Britsh Cusine ( is this an oxymoron? )

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:40 pm

There's an English pub (George Harcourt Inn) not too far from where I live in Canberra. Whole deal, complete with open fire and horse brasses. English beer on tap. English food. Genuine bangers and mash. Home made pie. Roasts etc. Loads of people go there - for the food and the atmosphere. They do an awesome bacon and egg sarnie!!!

On clotted cream - it's harder to find the genuine article these days, probably due to health regs, again. But it's on my list of gourmet wonders.

Victoria · Post by **Victoria** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:26 am

Sad isn't it?

The British are mocked world wide for their (lack of) good cusine.

But there are lovely british foods. Unfortuantly most British people cant afford them, sweet English Lamb with fresh mint sauce, a real cos lettuce (not one of those pre packaged chemically enhanced iceberg things) Proper beef and yorkshire pudding, fresh sausages (again not nasty supermarket things) try cumberland...yummy

as for puddings, crumble made with bramley apples or rhubarb with cream drizzled over it or a steamed pudding with real custard.. decent fruit cake like dundee cake with almonds on top, scones with clotted cream, and of course the thing I was busy with all day last saturday Home made Christmas pudding..

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:00 pm

You're speaking my language there, Victoria!!!!!

I only get to have it occasionally, but I think England also gave to the world the classic English Breakfast too. When properly done, it is a gem. Add cold rain outside and a warm fire inside and enjoy: Bacon, egg, kidney, mushrooms, tomato, real sausage, maybe even a few baked beans, toast, marmelade and um er.. a good cup of French coffee.

Gooseberry pie.

HOME MADE CHRISTMAS PUD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pheasy · Post by **Pheasy** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 7:01 pm

I think that .... explain Pinky I'm confused, are we not like that :wah:

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:26 pm

Come on, Pinky. I agree totally, but I was defending what is often considered as quintessential English fare (from round the London area) - saying I liked it, not knocking it. Sure, you're as cosmo these days as the next stereotype, but cosmopolitan in an English way. Your fast food is not like American fast food. Your curries and Asian food are not like Australian curries and Asian food. Different immigrant mixes, modifying their cuisines for local tastes. I've lived in all three countries.

All our countries have a large array of different cuisines too - what you might typically get on a Louisiana Bayou is different from what you'll get on a Texas ranch or on a midwest farm, in a San Francisco restaurant or a New York deli. etc

In the spirit of what a few of us were discussing, Aussie traditional fare includes pies and tomato sauce, damper, billy tea, lamingtons, pumpkin scones, pavlova, roast lamb, steak for breakfast, kangaroo tail soup, wattle seed cake, rabbit stew, barbecued sausages (snags), barbied just about anything (but not shrimps), Fosters beer (any beer)..

And we all prance around wearing thongs (flip flops) with our shorts, our hair is a sunbleached blonde, we all surf all the time, are laid back, live in the outback, talk like Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin, and play cricket all the time, or Aussie rules.

(I'm an Aussie and I rarely eat any of these things at all, and I don't drink beer. My flipflops only get worn in public swimming pool showers, I can only remain upright on a surf board for 2 seconds (achieved once, last year), I've never been in the outback, and don't talk like either of those blokes or understand the games. OK, I'm blonde, and laid back.)

Victoria · Post by **Victoria** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:37 am

Talking of stereotypes,

when I asked in a london bookstore for a Dutch language course the woman at the counter said 'yeah right the place wiv the windmillls and tulips yeah'?

Here I sit longing for a fresh Melton mowbury pork pie with that fantastic crust and spicey pork filling and my hubby sitting in London cant wait to get back here to eat frikendel special and patat with mayo!

Daft or what?:-2

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:43 pm

My son just came back from a working trip to Amsterdam, Victoria. And for him the Netherlands are now the place where the ladies of the night sit in windows.. grin.

I remember all the bicycles, and great cheese, and genever gin and Hans Brinker skating along the canal and countrywomen shaking their bedding out the windows each morning, and the flatness... but mostly... DIAMONDS

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:48 pm

Hi Victoria:-6,

Nice to meet you. Hope you like the garden. How do you like living in the Netherlands...Would love to visit one day.

Hello ((((Pam)))) How are ya my friend...just posted a few pics in the "Where U Live" thread. We're having a warm autumn..hope it lasts.....yeehaaa.

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:53 pm

(((((((((((((((( Kathy )))))))))))))))))

Right next door to British food is Irish food... SWOOOON... Remember our AWESOME New York Irish brekkie - real Irish sausage, fried free range egg sunny side up, black pud, white pud, ahhhhh the bacon.... WE MUST DO THIS AGAIN SOON. Fado's in Chicago also does the real thing Irish all day breakfast. Packing my bags as I type.

