten when it comes to deep fried imagination.

As we sing to the Italians at the football. "Deep Fry your Pizza! We're gonnae Deep Fry your Pizza!" to the tune of Guantanamera.

What can symbolize the "special relationship" better than the battered burger?

Also available in the U.S.:

http://cmhgourmand.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/beer-battered-burger-nova-restaurant-delaware-oh/

OH my goodness, seriously Roast beef and YORKSHIRE PUDDING IS AMAZING!! British yorkshire puddings rock!! i buy the real stuff, and my family loves them!!

http://www.ukflavors.com/product_info.php?products_id=62

Where dreams become heart attacks:
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

This grows weirder with every reply.

No satire can beat reality.

Meta-pizza! I think I just blew my mind.

This is all a bit lightweight if you ask me. This is food that hasn't been pimped. Yopu really need to Pimp Your Snack:

http://www.pimpthatsnack.com/projects.php

Here's pimped creme eggs:

http://www.pimpthatsnack.com/project/302/

Same size as the kettle - eggy bliss !!!

<<mank_uk on Mar 4, 09 at 02:05 PM
OH my goodness, seriously Roast beef and YORKSHIRE PUDDING IS AMAZING!! British yorkshire puddings rock!! i buy the real stuff, and my family loves them!!

http://www.ukflavors.com/product_info.php?products_id=62>>

mank, i hate to burst your bubble, but the REAL stuff doesn't come out of a packet.

simple yorkshire pud recipe:

4ozs flour
pinch salt
2 eggs [some recipes say 4 but IMHO that's OTT]
1/2 pint milk.

make a well in the flour and break the eggs into it with the salt. mix well until you have a stiff paste incorporating as much of the flour into the eggs as possible. start adding the milk, slowly, so that you eliminate any lumps as you go. you shoudl end up with a liquid that is about the same consistency as double [heavy] cream.

put in fridge to rest.

when you take the beef out of the oven to rest, [it should ideally rest for 30 mins before you carve it, it'll cave better too if you do this, just cover with aluminium foil] raise the temp of the oven to about 180C. when it reaches the correct temp [you can crisp up your roast potatoes, which should already have ben in the oven for about 20-30 mins, at this temperature too] you can either put the YP batter into the tin you roasted the beef in, or into individual pattie tins, like the ones you might make english miffins in. which ever you choose, put a generous amount of oil or beef fat from the joint into it, and put it in the oven without the batter so that it is hot. then take it out, [remember the oven gloves!] pour the batter in, and then put it in. DO NOT open the oven door for at least 15 mins. small yorkshires need about 15-20 mins, a large one 25 or so, depending on how well done you like your YP.

viola!

regards, ann

And please note that Yorkshire Pudding is for raost beef only - not roast chicken, turkey, pork or lamb. It's just wrong.

These YPs sound like what I make for Christmas breakfast and call popovers. Are they pudding-y? Or more like bread?

They are batter based, but not quite like pancakes.

Definitely not like bread, either.

Same as toad-in-the-hole, if you've ever had that...

Popovers are crusty on the outside and soft, hollow in the middle. You put jam and butter in them, or some kind of creamed filling maybe. Does the YP stay on your plate and get cut with knife, dipped in gravy and eaten with fork?

Still awaiting my first toad-in-the-hole.

See www.deliaonline.com/recipes/toad-in-the-hole-with-roasted-onion-gravy,1030,RC.html - except I skip the gravy and am more likely to make them in a frying pan and finish them under the grill (broiler).

Thanks, thurs. Looks good. Apparently not something you can find in a restaurant, pimped or otherwise?

