Shrove Tuesday

[Miss J]

As usual, I've realised it's Shrove Tuesday on the day itself, and so will be scrambling to observe it in time. That means that I'll be making bog-standard pancakes (the thick, fluffy North American kind) and serving them with dry-cured English bacon and lots of maple syrup.

Is anyone else making pancakes tonight? What kind do you make?

(I should probably add that I have no intention of actually observing Lent. That's one of the good things about being a beyond-lapsed/atheist-Catholic. )

Edited March 4, 2003 by Miss J (log)

[Ron Johnson]

Well around here we celebrate Fat Tuesday by drinking and eating a lot. You know the whole feast before fast thing. Not that I observe lent in any formal sense.

Tonight we will go to a bar where the owner of Maker's Mark distillery will be bartending for charity. I imagine we might have a drink or two.

[Andrew Fenton]

I'd never heard of pancakes on Mardi Gras: is that a British thing?

[Wilfrid]

Shrove Tuesday is indeed a British tradition, colloquially known as "Pancake Day". Sweet pancakes with golden syrup or some lemon curd are the order of that day. Regrettably - unless, unlike me, you appreciate "fun" - the most visible part of the tradition is pancake tossing, which can get both competitive and messy. I do not know if Miss J will be indulging in any tossing, but sober minds believe it isn't the most efficient way to turn a pancake in a pan.

I could probably post a lovely picture here, but by the time I've investigated the copyright angle, Lent will be over.

[Jon Tseng]

Did some normal (non-fluffy) pancakes for the house - dead quick (cheated not leaving batter for half hour after making, but did stick it thru a sieve to make sure smooth)

Very nice, as usual first ones crappy as pan to cool but soon had two on the go. about 50% success rate on the flipping

J

[Basildog]

I made Pancakes tonight, mainly for Becky to have her first taste.She lapped them up Sugar Lemon, Chocolate Praline Spread, Chocolate Syrup, a real clear out of the cupboad!

Edit..Wilfrid, you forget the tradtion of pancake races, people running threw villages tossing pancakes...the only reason for this seems to fill up the "and finally...." story on the local news

Edited March 4, 2003 by Basildog (log)

[hjshorter]

Hm, must be a New England thing too. My Massachusetts-born-and-raised mom insisted on pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. I haven't done it since moving from home.

[Anna N]

I miss Pancake Tuesday - thin British pancakes served in our house with sugar and a freshly squeezed orange (which was itself a rareity!) and rolled up into a cigar shape - loved them!

[Miss J]

It's also a Canadian thing (rather like Boxing Day). My mum always made pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Unless, like me, she forgot.

Wilfrid, I do not toss. I flip.

Fluffy pancakes turned out well. I made my (thick) batter and after it sat for a bit whisked in a bit of egg white beaten with sugar. As a result, each pancake puffed wildly as it hit the hot surface of the pan. They looked like teeny marquees.

Edited March 5, 2003 by Miss J (log)

[Wilfrid]

Wilfrid, I do not toss. I flip.

Sorry to hear it.

Basildog has it right, though. It's a permanent fixture on every TV news producer's wall, like April Fool's Day. And I bet it featured on Blue Peter too, just as it did nearly forty years ago.

[Adam Balic]

Yes there was pancake tossing on Blue Peter (I was sick that day).

Made some crepes, first one terrible as per normal, next six perfect, then after that all terrible. Very vexed indeed. Have given up pancakes for lent.

[Wilfrid]

Yes there was pancake tossing on Blue Peter (I was sick that day).

I wonder if the tortoises have come out of hibernation yet?

[Adam Balic]

Dunno about no damn tortoises, have only seen BP once.

Damn crepes, used a Escoffier recipe and everything. Most damn people in the whole damn democratic damn world think that damn French cuisine is the best damn cuisine there is. I am damn jealous of the whole damn lot of them, so I damn well used a damn French recipe and the whole damn thing went pear shaped. Darn it.

