1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (10 page)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

10 to 12 slices of good, dense white bread, trimmed of crusts

2 cups heavy cream, lightly whipped to soft peaks; or 2½ cups crème fraîche

1.
In a medium-size saucepan, combine the berries with the sugar and lemon juice and, without adding water, simmer over low heat for 3 or 4 minutes, until the berries just begin to lose their shape and give up their juices. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest. (Very ripe, soft berries need not be cooked. Simply combine them with the sugar, lemon juice, and zest and stir somewhat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the berries are slightly mushy.)

2.
Brush the melted butter all around the insides of a 2-quart bowl or a soufflé or charlotte mold.

3.
Trim all but 2 of the bread slices to fit so they line the bottom and sides of the mold in one layer. Reserve the 2 slices to cover the top.

4.
Pour in all the fruit and juices and cover with the reserved 2 slices of bread.

5.
Cover with a plate or saucer that fits just inside the bowl or mold and set a 3-pound weight on top, such as a kitchen weight, a few large cans, or a small heavy pan. Chill for 12 to 18 hours, or until the bread is thoroughly reddened with fruit juices.

6.
To serve, remove the weight and the plate or saucer and invert a pretty glass or china serving plate onto the top of the mold. Holding plate and mold together, invert the mold so that the pudding slips onto the plate. If it does not do so easily, wipe the sides with a paper towel wrung out in hot water to slightly melt the pudding so it slips out easily. Spoon into individual plates and top with the thickened cream of your choice.

Where:
In London
, Wiltons (in summer), tel 44/20-7629-9955,
wiltons.co.uk
;
in San Francisco
, Greens Restaurant, tel 415-771-6222,
greensrestaurant.com
;
in New York
, Tea & Sympathy (in summer), tel 212-989-9735,
teaandsympathynewyork.com
.
Tip:
Unless you bake your own white bread or live near a bakery offering
pain de mie
, the French sandwich loaf, use something akin to Pepperidge Farm’s Original white bread.

Timeless, satisfying fare as humble as its name.

In his biting
Devil’s Dictionary
of 1911, the American satirist Ambrose Bierce includes an advertisement for toad-in-the-hole under his definition of rarebit: “A Welsh rabbit, in the speech of the humorless, who point out that it is not a rabbit. To whom it may be solemnly explained that the comestible known as toad-in-the-hole is really not a toad, and that
riz-de-veau à la financière
is not the smile of a calf prepared after the recipe of a she banker.” Indeed, toad-in-the-hole has nothing to do with amphibious wildlife and everything to do with the working-class Brits who, as early as the 1700s, were taking scraps of meat, frying them in a bit of butter, and then tucking them into simple Yorkshire pudding batters of flour, milk, and eggs before baking them. It was a great way to make inexpensive ingredients stretch—while still having something delicious for teatime. Now crunchy, pork-filled bangers are blanketed with the same egg-rich batter used for Yorkshire pudding and popovers, and as the sort-of pie bakes and the batter shrinks, the sausages edge up and peek out of their “holes.” The result is a hearty combination of crisp, golden crust and sputteringly juicy, peppery meat.

In the earliest days of toad-in-the-hole, recipes were published in such seminal cookbooks as
The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy
by Hannah Glasse (1747) and
The Experienced English Housekeeper
by Elizabeth Raffald (1769). Toad-in-the-hole has survived these many years because it offers homey, comforting pleasure that’s never been in fashion—and so has never been out of it either. It is a decidedly old-world dish that is a welcome addition to any modern brunch table. Creative contemporary British chefs offer their own versions: Jamie Oliver says he likes to “go huge,” and values a toad-in-the-hole that rises high over the top of the baking dish, while Nigella Lawson prefers to use small cocktail wieners. Either way, the dish goes well with the customary onion gravy and mashed potatoes, but for a lighter, contemporary garnish, try it with a bright, zesty green salad.

Where:
In London
, Dirty Dicks, tel 44/20-7283-5888,
dirtydicks.co.uk
;
in Savannah, GA
, Churchill’s Pub & Restaurant, tel 912-232-8501,
thebritishpub.com
;
in Winnipeg
, Toad in the Hole Pub & Eatery, tel 204-284-7201,
toadinthehole.ca
.
Further information and recipes:
Happy Days with the Naked Chef
by Jamie Oliver (2001);
Nigella Kitchen
by Nigella Lawson (2010);
saveur.com
(search toad in the hole).

