My favorite recipes

Stirling Castle in Scotland was a treat for the eyes. Long the home of Scottish royalty, the palace is on the castle grounds, overlooking the River Forth from the high point in the town. (The outlet into the North Sea is the Firth of Forth.)

The first records of Stirling Castle are from 1110 AD and it is an imposing stone edifice, now a wonderful museum. Clothing, weapons, features of court life, such as jesters, and Scottish history are shared in an attractive manner.

The Great Hall is probably as imposing today as it was when the King of Scotland held court there. High painted ceilings with bold designs, coats of arms six feet high or larger painted on the walls and woven into banners, and beautiful woodwork decorate the room. Plank dining tables and oddly high benches were there for banquets, which could accommodate hundreds of people.

A courtier explained about the king’s and queen’s bed chambers. The beds were huge and beautifully made, covered in expensive fabrics, but they did not sleep there. This is where they received their closest friends. They slept in smaller beds in little rooms. These bed chambers were for show.

A beautiful chapel was built and later stripped of furnishings and artwork. It stands today boldly with its gold stucco exterior, quite a contrast against the dark stone of the rest of the palace and castle.

Since castles are first defensive fortifications, the view is spectacular. The William Wallace Memorial is easily seen from the castle, although one guidebook remarked that if Scotland loved Wallace so much, they could have built a more attractive monument. Scottish people say that Wallace was certainly not the wonderful common man depicted by Mel Gibson in “Braveheart”; he was a hard-charging royal who lost.

People in the United Kingdom are very fond of refurbishing old buildings, and there are specialty companies that do the work. Often individuals with vision, skills, and/or deep pockets take on these projects. The vacation rental in Scotland was an old barn which had plainly seen better days from the photos taken of the project by the owners. To start, there was no roof.

Built of stone, the buildings looked solid to the owners, and they rehabbed the house first. With the barn, they became creative. The room in which the horses walked in circles to power the gristmill became a round living room with views in three directions. The cone-shaped roofline was maintained, outlined with black-painted beams in an all-white living room. The room was spacious enough for four sofas, television set, and a vast area for children’s play space.

The kitchen was large and modern with a farmhouse sink. All of the doors were reminiscent of barn doors: vertical one-by-four boards with X wood braces on the back side, accented with black wrought iron hardware. Setting out in the country on a single track paved road (with paved pull-outs), it was restful and beautiful.

Local stone is used frequently in the UK, so the appearance of buildings changes drastically with the region. In the Cotswalds, the stone is a soft yellow-gold color, and the cottages appear to glow in the sun. In the Brecklands, Suffolk and Norfolk counties, flint is used. It is more white, black, and gray, and used in chunks that are four to six-inch cubes. It is often combined with brick or white stucco in designs.

Wherever the homes are, many people in the UK love modern furnishings in old homes with interesting architectural features. The “Great Homes of England” look one sees in “Downton Abbey” is not found in many homes. Those who have a chance to see HGTV shows done in the UK can see what is in fashion there.

Pub life in neighborhoods and small towns is a bit different than taverns in the US. Pubs in villages nearly always serve meals, and children are welcome. In fact, dogs are as welcome as children and are often found lying at the feet of their masters.

A staple of pub service is Sunday Lunch or Sunday Roast. The Crown Hotel and Pub in Mundford puts out fine meals any day, but they do a great business on Sundays. Sunday Lunch usually offers two or three choices of roast meat and all of the trimmings.

Choices one Sunday in July were roast Scottish beef or roast pork, accompanied by roasted potatoes, red wine gravy, Yorkshire puddings, bread, and steamed vegetables–carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, pea pods, and zucchini. The meats were tender, and Yorkshire puddings covered in red wine gravy are a real treat.

Dinner was apple pie at six o’clock–so sorry, 1800.