(First day back at school for Small Person - guess I better go dig him out of bed and get this show on the road. But first COFFFFEEEEEEE)

PS I just noticed I passed 5000 posts - does this mean I get a bottle of Vintage Bolly?

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:20 pm

AussiePam;708702 wrote: (((((((((((((((( Kathy )))))))))))))))))

Right next door to British food is Irish food... SWOOOON... Remember our AWESOME New York Irish brekkie - real Irish sausage, fried free range egg sunny side up, black pud, white pud, ahhhhh the bacon.... WE MUST DO THIS AGAIN SOON. Fado's in Chicago also does the real thing Irish all day breakfast. Packing my bags as I type.

(First day back at school for Small Person - guess I better go dig him out of bed and get this show on the road. But first COFFFFEEEEEEE)

PS I just noticed I passed 5000 posts - does this mean I get a bottle of Vintage Bolly?

Ahhhh Pam, I miss you so much. Loved out trip to NY, especially visiting the Village, longs walks that night and eating at Becco's. You little devil you, getting those great seats....ahhhh, money does wonders, doesn't it.... Give your little man my best:-4

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:54 pm

:sneaky:

You're just not naturally corrupt enough, Kathy.

I mean my forefathers were probably transported to Botany Bay for evil deeds. Okay, we just got here, but I'm sure they would have been had the matter arisen. Of course being of convict stock confers status, these days. Hic.

Small Person was delighted to see his friends. So I left him and headed into a business meeting. Digging my reading specs out of my handbag, I came upon his canteen lunchorder (you write on a brown paper bag here, put the right money in, place the bag in a special box in the classroom and bob's yer uncle). D only has a lunch order on Monday - something he particularly likes is on the special menu - so he had no other lunch... I had to excuse myself, go back to the school and ... hey you don't want to hear this rave... all ended well anyway.. grin)

Um.. yes, allright. I'm going to do some work now.

Kleeeees !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:15 pm

Goodness Gracious Me! Bwahahaha!!!

I admit that I sometimes actually enjoy bland, English, comfort food... It's that English half of me, I suppose.

Victoria · Post by **Victoria** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:22 pm

I was in London last weekend and hubby suggested we go out for a real English breakfast.

When the waitress arrived to taker our order she went through the list ' do you want mushrooms, beans,tomatoes, fried or scrambled eggs'? ect and then I could have sworn she said 'do you want hash brownies'.

Well I knew England was becoming more relaxed but hey! Hash brownies for breakfast is really jolly!

What she had actually said was 'Hash browns' which turned out to be some nasty reconstituted re-shaped indeed re-hashed potato mush which was fried to the consistency of cardboard and tasted about as foul.

I have never eaten this poor excuse for food before and pray that I never have to do so again. These things must break the trade discriptions act if they are discribed as food?:yh_tongue

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:10 pm

I agree about hash browns, Victoria. This is an American fast-food dish based on chopped cooked potato which is then fried in such a way that as much fat as possible is absorbed into its many surfaces. America has many fine cuisines, but I don't care for the hamburger-chips-fries-hashbrowns type fast food at all.

While the hash brown, in its current form, is American, I have eaten European dishes which must be ancestors. (I expect the Netherlands has its own version).

German Roesti or Kartoffelpuffer - sort of pancakes using shredded or grated raw potato.

http://blog.jagaimo.com/archive/2005/12/10/2107.aspx

Very good

And the French pommes paillasson "doormat" of grated and sautéed potatoes - which is totally awesome with green salad and goats cheese.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/104765

These two dishes just didn't travel well across the Atlantic.

Chookie · Post by **Chookie** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:51 pm

AP you bloody convict, you totally ignored the point.

Victoria hails from the Nederlands (I would guess Amsterdam) where both "Hash" and "Brownie" have different connotations.

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:02 pm

I wouldn't know anything about that, Chookie...

:sneaky:

Chookie · Post by **Chookie** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:04 pm

AussiePam;712979 wrote: I wouldn't know anything about that, Chookie...

:sneaky:

Are you sure your Australian?

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:05 am

Well I live here mostly, Chookie and have, among others, an Aussie passport, so yes!

Victoria · Post by **Victoria** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:57 am

Victoria

Hails from London, born to English parents both of whom are of Irish descent and has lived 100 miles north of Amsterdam for the last 17 yrs...but is possibly to return to England next year..

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:27 am

Victoria;713411 wrote: Victoria

Hails from London, born to English parents both of whom are of Irish descent and has lived 100 miles north of Amsterdam for the last 17 yrs...but is possibly to return to England next year..

Wouldn't that put you somewhere off Grimsby in the North Sea :wah:

Victoria · Post by **Victoria** » Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:22 am

Only if the dyke burst! For now we are still on( fairly) dry land.