#46 Rich Orangeade

I have had a single Seville orange sat in my fruit bowl for about a month, Saturday was nice and sunny so I thought I’d make (#46) Rich Orangeade so that I could get Greg and Joff round and we can drink nice cool drinks and perhaps have some cake. In fact, have a proper Sunday high tea. It did of course piss it down all Sunday, natch.

The Seville orange was a little manky; it had done what fruit tend to do – go bad from the bottom up, but half of it was usable! To make the orangeade there was a three step process: thinly pare the zest from a Seville orange (in my case half, plus the peel of half a lemon to make up for it) and 6 normal sweet oranges. Put the peel in a litre of cold water and bring to a bare simmer for 5 minutes – the water shouldn’t boil properly because the bitter pithy flavour will be drawn out of the peel – then allow to cold. Meanwhile, do step two: boil 8 ounces of sugar with 3/4 pint of cold water for three minutes, then allow that to cool also. Step three: squeeze the juice from all the oranges, and when everything is cool, stir together. Finally add a little orange flower water (I added about 1/4 teaspoon and that was just right for me) and lemon juice – I used half a lemon. Allow to chill properly before being eaten.

Greg says:
The Orange-ade is simply Enid Blyton in a glass, if that doesn’t sound too graphic. Lashings and lashings say I! Once you taste that lovely floral kick that the blossom and lemon adds to it you can see the flavour that cheap cordial manufacturers have been harking after all this time, and failing to grasp. It’s lovely. Will be even better when the sun comes out. Come on . . . COME ON! 8/10

FYI: I noticed that the orangeade comes from a Victorian recipe and doesn’t require fizzy water. So what make an ‘ade’, I wondered…according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the suffix ‘-ade’ means: “The product of an action, and, by extension, that of any process or raw material; as in arcade, colonnade, masquerade, lemonade, marmalade, pomade.” So it seems that turning any fruit into a drink makes it an ‘ade’. Everyday’s a school day!

#46 Rich Orangeade. 8.5/10. A delicious summertime drink – the perfumed taste and aroma of the peel, the Seville orange and the orange flower water transforms it from just sweet orange juice into something pretty special!

#44 English Game Pie, #45 Cumberland Sauce

I invited Clive from work to help me finish off the last of the game I got from Bury Market last night in the form of (#44) English Game Pie. Looking through the ‘Stuffing, Sauces and Preserves’ chapter of English Food for something to go with game, I found (#44) Cumberland sauce. I’ve never had it before, and had no idea what it was. Everything was straight-forward, though the pie had lots of preparation. Anyways, here’s what I did…

The day before I simmered a brace of pheasants and a pigeon (essentially everything I had!) in a very light chicken stock along with a good seasoning and a bouquet garnei of parsley, bay leaves and thyme springs. Jane recommends between 2 and 4 birds. It took an hour and a half for the meat to become tender enough for me to pull the meat from the bone with relative ease. I cut the meat into chunks and kept them in a sealed tub topped up with the stock so it didn’t dry out over night and reserved the remaining stock.

Next day I arranged the meat in one large dish, and a smaller, as I made an extra one for my PhD supervisor too. Then hard-boiled and quartered three eggs and tucked them between the pieces of meat along with small rolls of grilled bacon (though not in yours Jason, don’t worry!), and chopped parsley. Next, I fried a large onion and about 8 ounces of mushrooms in 2 ounces of butter until they were golden. A tablespoon of flour was mixed in to the mushrooms and onions and stirred around so that the butter got absorbed, and then stock was added a ladelful at a time until a thick sauce had developed – about the thickness of double cream. Make sure the sauce is seasoned very well. It was simmered for about 5 minutes, and I added extra stock whenever the sauce thickened too much. The sauce was poured over the meat and then a puff pastry covered the pies. The large pie was cooked at 200 degrees for 20 minutes and then the oven was turned down to 170 for a final ten.

The Cumberland sauce was very easy. Make sure you make it in advance as it should be served cold. Whisk together a jar of redcurrant jelly and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard in a pan over a low heat. Meanwhile blanch the thinly pared peel of a lemon and an orange that have been cut into matchsticks for 5 minutes, then drain. Once the jelly has melted, add the peel, the juice of the two fruits, 5 tablespoons of port, plenty of black pepper and salt and ground ginger to taste (I used a scant teaspoon). Pour into sauce boat. Easy peasy.