I don't live in the UK these days, but I don't remember seeing them in a UK restaurant (or cafe - more likely). There used to be a "pub" in Raleigh that had something called toad-in-the-hole on the menu but it was COMPLETELY inauthentic!

stoke - they are like the pop-overs you describe. if you can use your pop-over mix to make pancakes, then they are exactly the same.

to make toad in the hole, [hereinafter shortened to TITH] first grill or fry some sausages - 2 or 3 each, depending on how hungry/greedy you are.

then in a metal tin, [not glass which make break when the cold batter hits the hot fat] put some fat or oil and place in hot oven. when hot, put in the sausages again, and pour over the batter. cook, without opening the oven for about 20-25 mins at 180C.

we serve with mashed pots and onion gravy. yum.

regards, ann

PS - there is no immutable rule [?spelling?] that you can only have YPs with beef. just like there's no rule you have to drink red wine with beef, white with fish etc etc. if there's some gonig, I'l leat it with [almost] anything.

Thanks, Ann! (And thanks for shortening and eliminating hyphens.) Will try it.

I always envisioned TITH looking like what it turns out bangers and mash does.

I won't even mention what I envisioned when I read the name toad in the hole.

Names of British food could fill a whole 'nother blog.

You will often find toad in the hole on pub menus. It's the mutt's nuts.

"4 words to you, Stokie.

Grits

Biscuits and gravy.

'Nuff said!"

Stop, you're making me hungry. I'd love a plate of hot, buttery grits especially cheese grits and biscuits with sausage gravy.

>>you can either put the YP batter into the tin you roasted the beef in, or into individual pattie tins, like the ones you might make english miffins in. which ever you choose, put a generous amount of oil or beef fat from the joint into it, and put it in the oven without the batter so that it is hot. then take it out, [remember the oven gloves!] pour the batter in, and then put it in.<<

Don't use too generous an amount of fat, though; when you put the batter-filled tin in the oven, the fat will overflow and your oven will catch on fire. Ask me how I know.

Lee Ann

hi lee ann

that's the same way I know about not making it in a glass dish. LOL

I agree you don't need too much fat, but to save the oven when i cook this and other things that might overflow, I place it on a baking tray that is large enough to catch any drips.

regards, ann

I hate learning things the hard way.

I hate learning things the hard way.>>>>

Yopu still up for that GTG?

Ha. Sho baby.

Or to translate: But of course.

don't let him do it, Stoke. It'll be some dire greasy spoon near King's Cross! A

No food snobs, us, but I'm not sure I like the implied connection with learning things the hard way.

One always budgets for a certain amount of danger, though, when out in the world.

>>don't let him do it, Stoke. It'll be some dire greasy spoon near King's Cross!<<

He took us to the George Inn; you'll be in good hands!

Lee Ann

Ah, but these are desperate times - It'll be the Wetherspoons in Catford nowadays.

We're not beer snobs, either. I only know that lager is a safer bet because it's barrelled.

I made Josser's rarbbit last night and it was very well received indeed. Added a few unauthorized touches like caramelized onions and a dash of hot sauce.

I had to stop at #21. What they did to the corned beef hash was a crime!

Ah, but these are desperate times - It'll be the Wetherspoons in Catford nowadays.>>

are they doing beer for £1 a pint like they are in Cornwall?

let no-one call you a cheap-skate, CW.

Wish I could add my recent photo of beetroot salad to the montage. And the cold new and sweet potatoes with some strange sauce and herbs on them - had these items in the Cafe in the Crypt in St. Martin in the Fields last week. Words just don't do them justice.

My treat. I insist.

Low rent, "atmospheric" direness would be ideal, with prices to match. Details TBA. Think 7 Dials 1753.

Think 7 Dials 1753.>>>>

Well the 'spoons in Catford will manage consumptives coughing all over you, mad old harridans knitting and cackling, people selling bent gear and moody gin, and child labour.

I quite like it.

Also the two pints for a farthing.

Alas, the days of drunk for a penny, dead drunk for twopence are long gone. Even on homebrew.

Darn.

>>Ah, but these are desperate times - It'll be the Wetherspoons in Catford nowadays.<<

Hmmm...can't you find a Tesco with a nice cafeteria or something?

>>mad old harridans knitting and cackling<<

We call that Stitch 'n Bitch in the colonies.

Lee Ann

"Yummy British food" is a great oxymoron, kind of like "jumbo shrimp." LOL

Or American 'culture'?

