Food and Drink

Irene's Gingerbread Cake...

8oz self raising flour
1/4 tablespoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
4oz demarara sugar
4oz unsalted butter
4oz treacle
6oz golden syrup
1egg
5floz milk

Preheat oven to180c/350f/gas4 and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Mix together the flour, ginger, salt in a bowl. Warm sugar, butter, treacle and syrup together in a pan. Beat the egg into the milk, then mix all the ingredients in a bowl. The gingerbread is made. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from tin and leave to stand for a few minutes before serving warm, or leave to go cold and slice.

------

Lucy from Accrington's Tattie Hash...

1 bag of potatoes - peeled and chopped into 1-2 inch cubes
1 to 2 tins of corned beef chopped into 1 inch squares
1 or 2 onions
Gravy powder

Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes in a large pan (preferably a Dutch Oven) Add the onion and corned beef Boil for 30 minutes or so and then rough mash (so it stays lumpy) Sprinkle in gravy powder until the liquid is brown but not thick Add salt and pepper to taste

For the crust:
Plain flour
Butter
Water

Blend half the amount of fat to flour then add a little water to make it bind. Roll out and put on a greased tray, bake until golden brown. Break off a piece per person.
Serve with thick white bread and butter and lashings of tomato ketchup!

------

Samantha Lee's Family Favourite Meat & Potato Hash and Dumplings...

Quantities vary depending on the size of pan, I use a huge stove top casserole pan.

Ingredients (approx)
carrots 4-5
King Edwards potatoes (5-6 medium ones)
2 onions finely chopped or 1 onion and 2 leeks
about 500 grams of mushrooms quartered
pack of stewing steak and kidney (small pack from supermarket) small pack of mince beef
1 tin of corned beef
2 Oxo or Bovril cubes
2 tablespoons of Worcester sauce
gravy thickener
and dumplings made either from scratch or buy packet mix and add a little dried herbs optional extra - frozen garden peas and small tin of sweetcorn

Method
Brown mince, stewing steak, kidney and onions and mushrooms in a very big pan.
Peel and chop vegetables into biggish chunks and add to meat, add enough water to just cover the mix add Oxo cubes, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins strring now and again. After 30 mins chop the corned beef in to chunks and add, also add peas and sweetcorn stir, add the dumplings and allow to simmer for another 20mins. When dumplings are cooked remove and thicken stew adding the Worcester sauce. Serve with crusty bread and red cabbage or beetroot. This keeps well and tastes better a day or so later... also freezes well.

------

Adrian Trout's Pea and Ham Soup...

This makes quite a large quantity but it freezes well and a portion will reheat in about 3 minutes in the microwave. 

Take 1 kilo bag of dried marrowfat peas and put to soak overnight in cold water. I leave out the soaking tablets as they contain a lot of sodium and are only there to make the peas greener. Take one ham shank, wash it and simmer in a large covered pan in plenty of water until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the shank and allow to cool before putting in the fridge overnight. On no account throw away the cooking water. Next day, rinse the peas and put them in the cooking water from the ham. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 1 hour or until really falling apart. If you need to add salt, do it now. Pull the meat from the shank, chop into small pieces and add it to the peas. This will make about 12 decent portions. A good shank may have too much meat but the remainder will always find a home in another recipe.

------

Irene Smith's hotpot...

The secret of a good, real, traditional hotpot is the crust. Forget all those books that tell you to put a circle of potato slices on the top! A hotpot has to be stirred and wet, but not too sloppy. That is because the crust cooks in the steam underneath, making it feather light and from the oven on top, making it lovely and crunchy.

Here's my recipe for a real hotpot...

You can make hotpot in any deep container, but a brown earthenware is best.
You just cut up stew or braising steak (not too big - takes longer to cook) Slice up a few carrots, cut up some onions and cut potatoes roughly, (more potatoes than the other ingredients) approx 1 inch pieces - don't be too fussy. BUT the potatoes should be King Edwards, or any good falling potato. Layer up the dish, season each meat layer. Stop about 4 inches from the top. Pour in boiling water nearly to the top and place in a hot oven (Gas 7) with a tin plate on top.(or foil) After about an hour, you will begin to smell it. Take it out and stir it. Use your judgement to turn the heat down if you think it needs it. Usually takes at least 2 hours, but when the meat is tender, make the crust. First turn up the oven to Gas 8, it needs to be hot when the crust goes in, you can turn it down later if browning too quickly.

