Bread Pudding

I have never been fond of soggy bread, so the idea of bread pudding sounded simply awful to me. However, my mother in law made this and I tried it and loved it. Rather than being like soggy bread, as I had feared, it is basically a mild custard (egg-based pudding), and the bread gets absorbed so that it doesn't break up the texture much, but it give it some body and stability.
My mother in law gave me the tip that it is best to use two different types of bread, half of each. She usually uses one white (such as a buttermilk bread) and the other a cinnamon raisin, such as SaraLee's cinnamon swirl loaf.  I really like using the cinnamon raisin bread, it rounds out the pudding nicely.

makes a 9x13 pan

about 8 slices of bread
4 eggs
1 c sugar (use 3/4 c if you use a sweet bread such as the cinnamon raisin)
4 c whole milk, cream, half&half, or some combination of them (you could use any milk, but fattier milks will obviously make a nicer pudding)
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon, nutmeg, or cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle on top.

Preheat oven to 350.
Put the eggs in a bowl and mix them with an electric mixer for 5 minutes. (If you have a stand mixer set them going while you do the bread, otherwise really do set a timer and mix them for the full five minutes. It makes a much smoother nicer pudding.)
Tear or cut the bread into chunks and spread it around in the pan, about two layers deep. Don't pack it tight, just drop it all in there. If you use two kinds of bread, mix them up. The pieces don't need to be bite-sized, because they will break easily once they've been soaked and cooked, so big chunks are fine.

Set the pan aside, and go back to the eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, and milk/cream. Beat until mixed. Pour over bread. Poke the bread a little if it floats, so that it all gets soaked. Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg over the top (I do plain cinnamon).
Bake for 45-50 minutes. (My mother in law says she has one cookbook that says to do it at 350 and one that says to do it at 325, so if your oven runs hot, try the lower temperature or the shorter time.) The pudding will set up like a custard--when it is done it will be solid on the edges but jiggly in the center of the pan. The bread will rise to the top and make a somewhat crusty top.

really, what's not to love!

Stovies (Scotland)

We found this recipe when looking for something scottish to celebrate Saint Andrew's Day. Stovies are a great way to use up some leftover beef and gravy. Of course you can work from scratch also, but I have a feeling this is really meant as a sort of "inspired leftovers" meal. I got this recipe from epicurean, who recommends serving them with oat cakes. I've just copied the recipe from there, and added my own notes.
These were a big hit, and will definitely be regularly seen on our menu in the future.

50g (2 oz.) oil, drippings or butter (I used bacon grease)
3 medium onions, roughly chopped
1 kg (2 pounds) floury potatoes, main crop or new
125ml (4 oz.) meat stock or gravy (I used a handful of my beef-stock 'ice' cubes)
125-250g (4-8 ounces) cooked meat (I threw in ground beef because I didn't have leftovers handy. I just browned it, drained it, and set it aside, then added it back in later as per the recipe.)
2 -3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, chives, or spring onions
Seasoning salt, freshly ground black pepper, allspice, or grated nutmeg

Directions:
You will need a large heavy-base pan with a tight-fitting lid. Heat the fat in it and add the onions. Cook until lightly brown. Peel potatoes if they are "main crop", but leave the skins on new potatoes. Slice about 5mm (1/4-inch) thick. Or slice roughly in different thickness so that the thin go into a mush, while the others stay whole. Add them to the pan with the onions and stir well. coating all sides with the fat.
Put the lid on the pan and leave on a low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times. (I used a cast iron pan that didn't have a lid, so I used a piece of foil which worked great. You do need some kind of lid though.)Then add the gravy or water. Cover and cook over a very low heat, stirring once or twice until the potatoes are cooked. Add the meat, mix through, and turn up the heat to brown a little.

Taste for seasoning. Mix in some freshly chopped parsley, chives, or green onion and serve with oatcakes and a glass of milk.