Ann and PatrickL, RM67, you come, too. In fact, drinks all around. We'll see if we can start a food fight.

"Or American 'culture'?"

Most of your culture is a copy of ours.LOL

C_W, next time you're down there, could you check whether the Catford meeting place has a fan? If so, I'll bring the eggs.

''Ann and PatrickL, RM67, you come, too''

Will there be cocktails?

I like cocktails.

My budget only extends to Catford Wetherspoons's beer. After that you're on your own. Also, any money to bail yourself out would be strictly your own responsibility.

Thanks for the invite, stoke. I'll have to "take it under advisement". [Does that mean "I'll think about it", or is it the same as a "rain-check"? - i mean the former]

I think there's a dog track at Catford. now there's a place for a GTG - it gives a whole new meaning to "gone to the dogs".

regards, ann

Shandy's a cocktail innit?

The dog track's long gone.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/59/5902/London_and_Rye/Catford

Shandy is not a cocktail.

Blood Orange Martinis are a cocktail:-

120ml Vodka.
15 ml Triple Sec
60 ml Blood Orange Juice (Tropicana Sanguinello will do).

Shake over ice, strain and pour.

(I did these at the weekend - they are gorgeous).

Snakebite's a cocktail then? Or snakebite and black?

Catford? South of the River? Moi?

Actually, I did go for a long bike ride around Dulwich, Sydenham and Forest Hill not so long ago. I wasn't enamoured.

Ah but Catford has the Catford Cat:

http://citynoise.org/upload/12696.jpg

Beat that North London Monkeys!

''Snakebite's a cocktail then? Or snakebite and black?''

Student fare.

You'll be telling me you still eat pot noodles and tuna next......

Blimey - size of that cat, you'll be needing PC Brian Plectrum to catch it.....

Catford dog track gone? say it isn't true. A

Thanks, RM67. I appreciate the English sharing their traditional recipes.

Maybe we can work something else out, Ann. One must think of one's reputation and personal safety, I suppose.

Patrick, hmph.

You should all go to McDonalds and make McNuggetinis.

http://tinyurl.com/acdk3z

Thanks, Apres. Will take under advisement.

American culture tidbits: (speaker required)

"food fight"
http://www.entertonement.com/clips/36216/Food-fight

"I think you'd be glad later..."
http://tinyurl.com/brlb75

Catford dog track gone? say it isn't true. >>>>

It closed over a decade ago. Mind you Dogford's cat track is still going strong.

I miss my dog racing (I used to live in Wimbledon).

>>....rimmed with BBQ sauce and garnished with a chicken McNugget<<

I'm saying NOTHING.

If I were ever to be rimmed with BBQ sauce I'd have plenty to say.

Little of it nice.

I just returned from 6 days in London. Tried treacle pudding with custard sauce for 1st time - I had to go back to same pub the next night to get it again!

Tried treacle pudding with custard sauce>>

that is of course treacle as in "golden syrup" and custard as in "birds".

i like it too.

regards, ann

ps - anyone like the recipe?

Having been to the UK, I can say that the best "british food" is curry.

Have you tried Sussex Pond Pudding, Anne?

That's my Brit Pud favourite.

>>ps - anyone like the recipe?<<

Yes, please! And I'd like seconds, too.

ok stoke - you asked for it.

treacle [aka golden syrup] pudding.

take a pudding basin [small to medium] and grease it thoroughly. in the base, put 2-3 serving spoons of golden syrup. on top spoon a standard sponge-mix. you need to leave room at the top for it to rise so don't use too small a bowl!

cover with double greaseproof, secured with string with which you fashion a handle. then lower your pud into a steamer, and steam for 30-40 mins, depending on size. you should see that it's risen below the paper.

when it's cooked, take it out using the handle [the steam is HOT] and let it cool for a few minutes. then remove the string and lid, and invert the pud onto a plate. the gold syrup will run down teh sides - it wil be VERY hot.

serve with custard, bird's for preference.

regards, ann

PS - standard sponge mix - 4oz butter/marge, 4 ozs sugar,
2 eggs, 4 oz flour. mix thoroughly.