Recipes:

Two British favorites are sticky toffee pudding and Yorkshire pudding. The first is a rich dessert, and the second often accompanies roasted meat and is a perfect little vessel for rich gravy.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Metric measurements

For the pudding

225 g whole Medjool dates

175 g boiling water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

175 g self-raising flour, plus extra for greasing

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs

85 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

140 g demerara sugar

2 tbsp. black treacle

100 ml milk

Cream or custard to serve (optional)

TOFFEE SAUCE:

175 g light muscovado sugar

50 g butter, cut into pieces

225 ml double cream

1 tbsp. black treacle

Stone and chop the dates quite small, put them in a bowl, then pour the boiling water over. Leave for about 30 min. until cool and well-soaked, then mash a bit with a fork. Stir in the vanilla extract. Butter and flour seven mini pudding tins (each about 200 ml/7 fl oz) and set them on a baking sheet. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

While the dates are soaking, make the puddings.

Mix the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and beat the eggs in a separate bowl.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl for a few min.

until slightly creamy (the mixture will be grainy from the sugar).

Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between additions.

Beat in the black treacle then, using a large metal spoon, gently fold in one-third of the flour, then half the milk, being careful not to over beat.

Repeat until all the flour and milk is used.

Stir the soaked dates into the pudding batter.

The mix may look a little curdled at this point and will be like a soft, thick batter.

Spoon it evenly between the tins and bake for 20-25 min., until risen and firm.

Meanwhile, put the sugar and butter for the sauce in a medium saucepan with half the cream. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Stir in the black treacle, turn up the heat slightly and let the mixture bubble away for 2-3 min. until it is a rich toffee colour, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the pan off the heat and beat in the rest of the cream.

Remove the puddings from the oven. Leave in the tins for a few min., then loosen them well from the sides of the tins with a small palette knife before turning them out. You can serve them now with the sauce drizzled over, but they’ll be even stickier if left for a day or two coated in the sauce. To do this, pour about half the sauce into one or two oven proof serving dishes. Set the upturned puddings on the sauce, then pour the rest of the sauce over them. Cover with a loose tent of foil so that the sauce doesn’t smudge (no need to chill).

When ready to serve, heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Warm the puddings through, still covered, for 15-20 min. or until the sauce is bubbling. Serve them on their own, or with cream or custard.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

SAE measurements

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup pitted dates

1 1/4 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

TOFFEE SAUCE:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch round or square baking dish. Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper. Chop the dates fine. Place in a small bowl and add the boiling water and baking soda; set aside.

In a bowl of electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the date mixture to the batter and fold until blended with a rubber spatula.

Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack.

TOFFEE SAUCE:

Combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pudding. Spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls. Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Recipe courtesy of Marie Simmons

Yorkshire Puddings

Metric measurements

140 g plain flour (this is about 200 ml/7 fl oz)

4 eggs (200 ml/7 fl oz)

200 ml milk

Sunflower oil, for cooking

Heat oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Drizzle a little sunflower oil evenly into 2 x 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tins or a 12-hole non-stick muffin tin and place in the oven to heat through.

To make the batter, tip 140g plain flour into a bowl and beat in four eggs until smooth. Gradually add 200 ml milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the batter into a jug, then remove the hot tins from the oven. Carefully and evenly pour the batter into the holes. Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 min. until the puddings have puffed up and browned. Serve immediately. You can now cool them and freeze for up to 1 month.

Yorkshire Puddings

SAE measurements

1 cup plain flour

1 cup eggs

1 cup milk

Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to hot (425F/220C/Gas 7)

Put a teaspoonful of oil or dripping in each of several muffin tins or, to be truly Yorkshire, a couple of tablespoonfuls in a larger roasting tin and place in the oven until the fat is really hot and beginning to smoke. Meanwhile combine the rest of the ingredients and beat to form a batter of the consistency of double cream. (Really thick cream, which we don’t have in the US.)

If you wish you may add mixed dried herbs to add a savory flavor.

When the fat is smoking, take the tin out of the oven and place it over a low light so that it doesn't cool as you add the batter.

Pour in the batter; If you're using muffin tins don't over fill.

Remember that the puddings will rise and puff up.

Put the tin back into the top of the oven as soon as possible and leave for about 20-25 minutes by which time they will be puffed up and crisp.

When my grandmother used to make Yorkshire pudding to go with the Sunday roast we would eat it in the true Yorkshire way: as a first course with just a savory gravy poured over it. After all, the idea of Yorkshire pudding is to fill you up so that you don't want so much of the more expensive meat! If there was any of the pudding left over as a treat we kids would have it as a desert with Golden Syrup poured over it.

Servings: 4

Ian Rice (Yorkshireman)