Recipes from England?
I am hosting a dinner with friends next Wednesday night and have been charged with the theme “England”. Does anyone have any ideas or recipes? I need an appetizer, a main course, a few sides and a desert.
Any help or direction of authentic European food would be greatly appreciated.
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16 Comments:
Toad in the hole! There's always this recipe from the irrepressible Jamie Oliver.
avaryne at 1:21PM on 09/17/09
Main course: Kedgeree...I know it's not a dinner meal but what's not to love about smoked fish, rice & curry. Jamie Oliver has a stellar recipe and I use a hot smoked salmon for the smoked fish.
Dessert: Trifle
AnnieNT at 1:42PM on 09/17/09
shepherds pie is an English classic, easy to make, and a crowd pleaser. Just google "British food recipes" and you'll be able to come up with a complete menu.
tucsonlady at 2:38PM on 09/17/09
In Nigella Lawson's "How To Eat" you will find clear and extensive instructions for Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and vegetable sides which is as British as a Thankgiving turkey dinner is American.
For dessert, the greatest is probably Treacle Pudding with custard sauce.
I would advise against an appetizer if you'll make roast beef with the works, but if you really need one, perhaps potted shrimp on toast.
Ortolan at 2:51PM on 09/17/09
ploughman's platter is always fun to serve for apps. Pasties are also fun and i suppose that you could make them app size. I used to cook a traditional English dinner every Sunday for a English pub and learned of many recipes for things. I know my fav is Yorkshire Puds, I eat them alone oh and even as a side, did I mention I eat them alone?lol.....A good side is mushy peas, there is also bubbles and squeak. Spotty dick, yes that is a real dish and all I don't have the recipes for anymore, I would google them, they all are so good.
pjracz10 at 3:19PM on 09/17/09
A hot, mustard-rubbed joint of beef served with roast potatoes (use olive oil, not duck fat) and a few handfuls of a green vegetable, all covered in hot gravy.
For a twist on a starter, try egg & soldiers. Just a soft boiled egg (or cheat and use a poached one) and serve with thin strips of buttered toast.
Oh, and Eton Fool for pudding...crushed pieces of meringue in sweetened cream with strawberries (although the variations are endless. Raspberries work very well).
The BBC has an excellent food section on their website.
NotAmerican at 3:36PM on 09/17/09
Make almost whatever you like and tell them you've expanded the theme to England's colonial exploits.
BananaMonkey at 4:27PM on 09/17/09
Make sticky toffee pudding...I did an English Christmas last year, and that was a big hit
KateRuby at 5:54PM on 09/17/09
I was in charge of a Brittish appetizer not too long ago too that had me stumped. I made a bunch of Yorkshire puddings with sliced roast beef as a topping with tiny dollops of horseradish. They were a big hit.
oh_no_eric at 5:57PM on 09/17/09
Some years ago I cooked in an English pub. They always had a shrimp spread on the bar that was very popular that I think I made a few hundred times while I was there. It's a pretty spread and actually very tasty.
Potted Shrimp
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of ground mace
1/4 cup sherry
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Melt the butter in a large skillet until hot. Add the shrimp, salt, and black pepper and stir fry, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Do not brown.
Remove the shrimp to a plate lined with paper towels to drain & cool. When cool, place in a bowl of a food processor. Return the skillet to the stove and add the sherry, lemon juice, and cayenne. Cook over high heat until the liquid in the skillet is reduced to approximately 3 tbsp. and is quite syrupy. Immediately add this to the shrimp in the food processor and process until the shrimp are thoroughly puréed. With the motor running, add the remaining butter, a few pieces at a time, and process until thoroughly blended. Turn the food processor off and carefully taste the shrimp paste for seasoning, adding more salt, black pepper, sherry, lemon juice, or cayenne as needed. Transfer the shrimp paste to a ceramic crock and allow to cool completely.
Serve with crackers. Very good as a filling for stuffed celery or a filling for fancy tea sandwiches spread on white bread with the crusts removed & quartered.
kathyvegas at 8:49PM on 09/17/09
Trifle is good and easy to make in large quantity.
JerzeeTomato at 12:24AM on 09/18/09
Love that @JerzeeTomato, I second the trifle! How about sausage rolls with colemans mustard, mini steak and kidney pies.
@pjracz you hit just about all my favs.... damn I love that stick to your ribs fare...
Pavlov at 8:26AM on 09/18/09
You could start them off with some doner kebabs then maybe go with spaghetti bolognese or chicken tikka masala and for dessert make a nice pavlova.
SqueezeBottle at 10:14AM on 09/18/09
Also, at our wedding, we had strips of sirloin served on roasted tomatoes full of horseradish cream. Could make a nice starter. Or mini-fishcakes, with salmon and smoked haddock bound with egg and breadcrumbs, maybe some mashed potato.
Steak and Guinness pie is also nice...just cube steak slowly cooked in Guinness and butter, with onions, carrots and peas, topped with mashed potatoes and cheese, baked in a pie shell.
NotAmerican at 1:20PM on 09/18/09
I was going to second the motion for prime rib, horseradish cream and Yorkshire pudding because it's so simple, but that's more a Sunday dinner than a Wednesday one.
I'd go with fun food names, like Scotch eggs, bangers and mash, bubble and squeak, Eton mess, baps, spotted dick, cock-a-leekie soup (actually Scottish), scrumpy.
BTW, shepherd's pie is made with lamb and vegetables that are leftover from the roast, vegetables and mashed potatoes of the meal the night before; the more common US version made with beef chunks or ground beef is called "cottage pie" in England.
betteirene at 4:02AM on 09/19/09
i think a fruit crisp is a must for pud
nightmoon at 10:48PM on 09/19/09