Burns Night - The Immortal Memory

[jackal10]

Next Tuesday is Burns Night.

Some hae meat and canna eat

And some wad eat that want it

But we hae meat and we can eat

And sae the Lord be thankit

I have arranged a small dinner:

Cocky-leekie Soup

Fillet of Scotch Salmon with Highland Cream

The Haggis w Chappit Tatities and Bashed Neeps

Roast Scottish Beef with Traditional Yorkshire Pudding

Roast Potatoes

Bouquetiere of Seasonal Vegetables

Cranachan (raspberries, oatmeal,cream)

Coffee

Combe de Grinou Bergerac reception

Balland Sancerre 2003

1973 Speyside malt

Ch Kirwan 1990

Serriger Saarsteiner Riesling Auslese 1990

Ode to a Haggis

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!

Aboon them a' yet tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye wordy o'a grace

As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,

Your hurdies like a distant hill,

Your pin was help to mend a mill

In time o'need,

While thro' your pores the dews distil

Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,

An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,

Trenching your gushing entrails bright,

Like ony ditch;

And then, O what a glorious sight,

Warm-reekin', rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:

Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,

Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve

Are bent like drums;

Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,

Bethankit! hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout

Or olio that wad staw a sow,

Or fricassee wad make her spew

Wi' perfect sconner,

Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view

On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,

As feckles as wither'd rash,

His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;

His nieve a nit;

Thro' blody flood or field to dash,

O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,

The trembling earth resounds his tread.

Clap in his walie nieve a blade,

He'll mak it whissle;

An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned,

Like taps o' trissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,

And dish them out their bill o' fare,

Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware

That jaups in luggies;

But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer

Gie her a haggis!

Moderator's note: the poems quoted herein are in the public domain

[beccaboo]

We're having a fake haggis, with mushrooms, lentils, and kidney beans in place of the liver, lights, and heart, all wrapped in a nice yuba (bean curd skin) bag. We'll have clapshot, too, but I haven't decided on the rest of the menu yet.

[Carolyn Tillie]

When I lived in Los Angeles, I would go to a Burns dinner every year at the Tam O'Shanter Inn. I had a special date, Rob, every year as Shawn never was interested. Rob ended up marrying a Scottish girl who didn't like Haggis so I still had my standing date, even after their marriage.

I greatly miss that part of Los Angeles as I have not yet found a restaurant in the San Francisco area which does all the bells and whistles; bagpipes, dancers, the full poem recited whilst the Haggis is being cut (from memory, please!).

If you live in SoCal, I'm sure Tam O'Shanter is already booked up -- I used to book the day after Christmas to assure my seats and it always books up early.

[bloviatrix]

Is a dram of Aberlour 15 acceptable?

[slkinsey]

Sounds great, Jack! We're going to have to postpone our Burns' Night dinner this year, since this year's Burns' Night is sandwiched between two weekends when bergerka and I have performances scheduled. I like the inclusion of Scottish salmon -- might steal that idea for our dinner in a few weeks.

[binkyboots]

funny, I was reading about haggis in America today, in the Edinburgh evening news Joe Findlay, a butcher from Edinburgh is going to

New York to the James Beard foundation to help Martin Wishart prepare the burns night dinner, you can read the article, I think it requires free registration.

Anyhow, the article mentions that haggis in America cannot contain the lungs or lambs heart, also that it must be contained in a synthetic casing, is this true? I can see the casing, but without the offal I can only imagine the flavour and texture must be very different. Anyone here eaten haggis in the UK and USA?

[NulloModo]

When I did a semester abroad in London I was lucky enough to have dinner at a place called Alfred's with served a Burn's night dinner. The haggis was wonderful, although it lacked any casing, which dissapointed me.

[srhcb]

Anyhow, the article mentions that haggis in America cannot contain the lungs or lambs heart, also that it must be contained in a synthetic casing, is this true?  I can see the casing, but without the offal I can only imagine the flavour and texture must be very different.  Anyone here eaten haggis in the UK and USA?

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"American" haggis, must meet USDA standards.

Most of the ones produced here or imported, (usually canned), also use beef instead of mutton.

http://www.scottishtartans.org/haggis.html

It's more like a canned meat or sandwich spread than a traditional haggis, which is maybe just as well?

Alton Brown has a good episode on the subject.

SB (1/4 Scots)

[beccaboo]

Here's an article about what to drink with your haggis.

[srhcb]

Send your favorite Scot, (or yourself), a Burns Day e-card!

http://www.timelydecisions.net/holiday/burns.html

Complete with music, and free!

SB (the Scots favorite price)

[Daniel]

I am going to burns night at the Beard House.. It looks to be a lot of fun.. If I remember to I will take a few pictures.. I am very excited, i have never tried haggis before.

http://www.jamesbeard.org/events/2005/01/018.shtml

[Bond Girl]

When I worked for the Bank of Scotland many years ago, my boss used to tell me that a Haggis is an animal that has three legs and runs backward, so you need to chase it down the hill to catch one.

Never got to taste the thing though....

[ludja]

Thanks for the Burns e-card link srhcb; I have some favorite Scots to send it too...

Jackal10; your dinner looks great! Love adding the salmon in and the Cranachan dessert sounds very interesting; can you post more description on this?

