Bread Pudding

A very tasty way to use up slightly stale white bread.


8 tablespoons golden raisins
10 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing pudding basin
16 ounces white bread, sliced
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Soak raisins in very hot water for 10 minutes, and then drain. Butter the bread. I would leave the crusts on, personally, but this is a matter of personal preference. Arrange in a pudding basin or casserole dish at with sides of at least 2 to 3 inches of height. Bring the cream, milk, vanilla, and sugar to a simmer. Add milk mixture to the eggs. Pour the egg-milk mixture onto the bread, leaving to soak for a bit. Cover with aluminium foil and cook for approximately one hour after reducing heat to 350 degrees. As the hour draws to a close remove the covering and allow the top to crisp a bit. This is very nice with brandy sauce, should you happen to have some left over from your Christmas festivities.

Colcannon

For those who love the humble potato......


6 large all purpose potatoes
1/2 head of kale, chopped small
1 1/2 cups milk
5 scallions, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon parsley
9 tablespoons butter, divided

Peel, boil, and mash potatoes. Boil the kale until tender. Over low heat, heat the milk with parsley, thyme, and scallions. Strain the kale, add to milk mixture, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add mashed potatoes and 5 tablespoons of butter. Place into a warmed serving dish and place remaining pats of butter on the center.

Salmon Kedgeree

This is very nice, even when reheated.

1 pound of salmon (poached and flaked)
1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
3 hardboiled eggs
1 ounce butter
1/3 pint cream
pepper and salt to taste

Cook the rice and hardboil the eggs. Cut the eggs into smallish pieces. Heat the butter and cream, along with pepper and salt in a large saucepan until hot. Add the eggs, rice, and salmon to the butter and cream mixture, being careful not to bruise the eggs and salmon overmuch. Serve on a warmed plate with buttered whole wheat bread.

The Selkirk Grace

Some hae meat and canna eat,
and some wad eat that want it,
but we hae meat and we can eat,
and sae the Lord be thankit.

Haggis

1 sheep or lamb's stomach
2 pounds dry oatmeal
1 pound chopped mutton suet
1 pound lamb's or deer's liver, boiled and minced
1 pint (two cups) stock
the heart and lungs of the sheep, boiled and minced
1 large chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon of each: cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper

Toast the oatmeal slowly until it is crisp, then mix all the ingredients together and add the stock. Fill the bag just over half full, press out the air, and sew up securely. Have ready a large pot of boiling water, prick the haggis all over with a large needle so it does not burst and boil slowly for 4-5 hours. Serves twelve.

Cock-a-Leekie Soup

3 pound boiling chicken, giblets removed
3 slices streaky bacon
1 pound shin of beef
2 pounds leeks
1 large onion
5 ounces Scotch whisky
4 pints water
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
salt and pepper
8 pre-soaked prunes

Mix the whisky and tarragon into the water. Chop of the bacon and place the chicken, bacon, and beef in a large bowl and pour over the whisky marinade. Leave to soak overnight. Place the chicken, et cetera, in a large soup pot. Chop up the leeks (reserve one) and onion and add to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for two hours, removing any scum as required. Remove the chicken from the pot, remove skin and bones. Chop the meat into small pieces and return to the pot. Cut up the shin of beef, if required. Add the prunes and the last chopped leek and simmer for 10-15 minutes. It will serve six to eight persons.

Bannocks

4 ounces medium oatmeal
2 teaspoons melted bacon fat
2 pinches bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
3/4 tablespoons hot water
additional oatmeal for kneading

Mix the oatmeal, salt, and bicarbonate of soda and pour the melted fat into the center of the mixture. Stir well and add enough water to make a thick paste. Cover a surface in oatmeal and turn the mixture onto this. Work quickly, as the paste is difficult to work if it cools. Divide into two and roll one half into a ball and knead with hands covered in oatmeal to stop it sticking. Roll out to a quarter inch thick. Put a plate which is slightly smaller than the size of your pan over the flattened mixture and cut round to leave a circular oatcake. Cut into quarters and place in a heated pan which has been lightly greased. Cook for about 3 minutes until the edges curl slightly, turn and cook the other side. Get ready with another oatcake which the first is being cooked.

Cranachan

3 ounces or a half cup pinhead or coarse oatmeal
half pint of double cream
1 tablespoon Drambuie (optional)

Toast the oatmeal in a frying pan on a high heat until lightly brown. Whisk the cream into a soft consistency and mix in the oatmeal and Drambuie. Serve in tall glasses. Popular variations are to mix in raspberries or use vanilla ice cream in place of double cream.

Ale Syllabub

Place in a large bowl, a quart of strong ale or beer, grate into this a little nutmeg, and sweeten with sugar; milk the cow raidly into the bowl, forcing the milk as strongly as possible into the ale, and against the sides of the vessel, to raise a good froth. Let it stand an hour, and it will be fit for use. The proportion of milk or of sugar, will depend on the taste of the drinker, who will, after a trial or two, be able to make a delightful beverage. Cider may be used instead of malt liquor, or a bottle of wine.

Christmas Plum Pudding

1 1/2 pounds of raisins
1/2 pounds currants
1/2 pound of mixed peel
3/4 pound of bread crumbs
3/4 pound of suet
8 eggs
1 wineglassful of brandy

Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs. When all of these dry ingredients are prepared mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and press the pudding into a buttered mould; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth and boil for five or six hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mold and will require the same time allowed for cooking. As Christmas puddings are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and place a plate or saucer underneath it to catch the water that may drain from it. The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water and keep it boiling for at least two hours, then turn it out of the mould, and serve with brandy sauce. On Christmas-day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to the table encircled in flame. Should serve eight persons.

