Toad In The Hole and some other stuff

Toad in the Hole is a British recipe that was given to me by Alistair. He has commented here many times and he suggested I try it. I gave it a whirl last week and I can say it's awesome. The recipe Alistair gave me I'll give to you. I tweaked the spices some what and I used Italian sausage. One thing I will stress is that when you put it into the oven "do not open the door for at least 25 minutes"

Hi Alan Here is the recipe (it is a Jamie Oliver recipe) that my wife use for our 'Toad in the Hole'....... sunflower oil (I prefer duck or goose fat but the missus prefers the oil) 8 good quality thick pork sausages (we use Hog Roast sausages from our local butcher) 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary 2 large red onions 2 cloves of garlic 2 knobs of unsalted butter 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 level tablespoon vegetable stock powder or 1 organic vegetable stock cube BATTER 285 ml (9.6 fluid ounces) milk 115 g (4.1 ounces) plain flour 3 large free-range eggs (we like duck eggs when they are in season) Method Whisk the batter ingredients together with a pinch of sea salt, and put to one side. We like the batter to go huge so the key thing is to have an appropriately-sized baking tin – the thinner the better – as we need to get the oil smoking hot. Put 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil into a baking tin, then place on the middle shelf of your oven at its highest setting (240–250ºC/475ºF/gas 9). Place a larger tray underneath it to catch any oil that overflows from the tin while cooking. When the oil is very hot, add the sausages – keep an eye on them and allow them to colour until lightly golden. At this point, take the tin out of the oven, being very careful, and pour the batter over the sausages. Throw a couple of sprigs of rosemary into the batter. It will bubble and possibly even spit a little, so carefully put the tin back in the oven, and close the door. Don't open it for at least 20 minutes, as Yorkshire puddings can be a bit temperamental when rising. Remove from the oven when golden and crisp. For the onion gravy, peel and finely slice the onions and garlic, then simply fry off in the butter on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until they go sweet and translucent. You could add a little thyme or rosemary here, if you like. Add the balsamic vinegar and allow it to cook down by half. At this point, we cheat a little and add a stock cube or powder. Sprinkle this in and add a little water. Allow to simmer and you'll have a really tasty onion gravy. Serve with mashed potatoes, greens and baked beans!

Toad in the Hole served with onion gravy.

I have written about Cato Corner Farm in the past. It's a small family farm in Colchester CT that makes the finest natural cheeses any where. We stopped there a week or so ago and bought some of their "Jeremy River Cheddar"...I wish I could describe the texture and complexities of this cheese but I can't. Just take my word for it that you will have to look far and wide for anything better. And there is a Jeremy River which flows not to far from the farm. A good trout stream and one that Rowan is familiar with.

Stuffed breads. This one contains onions, peppers, eggplant, sausage and provolone.