primitives discuss bubble and squeak

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115713800

Oh my.

A cooking and baking campfire, for the relief of those bored by the non-excitement of the convention.

Fumesucker (27,006 posts)

Bubble and Squeak

My dad was English and I grew up eating this for breakfast about once or twice a week when he would do the breakfast. I did a forum search and didn't find any references so I thought I'd share.

I was reminded of the dish by the recent cat rescue thread about two kittehs named Bubble and Squeak.

Dad would fry it in leftover bacon grease, these days that might be considered a bit over the top. Dad's explanation of the name was a bit different than the one on Wikipedia, he said that bubble and squeak was what your digestive tract did after you ate it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_and_squeak

Bubble and squeak is a traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The main ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. The dish is so named because it makes bubbling and squeaking sounds during the cooking process, and the cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potatoes or crushed roast potatoes until the mixture is well-cooked and brown on the sides. It is often served with cold meat from the Sunday roast, and pickles or brown sauce.

The meat was traditionally added to the bubble and squeak itself, although nowadays it is more commonly made without meat. The earliest known recipe was by Maria Rundell in 1806.

The name bubble and squeak is used throughout the United Kingdom, and it may also be understood in parts of some other Commonwealth countries and the United States.

Bubble and squeak was a popular dish during World War II, as it was an easy way of using leftovers during a period when most foods were subject to rationing. In more recent times, pre-prepared frozen and tinned versions have become available.

Is this true, the phrase in bold, above?

Graybeard (5,950 posts)

1. Great way to use leftovers.

Our family only included the cabbage and potatoes. No meat or other v*****s.

Cabbage cut and potatoes diced to approx the same size pieces. Toss together evenly. Large frying pan well buttered and hot. Allow it to cook through and get a "crust" on the bottom before turning everything over to the other side. When crispy again on the bottom it's ready to serve with extra butter, salt & pepper.

We loved it as kids and I love it now.

cbayer (110,860 posts)

2. My husband is english and generally just pushes all the food on his plate into one pile anyway, so this would be the perfect way to serve him leftovers, lol.

^^trying to impress by pointing out has an English, not an American, husband.

The Bayer aspirin primitive does things like that, but most don't notice it.

Whoooop-whoooop-dee-do.

MADem (77,222 posts)

3. Your dad, I think, was correct!

I can't imagine eating B and S from a tin, or frozen (unless it was "home-made frozen"). The whole idea is that it is supposed to be made from leftovers, and it evokes a previous meal at times!

It's really just a v*****s-added version of what some folks call "hash."

It's good stuff--it was good stuff the first time around, too!

TreasonousBastard (19,650 posts)

4. Fascinating that someone would be selling canned leftovers...

Of course, you could throw a bunch of any old canned or frozen v*****s in a pan with some canned gravy and call them leftovers.

Warpy (64,480 posts)

5. Here in the upper midwest, leftovers were mixed with cooked oats usually in the form of pin oats, steamed in cans and then sliced and fried for breakfasts--Scrapple. That's one of the things I grew up on.

My mother turned her nose up at the super economical things she'd eaten as a teenager in the Depression. Alas, colcannon and bubble & squeak were among them. I had to discover those as an adult. Scrapple was foreign to her, so that was a Depression favorite that got adopted.

^^the defrocked warped primitive, who's meaner and uglier than a rattlesnake.

<<hasn't decided yet which primitive is going to sell for Top DUmmie of 2012, but she's a contender under consideration.

[Chris_]

I guess the steaming liquid coming from the wet, already-cooked vegetables would make that noise.  I don't know, my mother never made it.  It sounds like trying to pan-fry boiled cabbage and Spam.

[GOBUCKS]

English cuisine is world renowned.

For being awful.

One fave is a pastry (I think) called spotted dick.

[Chris_]

English cuisine is world renowned.

For being awful.

One fave is a pastry (I think) called spotted dick.

I've never had spotted dick, or any other kind of dick.

My mother said she learned to cook working at hotels in France.  She's pretty good with an oven.

[obumazombie]

I command a formidable dutch oven.

[LC EFA]

English cuisine is world renowned.

For being awful.

One fave is a pastry (I think) called spotted dick.

English is to cuisine what french is to humility.

....or what islamic is to tolerance.....

[franksolich]

English is to cuisine what french is to humility.

....or what islamic is to tolerance.....

Oh, I dunno though.

It's been years, but when I was a lad, I spent three winters bedding-and-breakfasting in England.

On the cheap; by the time it was Europe on $25 a Day, I managed to do Europe on $5 a Day.

I rather liked the way they fixed eggs; I'd always had scrambled eggs before, but couldn't get them that way there, and had to dine upon eggs cooked as most people eat them, the yolk in the center of a moat of white.

The only time in my life I ever found egg whites palatable.

The toast was variable; half of the time utterly excellent, the other half of the time cold and as hard as a rock.

The potatoes were usually lukewarm, and always greasy.

The little bowl of orange marmalade sometimes had a crust of green-and-blue mold on it, but that was okay, because I don't do orange marmalade.

But all in all, England is the only place in the world where egg whites are eatable.

[ExGeeEye]

How does it go...

...something like this:

In Heaven, the chauffeurs are English, the singers are Italian, the brewers are German, and the cooks are French.

In Hell, the chauffeurs are Italian, the singers are German, the brewers are French, and the cooks are English.

[Wineslob]

http://britishfood.about.com/od/easybritishrecipes/r/bubblesqueak.htm


In 1973, as a teenager, I spent a month in Europe. Approx 3 days were spent in England. To this day I cannot forget the fact that the Brits couldn't even make a hamburger. We ended up eating at ethnic restaurants.
 My understanding is the likes of Jamie Oliver have changed this, you may actually find eatable food in Great Britain.

[franksolich]

In Heaven, the chauffeurs are English, the singers are Italian, the brewers are German, and the cooks are French.

In Hell, the chauffeurs are Italian, the singers are German, the brewers are French, and the cooks are English.

And something about Hell is where the Swedes (or the Belgians) are the comedians.