Use half Atora Suet to self raising flour, usually 8 ounces flour to 4 of suet. Add salt.
With a knife add cold water sparingly - mix gently till it holds together - don't over mix.
I sprinkle flour on the table and gently shape it with my hands until it fits the top of the dish. Make 2 slits in the middle. Lift out the dish and carefully place the crust on top. It usually takes from 20 to 35 mins - it's ready when golden brown and firm to the touch. Serve with pickled red cabbage and home cooked mushy peas. One more tip! Open the windows - the smell gets everywhere - it is delicious.

Proper Mushy Peas

The secret of these is to cook them in a slow cooker - in a pan the skins separate if they boil. I always do 2 boxes of Bigga marrowfats and check they are well within the sell-by date, or they will be hard. Soak overnight with the soaking tablets, then rinse in a few changes of cold water next day. Put them in a slow cooker, cover with boiling water and leave for about 4-6 hours, or until soft. They will be whole but have a nice bit of thick, sloppy juice. DO NOT add salt before cooking - this makes them tough. You can add black pepper and I like a bit of thyme - optional. When cooked, THEN add salt to taste. They freeze superbly - just warm them gently in a pan. Great to get out of the freezer when you next have fish and chips!

------

George Page's suet roly poly....

Suet Pudding Roly Poly...

1lb SR Flour
8oz Suet
a pinch of salt
Cold water to mix 

Filling can be sausage meat and leeks / onion and bacon / currants with sugar to sweeten

Cover with grease proof paper, roll in tinfoil, cover with water in a tin in the oven at 180 for at least 2 hours

------

Pam from Fleetwood's Veggie Cheese Bake....

Originally this was just done with cauliflower but over the years I have ended up with this.

1 cauli
1 brocolli
2 carrots
1 large onion
Pack of smoked streaky bacon
Mushrooms (optional)
Cheese sauce (I usually make my own nice and thick)
Extra cheese

Cook all veg in boiling salted water (together in one pan saves washing up) Meanwhile cut bacon and onion into small pieces and fry in pan until cooked. (no need to add fat) make up cheese sauce Place cooked well strained veg in a buttered ovenproof dish.
Drain off bacon mix and put over the top.
Pour cheese sauce over the top and sprinkle extra cheese on the top. Place in the oven until nicely browned.
Serve with fried mushrooms if liked.
Sounds long winded but worth it. Enjoy!

------

Michelle from Fleetwood's Hot Pot....

I have always made a Hot Pot from bacon (or bacon bits). It was how my Grandma made it. You first butter an oven proof dish - earthenware always seems to make it taste better - then you proceed to build up with layers of bacon cooked onion potatoes and baked beans untill the top of the dish which you finish off with lots of fatty bacon over the potato and then cover with foil and bake in a hot oven for the first 30 mins, then turn down to minimum where it can be left practically all day turning up the heat to max uncovering the top to brown and crisp the top. It used to be a really cheap dish. It still can be if you can buy bacon bits. It is very filling and excellent served with crusty buttered bread. You need to season with pepper well as the beans and onion can be quite sweet; salting also depends on how salty the bacon is. You can quicken up the cooking time by partly cooking the potatoes first if you wish.

------

Michelle from Fleetwood's Cheese and Onion soup...

The secret is to not use a stringy cheese like cheddar - lancashire or cheshire works well, you first chop up the onions finely and fry very gently in a little butter and oil so butter does not burn then when the onions are transparent and soft add double cream and season with white pepper, you can also add a little worcester sauce to taste, do not boil heat till hot but not boiling and then crumble in the cheese to taste a little sprinkling of nutmeg makes all the difference to the taste. This soup is delicious served with brown crusty bread. You can also float a piece of bread on top like the french do with onion soup and sprinkle a good melting cheese on top like cheddar. Variations of this soup can be made by using different non stringy cheeses like Danish blue and stilton but the taste will not be so mild.

------

Julie from St Anne's Potato Cakes...

My nana from Preston used to make the best potato cakes, she just used to mix left over mashed potato with plain flour until it was the right consistency to roll out, cut out circles and shallow fried until golden brown.

------

Michelle from Fleetwood's Cheese and Onion pie...