[Miss J]

Adam, stick with fluffy pancakes. They're very forgiving.

[Jon Tseng]

Adam, stick with fluffy pancakes. They're very forgiving.

bloody furriners

next thing you'll be serving eggs benedict on the side

[Miss J]

Or doing a pancake version of huevos rancheros.

[Jon Tseng]

Heresy!

You may as well have gotten a McPancakes with Maple Syrup in the morning, left it to congeal under the desk and reheated it in the microwave

It would have been more authentic

(at least in terms of culinary standard ;-) )

[Nockerl]

Shrove Tuedsay, worth the click for the photos.......

[binkyboots]

*nudges thread gently*

so... with demands for pancakes ringing in my ears, I ask you, what do you eat on yours? do you like thin lacy crepes or squidgy little scotch pancakes?

Lemon and sugar only? or do you belong to the camp of heretics who claim golden syrup is right and proper on pancakes?

I have a frightening book that suggests many fillings, sweet, savoury and inedible! crab mixed with condensed mushroom soup being one of the wierdest

[beccaboo]

so... with demands for pancakes ringing in my ears, I ask you, what do you eat on yours?  do you like thin lacy crepes or squidgy little scotch pancakes?

  Lemon and sugar only? or do you belong to the camp of heretics who claim golden syrup is right and proper on pancakes?

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I like jam, or banana and lemon. I'm thinking of making banh xeo tomorrow, though. Do you think they count as pancakes?

[lexy]

maple syrup, molasses, and butter and cinnamon sugar are all favourites

(to clarify: not all together though)

[Syrah]

(I should probably add that I have no intention of actually observing Lent. That's one of the good things about being a beyond-lapsed/atheist-Catholic. )

←

I feel this way too. For an extra special Lent I recommend phoning your mother EVERY Friday to tell her how much steak you ate. Gets mine in a real frizzle. LOL.

I am making savoury crepes, stuffed with a very basic white sauce, cheese, vegetable filling. I may add bacon. I have not decided yet. Ohhh and Sauvignon Blanc. Yummy.

[Bridgestone]

Well, it's "fettisdag" in Sweden today and this means it is finally the traditional day to eat "semlor". I say traditional as they actually been in the bakeries since around Christmas...

A "semla" ("semlor" is plural) is a cardamon bun that has been cut open in a manner that leaves a triangular "hat" (think: the Subway method of cutting the bread but on a round bun). The majority of the bun's insides are scraped out and mixed with almond paste and cream to make a loose-but-not-runny paste. This paste is then piped into the hollowed bun and about 1/2 cup of loosely whipped cream is piped on top of that. The "hat" is placed on top of the cream and the whole creation gets a dusting of powdered sugar.

Most Swedes eat them as they are but the true treat, in my opinion, is called by most people a "hetvägg" (looks like it would translate as "hot wall" but apparently really stems from old Swedish and "hot wheat" as in "hot wheat buns"...) and entails placing the semla in a bowl of hot milk. At home we usually dust the top with a little cinammon and induldge in this gooey concoction after a dinner of homemade soup. In fact, I've most likely just described tonight's dinner!

[Carlovski]

Did some normal (non-fluffy) pancakes for the house - dead quick (cheated not leaving batter for half hour after making, but did stick it thru a sieve to make sure smooth)

Very nice, as usual first ones crappy as pan to cool but soon had two on the go. about 50% success rate on the flipping

J

←

The first one is always rubbish. Thats it's job. Don't even try and rescue it. First Pancake - straight in the bin. Or maybe the dog (can you give dogs pancakes?).

Lemon and sugar please. I've flirted with fancier concoctions - caramelized bananas and ice cream are good, but for pancake day I stick to the basics (Although I might have a quick bacon and brie savoury one to prove I am slightly grown up)

It's not the same without playground bragging about how many you ate the next day though

[naguere]

You can't have too many pancakes.

These my wife bought for lunch they were surprisingly good , but we will make some the traditional way at tea-time. With lemon and brown sugar of course.