Margo

Here is a question for English foodies. I have been invited to a brunch for fans of the British TV show, East Enders. We have been asked to bring an English food item. It has to be "sweet" or "savory" What is easy to carry to the brunch? Last time I took cucumber and watercress little tea sandwiches. This time it has to be "savory" which means salty doesn't it?

Thanks, Margo

hetismij

Savoury means anything which isn't sweet, basically, so your cucmber sandwiches are savoury, but not very EastEnders. Cakes, scones, puddings are sweet. Does it have to "British" food?

thereyet

As I understand it, savory is anything that isn't sweet. So sweet or savory covers it all. thereyet

suze

As above, savory does not necessarily mean salty.

BTilke

Will you be able to bring a hot dish (that is, are you close to where the brunch is being held or will you be able to use an oven or mw when you get there)? Anyway, mini sausage rolls, vol au vents, etc. are often served at casual get togethers here in Maidenhead. You could also just get a few takeaway dishes from a local Indian restaurant (biryanis, samosas, and so on) and bring those...chicken tikka masala is practically a "national dish" these days.

PatrickLondon

If you're aiming to replicate what might be on the menu at one of those significant "dos" at the Queen Vic, then you could do something anything like cocktail sausages on toothpicks, sausage rolls, bits of cheese and pineapple on toothpicks stuck into a cabbage wrapped in kitchen foil, cheese straws, fishpaste sandwiches, onion bhajis, samosas..

To make it a really authentic Queen Vic do, however, you would also need to bring a long-festering grievance, a family secret, several withering remarks, improbable earrings and a mean left hook.

Margo

You are right, Patrick. You must be a fan! I like the sausage on toothpick idea. Not too upscale that! The "fishpaste" sounds interesting but what do you do with it? Is it in a tube or jar?

blightyboy

Well a true east end dish would be "jellied eels" or "Whelks and Cockles"

thereyet

Blightyboy, where do you find your favorite "jellied eels" and "whelks and cockles"? thereyet

Margo

You are serious? Jellied eels and whelks and cockles are things to eat?
They sound "unsavory" to me! But keep the suggestions coming.

thereyet

Quiche would probably fit the bill.thereyet

nytraveler

Can someone please tell we what "fishpaste" is - as in fishpaste sandwiches above.

I know courgettes are zucchini and aubergines are eggplant - but fish paste has me puzzled. What kind of fish? Does this mean like tuna salad - or just some sort of squashed fish?

thereyet

I'm guessing fish paste is the east end version mousse. Kind of like chopped liver vs pate. thereyet

blightyboy

Which country are you in and i will then tell you where to get them.

sheila

But you wouldn't eat this lot for brunch. Not in the UK anyway.

nukesafe

To be truly authentic you might whip up some Whistle and Squeak. That should be savory enough -- disgusting, but savory.

thereyet

Blightyboy,will be in London this summer. Otherwise spend most of my time in SF, Cal area. thereyet

Josser

Whistle and squeak?
I think that you mean bubble and squeak which is a kind of hash made of leftover potato and cabbage.
It's actually quite nice.

I'd take a bacon and egg pie. It's what people called it before it got the poncey name of "quiche".
I know somebody who asked for onion bhajis in San Francisco and they had never heard of them. When they were described, the chef made something fairly similar.
They may be a Bangladeshi thing.

MissPrism

Fish-paste comes in little jars, designed so that you can't get to the last little bit.
I never eat it now, but it was made by Shippams who now seem to have been taken over by Princes
http://www.princes.co.uk/brands/shippams.php
You might be able to get fish-paste in one of those American shops where they sell to British ex-pats.

MissPrism

Found it.
You too can have Shippam's fish-paste and potted meat.

Go to http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Shippams.html