Robert Burns Birthday: An initiation to the grand Chieftain o' the Pudding Race

There's nothing quite like a plate o' haggis and chips wi' a pint in the great outdoors.

Inspired when someone related an amusing anecdote to me this morning regarding a friend who found the most unusual use for haggis — don't be getting ahead of me now it was curling related — I'm writing this wee bit to remind everyone it's Robert Burn's birthday on the 25th. January. Don't forget to order yer haggis.

I’d like to dispel some of the myths that have maligned this Scottish culinary treasure over the years. So please sit back, have a wee dram, or (if it’s before 11:00 a.m. where you are) a cuppa tea and take some notes. (I may ask you questions about it later on.)  I’ve posted a recipe at the end. If you decide you don't like it without actually trying it, you're missing out on a very tasty treat.

When I first arrived in the US. many moons ago from Scotland, I was regularly asked, “What exactly is haggis?”  Being young and full of nonsense I exacerbated the myth by telling everyone: “A haggis is a fat wee hairy beastie that flies low o’er the Scottish moors in January. The best way to catch them is in a net, but you have to be quick.”

I’m much older now — still full of nonsense — but I will tell you that is not the case, haggises (hagi?)  are not hairy at all; unless you keep them in the fridge too long.

Fanciful facts about haggis:

1. Haggis is a tasty mix of lamb, beef, oatmeal, onion, seasoning and spices in a natural casing. That’s it. (Compare that with the ingredients in most hot dogs.)

2. If you’re lucky enough to live in a part of the country where a family butcher makes haggis, chances are it will be encased in a natural intestine part which is akin to the skin on a European salami and not, like so many sausages nowadays, contained in a thick, tough plastic un-chewable cylinder that has the consistency of a bicycle inner tube.

3. The haggis is usually fully cooked when you buy it and needs only to be baked, steamed or microwaved to piping hot. I never boil mine.

4. I’m told the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes referred to haggis at some point around the year 400BC - the first written mention. (Try to resist the urge to grab the phone to pass this along to you friends.) It’ll keep until Burns Night, on 25^th. Jan.

5. Nutritional information: Haggis is a great source of iron, fiber and carbohydrate. And the accompanying Drambuie sauce doesn’t hurt either. (Make sure you leave enough Drambuie for a wee dram wi’ the haggis — that should put a skirl in yer pipes.)

6. The World Haggis Hurling record (as in throwing in this case — not the other!) stands at 55 meters (for a haggis weighing around 650g).

7.  Maligned or not, in every country around the globe where Robert Burn’s birthday is celebrated, haggis is proudly served and enjoyed.

“Piping in the haggis.” My brother Jim prepares to address the haggis at a Burns’ Supper in Martinsville, VA. (He’s the one in the kilt bringing up the rear – think I’ll get myself a pair of those braw lace-up brogues!)

Address to the Haggis

Opening stanza: The beauty of this poem is, if you make a mistake when reciting it — nobody knows!

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm :

Weel are ye wordy o'a grace

As lang's my arm… Robert Burns

(As indeed is this poem if you recite the whole thing.)

Well, if you’ve stayed with me thus far, you deserve a wee treat. Here it is:

Continued…

Recipe for Haggis Stuffed Mushroom Caps with Drambuie Sauce: Serves 2

Haggis Stuffed Mushroom Caps with Potatoes and Drambuie Sauce.

I photographed only one serving.

Ingredients:

1.    2 Portobello mushrooms

2.    2 medium ice-cream scoops (or two heaped tbs) haggis.

3.    Mashed potato or potato and turnips mixed. (mash with butter and milk)

4.    Your favourite shredded cheese.

5.   1 tbs. cooking oil.