A good recipe for cheese and onion pie was one my gran taught me. My gran and grandad had a corner shop in the 50s and 60s in Oldham till its demolition and their retirement. You need good short crust pastry, you can either make it or buy it ready done, a good tip if you make the pastry is use half fat to amount of flour, either lard or dripping and butter, or use all butter or marge, and mix with just enough iced water to bind together, roll out thinly on a floured surface and cut to shape of plate to be covered (plate pies to me always taste better) not too thick - the pastry that is, and then fill with a mixture of good strong cheddar cheese and onions (pre cooked and seasoned till soft) then layer the pie starting with the onions until it's as full as you like remember the cheese will melt down so it may seem like a lot of cheese at first don't skimp, place a top of rolled pastry on top and trim and finish cutting a little hole in the top of the pie to let the steam escape, remember to season each layer well to taste I like mine peppery. Then bake in a hot pre-heated oven till golden brown when nice and brown the pie is cooked, this pie is as good cold as it is piping hot, but remember hot cheese is very hot so leave to cool a little if you can wait!

------

Lynn's Chocolate Concrete...

12oz Plain Flour, 7oz of margarine or butter, 3oz granulated sugar and 4 heaped table spoons of cocoa powder.

Method:- Mix ALL ingredients together until they look like dough and leave the bowl clean. Place in a baking tray and press down, until approx half and inch thick, press down firmly. Bake on Gas 3-4 for approx 30 minutes, or until centre is firm to touch. Cut into six portion before allowing to cool slightly. Serve with thick custard or even mint custard (you can cheat with making mint custard by just adding peppermint essence to your normal custard!) 

Sonya Thrush's Chocolate Concrete...

510g margarine, 510g sugar, 680g plain flour, 55g cocoa, 20g baking powder 1 egg (size 4) pinch of salt

Mix all dry ingredients together. Rub in margarine. Beat the egg and add to the mixture (for best results mix entirely in a food mixer or processor). Knead lightly until mixture blends together. Press into well-greased shallow tins. Bake gently for 25 - 30 minutes Gas mark 4. Do not overbake. Put a lid on the tin and keep hot otherwise crunch will set hard - like concrete!

----------

Sammy's Pixie Biscuits...

(ideal for kids to make)

In a big dish add 45g plain flour, 8 tablespoons porridge oats, 2 tablespoons sugar/sweetener 30g dried coconut and 30g sultanas. In a cup dissolve 1/2 teaspoon baking soda in 3 tablespoons of boiling water, then add 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the cup. Make a well in the centre of the dried ingredients and add the wet. Mix well, and spread biscuit sized dollops onto a baking sheet. Cook at 180 degrees C. 10 minutes, then turn and cook for another 10 minutes

----------

Grandma Mary's recipe for Hot Pot...

2 oz Eel (This makes all the difference)
8 oz Lambs heart
3 Small Lamb chops
A medium size bag of potatoes (peeled and sliced)
3 Carrots (sliced)
1 Onion (chopped)
3 Table spoons of baby milk (Grandma's special ingredient)
8 Pints of water.
2 Oranges (peeled and chopped)
2 Egg white and 2 oz of Corn flour.

This is so easy, put all ingredients in a slow cooker for 8 hrs stirring regularly. It sounds a bit of a miss match but this recipe has been handed down for generations.

----------

Kathleen's recipe for Impossible Pie...

4 eggs (beaten)
quarter cup margarine
2 cups milk
1 cup coconut
1 cup sugar
half cup SR flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
quarter teaspoon salt
half teaspoon baking powder
put all into bowl mix well
pour into buttered dish
cook 4 gas

You should end up with a pastry type base custard in the middle coconut sponge on top.
serve with cream. ENJOY!

----------

Kathleen's recipe for Tiger's Milk...

Blend in the liquidiser...
1 cup cold milk
1 teaspoon brewers yeast
1 dessertspoon oil (cornflour)
1 tablespoon dried milk powder
few drops vanilla essence

While blending add 1 cup orange juice, serve at room temperature or very cold
Keeps for a day or two in the fridge.

Quantities are not critical - a little honey can be added. Comments on its reviving qualities "not quite as effective as whisky BUT ALMOST"!

----------

Edith's recipe for mushy peas...

