I wish I were British...

[Phalex]

It's true that we're not as fond of cosmetic surgery as our US buddies.

And Americans and Brits perception of each other's food is really strange. Most Americans seem to think English food is somehow bland and tasteless. Most English people believe that American food is just mass produced, chemically modified junk, loaded with HFCS and not a natural ingredient in sight. In my experience, neither stereotype is totally true, although there are maybe a few grains of truth in there somewhere in both cases. But I've had some fantastic (and some abysmal) food on our side and your side of the Atlantic, many, many times.

(Phalex - we have some great ribs over here. No problem.)

Any chance you'll be taking Gordon Ramsey back anytime soon?

I find it odd, and perhaps even criminal that I have never heard of a restaurant in the states where you can get a full English breakfast. Sure it would cost $25.00 but I'd be all over it!

 

[BassyBill]

I find it odd, and perhaps even criminal that I have never heard of a restaurant in the states where you can get a full English breakfast. Sure it would cost $25.00 but I'd be all over it!

I really enjoy an American breakfast everytime I'm over there - especially when the place does a good corned beef hash. (A friend and I stopped for breakfast at a place in the Nevada desert once and got stuck into a corned beef hash breakfast. Halfway through, we realised the place served as a diner, general store, gas station, bar and brothel. )

But yes, by the time I get home from my US trips I'm always ready for the English version of the breakfast.

Gordon Ramsay you can keep, btw.

 

[Phalex]

I really enjoy an American breakfast everytime I'm over there - especially when the place does a good corned beef hash. (A friend and I stopped for breakfast at a place in the Nevada desert once and got stuck into a corned beef hash breakfast. Halfway through, we realised the place served as a diner, general store, gas station, bar and brothel. )

But yes, by the time I get home from my US trips I'm always ready for the English version of the breakfast.

Gordon Ramsay you can keep, btw.

I have a friend that lives in North Carolina, and apparently they take their biscuits and sausage gravy very seriously down there. I kinda want to check em out!

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

On the downside, you'd also have to say 'lorry' and 'petrol'. They always sound strange.

Oh, and you have to eat marmite, too.

.

Marmite is great - as for saying "petrol" - you need this clip to help you :

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

So what is Marmite? What do you do with it? What do you eat it with?

Second. The internet says it is yeast extract, but that really doesn't clear anything up.

They said Vegamite is a yeast product as well,...although Australian,...I wonder if there is any relation.

Spread Marmite thinly on hot buttered toast or preferably crumpets!

Oh and Vegemite is a cheap copy of Marmite for colonials!

 

[Downunderwonder]

I grew up on vegemite on toast topped with poached eggs. Try doing that with marmite and you'll want to puke. Same but very different!

 

[BassyBill]

I grew up on vegemite on toast topped with poached eggs. Try doing that with marmite and you'll want to puke. Same but very different!

One of my ex-girlfriends used to really like poached egg on toast with Marmite. And stirring Marmite into some eggs before scrambling them is the business.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Lol, not exactly sure how we got on the topic of accents I'm just talking about common vernacular

I think the point is that some British accents sound sophisticated and cool - whereas others are downright ugly and incomprehensible!!

 

[Relic]

I grew up on vegemite on toast topped with poached eggs. Try doing that with marmite and you'll want to puke. Same but very different!

I've had both and actually prefer the marmite. Dont get me wrong they are both fermented in the abysmal pits of hell in regards to flavor but the one is slightly less demonic tasting than the other..
But on a serious note, most Americans are used to spreading a huge glop of whatever onto toast or crackers/biscuits. You just cannot do that with either marmite or vegimite. If you use it sparingly, either are really not half bad

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Man, there's nothing funnier than some stuck up northerner making fun of southerners and their accents.

Seriously, that **** never gets old. Ever.

That's quite funny as in Britain it is the Southerners who have the "posh" accents and Northern regional accents were looked down on for many years as "common", so weren't suitable for BBC Newsreaders!!

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I've had both and actually prefer the marmite. Dont get me wrong they are both fermented in the abysmal pits of hell in regards to flavor but the one is slightly less demonic tasting than the other..