Considering the enormous popularity of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series, it’s surprising that a mainstream American baking company hasn’t yet introduced packaged versions of the tart so beloved by the boy hero. An unctuously sweet confection with a lattice crust topping, it is filled with a deceptively simple blend of bread crumbs, butter, spices, and evaporated sugarcane syrup. Known in England as light treacle or golden syrup, the sugary liquid is thick, amber-colored, and honeylike; Lyle’s Golden Syrup is the traditional choice. Scented with lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, and perhaps allspice or cloves, the tart develops an appealing aroma as it bakes in its flaky crust. Local variations include Suffolk’s treacle tart, which has eggs beaten into the syrup for a custardlike effect, and Yorkshire’s, which includes chopped dried fruit and grated apple. Treacle tart is best when just cool enough to allow the filling to gel, but still warm from the oven. Don’t forget a cloudlet of whipped cream to modify the sweetness.

Where:
In London
, St. John Bar & Restaurant, tel 44/20-7251-0848,
stjohngroup.uk.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Mrs. Bridges’ Upstairs, Downstairs Cookery Book
edited by Adrian Bailey (1974);
Beyond Nose to Tail
by Fergus Henderson and Justin Piers Gellatly (2007);
saveur.com
(search treacle tart).

A festive and enticing dessert.

Cool and sparkling in a big cut-crystal bowl, this opulently moist Madeira-or sherry-perfumed layering of custard and/or whipped cream, golden sponge cake, bitter almond macaroons, and zesty raspberry or strawberry jam is an
easy-to-love dessert that appeals to the child in all of us—and it’s simple to make, with gorgeous layers that make for excellent tabletop decoration. Trifles appear to have evolved from fools (see
listing
), and the earliest examples were little more than flavored thick cream that reflected the dessert’s insubstantial name. Today, a trifle is a favorite at holiday meals, where it provides a lighter alternative to the dense Christmas pudding. Spiked with Drambuie in Scotland, Scottish trifle is called tipsy laird and provides the perfect dessert for a Burns Supper, the annual celebration marking the January 25 birthday of poet Robert Burns, which frequently features poetry readings, bagpipe music, toasts, and a main course of haggis (see
listing
).

Where:
In London
, Wiltons, tel 44/20-7629-9955,
wiltons.co.uk
; St. John Bar & Restaurant, tel 44/20-7251-0848,
stjohngroup.uk.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Ploughman’s Lunch and the Miser’s Feast
by Brian Yarvin (2012);
theguardian.com
(search how to make perfect trifle).
See also:
Tirami Sù
.

Set in the midst of London’s fashionable men’s tailors and haberdasheries, this thoroughgoing and revered classic of a restaurant dates back to 1742 and seems like a time warp, with the formal setting and staff manners to match. Yet Wiltons has proven to be permanently au courant for those longing to try the best of traditional English seafood, along with a few game specialties, most especially grouse, in season. A series of clublike rooms, done up with ochre-colored walls, green velvet draperies, dark wood trim, and cushy chairs, open one onto the next while providing plenty of quiet, intimate corners. Those choice spots are usually inhabited by movers and shakers from the worlds of business and politics, speaking in assorted languages and puffing on assorted cigars, sipping brandy as they gather to wheel and deal at lunch, by far the most colorful time to be there.

Here is the place to try a variety of superb British Isle oysters (especially Colchesters) at their iciest, briniest best; sublime lobster cocktails; miraculously large and tender Scottish langoustines; or very English, very seductive Potted Shrimp, a sort of pâté set in butter and redolent of mace and lemon (see
listing
). Rarely will you find Dover Sole à la Meunière brought to more golden, dewy perfection (see
listing
); or a more ethereal, soufflé-light, and lemony Hollandaise sauce, which tops the restaurant’s bright coral Irish salmon, succulent Scottish halibut, or satiny turbot.

Tiny steamed potatoes and childishly delicious mushy peas are traditional side dishes worth trying, as is a strangely satisfying Stilton cream soup in which the pungency of the blue-veined cheese is ameliorated by soothing,
neutral overtones of celery. If it is summer, do not miss the winey red berry Summer Pudding for dessert (see
listing
); and if it is not, go for the unctuously decadent steamed syrup sponge pudding or the intoxicating, sherry-spiked trifle. As you might expect, the prices for the food and the awesome French wines list are anything but trifling.

Where:
55 Jermyn Street, London, tel 44/20-7629-9955,
wiltons.co.uk
.