Introducing: THE VAST REPAST
Did you know the tomato, staple of modern Italian
cuisine, was not even introduced into Italy until after the Renaissance?
And even then many viewed it with suspicion thinking it to similar
to it's poisonous cousin Bella Donna.
Did you know at the first Thanksgiving dinner the Pilgrims and
Native Americans ate popcorn, not with butter and salt but with
sugar and cream!?
Did you know that "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a
pie" is not just a nursery rhyme but a medieval recipe?
How much do we really know about the food we consume or which
often consumes us? The daily ritual of eating is often taken for
granted in our hectic modern life, but the quick cup of coffee,
the lunch time deli sandwich and the microwave dinner will define
us for generations to come. The old cliché "You are
what you eat" is closer to the truth than we like to admit.
The decadence of ancient Rome is reflected in the food of the
time. The ancient Romans enjoyed asparagus quiche, sweet and sour
chicken, marinated mushrooms, honey flavored custard and many
more delicacies modern dinners would find tantalizing.
The food we eat not only has its genus in the recipes of antiquity
but also in the discovery of the new world with its cornucopia
of products such as corn, beans, peppers and potatoes. Exotic
spices, originally imported from the Orient at great expense,
give zest to our food, while traditional staples from Europe remind
us of our grandparents and the diverse cultures we descend from.
In modern America food and family go hand in hand. Birthdays,
holidays and even funerals are usually marked by the gathering
of family and friends and the sharing of food. Most everyone has
a family dinner story and the size of the Thanksgiving turkey
increases with the passing of time.
My most memorable family dinners were Sundays at Great Nana and
Grampa's house. Nana was from Scotland and Grampa was from England
so a very proper old world attitude was expected of all the great
grandchildren. Sunday dinner was actually in the afternoon and
it was not complete without a roast, usually lamb, more vegetables
than you can count on one hand and of course Yorkshire Pudding.
Nana's Yorkshires were famous in our family. Light and fluffy
they seemed to melt in your mouth. Drenched in gravy they became
something the Queen of England or Bonnie Prince Charlie might
have eaten. No one made Yorkshires as good as Nana.
Once my Aunt tried to make Nana's Yorkshires but instead of using
butter she liberally sprayed the pan with cooking spray. The puddings
were so hard they caused injury when we threw them at each other!
Don't ever use cooking spray in this recipe.
The below recipe is NOT low fat! It is a full fat recipe! Go
ahead treat yourself. Great Grampa lived well into his nineties
without any heart trouble and Nana fed these to him every Sunday!
Great Nana's Yorkshire Pudding
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold whole milk
1 cup cold water
4 eggs
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Divide the butter evenly between two 12 count muffin tins. Place
the tins into the pre-heating oven until the butter is melted.
Watch the pans closely. DO NOT let the butter burn!
In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Into the center of the
flour mixture pour milk and water. Stir until smooth.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs until fluffy and add them to
the flour mixture. Beat the eggs into the flour until very fluffy
and bubbly.
Pour this batter into the hot muffins tins and bake for thirty
minutes. Turn off the oven and let the puddings sit in the cooling
oven for approximately 15 more minutes.
Serve immediately with hot gravy and roast.
Food is life. May the plenty that graces your table truly be a
vast repast.
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