But on a serious note, most Americans are used to spreading a huge glop of whatever onto toast or crackers/biscuits. You just cannot do that with either marmite or vegimite. If you use it sparingly, either are really not half bad

That's right - the key to Marmite is spreading it very thinly. I think the people who say they don't like it are the people who slap it on like jam!!

 

[BassyBill]

Bassybill's ultimate recipe for gravy (I mean the rich brown stuff for serving with roast meat and the like, not the creamy stuff some American folks eat with "biscuits").

Beef and/or chicken stock cubes, such as Oxo (bouillon in the US)
Worcestershire sauce
Marmite
Bovril if you got it
Tomato puree or juice
Maybe a tiny pinch of celery salt if you like it

Dissolve all this lot up in boiling water (quantities to taste), then thicken with cornflour (or something like Bisto, which is basically cornflour with some caramel for extra browning). Stir the cornflour/Bisto in a good size splash of cold water before adding this to the boiling stock, otherwise it will go lumpy. Add some meat juices if you like your gravy REALLY rich.

This is heavenly stuff wiith any type of roast meat, chops, poultry et cetera. With sausages, this recipe works well with some nicely sweated down onions added in place of the tomato puree. The recipe also serves as a great base for dishes like sloppy joes or cottage pie. It's not for folks who enjoy subtle flavours, as this is a real taste explosion.

Try it, you'll thank me for ever. If you can't get Marmite, just use a strong tasting dark beer as a flavouring. Seriously, that will work pretty much the same - it's the bitterness of the yeast/hops that does the job. I often use beer in this sort of mixture when I'm cooking steak pie/steak and kidney pie/steak and oyster pie.

 

[Phalex]

steak and oyster pie.

Wait just a second here! You're going to have to elaborate a bit on this subject!

 

[BassyBill]

Wait just a second here! You're going to have to elaborate a bit on this subject!

Certainly - there's lots of recipes online for this traditional English dish. Here's one that sounds pretty much like the way I do it, although I sometimes include kidneys as well. It's good stuff. The oysters make the pie filling go all gooey and glutinous. Ignore the comment about using red wine instead of beer, that would totally ruin the smack-in-the-mouth effect imo.

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Serve with creamed potatoes covered with a VERY generous drizzle of wow wow sauce (I use pickled gherkins in this rather than pickled walnuts, and I also add some chopped chestnut mushrooms).

What are you thinking about English food now? Always good to stay open-minded and willing to try something different. Just use quality ingredients and a bit of imagination and you can't really go wrong.

 

[BassyBill]

Another one of my favourites, and this time it's my own creation (well, the sauce is). I've posted this on here a while back, but thought some of you guys reading this thread might enjoy drooling over it if you didn't see it before.

Pork with bacon and cider sauce!

VEG
Red potatoes - scrub, cut into 4 lengthways
Small carrots (of course)- scrub, leave whole
Small turnips – scrubbed, whole
Parsnips – peel, cut lengthways
Banana shallots – top and tail, remove outer skin, cut lengthways

PORK
Good roasting joint – I like loin on the bone because it doesn’t dry out during cooking and the crackling is just fantastic!

FOR THE SAUCE
English cider, chicken stock, whole grain mustard, honey (optional), crème fraiche OR thick cream OR plain yogurt (also optional), bacon lardons, sea salt and ground black pepper, flour (this may not be necessary – see below).

GARNISH
Fresh sage leaves

METHOD
Heat some good olive oil in a large roasting tin on the hob, then give all the veg a good stir round in it for few minutes until they’re just starting to brown.
Dry the pork with kitchen paper, rub a good amount of the salt into the skin, then lay it on top of the bed of veg in the tin. Add a good sloosh of cider (about half inch deep) – don’t pour it onto the meat, you’ll wash the salt off!
Stick the lot into a medium oven for an hour or so, depending on how big the cut of meat is.
While the meat’s cooking, start to make the sauce. Pour chicken stock and cider into a pan, stir in a dollop of the mustard and a teaspoon of honey if you’re using it, and simmer it for a good hour or so until it’s reduced down by 60-70%.
About half way through cooking, take the tin out of the oven, turn the veg round a bit and baste the meat with the juices. Add a little hot water if the bottom of the pan has gone dry; this is unlikely with decent meat. You can use some of the juice from the meat in the sauce, too – make a roux with some flour if you don’t think the sauce will thicken up enough to your taste in time.
Cook the bacon lardons in a frying pan until really crispy (really, really crispy if you’re American).
After an hour or so, turn the oven up hotter (not too much, though) and cook the meat until the crackling goes good and crispy. When it’s ready, take it out and let it rest on a carving plate in a warm place while you’re finishing the sauce.
Stir some meat juice or your roux into the sauce. Then stir in the bacon. Let the sauce cool slightly and then stir in your cream or whatever if you’re using that. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t let it get too cold!

