ATHOLE BROSE, a Scotch and oatmeal based cockle warmer for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Soak 1 cup oatmeal in 2 cups water overnight. Strain and mix with 1 cup warmed honey, 2 cups heavy cream, 2 cups Scotch whisky. Serve either hot or chilled.
“Nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ur”
I should have been more clear. Mix the STRAINED LIQUID with the honey, cream and scotch.
That sounds odd to me but with that much Scotch how can it be bad? Although too sweet for my taste. Have you had it before?
Think of Drambuie + cream. Of course you can cut the amount of honey to taste.
Great descriptor, thank you, that definitely gives me a very clear idea what it tastes like. And of course, I always cut sweeteners by half or more to suit my taste. Good thing I don’t bake, I know that would often be problematic.
Chicken, ham hock and leek pie. With roasted carrots and broccoli. I would like to take credit but it was all the work of the missus.
Your missus rocks!
Classic, Chris, classic.
Our use-up of the turkey will also be pie, involving mushrooms, leek, cream and whatever else seems right. It’s a recipe from St Delia Smith from her Christmas cookbook from 1990
Is this the recipe you use? Sounds great!
I made a lobster, scallop, haddock and cod fish pie, without eggs, based on this recipe for Xmas Eve.
We are having a plum pudding with brandy butter and caramel sauce tonight, after our Xmas duck (more of a German duck, with Silesian potato dumplings from a mix, American-style bread/mushroom/apple/celery/sage stuffing, raspberry red cabbage, lingonberries from a jar, and salad).
No.
She’s updated her recipe from her original book and now has individual pies, rather than a single large one but you’ll get the idea
Looks great - thanks!
Standing rib and Yorkshire yesterday. (No pics. Looked like rare standing rib and Yorkshire!)
Guess I should post Christmas Dinner here; wasn’t really thinking British when making it, otherwise would have made some smooshed up peas to accompany, or something like that.
Time to ring in 2021 with some new nominations! Winter 2021 (Jan-Mar) Cuisine of the Quarter - NOMINATIONS
Well, I couldnt let this one pass without mention of our upcoming last dinner of the year which is pretty much bang on for being British.
To start - a smoked salmon, beetroot & fennel salad
Then - roast rib of beef, roast spuds & parsnips, steamed Hispi cabbage, Yorkshire salad, gravy.
Cheese - we have Gubeen , Montgomery Cheddar, Appleby’s Cheshire and Sparkenhoe Red Leicester. OK, a lapse here - Gubeen is Irish but we love it. We’ll have that with crackers, chutney and celery
Dessert - fruit compote using dried fruits - apricots, figs, sultanas, prunes - mixed with chestnuts in a spiced sugar syrup. Now, that might not sound very British (and, indeed, the original recipe I have is Spanish - compota de Nochebuena) but dried fruits are a traditional mainstay of our winter cuisine.
And finally, coffee and chocolates.
Happy New Year.
One thing that strikes me about this is that in the US, we don’t seem to get but a few British cheeses here. Looks like we’re missing out on some good stuff.
On the other hand, I cannot recall ever seeing an American cheese available in the UK. And I’ve eaten some very good, mainly Vermont, cheeses when I’ve been “over there”.
The second world war decimated British cheese making. All milk production was taken by the government and cheese became mass produced (and sales rationed) into the handful of generic regional cheeses that are still with us - Cheddar, Cheshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, etc. It’s really only in the last 30 years or so that there’s been a return to farmhouse production and I believe we now produce a greater number of individual cheeses than the French.
