Burns Supper menu items
 

I'm putting together our Burns Supper menu for the 25th (how nice to have it on a weekend) and would like to know from any of the Scots or Scotophiles (is that a word?) out there if you have any new or unusual recipes to suggest. Our victims - er, guests - would never say no to the standard offerings, but after a few years Clapshot loses its cachet. Any ideas, especially for starters or sweets? Many thanks and Slainte Mhath!

How about that great Scots treat, deep fried Mars Bars, washed down with lashings of Irnbru?

Well yes, but how can you have a Burn's Supper without the traditional menu?

It's
Broth
Haggis, neeps and tatties
Trifle

And I have a reply to the Toast to the lassies to do by next Friday. Anyone got one they prepapred earlier?

I attended one of these about 12 years ago in Belgium. What a great time, haggis, scotch and all. I could just never get the dance step down. ((b))

Oh we do the haggis, neeps etc. as well, but minimally since many of our guests are unfamiliar with the offal business. But beyond that, we're a bit more flexible. (Although Burns never emigrated to Jamaica as he once intended, we think it means Jerk Chicken is a possibility...)

As an aside (Sheila) - have you ever seen the Address to a Vegan Haggis? It is to cry over.

My o My . . Vegan Haggis . . I guess next we will be seeing Light Beer . .

Rich

Cranachan is a good Scottish dessert: it's a layered mixture of raspberries, toasted oats, honey and boozy (whisky) cream, usually served in tall glasses.

There's a recipe here:
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...pes/cranachan/

I hadn't thought of Crannachan, but it's a good idea, as would be Atholl Brose.

I would be interested inseeing eth Address to a VH. If you're not winding me up.

"vegan haggis" in google gives some 80 results...

Why not some good smoked salmon and thin sliced brown (oat) bread to start? If you can get salmon from Scotland to start, so much the better!

Our favourite Scots dessert (from Topps Family Farm Bed and Breakfast in the hills outside Glasgow) is Sticky Toffee Pudding.Recipes abound...

we are fairly traditional

- smoked salmon, home-made oatcakes, slice of stilton

- yer haggis

- prime rib roast, neaps, tatties

- tipsy laird

and to drink, well, say no more !

Nobody's mentioned Cock-a-leekie soup for starters (although I suppose it is the traditional offering.) My own experience with newcomers to haggis is that it's best not to tell them what it is until they've tried it..... Vegetarian haggis isn't too bad but I found it a little too heavy on the pulses and it doesn't quite taste right, somehow.

To me, cranachan is more of a traditional Scottish sweet than trifle as the main ingredients - oats, raspberries, cream and whisky - would probably have been quite easy to get.

In all seriousness, Irn Bru does go quite well with haggis and is useful to have for the non-drinkers - if you can find it outside the UK!

Incidentally, the Vegetarian Society has a fantastic recipe for veggie "haggis".

I've tried it a few times, even served it up side by side with real haggis - and some of the meat-eating haggis fans actually preferred it!

The recipe's online here: http://www.vegsoc.org/news/2001/burns.html
Make sure you add a hefty pinch of ground black pepper.

Okay, you asked.

(I'm pasting this from a WP file that notoriously puts in "?"s instead of other punctuation when pasted into Fodors), so if it's full of weird symbols it's nae ma fault.

Address to a Vegan Haggis
By R. McIntosh

Fair fa' your alimentary face,
Yon stomach of the ovine race;
Internal organs all displaced,
Liver, kidney, heart:
Weel are ye wordy o' some rumination,
'Fore we start.

Boiled in a baggie there ye will,
Have human bellies soon to fill;
Ye'll stuff them to the upper gill,
And make them swell,
Abdominal abomination,
Belly-hell.

But first, to whet the bluidy thirst,
Some bastard stabs ye so ye burst;
Cleaving your upper flank
Into a steaming trench,
And then, O what a horrible stench,
Dead-meaty, dead!

Now, offal's awfully nice for Granny,
But what aboot your Vegan manny,
What aboot yon folk that cannae
Stomach meat,
Let alone eat boiled up bits
Of brains and feet?

Puir devils! Doon the slaughter-hut,
Beheaded by the final cut;
To die in fearfu' pain and then
Get minced tae muck;
If that was you, could you believe
Yer bluidy luck?

No me, I'll hae nae truck wi' that,
I'd rather eat ma tartan hat;
I'll re-digest ma body fat
Afore I'll slay;
It's nae tae come to either-or,
So that's OK.

Ye see, I hae the dab thing here,
A dish that didnae die in fear;
This dinner disnae quake inside
Its plastic jacket;
It's meaty, but it's meat free: it's
A Vegan Haggis!

Gardyloo:Oh, bold member of the Puddin' Race: well done! right cadence, right effect; vegan or not, its a grand dinner no matter how you slice it; wish I was there, its hard to find and good Burns Supper in Italy: its just me and hubbie in the kilt with a big bottle of MacAllans...

LJ, I didn't write it - someone named McIntosh evidently did. But it's quite good, isn't it?

Any Burns Night going on in Switzerland?

I'd suggest a cloutie dumpling but you'd be unable to dance after it.
I remember my husband making one and ignoring his mum's instructions to use half quantities. It escaped from its clout, escaped from its saucepan and I'm surprised that it didn't escape from the kitchen.
Ignore the "I can't eat offal" brigade. A good haggis is delicious. It's basically a large sausage and contains much more wholesome ingredients that the average sauage.

I've never been fortunate enough to have been to a Burn's supper..but when I think of Scotland, I wish for a great bowl of Cullen Skink.

YUM

Gardyloo

thanks very much. I can use that.

Unfortunately not this year. Anyone got a reply to the Toast to the Lassies?