TO SERVE
Remove the crackling from the meat and cut it into strips with scissors. Carve the meat into slices and serve on very warm plates with the crackling strips, roasted veg, a good old splash of the sauce and garnished with sage leaves.

 

[Phalex]

Another one of my favourites, and this time it's my own creation (well, the sauce is). I've posted this on here a while back, but thought some of you guys reading this thread might enjoy drooling over it if you didn't see it before.

Pork with bacon and cider sauce!

VEG
Red potatoes - scrub, cut into 4 lengthways
Small carrots (of course)- scrub, leave whole
Small turnips – scrubbed, whole
Parsnips – peel, cut lengthways
Banana shallots – top and tail, remove outer skin, cut lengthways

PORK
Good roasting joint – I like loin on the bone because it doesn’t dry out during cooking and the crackling is just fantastic!

FOR THE SAUCE
English cider, chicken stock, whole grain mustard, honey (optional), crème fraiche OR thick cream OR plain yogurt (also optional), bacon lardons, sea salt and ground black pepper, flour (this may not be necessary – see below).

GARNISH
Fresh sage leaves

METHOD
Heat some good olive oil in a large roasting tin on the hob, then give all the veg a good stir round in it for few minutes until they’re just starting to brown.
Dry the pork with kitchen paper, rub a good amount of the salt into the skin, then lay it on top of the bed of veg in the tin. Add a good sloosh of cider (about half inch deep) – don’t pour it onto the meat, you’ll wash the salt off!
Stick the lot into a medium oven for an hour or so, depending on how big the cut of meat is.
While the meat’s cooking, start to make the sauce. Pour chicken stock and cider into a pan, stir in a dollop of the mustard and a teaspoon of honey if you’re using it, and simmer it for a good hour or so until it’s reduced down by 60-70%.
About half way through cooking, take the tin out of the oven, turn the veg round a bit and baste the meat with the juices. Add a little hot water if the bottom of the pan has gone dry; this is unlikely with decent meat. You can use some of the juice from the meat in the sauce, too – make a roux with some flour if you don’t think the sauce will thicken up enough to your taste in time.
Cook the bacon lardons in a frying pan until really crispy (really, really crispy if you’re American).
After an hour or so, turn the oven up hotter (not too much, though) and cook the meat until the crackling goes good and crispy. When it’s ready, take it out and let it rest on a carving plate in a warm place while you’re finishing the sauce.
Stir some meat juice or your roux into the sauce. Then stir in the bacon. Let the sauce cool slightly and then stir in your cream or whatever if you’re using that. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t let it get too cold!

TO SERVE
Remove the crackling from the meat and cut it into strips with scissors. Carve the meat into slices and serve on very warm plates with the crackling strips, roasted veg, a good old splash of the sauce and garnished with sage leaves.

^ That sounds quite good! I'm copying this!

 

[BassyBill]

^ That sounds quite good! I'm copying this!

Quite good? QUITE good? It's ****ing stunning!

 

[MakiSupaStar]

Hello. I am Maki. I love Marmite. My house is always stocked. Good luck with the British thing Kwesi. It still won't get you laid.

 

[subexpression]

Most English people believe that American food is just mass produced, chemically modified junk, loaded with HFCS and not a natural ingredient in sight.

Point well taken...even in the heart of the US breadbasket, industrial farms dwarf the organic or natural farms.

On another note, I'd quit eating if I couldn't get my fill of British steel

 

[AntekStalich]

You see, I don't mind the United States; this is a great country with fantastic people. Yet, I still remember m last stay in Sugar Land TX. Yes, I had a rented car there. What kind of breakfast could I get in vicinity of the hotel? Pancakes that I hate and hamburger which I do not perceive as the best for breakfast ;-)
This is why I was so fond of British full on my return home. Period.