English food is not a joke because...
Any cuisine that combines meat with ale gets gold stars in my book.
That's the answer I'm giving for Sam's Fish & Quips challenge. She's asked food lovers everywhere to help her prove that English food does not have to be a joke. After reading about it, I immediately wanted to participate. I lived there for almost a year and had plenty of amazing food (I have crazy fond memories of the cheese guy in my local outdoor market), however I couldn't come up with one dish that I wanted to make. So I called in the brigades - actually I just IM'd my friend Johnny and asked what he thought I should make:
me: What is your favorite British meal - like quintessential British?
Johnny: Meat pie! Like steak and onion pie!!!
I think this is a nice idea, a nice project - British food has a huge inferiority complex for a few reasons.me: So what should i make?
Johnny: You should try steak and ale pie if you can manage it. I think it is pretty easy really and tastesome.
me: Why'd you choose that dish?
Johnny: It is the thing I like best that is "English"
Make a nice round pie - with leaves on the top of course.me: Of course
Hrmm... a steak and ale pie. Funny, I never actually had one of those while I was out there - but I figured it was the time to start. So I hunted down a few recipes and cobbled together a pretty decent pie. I cheated and used puff pastry, but I didn't forget the leaves on top.
The end result was pretty tasty, like a stew with an added pastry crust - and it was definitely not a joke. To see what recipe I used, and to see a bunch of step by step pictures, read more
