chapter XXV - mamon wellman cooks 02

on toast
A staple dish of my childhood was ....... on toast. Mind you it wasn't always just on toast. All of the culinary delights below was just as good when served on a crisp slice of fried bread! Breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper, one could always rely on "on toast". The KISS philosophy of mum's cusine (Keep it S Simple), belies the fact that most of these dishes can be awesome when executed well with great ingredients. 

We didn't get an actual toaster until I was well into my teens, until then like most households we made the toast under the grill part of the oven. Which in our house was an electric one. I was always fascinated by the eye level gas grill that some people had, and always thought how much better the toast tasted from these gas grills. 

But be warned, if you took your eye off for a second the toast would go from lovely golden brown to black and charred. How many times did we all hear that familiar sound, of toast being scraped outside on the back lawn? 

The great part about toasting this way is that if you prefer you can always just toast your bread on one side. Which I used to love if it was just thin or sandwich slice bread, which invariably was, because thin sliced bread went further on a tight budget than toast bread. You had a lovely crisp, toasted side while the other was soft and warm; especially good when it was done with crumpets. 

crumpets

Talking of crumpets. A special childhood treat was gathering around the fire, crumpets and butter at the ready, skewering the said crumpets onto a roasting fork and toasting them before the fire. Even if it was an electric bar fire. I seem to remember them taking for ever to toast, and us having to constantly change hands as they got too hot, but it was oh so worth the wait. 

Somewhere along the way in the 60's the name crumpet, became a colloquial term for a young person of the female persuasion. 

on toast - eggs

There was fried eggs, scrambled eggs or poached eggs. The latter always seemed extra special for some reason. Not just any poached eggs, but the type one did in a mould over a pot of boiling water, so not so much poached as "steamed eggs en cocotte" 

From time to time the mum would jazz up the scrambled eggs by adding a little grated cheddar into the mixture. Nothing like a pile of scrambled eggs with Heinz ketchup to cheer a child up (namely me). The trouble was of course, the toast under the mound of scrambled eggs always ended up soggy.

recipe - cheffies extra creamy scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
004 pc eggs (large) 
025 gm butter
1/2  tbs cream
1/2  tbs mascarpone
001 tsp chopped chives
             smoked salmon

recipe - method of preparation
Crack the eggs into a thick bottom pan and add the butter in small knobs (do not pre season or whisk the eggs, they will break down during cooking). Place over a low to medium heat and continuously stir with a rubber spatula, until the eggs have broken down, the butter has melted through and the eggs have cooked to a soft baveuse (approx 6 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in cream and mascarpone, stir through the chopped chives and smoked salmon cut into thin strips. Taste and season. Because of its more fluid texture, it is best served in a bowl, with the toast on the side. 

Serve with slices of toasted fruit bread and a chimmichurri sauce

note - this is an unusual recipe and method. It does take a little extra time than usual, but produces a wonderfully light, extra creamy textured eggs. 

on toast - beans or spaghetti
Hard to believe, but this was a staple on the menu of just about every Joe Bloggs Cafe'. It was and I guess still is, a firm favourite of the British public. Another one in Mum's culinary repertoire that used to get jazzed up with some grated cheese added to the beans or tinned spaghetti as it was heating up.

on toast - cheese
Then there was cheese on toast. The great thing about learning and perfecting this culinary basic ;-) is that it serves as a basis for all the above. Cheese on toast with a fried egg on it, or whatever type of eggs were your favourite.

We would fully toast one side of the bread, then came the tricky bit of only partially toasting the other side, so that when it went back under the grill with the sliced cheese on it wouldn't burn the edges. Oh, always sliced cheese for some reason, never grated. Out it came from under the grill all toasted and bubbling and served cut in half (never diagonally, that was for posh people) and served with ketchup or HP or Daddie's brown sauce.

Of course being of Welsh extraction, you would think it would be Welsh Rarebit, but mum preferred to keep it simple and easy. Mind you, who can forget the Toast Toppers that were all the rage in the early 70's when they came onto the market? Essentially, Welsh Rarebit in a can!

recipe - cheffies welsh rarebit
025 gm butter
025 gm flour (plain)
100 ml  beer
200 gm grated cheddar
001 pc  egg yolk
001 tsp mustard
001 tbs lea and perrins sauce
004 pc  thick bread slices

recipe - method of preparation
Melt the butter over a low heat and add the flour, allowing to cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Add the beer and stir vigorously to combine and make an extra thick sauce. Beat in the cheese until it melts and combines with the mixture

Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolk, mustard and lea and perrins. Seasom with salt, pepper and a little cayenne pepper (or chilli flakes)

Lightly toast the bread, generously spread with the mixture and place back under the grill for 3-4 minutes until bubbled and lightly browned

notes -  Use a fairly light tatsing beer, one that is not too bitter
              For a Buck rarebit, serve with a poached egg on top
              In place of the sliced bread, use thick slices of ciabatta, crumpets etc

next week - mum's cauliflower cheese .......