Roasted Turkey

The best way to roast a Turkey is to loosen the skin on the Breast of the Turkey, and fill it with Force Meat made thus: Take a Quarter of a Pound of Beef Sewet, as many Crumbs of Bread, a little Lemon peel, an Anchovy, some Nutmeg, Pepper, Parsley, and a little Thyme. Chop and beat them all well together, mix them with the Yolk of an Egg, and stuff up the Breast; then you have no Sewet, Butter will do; or you may make your Force Meat thus: spread Bread and Butter thin, and grate some Nutmeg over it; when you have enough roll it up, and stuff the Breast of the Turkey; then roast it of a fine Brown, but be sure to pin some white Paper on the Breast till it is near enough. You must have a good gravy in the Dish, and Bread Sauce, made thus: Take a good piece of Crumb, put it into a pint of Water, with a blade or two of Mace, two or three Cloves, and some Whole Pepper. Boil it up five or six times, then with a spoon take out the Spice you had before put in and then you must pour off the Water (you may boil an Onion if you please) then beat up the Bread with a good Piece of Butter and a little Salt.

1755

To Make Harts Horn Flummery

Take half a pound of Harts horn and an ounce of Isinglass steeped in rose-water all night, and boyle them till you make a strong Jelly will not make a quart, then straine it and put a little lemon juice and Cinamon and blade of Mace to it, boyle well together and put it in a China cup. When you use it turne it out and set it with Creame or white Wine as you like.

XVIIth Century

To Make Buttered Oranges

Take a pint of Creame, raspe the peels of two Oranges into half a pint of water of Orange juice, six eggs, two whites, as much suger as will sweeten it, so straine and set over a fire. When it is thick put in a piece of Butter as big as a Egg and keep it stirring till cold.

XVIIth Century

To Make Sillybubbs

Take a quarte of Creame, and half a pound of suger and a pint of sack and Renish together, and about half a pint of strong Beer, and when it up to a froth save some of the Froth on a sieve to top ym, then fill the glass half full with that which is not whipt much, and fill it up with the whipt, and top them with that on ye sieve.

XVIIth Century

A Turkey Aladoub

Take a Turkey, cut off the penions, and leggs, and break the brest bone, lard it with large pieces of Bacon, rond in a nice piece of browne butter and spice, put it in high season'd gravey and let it stew until it is tender, then take it out of the broth into ye dish, take all the fatt of ye Broth, if possible browne some butter and straine ye broth into it, three anchoves, and an Onion shred very fine, about a dozen spoonfulls of white Wine, some Morslley truffles, sweet breads cut in dice, pallatts sliced thin, mushrooms, and Forcedmeats, the juice of a Lemon, and a good piece of butter, give them a boyle together, pour them over the Turkey, garnish it with patties, when you first put it in rub the pann with a clove of Garlike, you may stuff the brest with forced meat and likewise ye Belley, let the sauce be very thick and very high seasoned.

XVIIth Century

A Dish of Snow

Take a pottle of sweet thick Cream, and the white of eyght Egs, and beate them altogether, with a spoone, then put them into your cream with a dishfull of Rosewater, and a dishfull of Sugar withall, then take a sticke and make it clene, and then cut it in the end foursquare, and therewith beat all the aforesaid things together, and ever as it ariseth take it off and put it in to a Cullender, this doone, take a platter and sette an Apple in the midst of it, stick a thicke bush of Rosemary in the Apple, Then cast your Snow upon the Rosemary and fill your platter therewith, and if you have wafers cast some withall, and so serve them forthe.

1594

Sauce for a Goose

Take a fair panne, and set hit under the goose whill sche rostes, and kepe clene the grese that droppes therof, and put thereto a godele (good deal) of wyn and a litel vynegur and verjus and onyons mynced or garlek; then take the gottes of the goose, and slitte hom and scrape hom clene in watur and salt, and so wassh hom, and sethe hom, and hak hom smal; then do all this togedur in a postenet, and do thereto raisinges of corance (Corinth) and pouder of pepur, and of gynger, and of canell, and hole clowes, and maces, and let hit boyle, and serve hit forthe.

XIVth - XVth Century

Chicken for a Lord

Take checones (chickens) and make hom clene, and chop hom on quarters, and sethe hom, and when thai byn half sothen take hom up and pylle of the skynne, and frie hom in faire grese and dress hom up, and cast thereon pouder of gynger ande sugur; then take iii pounde of almondes and blaunche hom, and draw up a gode thik mylke with the brothe, and other gode brothe therewith, and do hit in a pot and sethe hit; and put thereto hole clowes, maces and pynes, and let hit boyle altogedur, and in the settynge down do thereto an ounce of pouder of gynger, and medel hit wyth vynegar, and serve hit forthe, and poure the syrip thereon, and cast thereon pouder of gynger and sugur; and a hole chekyn for a lorde.

XIVth - XVth Century

Roast Peacock - A Lordly Dish

Take and flee off the skynne with the fedurs tayle and the nekke, and the hed thereon; then take the skyne with all the fedures, and lay hit on a table abrode; and strawe thereon grounden comyn; then take the pecokke, and roste him, and endore hym with raw yolks of egges; and when he is rosted take hym of, and let hym cool awhile, and take hym and sew hym in his skyn, and gilde his combe, and so serve hym forthe with the last cours.

XIVth - XVth Century

Potage de Frumenty

Take clene qwete (wheat) and bray hit wele in morter, that the holles gone alle of, and then seth hit that hit breke in faire watur, and then do thereto gode brothe and cowe mylk, or mylk of almondes and colour hit with saffron, and take raw yolkes of eyren (eggs) and bete hom wel in a vessell, and do in the pot, but let hit not boyle aftur; and serve hit forthe.

XIVth-XVth Century