The wonders of Scottish food...

My dad's side of the family is from Scotland and as such I have come to love everything to do with Scotland, including the food. My dad and I traveled to Scotland last summer for my graduation trip and spent 14 amazing days traveling all over Scotland from Edinburgh to the Highlands. I loved every single moment of it and I truly miss it. My dream is to one day live and work in Scotland, but until then I must make do with looking at pictures and reliving my memories.

My dad and I standing in front of Edinburgh Castle on one of our first days there...

One of the things we loved was sitting in a booth at one of the local pubs and enjoying a delicious dish of steak and ale pie on those cold wet Scottish nights. This of course was sometimes followed by a great cup of strong coffee and some Sticky Toffee Pudding. So since these are two of my favorite things of all time I am going to share these recipes with you and I hope that they can become some of your favorites as well. 

These dishes are ones that are perfect comfort food and they are so simple to make. I mean what could get better than steak simmered in spices and ale topped with some kind of pastry dough? Or sweeter than a sticky toffee pudding covered in a rich delicious custard? I can't think of anything....

Steak and Ale Pie

2lbs of stew beef (I usually just buy a round roast and cut it up or buy stew meat) 

Olive Oil

1 Medium onion, peeled and diced

1 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp Ketchup

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tsp English Mustard

1 bay leaf

1 handful of fresh thyme and marjoram (if you don't have fresh you can substitute dried)

1/2 cup beef stock

1/2 cup of dark ale ( I find that guinness does really well...you have to make sure that it is a dark ale or you will lose the flavor of it when it cooks)

1 box of puff pastry or fillo dough 

Salt and Pepper

You want to make sure that the pan you use is big enough to hold the meat and the liquids as they will all be combined in the end and will simmer for about an hour. 

Cut the beef into small cubes. You want them about 1 inch or bite size and make sure that they are pretty consistent so that they cook evenly. Pat the meat with a paper towel to absorb some of the moisture so that it will brown more evenly. You want to make sure that the meat is room temperature before you add it into the pan.

Add some oil to the pan and put in the onions. You want them to cook until they are just tender and then add in the beef and cook until it is medium brown. Add the flour and cook until the flour is mixed in with the juices and it is dark brown. Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Slowly add in the beef stock and the ale and then bring to a boil. Taste test this to ensure that you have the proper seasonings.

Simmer this until the beef is tender. It will probably take about an hour or so. You want the meat to be extremely tender. You may have to add more ale or beef stock depending on if it cooks down. You don't want a runny sauce, but a thick juicy sauce. 

Remove the meat from the pan and put it into a pie dish and then cover with the pastry and cook in the oven until the pastry is risen and golden brown.

You can pair this dish with some mashed potatoes and English peas for the full Pub experience.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard

(this is more like a cake than a pudding, and is one of THOSE desserts that you dream about afterward)

Unsalted butter for baking dish
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup chopped, pitted dates (about 4 oz.)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cups boiling water
8 tablespoons packed brown sugar (1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Custard (see recipe below) or Ice Cream and Whipped Cream

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 broilerproof baking dish. Sift the 1 cup of flour and the baking powder into a bowl; set aside. Toss dates with 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl. Beat 4 tablespoons butter and ¾ cup sugar in large bowl until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, along with a little of the flour mixture; beat for 1 minute. Beat in remaining flour mixture. Add dates, baking soda, and vanilla to the boiling water, stirring to combine; add to batter, beating until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared dish; bake until set and well browned on top, 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven to wire rack. Heat broiler. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in microwave on simmer until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour over hot pudding. Place pudding in broiler, about 4 inches from heat; broil until topping is bubbling and becomes sticky, about 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately, top with custard or vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

Custard
¾ c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
¼ t. salt
2 c. milk

Combine above and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir a small amount into:

3 egg yolks – slightly beaten

Add egg yolks to the rest of the mixture when tempered and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add:

2 T. butter
1 t. vanilla

Mix and chill. Serve atop sticky toffee pudding

I hope you love these recipes as much as I do!!!