Scottish Oatcakes

These are somewhere between a biscuit and a cookie...they're a bit sweet, but definitely have a bready aspect to them. I got the recipe from epicurean.com, where they were recommended to serve with Stovies. I've copied the recipe here just as it is on the site, but added some notes of my own.

1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups shortening (I use room-temperature butter or lard. If you do use butter it comes out a little salty, so either use unsalted butter or skip the salt!)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups bran flakes (I didn't have any, so I left them out...I honestly didn't notice them on the recipe until I had already started mixing ingredients... I'm sure you could do some extra oats, but it also worked fine to just skip this ingredient.)

Directions:
Add soda to boiling water and let stand until cool. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, bran flakes, rolled oats and sugar. Cut in shortening; add water and soda. Roll out thin on a floured board. Bake in hot oven until golden brown.
(I just lightly greased a cookie sheet and smooshed the dough around on it until it was pretty thin. It spread a bit as it cooked and ended up filling the pan, but it had not reached all the corners before I put it in. I baked at 400* for about 10ish min...I didn't set a timer, I just left the oven light on and kept an eye on them as I cooked other things...)

Battered Fish

Traditionally this deep-fried battered fish would be served with 'chips' (fat french fries), but I actually prefer to do onion rings, because I use the same batter for both fish and rings.


Cut white fish into fillets and make sure there are no bones. (If you buy it it should already be this way, but if you caught your own then obviously you'll have to do it yourself!) I like to make them on the smaller side--I slice thick fillets in half depth-wise (so I have two thin fillets), and I cut them down to about 4x4inch pieces. I like a high batter-to-fish ratio. ☺


Batter:
In a wide and/or shallow bowl, put 1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup white flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt). Slowly add water until it is about the consistency of pancake batter...maybe 2/3 or 3/4 cup of water usually. If it is too thin it will all drip off the fish (or onions)!

Heat oil in a wok, saucepan, or deep frying pan (I like using a lid to avoid oil splatters, but an oil screen works too). You can deep fry the fish, but I find that using a high-sided frying pan I can 'deep fry' them in only about an inch of oil, I just have to turn the fish over halfway through the cooking. It uses less oil, and seems to get less oil into the fish as well.

Put battered fish pieces into oil and fry until golden and cooked through--about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the pieces and whether the fish was frozen or thawed. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove fish and set on a paper towel to drain. Serve hot!


*This does NOT reheat very well (it's ok in the oven but terrible in the microwave), so if you have leftovers I recommend eating them cold.

Banoffi

This Irish dessert was introduced to me by my mother in law after she lived there for three years. I like to make it in a pie dish and put the crust up the edges (like a pie) but it can also be made flat with a square dish, with the crust just on the bottom (not up the sides).

Just layer the following into the dish:
1--Crumb crust (I use a graham cracker crust, although I used 2/3 graham crackers and 1/3 almonds--just toss them into the food processor, first process the almonds, then add & process the crackers, then add the butter and a half portion of sugar because banoffi does not need any extra sugar in the crust!)
2--1 can of sweetened condensed milk which has been cooked into dulce de leche (put the unopened can into a pan of boiling water, cover, and simmer for about 90 minutes, checking periodically to add more water so that it does not boil dry. Lay the can on its side so it can roll, if you put it on its end the contents will scorch on that end.)
let it cool before adding final layers
3--sliced bananas
4--whipped cream (I whipped about 1 cup of cream, and added a few Tbs of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla)
5--top with chocolate shavings (or smashed/processed chocolate chips ☺)

Put it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to set up before serving. This is a great make-ahead dessert, and was the finale of our Irish Feast for St Patrick's Day this year.

Irish Stew

Irish stew is a simple yet hearty meal which will fill you up and warm your belly even after a long, cold, wet day in the fog or with the sheep ☺

1/2-1lb leftover lamb roast (beef works if you don't have lamb, but lamb is better!)
2 potatoes
2-3 carrots
1 onion
2-3Tbs garlic (or 1Tbs garlic powder)
salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf (I use a good sprinkle of each...amounts are very much up to you. I use lots of salt and thyme, and very little rosemary, because that's just what I like...)

