xmascarol1
Senior Cook
Well, last night I had a Robbie Burns night (Jan. 24) and made haggis. It was the first time I'd ever had it and of course didn't have a sheep's stomach to use. Here's what I did. I went to the butcher and he sold me a sausage casing that would be used for making souse or some other large cased sausage. I soaked that. In my haggis I put 1/2 # each of calf liver, lamb and venison. I minced those up in my food processor. Added 4 oz. beef suet, grated, 1 cup toasted oatmeal, 1 t. nutmeg, 1 t. ground pepper, 1/2 t. red pepper flakes, salt ,1 egg, and a little juice from the liver, which I had cooked for a minute or so before mincing it. I stuffed the casing with the mixture and tied it. Oh, it so lovely looking. Just about the right size for a mock sheep's stomach. I put it in my crockpot with just a little water. I cooked it all day on low w/o lifting the lid. Actually all guests had seconds on it. I was pleasantly surprised about that. I thought it might turn out to be one of those bad news ethnic recipes that we suffer through like Swedish lutefisk.
Of course, I made tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (mashed turnips), bannocks (oatcakes). Homemade pickalilly and picked beets, lemon curd, gooseberry jam, red currant jam, and topped off with a sherry trifle, and some Laphroig single malt Scotch. Everything was complete with poetry readings, "Ode to a Haggis" and other poems, then to the music room for singing some of the old Burns songs and ending with Auld Lang Syne. Only thing we didn't have was the bagpipe.
Of course, I made tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (mashed turnips), bannocks (oatcakes). Homemade pickalilly and picked beets, lemon curd, gooseberry jam, red currant jam, and topped off with a sherry trifle, and some Laphroig single malt Scotch. Everything was complete with poetry readings, "Ode to a Haggis" and other poems, then to the music room for singing some of the old Burns songs and ending with Auld Lang Syne. Only thing we didn't have was the bagpipe.