FYI: Cumberland sauce is, in fact, German – the recipe was brought over with the House of Hanover in the late Eighteenth Century, and is named after George IV who was the Duke of Cumberland.

#43 English Game Pie – 10/10. This is my first full point dish I think! It was absoluely delicious. Although I’d never had it, there was something very familiar and comforting about it. It was also, for me, the epitome of English Food. The meat was beautifully tender, and he sauce had turned into a delicious gravy and the salty bacon added an extra dimension. The full flavour of the pheasant and pigeon coped very well with the rich Cumberland sauce…

#44 Cumberland Sauce – 8/10. A perfect complement to the game. Although it was very rich and sweet, the savory additions such as the pepper and mustard allowed you to add loads. All in all a fantastic meal!

#20 – Quince Vodka (Part 2)

The quince vodka, now named “Quodka” has now been officially drunk, as were we after drinking it. We tried it with apple juice, but was too overpowering; but then we had it with tonic and it was lovely! I’m usually not a big fan of tonic water in drinks, but the sweet, subtle perfumed quince made it a very delicious drink. In fact, it may have been too delicious as we all necked it pretty quick – much quicker than if it was a strong normal voddie. Anyways, we all got even more pissed out in Manchester at Bollox, which by the way is totally brilliant!

#20 Quince vodka – a healthy 7/10. It was very nice and I shall make some if I have any spare next year

Stocking Up, #36

Popped to Chorlton yesterday in the hope of buying some exciting things from Unicorn etc. and wasn’t disappointed! Seville oranges are still in season – get making marmalade peeps – and broad bean have come in. Will make some nice desserts and soups. I’m looking forward to seeing how the new seasonal produce changes over the coming months. Also got hold of the ingredients for bread-making. I was hoping to do hot cross buns, but I think they may be a bit advanced so I’m starting at the start of the bread section in Ms. Grigson’s book. Also, I’m going to try my hand at ice cream making this week, now that my ice-cream maker is fixed. Hurrah! I also need to get my finger out re: meats. Need to get hold of a veal knuckle. Any ideas anyone? W H Frost in Didsbury sells veal, but has run out of said knuckle! Also I have prepared (#36) Vanilla sugar. It simply involved putting four vanilla pods and a bag of caster sugar in a storage jar. I just need to do a recipe with it in. I also hear that a teaspoon of vanilla sugar in warm milk is nice as a bedtime drink. I also need to add my own recipes that I’ve been doing; haven’t done that in a while…

#23 French Dressing

Now I know what you’re going to say; French Dressing isn’t very English. Back when English Food was written, we had one type of dressing and it was this recipe. (My sister used the exact same one herself, though not from Grigson.) Now, of course we have millions, so they are definitely part of the English way of eating. And if you don’t agree: tough tits it’s in the book and I have to make at some point anyway.

The reason that I’ve made it in the middle of January is because I need to eat something fresh with actual vitamins. Christmas was too indulgent. I may have gout. So it’s salads for me. I got a brilliant panini sandwich press thing for Christmas and have been having healthy sarnies and salads. Ta Ma!

Crush a clove of garlic into a bowl or a clean jar and add a quarter teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of French mustard, a tablespoon of wine vinegar, five tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and ground pepper. Give it a good mix or shake and you are done. I know it looks like someone’s vommed in a jar, but it’s very nice reallly. No, really!

#23 French Dressing 7/10. It’s the one we all know and love, but there’s more exciting ones out there.

#20 Quince Vodka (Part I)

My second quince recipe. All very easy. Grate two Quinces. Put in a 1 litre jar along with 2 ounces of sugar. Top up with vodka. Leave for 2 months. I have no idea what it’ll be like. I’ll do a more throrough report in February!

Greg says:

Re the quince vodka, I will update you on it’s progress weekly as I will be unable to keep my ahnds off the jar for 2 months. Also, I am probably shortly retiring from Grigson life, partly because I can’t fit into my Levi drainpipes any more and partly because the veggie selection is drying up. Carnivores, it’s over to you . . .