Recipe: Queen of Puddings

What's in a name?

This week's recipe is a true British classic. Some old sources refer to it simply as Queen's Pudding while others use what I think is a better name: Queen of Puddings. Refer to the comments at the bottom of this post for my theory on why the latter is a better name.

Description

I like easy recipes. Modern recipe books seem to like to make things over-complicated. Perhaps their authors think they need to innovate to sell their book. Well I disagree. I believe simplicity is key. After all, that is what this blog is all about - preserving old British recipes.

Queen of Puddings is easy to make and uses very basic ingredients, but the result is very tasty. This recipe should provide four servings.

Ingredients

• 1 bag of Ruskoline Crumb Dressing (there are 2 bags in a pack - just use one of them). Ok, substitute half a cup of regular bread crumbs if you must; I suppose my business will recover eventually.
• 2 cups of milk
• 3 eggs
• Sugar
• Vanilla Essence
• Robertson's, Hartley's or Stute brand imported British jam (hey, come on I have to make a living you know)

Preparation

• Empty the Ruskoline into a large mixing bowl, boil the milk and pour over the Ruskoline
• Add a few drops of vanilla essence and some sugar. Stir, cover and leave for a few minutes
• Separate the eggs, beat the yolks and stir them into the Ruskoline/milk mixture
• Grease a baking dish, melt some jam and pour it into the dish
• Add the Ruskoline mix to the baking dish and place in an oven at 350F for 30 minutes
• Whisk the eggs whites with a little sugar until stiff peaks appear
• When the pudding has nearly finished baking remove it from the oven and spread the egg white meringue over the top of the pudding.
• Turn up the heat to 400F and bake until the tips of the meringue peaks start to turn brown
• Serve immediately to a grateful family who will worship you but expect the same quality of food for dinner every evening thereafter. You have been warned.

Blatant advertising:

And why not? You can buy the Ruskoline and the Jam at Blighty's Tuck Store but I'm afraid you'll have to mug a farmer for the milk and eggs.

All the best,
John Corby, Owner/Manager
Blighty's Tuck Store Inc
Orangeville, Ontario, Canada

Recipe: Fried Brussels Sprouts

Fried Brussels Sprouts? Fried? Yes, fried! I was as surprised as you may be now when I flicked through the pages of my grandmother's favourite recipe book and came across this recipe.

As it happened, I had some brussels sprouts in the fridge and no firm ideas for what to make for dinner tonight. "Hmmm", I thought. "Doesn't sound right, but I'll give it a try". So I went ahead and prepared this innovative, vegetarian meal from a recipe out of my grandmother's book.

Ingredients:

• Brussels sprouts
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt, pepper
• Ruskoline Crumb Dressing

Preparation:

1. Steam the brussels sprouts until you can just about push a fork into them, but don't overcook or they will fall apart when you fry them.
2. Coat the sprouts in the beaten eggs
3. Roll the egg-coated sprouts in some Ruskoline Crumb Dressing
4. Deep fry in hot oil
5. Season to taste and serve on a bed of rice

Why do you have to use Ruskoline Crumb Dressing; won't ordinary breadcrumbs do just as well? Well alright, if you don't have Ruskoline go ahead and use regular breadcrumbs. Just keep in mind that Blighty's Tuck Store sells Ruskoline and I won't be able to feed my poor, starving barefoot children if you don't buy the Ruskoline .... [sound of violins playing] ...

So How Did It Taste?
Really very good actually. All my life I have eaten brussels sprouts as a boiled or steamed vegetable. The thought of having them fried seemed very strange, but they were surprisingly tasty. Oh, and by the way, brussels sprouts are rich source of vitamin C and fibre too. So set aside any prejudices you might have about how food should be cooked and give them a try.