Banger and Mash
Bangers and mash gets its name because sausages used to burst (or bang) while cooking, due to rusk (dried bread) being added to the meat. Mash, meanwhile, refers to the mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
4 links pork sausage
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons milk (optional)
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
2 large onions, chopped
6 cups beef broth
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
Cook the sausage links in a skillet over medium-low heat until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to an oven-safe dish and move to the preheated oven to keep warm. *I sliced the sausages in half.
Place potatoes into a saucepan over medium heat, cover with water, and boil gently until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two. Mix in 1/4 cup of butter, milk, dry mustard, salt, and black pepper; mash until fluffy and smooth. Set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook the onions until translucent and just starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Pour in the beef broth; boil the mixture down to about half its volume, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. *I used the same pan that I cooked the sausages in and added the sausages to the gravy at the end for a few minutes.
To serve, place a sausage onto a serving plate with about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes. Pour the onion gravy over the sausage and potatoes. Or, place a mound of mashed potatoes on a plate and top with sausage and gravy.
I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but it was very tasty!
Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce
Serves 12
FOR THE CAKE:
3 C. Flour
2 t. Baking Powder
⅛ t. Salt
¼ t. Cloves, ground
¼ t. Nutmeg, ground
6 oz. Butter, (cold is fine)
¾ C. Sugar
4 large Granny Smith apples(I used golden delicious to great effect)
2 Eggs
¾ C. Milk
2 T. Sugar(for sprinkling on top of cake)
FOR THE CUSTARD:
6 large Egg Yolks
6 T. Sugar
1½ C. Whole Milk
1½ t. Vanilla
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE:
Grease and flour an 8" or 9" round springform pan. Using an 8" pan will give you a taller cake.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl is very large to allow room for the apples to be folded in.
Cut the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the ¾ C. sugar to the flour mixture and mix in.
Peel the apples and slice them into uniform pieces. This cake works best and gets that 'chunky apple look' if the slices are about ¼" wide and then cut into 3 pieces. Toss the apples into the flour mixture and combine them thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Add to the apples and flour and mix in with a large spatula until just combined. Batter will be thick and dough-like.
Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of your spatula. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cake.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test the center for doneness. The top of the cake should be golden brown. Serve slices with custard sauce.
FOR THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
*note that this sauce is not a thick, pudding like sauce. It should have a pour-able, just thickened consistency when done.
Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale yellow, 2-3 minutes.
Place the milk in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture.
Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and stir over medium heat until custard thickens, about 4 minutes. Custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Mix in the vanilla.
Transfer to bowl or serving saucer. Serve warm or cold over apple cake.
This was another winner! I thought four large apples was going to be too much, but it ended up being perfect.
