Sorry for being away for so long, so be prepared for a couple of holiday food blogs. Christmas kept me pretty busy, as did the time leading up to it, but now I have a little bit of down time and it's long time due for a catch up.
It was Christmas Eve in the Tiny Ass Kitchen and all over the apartment, the kitties were also getting in the Christmas spirit...
We explored the other side of my husbands heritage by having some traditional pub food. When we were on honeymoon in London Danny had a chance to have Bangers and Mash and loved it, since then we've found a great English Shoppe in NYC and I've been making my own knock off version.
**SO PLEASE NOTE! I am NOT British. I do NOT know how to make real Bangers and Mash, and I've never seen a recipe for it, this is my own version so please don't knock me on authenticity. All I know is he says it tastes as good if not better then what he had in the UK.**
First you need to take some canola oil and put just a little in a cast iron pan and let it heat up. Don't put to much in, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, otherwise the dish it way to oily.
I start the Bangers and Mash by cutting up three onions by cutting them in half and then making smaller wedges out of them. I put it in the pan with the oil. Now this next step will take a while, you need your onions to brown up and basically caramelize. Don't cook them on to high of a heat, you'll burn them. It takes some patience.
Take this point to get all your potatoes boiling in a pot of water. These sausages are served on a bed of mashed potatoes, so you can use some russet baking potatoes :-)
During this time I prep my sausages by cutting them apart. They come nice and twisted together from Myers of Keswick in NYC (www.myersofkeswick.com). Please also drop by and give them a visit, they have lots of great items, and not just meats. They are located in Greenwich Village between Hoatio and Jane Street at 634 Hudson Street. Just so you know I use Cumberland sausages for this dish.
When the onions are browned and ready to go I put the sausages in and brown them up just a little bit. When they start to brown on the outside then it's time to begin the gravy.
Take about two cups of water and pour it into the sauce pan, and then add in some milk, I like to use Parmalat milk because I like the way it tastes, but you can do whatever you feel.
Sorry I don't have a measurement to tell you but when I cook I don't always use measurements I just go with the flow.
Mix that together and then take two Knorrs Bullion cubes (chicken or beef, whatever you have) and add that to the mix. Then you basically let the bangers, well cook!
When they are done you make the mixture into the gravy by adding a spoonful of cornstarch to a bit of water and dilute it and pour it into the liquid and it'll nearly instantly become gravy.
At this point you'll also have to mash your potatoes. I'm lazy and do it in my kitchen aide mixer but I was SO excited to eat I forgot to take photos of most of this process, so therefore you get to see how excited Danny was....
And my mostly eaten dinner!
Merry Christmas Eve to all!