[Daniel]

When I worked for the Bank of Scotland many years ago, my boss used to tell me that a Haggis is an animal that has three legs and runs backward, so you need to chase it down the hill to catch one.

Never got to taste the thing though....

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http://www.wilsonjo.demon.co.uk/haggis.htm#HAG1

It seems like this is a favorite past time of Scottmen.. To try to trick foreigners.. Hehe.. This site is pretty funny.

[jackal10]

Thanks for the Burns e-card link srhcb; I have some favorite Scots to send it too...

Jackal10; your dinner looks great!  Love adding the salmon in and the Cranachan  dessert sounds very interesting; can you post more description on this?

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Cranachan is raspberries, toasted oatmeal and cream whipped with honey and whisky

Some mash some of the raspberries into the cream; I like it in layers in desert glass. Serve with Scottish shortbread.

There are many recipes and pictures if you Google.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database...han_66101.shtml

[Adam Balic]

From my own Burns' Night for two this year:

Main: Haggis, Neep Purry and Clapshot.

The raw ingredients: Haggis, Swede (=Neep=Turnip (in Scotland)=Rutabaga), Potatoes and green onions.

The cooked dish:

Up close and personal with a haggis. Notice it is mostly grain, not grey slimy stuff. Scottish Kibbe infact.

Dessert: Cranachan or Cream Crowdie.

The Raw ingredients: Cream, pinhead oatmeal, heather honey and whisky.

Raspberries are an optional extra and as the Scotttish ones are not in season I would prefer to wait.

The Dish:

[jackal10]

I was worried about the Ch. Kirwan 90, served last night at our Burns dinner.

Parker rates it only 78 and says its over the hill.

Parker was wrong!

I like the oatmeal in Cranachan toasted golden brown before sprinkling it over the cream. Without the raspberries it can be a little rich, and I prefer some raspberry puree folded into the cream to lighten it a little.

Don't forget the Scottish shortbread to go with...

[Adam Balic]

The only raspberries I can get at the moment are Spanish and they are pretty poor in comparison to the amazing Scottish ones. But you are correct about it being rich, it was originally a special enriched verion of the everday oatmeal dish (Crowdie). Being Australia day on the 26th I day I actually added passionfruit for the acid element.

[culinary bear]

That's the first time I've ever seen green onions used in clapshot, though the Irish use scallions for colcannon, which is a related dish.

Can you really not use heart or lung in the US? If true, it's heartbreaking; the lungs are needed for their textural contribuition, much more so than the heart. If the casing needs to be synthetic, how does that affect sausage casings and the like? must they be synthetic too?

I missed being in Edinburgh last night.

edited to add :

Scottish rasps truly are amazing; I think it's the one item of fresh produce we can justifiably claim to produce better than anywhere else. I used to go berry picking as a child and it would take days to get the last vestiges of red from my hands and clothes.

Edited January 26, 2005 by culinary bear (log)

[Adam Balic]

The Clapshot recipe I have is from F. Marian McNeill's book (so is pre-1930's?), offers chives as an optional extra. No Chives at Sainsburys and the spring oinions were at the larger end of the scale. There are Colcannon recipes from Scotland, but there seem to be a blend of root veg, without the addition of onions. If there is one think that is true of Burns' night is that tere isn't anything really accurate or 'authentic' about the food, just a mismash of scottish theme dishes.

[culinary bear]

If there is one think that is true of Burns' night is that tere isn't anything really accurate or 'authentic' about the food, just a mismash of scottish theme dishes.

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careful!

:)

FM McN's book is, I think, 1929, and a damn good book it is. Have you tried any of the recipes for boiled sugar sweets? The borders of Scotland have a huge tradition, and my go some way to explain the ferociously bad level of dentition in Scotland.

[Adam Balic]

I am Australian (now living in Scotland) as is my wife, but her family is Scottish. They have a recipe for "Russian Toffee", which turns out to be "Tablet". We make this every Christmas, along with a few other items. I haven't got much of a sweet-tooth, but I quite like "Sour Plooms" and "Rhubarb and Custard" sweets.

RE: Burns' Night Authenticity etc. I'm still not sure what it is all about. It seems to be more about celebrating "Scottishness" (which isn't a bad thing) then actually much to do with Burns, especially regarding the food. But it is fun.

[culinary bear]

I doubt there are more than a handful of Scots in every thousand who could recite one of Burns' poems in its entirity. I agree that it's more about Scottishness in general, which is odd considering that you'd think St. Andrew's day, 30th November, would be the focal point. Maybe we're all still hung over after the tartan-coloured, whisky-flavoured haze of Hogmanay and we need a reason to party again...

Soor plooms were my favourite as a kid - ever had acid drops (no, nothing to do with the 60s)?

If you're close to Edinburgh or can visit, there's a good old-fashioned sweetie shop just off the Royal Mile that does all sorts of wonderful things.

My auntie's recipe for soft tablet is a closely guarded family secret - one friend of mine put a sample in a gas spectrophotometer in the lab to try and see what was in it. :)

[johnnyd]

Adam,

your pictures were wonderful, thank you. What a spread! What camera were you using?

[Adam Balic]

Adam,

your pictures were wonderful, thank you.  What a spread! What camera were you using?

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Oh, thank you. The Camera is an Olympus C-765 UZ. I have only had it for a few days, but the results look good and should get better as I work out light levels etc.