Text 6040, 90 rader
Skriven 2006-09-30 13:43:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: Brit food 333
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 -=> Jim Weller said to Hap Newsom <=-

 JW> Top chef says Scotland's food is 'dire'
 JW> AA Chef's Chef of the Year Award goes to Andrew Fairlie. Judges
 JW> described Mr Fairlie's signature dishes - which include smoking
 JW> lobster over old whisky barrels for up to 12 hours - as "masterpieces
 JW> in culinary creation".
 JW> When a Scottish chef was yesterday crowned the best in the UK,
 JW> restaurateurs across the country must have thought they at last had a
 JW> hero to defend the nation's culinary reputation from its many
 JW> detractors. But Andrew instead joined the critics and condemned the
 JW> food on offer at most of Scotland's restaurants as "pretty dire".

Until maybe the beginning of the last century, Scottish food was
considered much superior to English, the hypothesis being that
the traditional alliance of the Scots and the French rubbed off
in the cultural arena (which doesn't explain Scottish music).

Anyhow, the English complaining about Scots food is definitely
a pot and kettle situation.

 JW> The comments by Mr Fairlie - whose restaurant at the Gleneagles Hotel
 JW> is Scotland's only establishment with two Michelin stars - come in the
 JW> wake of a vitriolic attack on dining north of the Border by AA Gill,
 JW> arguably the UK's best-known food critic.
 JW> Edinburgh-born Gill described Scotland as "unquestionably the worst
 JW> country in Europe to eat out in - or the worst country that didn't
 JW> once have a communist dictator".

I was surprised by the quality of Scottish ingredients and
the poorness of its treatment. At one place (near Nairn) I
was had an excellent the venison steak - probably the best
game meat I've ever tasted - served with a totally appalling
sauce.

 JW> Don Matheson, owner of the Boath House Hotel, near Nairn, responded:
 JW> "We get Americans almost every day saying they've really been taken
 JW> aback by how good the food has been."
 JW> Now was that last paragraph meant to promote Scottish food or was it a
 JW> shot at American taste buds? [G]

Both. But one has to take into consideration the kinds of
American who is going to Nairn in the first place: 1.
the ones of Scots origin going to visit Culloden and the
like; and 2. the Loch Ness crazies.

Speaking of which, the best food I had in Scotland (aside
from what was cooked at Dalcross Castle by either myself
or the Filipina housemaid) was haggis.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Haggis
 Categories: Lamb, Ethnic
      Yield: 6 servings

      1    Sheep's stomach                     3    Onions, finely chopped
      1    Sheep heart                         1 ts Salt
      1    Sheep liver                       1/2 ts Freshly ground pepper
    1/2 lb Fresh suet (kidney leaf fat       1/4 ts Cayenne
           -is preferred)                    1/2 ts Nutmeg
    3/4 c  Oatmeal                           3/4 c  Stock

  Wash stomach well, rub with salt and rinse. Remove membranes and excess
  fat. Soak in cold salted water for several hours. Turn stomach inside out
  for stuffing.

  Cover heart and liver with cold water, Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover
  and simmer for 30 minutes. Chop heart and coarsely grate liver. Toast
  oatmeal in a skillet on top of the stove, stirring frequently, until
  golden. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Loosely pack mixture into
  stomach, about two-thirds full. Remember, oatmeal expands in cooking.

  Press any air out of stomach and truss securely. Put into boiling water to
  cover. Simmer for 3 hours, uncovered, adding more water as needed to
  maintain water level. Prick stomach several times with a sharp needle when
  it begins to swell; this keeps the bag from bursting. Place on a hot
  platter, removing trussing strings. Serve with a spoon. Ceremoniously
  served with "neeps and nips"--mashed turnips, nips of whiskey and mashed
  potatoes. [M's note: "tatties and neeps" is the traditional nomenclature,
  the whisky (not whiskey) being assumed.]

  From "Innards and Other Variety Meats". Jana Allen and Margret Gin. 101
  Productions. San Francisco, 1974.

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