The Scotch Egg

A Scotch egg consists of a shelled hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. Scotch eggs are commonly eaten cold, typically with salad and pickles.

From the Telegraph (Feb 2011)

The Scotch egg’s origins are obscure. The exclusive London provisioner Fortnum & Mason claims it invented the portable snack for rich coach travellers in 1738. “The eggs would have been smaller in those days,’’ says the company’s archivist Dr Andrea Turner. “They would have been pullet’s eggs rather than hen’s eggs, and the meat would have been gamier, like a strong Victorian pâté.’’

She believes that the eggs then filtered down the social ranks, first becoming a Victorian savoury using cheaper meats, and finally arriving at the mass-produced egg served in the pubs, cafés and at picnics in second half of the last century.

An alternative theory, propounded by Annette Hope in her book A Caledonian Feast, claims that the Scotch egg evolved from Nargisi Kofta, an Indian dish that is also made from minced meat and a boiled egg.

Neil Chambers’s explanation seems more likely: that it was a northern variant of the Cornish pasty produced by Scottish smallholders, who would have kept chickens and pigs.

“It was a poor man’s lunch produced from leftovers that was easy to transport,’’ Neil says.
The handmade Scotch egg has one disadvantage. It can’t be chilled, vacuum packed or frozen. “If you go down that route you end up with the egg and the meat shrinking away from each other and that is not an option for us,’’ Neil says. “Supermarkets are keen to stock handmade eggs, but for now the only way is through their deli counters.”
Traditionally Scotch Eggs are deep fried. I do not deep fry food and as the sausagemeat is a fatty meat anyway I prefer to bake mine.

 

 Scotch Eggs Prior to Cooking

 

The finished Scotch Egg

Apple Cake

Apple & Sultana Cake

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup castor sugar

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

2 level teaspoons baking powder

1lb cooking apples

Handful sultanas

Demerara sugar

Method

Pre heat oven to:

375 degrees F~ 190 degrees C ~ Gask Mark 5

Grease a line a baking tin.

Soak sultanas in water until ready to use

Cream the sugar and butter together.
Whisk the eggs and add very slowly a little amount at a time (you do not want the mixture to curdle, this is very time consuming but well worth the end results). Now add the sifted flour and baking powder and stir in a figure 8 motion (I do not like to use a food mixer). Once this has been done slowly add milk. This should now be a nice smooth mixture.

Cut the apples into slices and chunks for the different textures to the taste (I don't like to cut until I am ready to put them in the mixture). Add to the mixture. Drain the sultanas and add them to the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin (I use a spring form pan). Level out the mixture but in the center make a small well as this area rises higher than the rest of the cake and you will not get a flat top unless you do this.
Bake in a pre heated oven for approx. 50 minutes. Stick a toothpick into the cake and if it comes out clean then the cake is cooked (I do it at center and edge to make sure it is cooked evenly).









Mum's Special Fudge Bars

12 ozs Cadburys Chocolate
10 ozs Rich Tea Biscuits
1 - 14 oz can Condensed Milk
4ozs Butter
1 Cadbury's Flake

Crush biscuits up into an almost breadcrumb look. In a pan I melt slowly 10 ozs of chocolate and butter. Once this is done add the condensed milk. Stir untill well blended together. Add the crushed biscuit.
Once all is mixed together put into a dish that has been sprayed lightly with Pam.
Melt the rest of the chocolate. Pour this over the mixture in  the pan. Crumble up the flake over the top of the chocolate. Chill in the refrigerator for about 3 hours. Take out and cut to bite size pieces.


Tips:
You will find that after you have made it a few times you may want to add or reduce the portion in the ingredients. I usually double the size and use even more cadbury's chocolate than that. I crush the Rich Tea Biscuits but leave some larger pieces in it. When I melt the chocolate to put on the top, I add some creamer to it to make it a little more creamy and a little runny.You don't have to put the Cadburys Flake on top, you could put nuts or anything you want. This is quick to make so once you have it where you want it mix it up by adding fruit etc. There are no hard and fast rules here. This is my Mother's recipe but just have fun with it. I have not found one person who did not like it. My kids loved it. Oh, by the way this is freezeable. I wrap each piece individually put in a freezer bag and my husband just pulls one out as he wants it.

Beer Bread

                            BEER BREAD

This is such an easy recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups Self Raising Flour

2 Tablespoons Sugar

12 ozs Beer (room temperature and regular Beer. Light or low Cal Beer does not work)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. 180 C. Gas 4.

Mix all ingredients together. Use a spoon, not a mixer. Pour into a loaf Pan. Bake for approx. 35-40 minutes.

Once out of the oven, I like to melt butter over the top.

This is good served hot or cold