6.   2 strips of smoky bacon

7.   1 tbs. melted butter

Drambuie Sauce:

Ingredients:

1. 150ml. double cream (You may use crème fraîche)

2. 100ml. Drambuie

3.  Tsp. runny (liquid) honey

4. Salt and pepper to taste.

 Method:

1. Heat the Drambuie in a small saucepan, and reduce by half. (Let it bubble until half remains.)

2. Turn down the heat slightly (so that it stops boiling), and stir in the double cream and honey. Continue to stir, and cook on low heat until combined and thickened. Don’t singe it.  Add wee pinch of salt and pepper to taste. If it fails to thicken because the cream is not heavy enough, throw in a knob of butter mixed with a spoon of flour. (Beurre  Manié)

Note:

Stir in a small amount of honey to the sauce at the end to lift the flavour of the Drambuie — taste as you go — then stir in an extra dash of  Drambie just before serving. This rich creamy sauce goes very nicely with the haggis and mushrooms. I had this dish today for lunch. Truly delicious

Haggis Method:

Brush or wipe the mushrooms with damp cloth and remove stalks. Fry two strips of bacon, remove from pan, dice and mix into warm haggis.  Sautee mushrooms on both sides until just barely tender, (about four minutes each side. I add about 2tbs. water to steam, because of their thickness.)  Don’t overcook. Mushrooms should be firm. Remove and place hollow side up in ramekin.  Spoon haggis into center. With pastry bag, pipe around edge of  dish with mashed potato or turnip and potato mixture . (If you want to fancy it up, as I do — see photo,  or just spoon some around the edge.) Brush with melted butter. Pour two tablespoons of Drambuie sauce over haggis. Lightly sprinkle your favourite cheese on top of haggis and bake in 425° oven for about 10-15 minutes until potato is lightly browned and haggis is heated through. Don’t allow the haggis to dry. Remove from oven. Spoon remaining sauce over haggis just before serving. And you can add a dash of Drambuie for good measure. For appetizer portions just use small mushrooms and tart them up as you fancy following the above recipe.

PS: I’ve had a couple of drams myself, therefore I’m absolving myself of responsibility for any errors that may have occurred in the above recipe. Yer on your own. Slangevar! (Gaelic: good health.)

NB: My thanks to the villagers of Fearnan in the Perthshire Highlands (where I grew up) who contributed: Why not pay them a visit and say hello?  http://tinyurl.com/7kbxqdh

Thanks also to McSweens of Edinburgh: “Guardians of Scotland’s’ National Dish.”

A HIGHLAND ROMANCE: Three young people struggle with their emotions...

Untitled:  by ©Alastair Barnett

"Although death is intertwined with life —It always comes at the wrong moment."

Alastair Barnett

"In English class last year he had read Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey. One passage had lodged itself firmly in his mind:  'Ordinary people waited till life disclosed to them its secrets, but to the few, the elect, the mysteries of life were revealed before the veil was drawn away.'  

Jamie felt he possessed  this elusive gift.  Could it be that the secret had been revealed to him but the thought of accepting it —where Andrew was concerned — terrified him?"

If you would like to read more of this story in progress, click on the Writing Butler below and email me.)

 Jamie Stuart and his mother Margaret, lived in this  highland home. “Balnearn”

Photo (edited): Donna D'Amour

Dog Traveling on Motorcycle.

This lady’s no tramp...but she does get around  by Alastair Barnett

Little dogs wearing jackets are not exactly rare, but when the jacket is black leather and the dog is riding a large motorcycle, it captured my attention and warranted investigation.  Soon I discovered that this particular dog, Lady Hillary, is a well seasoned motorcycle traveler and according to owners Linda and Denis Blaise of  Goodland, Fla., the dog loves it.

“We travel 12 weeks every year, and Hillary comes with us wherever we go,” says Linda, “ we can’t bear the thought of leaving her behind with strangers.  This year we decided to include British Columbia in our travel plans and we just love it here.”

Four-year-old Maltese Terrier, Lady Hillary — The Pearl of Goodland, a.k.a. “The Suitcase Dog”— is chauffeured in style, in her own custom-designed Sherpa bag, secure atop the rear seat of Linda’s Yamaha Virago motorcycle.  The bag is reinforced with PVC piping and has a transparent cover which is pulled over the top in inclement weather.  In addition,

The Magical Rowan Tree

Sushi for tea?

On a recent visit to the Hotel Pan Pacific in Victoria, BC., for Afternoon Tea, I was surprised to be served a seafood hors d'oeuvre of salmon caviar, prawns, sushi and lox. This departs from the traditional Afternoon Tea and borders on a sort of High Tea, which in Britain includes a light meal, served along with  cakes and scones and a pot of tea. This is popular around 5pm and is a substitute for dinner.