This looks great, Ann. Thanks! Is it served hot, then, with cold custard?

Custard is usually hot. I won't eat Bird's. 'Cos I'm a bloke.

hi stoke -

hot pud, hot custard. "Bird's" is a british institution; not quite instant custard, but almost. you add hot milk and sugar to the custard powder, and end up with something that looks and tastes nothing like real custard, except it's yellow-ish, and sweet. and goes really well with hot puddings.

you could serve it with cream or ice-cream, but the experience won't be quite as authentic. like roast beef without proper gravy.

CW - do you make your custard from scratch every time then? respect!

regards, ann

PS - Man U beaten 4-1 by Liverpool and Spurs win 2-1. can it get any better than this?

CW - do you make your custard from scratch every time then? respect!>>>

Ambrosia tinned custard. None finer.

Now, one thing the British do well is puds.
There is actually an institution called The Pudding Club
http://www.puddingclub.com/puddingclub.html

Of course "Pudding Club" has another English meaning

Josser

I love the special Pudding Club rooms.
Who wouldn't want to stay in the Spotted Dick with Custard room?

We also have he world's best biscuits.

C_W - Ithought you went to the dogs years ago. Or was that me???

How you doing?

Fancy a beer in Central London one night?

AF

No one can afford beer in central London anymore (except, of course PatrickL). (see above) Shandy in the southern suburbs, yes, but you must invite everyone or it's not polite.

Ann, we're on a road trip now. I'll try the pudding when I get home. No bird's or ambrosia in sight, but we americans are all about ingenuity.

Well as a 'Northern Monkey' I can say that no one in my immediate family would eat some of that fare on a regular basis and some never.

Fish and Chips and meat pie on one plate? WTF?
I've eaten chips and curry sauce but would never put it on fish - so.... wrong

I only made it to the Weetabix and toast, I eat Weetabix regularly but that was either made with warm milk, which is generally served to babies/toddlers (although my 26 yr old daughter loves it that way - comfort food?) or it sat out for quite a while until the milk was absorbed. But to serve it with toast???????????

What are supposed to do slop the soggy Weetabix onto the toast? Nasty!

OK - I'm going back in - glutton for punishment

Oh for goodness sake! he's just put a steak and kidney pie with his F&C

What's with the meat and fish on the same plate?

Number 70? That's not duck salad - It's 'Peking Duck' but where are the green onions/scallions? a meal very hard to find here in the MA 'burbs but I have tracked down a local restaurant - RESULT!

Number 115 - scrambled egg, smoked salmon, toast (this I can accept) but ham and mashed potatoes as well??

129 pictures?you'd think there'd be one Ploughmans on there

ttt

thanks, Pal, for topping this.

a classsic!

Yes. That was a fun time.

It's good to go back through and find your recipes again, Ann.

Now We all know why CW will be greatly missed. That roast beef is way overdone and my Yorksire puddings are way more attractive!Can't wait for some English bacon later thismonth. Their commercial sausages could be exported as suppositories though

hi stoke,

nice to meet you here, though of course the reason for it is sad.

it's getting towards being treacle pud and custard season!

I would make it with Ambrosia tinned custard, in CW's honor and memory, except I only have Bird's. So maybe a nice lemon curd tart instead.

Couldn;t get past the first few pictures. This is the reason that I avoid any place that offers a full English breakfast at all costs. Can't stand all that grease first thing in the morning - and I do NOT get the sterling silver toast chillers. Toast is supposed to be soft, warm and buttery - not cold and hard.

I guess we just have a different way of eating.

Actually if it's cooked well it shouldn't be full of grease. Americans criticising our breakfasts always makes me laugh, as if all American breakfasts are so good for you! Bacon thats more fat than meat? French Toast? Pancakes? Syrup?

I do agree about the toast racks, however, they are quite old fashioned and I've rarely seen them in the past few years.