Just noticed that on the foodnetwork / good eats that Alton Brown will be cooking / creating haggis. Unfortunately though, not the infamous "haggis in a tube".<BR><BR>http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/recipe/0,6255,19032,00.html<BR><BR>Ah Elvira - a bottle of champagne, a plate of haggis and vous.

The snide comment at the bottom ("serve with mashed potatoes if you serve it at all") betrays a poor attitude, or as the man wad say, a "sneering, scornfu' view." Not to mention that turnips (or better, clapshot) and whisky should also be mentioned as side dishes. Especially the whisky.

Is haggis really fit to eat? I tried it once and decided that the whisky was better without the haggis; it was nothing but an adulterant.<BR>

It't it neps, not turnips.

Re "neps" (sic) - I was translating for the masses. Neeps and tatties, to be specific, although clapshot is better. Al - "fit to eat"!? Wazzamatta U? <BR><BR>All this aside, if you want to see a grown man blanch, go ask your (N. American) butcher for a sheep's stomach and heart. Special order items, and how. We use a "baking bag" which, while not terribly authentic, is better than a stomach. Since the classic preparation involves draping the (still attached) esophagus over the pan to use as a steam vent, the baking bag is more considerate of guests who might otherwise be at risk of fainting when they come into the kitchen to see "what's cooking."

I tried tripe for the first time last year - Milanese style. It was delicious - it melted on my tounge. The comment about the stomach possibly exploding is a bit unnerving but am I am intrigued......

Mark, you are an interesting man....<BR><BR>if you were a spice, what spice would you be?

I spent a year at the University of Edinburgh in the early 70's, and my responsibility was the weekly meal of haggis, neeps and tatties. It was great! But there was only one butcher that prepared the haggis that we (flatmates and I) liked; others just were not that good (sorry, I don't remember which one; it's too many years). I figured my Jewish heritage-- being raised on kishkas, that is-- prepared me for eating haggis.

Grasshopper! what a fun question! I like that and now will wrack my brain trying to figure out what spice I am which one are you???

MSG (I know it's really a chemical)..... I think I tend to bring out the flavor in life. But sometimes I give people a terrible headache : )<BR><BR>By the way, that is one of my 3 questions for learning the secrets to a person very quickly.

Sweet bitters or bitter sweets? I'm not sure. <BR><BR>I know - that's not a spice per se but it would be too easy to segue into some droll joke about the Spice Girls - Old Spice, Haggard Spice, etc and I refuse to step in front of an oncoming mac truck.....I've been run down a few times on this sight.

I just had to join the fray. I do like haggis! And I eat tripe! I don't know what the big deal with eating body parts is. I liked haggis enough to bring the canned version home for my siblings, and they liked it, too.