British
Triple-Cooked Chips
I became obsessed with chips around 1992, before I had even opened the Fat Duck, and this was probably the first recipe that I could call my own. It has since cropped up in restaurants and pubs all over the place. Achieving the crisp, glass-like exterior depends on getting rid of moisture from the potato and creating little cracks in the surface where the oil will collect and harden, making it crunchy.
By Heston Blumenthal
Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar-Sage Crust
My editor, Maria Guarnaschelli, suggested this recipe, based on her memory of a savory pie served at a London pub. One half of the pie was filled with pork and the other with apples. As I later learned, that dish has its roots in an eighteenth-century workingman's lunch called the Bedfordshire Clanger—a hand-held pie filled with meat on one end and jam on the other. It was a compact way to serve lunch and dessert in one package.
In adapting this idea to my own taste, I decided to layer apples on top of a spiced ground pork filling, rather than setting the two ingredients side by side. The flavors are fantastic together, and this dish has been the hit of many parties. It makes an especially good buffet option, as it can be served warm or at room temperature.
Apple Notes: As with all pie recipes, you want firm fruit here. Some good examples: Granny Smith, Arkansas Black, and Northern Spy for tart apples; and Golden Delicious, Jazz, or Pink Lady for sweet ones.
Equipment: 10- to 12-inch skillet; food processor; 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, preferably glass; parchment paper or wax paper
By Amy Traverso
Summer Berry Pudding
Chris Ford, pastry chef at Washington, D.C.'s Rogue 24, brings this British-style "pudding" to picnics and BBQs. Serve with whipped cream and more berries.
By Chris Ford
Ruben's Cooler No. 2
Damon Boelte was aiming for something simple and accessible when he concocted this extremely refreshing, very British cooler. "Like a traditional Pimm's Cup, this recipe works well with other spirits, including bourbon, rum, and tequila," he says. "You have my permission to experiment." St-Germain liqueur, made from Alpine elderflowers, brings a floral note.
By Damon Boelte
Rhubarb Fool
The very first recipe I tested for Gourmet magazine was a rhubarb fool. It was a rather complicated affair that required a sugar syrup—of which you used only half—gelatin, whipped cream, and a whipped egg white. Fools don't need to be so involved; they're an old British dessert that basically consists of a fruit puree folded into whipped cream. The recipe below will show you just how delicious four simple ingredients simply united can be.
Ready for more rhubarb? Get my tips for how to pick the perfect stalk and learn how this vegetable gets its ruby red color, all on the Gourmet Live blog. Then tune in to the 04.20.11 issue of Gourmet Live to read about my first adventures with rhubarb. Download the Gourmet Live iPad app for free!
By Kemp Minifie
Sausage Rolls
By Darren McGrady
English Pancakes
English pancakes are different from American pancakes. They are much thinner and contain no leavening. They are closer to a French Crepe, only slightly thicker. Traditionally they are served on Shrove Tuesday, but are enjoyed year-around. They are best served straight from the pan. In my house the race is to try and make them faster than my children can eat them.
By Darren McGrady
Eggs Drumkilbo
The dish was the Queen Mother's favorite and one we always put on the menu when she came to stay. It was also served at the wedding breakfast of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973.
By Darren McGrady
Chocolate Biscuit Cake
OK, you have to first understand that when I say "biscuit," I am referring to "cookies," not those big muffin-looking things you eat at breakfast to keep the bacon grease of your hands! In Britain, biscuits are cookies...and cookies...well those are things that keep popping up on your computer screens. That explained, this is an amazing no-bake cake best served straight from your refrigerator. I can't say how long it keeps because I have never had one last longer than five minutes before I was starting at a plate of crumbs. Without a doubt, it is the Queen's favorite tea cake. We had request after request from palace visitors to divulge the recipe. Well, I've held out until now. Enjoy!
By Darren McGrady
Bread and Butter Pudding
Chef Anton Mosimann of Mosimann's London has orchestrated numerous royal celebrations, including Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee and Prince Charles' 50th birthday. He also holds a Royal Warrant of Appointment from the Prince of Wales.
Mosimann's Bread and Butter Pudding is made with less bread and more custard than traditional recipes. He says the royal family loves his lighter version, and he recommends it for parties because guests won't feel too full.
By Anton Mosimann
Ginger-Pecan Scones
By The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen
Turkey Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
By Rachael Ray
Wild Garlic and White Bean Curry
The beauty and subtlety of wild garlic makes this dish very appealing, and fresh curry leaves add a fragrance that is quite seductive. During the summer months we pod fresh coco beans and cook them directly in the curry until soft. In winter we soak dried cannellini beans overnight and precook them in water for an hour or so over gentle heat, with one or two herbs added for flavor. I like to serve this curry just as it is, but you could add chunks of white fish to it.
By Skye Gyngell
Cranachan
A traditional Scottish dessert usually served on Burns' Night, cranachan or "crowdie cream" uses oatmeal and Scottish heather honey, rich amber in color and with a caramel flavor. Raspberries or loganberries are the traditional fruits, but any soft fruit can be used. Likewise, Scottish pinhead oats are best here, but the similar steel-cut oats will work too. Serve with a dram of whisky and a piece of shortbread for extra authenticity.
By Richard A. Jones and Sharon Sweeney-Lynch
Chocolate Chip Madeleines
This recipe is (very slightly) adapted from the second St. John restaurant cookbook, Beyond Nose to Tail (if you don't already have both the St. John books, buy them now as not only are the recipes brilliant but the turn of phrase is a joy). I would recommend you buy one or two 12-hole madeleine pans for this, if you don't already have one, as once you've made these you'll be sure to make them again. You can serve the first batch while the second batch is in the oven; you'll need both.
By Micah Carr-Hill
Scones
Of course you can put what you like on your scones, but I'll usually opt for a traditional cream tea of jam and clotted cream. Cream tea etiquette is fiercely disputed in the West Country. The Cornish put strawberry jam on their scones first, then the clotted cream; in Devon and Dorset, it is customary to do it the other way around. Personally, I prefer raspberry jam and I always put jam on first, even though I live on the Devon-Dorset border.
Lavender Earl Grey Scones
This is one of Haley's favorites, not only because she's an Earl Grey drinker (in fact, as a bitty child she would ask the waitresses in diners if the tea was Earl Grey or orange pekoe because she "simply wouldn't drink anything but Earl Grey"—precocious much?) but also because the hint of lavender infusion leaves you feeling as if you ate a scone and then walked through a field en Provence!
By Haley Fox and Lauren Fox
Currant Scones
In Britain, these are teatime favorites, but in the States, we like them for breakfast, too. You'll get tall, flaky, buttery scones that are excellent partners with your finest jams.
By Sarabeth Levine
Cinnamon-Plum Fool
A fool is a classic British dessert made from pureed fruit folded into cream whipped to stiff peaks.
By The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen
Rhubarb and Ginger Brioche Bread Pudding
Bread pudding was originally created as a way to use up stale bread. Today, the dessert is a favorite in the U.K. and the U.S. Here, rich brioche is combined with a vanilla custard and pieces of tangy ginger-infused rhubarb.
By Tamasin Day-Lewis