When we first moved to Westerly we were quite surprised to find that Bonfire Night, as it is called in the UK, was “celebrated” here- albeit a month or so early due to the unpredictable New England weather. Our kids were little and had learned the chant “remember, remember the fifth of November…gunpowder, treason and plot..” mostly because their dad is British, but also because it falls one day before my daughter’s birthday. We have since been surprised by other British connections here in town; the Union Jack that flies proudly on a house on Elm Street, the fact that one of Westerly’s founding fathers was originally from Westerleigh, England, the number of people with accents you hear when you are not even listening, the occasional score of British clothing at some of the Watch Hill shops, and so on. Today we’d like to share some of our culinary favorites so that you can celebrate with food before you head over to Misquamicut to see the Guy Fawkes Play this Saturday at 6:30 PM.
Traced back three centuries to the northern town of Eccles, England, Eccles cakes were once banned by Puritans for being too rich and extravagant. An Eccle=a church and the town of Eccles was named for the church that was built there. The building of the church was celebrated each year and the Eccles cakes were said to have originated during that time to be served at the celebrations. Did you know that McQuade’s Marketplace sells Eccles Cakes in their bakery? Eccles Cakes are small cakes made from flakey pastry, currants, orange peel, nutmeg and cloves. They are comfort food in dessert form. We love the version at McQuade’s. These little cakes travel well and would make the perfect accompaniment to your beach viewing of the bonfire this weekend.
McQuade’s is also the only market we have found that is usually stocked with Marmite. Marmite, if you don’t know, is a yeast based spread that looks a lot like gooey chocolate. Don’t be fooled. This savory spread is something that even the company claims you will either “love or hate”. At our house one of us is definitely a hater- if only because of the pungent smell, which, on breakfast toast is enough to make you not want to eat again. E.V.E.R. But that is just me. My husband claims it is really yummy on roasted potatoes and he loves it on a good cheddar sandwich. If you have a strong stomach and are not turned off by the smell it might be right up your alley.
The Brazen Hen serves Bangers & Mash which we had the good fortune of trying at last year’s Food Stroll. The bangers themselves were the first worthy of even the slightest bit of praise from our picky British sausage eaters. At our house we make our own simply because we have not found any that compare to the real deal in Lincolnshire. The Brazen Hen has given us another alternative! If you are heading out to eat before the show consider stopping in for this classic Great Britain favorite.
These are just a few of our favorites- if you are cooking at home there are so many great British cookbooks available at The Savoy & at our wonderful local library. We are particularly fond of Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, and the River Cottage cookbooks. We’d love to know what your favorite British meal is!