Cut up the lamb, potatoes, carrots and onion into 1/2inch cubes. If the meat had leftover juices, those are the best base for the broth, however stock or bullion (lamb, beef, or vegetable) will suffice in a pinch. I put all the ingredients in a large pot, and add just enough water to cover them all. Stir around a bit, and then cover and cook on med-low heat until all veggies are soft, stirring occasionally. Once veggies are soft, remove lid and allow to simmer until you're ready to serve it. (With 1/2" chunks, my soup needed less than an hour to all be soft.)

I recommend serving it with warm biscuits, homemade bread, or rolls.

Fast, Cheap, and Easy ("bangers & mash" goes American)

In Britain (so I hear) they will take mashed potatoes and then slice up some bangers (a sausage that my husband tells me actually isn't very good) and they mix it together and call it "Bangers and Mash." Here is my variation--the kind of meal that takes 5 minutes to make yet is a step up from PB&J, and even has a hint of healthy.

Mashed potatoes (I confess to using instant)
1 can of corn (drained)
some hotdogs, bratwursts, or kielbasa.

Make the mashed potatoes, mix in the corn.
Chop up the meat and either mix it in or serve it on the side. (I prefer to serve it on the side because it's easier to adjust proportions, but I do mix them up as I eat...)

Soft Shortbread

Being of Scottish descent, it is more or less required of us to like shortbread...but then again, with a recipe like this, what's not to like?!
I adapted several other recipes to create this one, and I like it because it is sweet and crumbly, but doesn't completely fall apart, and doesn't get hard if it sits out overnight...honestly I don't know it might get hard if it sat out for two nights...it's never lasted that long for us!

1 1/4 c white flour (this is one of those rare recipes where I actually use plain white flour)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c room-temperature butter (don't try to microwave it to soften it, you have to let it just sit out for a few hours so that it's an even consistency through the cube)

Mix flour and sugar together. Cut in butter until mixture is relatively even and crumbly--no large chunks. With your hands, smoosh it together into one large ball.
Pat or roll the ball on a cookie sheet so that it's about 1/2 inch thick (a little thicker is ok, but too thin will get crusty). Shape into a circle and cut wedges, or shape into a rectangle and cut blocks (I prefer to cut blocks). If you have room, use the knife to gently scoot the pieces apart from each other (they don't need much room, but will stick together if they don't have some space).
Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.
If pieces were not separated prior to baking, re-cut with a knife while still hot.
Let cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes before attempting to eat. 10 minutes is better, but it's really hard to wait that long.

Easy Roasted Potatoes

These are very easy to make, although you do have to pay attention to them, as they need to be stirred every 10 minutes during cooking. I like this best with red or gold potatoes, but plain old russets work fine too.
These are what we make when we want "Irish roasted potatoes" 

This batch had white potatoes, blue potatoes, and carrots

4-6 potatoes, peeled if desired (I don't peel red/gold, but I do peel russets), and cut into chunks about 1-2in across
about 1/3 c oil (veg oil or olive oil)
herbs as desired (I like the 'seafood rub' blend from costco, rosemary is popular, or try thyme, marjoram, garlic powder, and salt) (the original recipe says to use an envelope of dry onion soup mix, but I think that unprocessed herbs taste much better)

Preheat oven to 425*
The original recipe says to put the potatoes, herbs, and oil into a plastic ziplock bag and shake them to coat the potatoes, but I find that wasteful (of the plastic bag) and messy, so I just do it in the pan.
Put potato chunks into a 9x13in baking dish--glass is best. Pour oil evenly over the top, and stir until all chunks are coated. Sprinkle herbs evenly over the top, and stir again until the herbs are distributed among the potatoes.
Put in oven to bake. Every 10 minutes stir thoroughly (make sure to unstick everything from the bottom of the pan). Bake for about 40 min.