Tea
Use a proper china pot. Warm the pot. Using fresh water, pour onto China, Indian or Ceylon (Sri Lanka) tea leaves. Use one teaspoon of tea leaves per person and one teaspoon for the pot. Leave the tea to brew for 5 minutes (no longer), then serve with milk or lemon. Filter off the leaves when pouring by using a tea strainer.
Syllabub
This is a very old frothy English drink. The original version was made from warm milk, freshly milked from the cow and then mixed with ale, cider or wine.
2/3 cup sweet, white wine
1 tablespoon Bristol cream sherry
2 tablespoons brandy
1 fresh, juicy lemon or orange
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
8 ounces heavy cream
Place wine, sherry and brandy in a large stainless steel bowl. Carefully peel the zest part of the rind only from the lemon or orange, add half the zest and all the juice to the liquid, and put the other half of the zest aside, wrapped in foil. Leave overnight so that the oils from the zest mingle with the liquid.
The following day remove the zest and discard. Stir the sugar into the liquid until it dissolves. In another bowl, whip the cream (straight from the refrigerator) until stiff; fold into the liquid. Spoon the whole concoction into wine glasses. Let stand in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then top each glass with very thin shreds of lemon or orange peel that you have reserved.
Stuffed Prunes with Bacon
24 dried pitted prunes
24 walnut halves
1/2 cup ruby port
1/4 cup water
12 slices bacon
Stuff each prune with walnut half. Mix port and water; pour over prunes in bowl. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until prunes are plump, about 2 hours.
Cut bacon slices into halves. Wrap bacon around prunes; secure with wooden picks. Arrange on rack in broiler pan. Set oven to broil or 550 degrees F. Broil with tops about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until bacon is crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.
Smoked Haddock with White Sauce (Finnan Haddie with White Sauce - Scotland)
This is a Scottish tradition which is often served for breakfast. Add potatoes, and it becomes a main meal. The name comes from Findon, a village renowned for the industry of curing fish. "Haddie" is a slang term for haddock.
1 pound smoked haddock or smoked cod fillets
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Cut fish into 1-inch pieces, removing any bones and skin. Heat butter in skillet until melted; add fish and onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes.
Stir milk gradually into cornstarch in 1-quart saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour over fish. Simmer uncovered until fish flakes easily with fork, 3 to 5 minutes.
Serve with boiled or baked potatoes if desired.
Yields 4 servings.
Smoked Haddock with Rice (Kedgeree - England)
This was originally an Indian dish that the English adopted. It can be served for brunch or supper.
4 hardboiled eggs
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked regular rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound smoked haddock or cod
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Minced parsley
Separate egg yolks from whites. Press yolks through sieve; chop whites. Heat water, rice and 1 teaspoon salt to boiling, stirring once or twice; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 14 minutes without lifting cover or stirring. Remove from heat. Fluff rice lightly with fork; cover and let steam 5 to 10 minutes.
Cover fish with cold water. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes; drain. Break fish into large flakes with fork, removing any bones and skin. Keep warm.
Cook and stir onion in butter in 10-inch skillet until tender. Stir in chopped egg white, rice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper. stir in flaked fish gently. Serve on heated platter; sprinkle with egg yolk and parsley.
Yields 8 servings.
Shrewsbury Cakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
Ground nutmeg (optional)
Stir together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. Beat butter with an electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture; beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Chill, covered, 1 hour.
Roll dough 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 2 1/2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until very light brown.
Makes about 70 cookies.
Shortbread with Cumberland Rum Butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Superfine sugar (for dusting)
1 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/3 cup dark Jamaican rum
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large bowl beat the butter with a wooden spoon until it is soft, then continue beating while adding sugar then the flour. When it gets hard to handle, bring it together with the spoon and make into a ball with your hands. Transfer to a working surface that has been lightly dusted with superfine sugar. Quickly and lightly roll out about 1/8 inch thick. You may need to dust the rolling pin with sugar, also. With a 3-inch diameter crinkled cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place on a cookie sheet. Bake on a high shelf in the oven for about 30 minutes, until they are a pale golden color, no darker. Cool the cookies on a wire rack and dust them with some superfine sugar. When cool, store in an airtight container.
Melt the butter in a small heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat. As butter is melting, put the sugar in a large mixing bowl and remove all lumps by pressing them out with your hands or a wooden spoon. Add nutmeg. Pour on the rum and mix well. Pour on the melted butter and stir in well. Put mixture into a glass bowl, cover the surface with wax paper and, when cool, place in the refrigerator until serving time.
Scotch Marmalade
4 oranges
2 lemons
2 grapefruit
2 1/2 quarts water
7 pounds granulated sugar
Boil fruit whole in the water for 1/2 hour. Cool and remove pulp. Put skins and all through a grinder, then measure back into the pot and add water to make 3 quarts. Boil for 45 minutes. Add sugar. Boil again for 15 minutes. Put into sterilized jars and seal with paraffin. Serve with shortbread, scones or oat cakes.