Buy a packet of marrowfat dried peas.... available at any supermarket.... soak peas in a pan of boiling water add bicarbonate tablets and stir until tablets have dissolved, soak overnight. Next day rinse well with cold water (very important)... place peas in a pan, add boiling water until peas are covered, add a little salt. As soon as peas are boiling, turn heat down and simmer for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Good luck!

----------

Recipes for panackelty...

Yolande's recipe...

I have researched this and it's a fry up of left over Sunday lunch vegetables served with left over roast meat. I used to have this as a child on Sunday, fry until crispy in a big omelette pan. Hope this helps.

Bill Gilhooley recipe...

We knew it as Pan Haggerty as its original name. As follows:- Roasting dish, layer of round sliced potatoes, layer chopped onion, sprinkle of dried sage, another layer of potatoes This goes on ad infinitum depending how many you want to feed. Add salt and pepper. Over the last layer of potatoes lay a scrag end of lamb or mutton if you're posh you can use fatty leg chops. Cover and cook in med oven 160'C for 1 hour Uncover and brown off for about 1/2 hour. Yummy and a good belly filler.

Kate recipe...

My mum used to make a dish called panackelty in the following way...
The day after you have had roast pork, slice up the remaining pork thinly, along with an onion and several potatoes. In a deep ovenproof dish, place a layer of potatoes, followed by a layer of onions then one of pork. Season generously. Continue this until you have used all the ingredients finishing with a layer of potatoes, adding some of the gravy part way through and the remainder over the top.

------

Vernon Warburton's recipe for mean and potato pie...

2lb potatoes peeled and diced
four carrots diced
1lb stewing steak
1 onion diced

Fry off your steak and your onion, cut up carrots and put into your pan. Brown off meat and veg with meat and onions for five minutes then make your stock from oxo about 1 pint. Pour into pan and cook until potatoes are cooked, season with salt and black pepper and put into an ovenproof casserole dish. Put to one side while you make your pastry with 4oz plain flour 2oz lard or butter and 2-3 tsps of water. Mix together to make a nice short pastry, wrap in cling film and put in fridge for half an hour. When you're ready to bake, roll out your pastry and roll it round your rolling pin and put on top of your casserole dish, put in the oven for about 25 - 30 minutes or until it is done - it will be very nice, good luck!

------

Lynne's recipe for parkin...

4 oz self raising flour, 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 4 oz fine oatmeal, 1 oz mixed peel (optional), 4 oz black treacle, 2 oz sugar, 2 oz butter, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of milk.

Sift together in a bowl the ginger, bicarb, salt, oatmeal and peel. Melt the treacle, sugar and butter, stir in the egg, pour mix over dry ingredients, mix well and add enough milk to make it pour. Bake for about an hour gas mark 3 325f 170c

------

Edith's recipe for old school pudding...

pastry 340g, cornflakes 235g, marg 150g, sugar 150g, syrup 150g, jam 150g

Line tin with pastry and bake blind. Next spread the pastry with jam, melt margarine, sugar and syrup in a big pan and stir in the cornflakes, Bake in moderate oven for about 10 mins and that's it, your're done! Good luck and enjoy!

------

Judith Worsell's recipe for Chorley Cakes...

Chorley cakes are made with shortcrust pastry, currants, raisins, butter and sugar. Mix the dried fruit together with butter and sugar. Roll out the pastry, cut round a small plate, add a dollop of the dried fruit mix, wet the edges, bring to centre, then roll again. Brush with milk then pop into oven at 180C for about 25 mins.

In Bolton they are bigger and are called flat cakes. I use all left over pastry to make them. Once I have rolled out the pastry, I smear on some butter, add a pile of dried fruit, and sprinkle on the sugar, then carry on as with the Chorley cakes. Beautiful spread with some butter.

Flaky / Puff pastry gives the smaller Eccles cakes.

------

Pauline Haines's recipe for Rice Pudding...

Ingredients:
600ml (1 pint) Milk
50g (2oz) Pudding Rice or Tapioca
15g (½oz) Butter
2 tbsp Sugar
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon, Nutmeg or Mixed Spice

Pre-heat oven to 170°C: Gas 3.
Place the milk, rice (or tapioca), butter and sugar into a greased 1.1 litre (2 pint) oven-proof dish.
Place into the oven.
Bake for 2-2½ hours.
Stir 2 or 3 times during the first hour of cooking.
Sprinkle with the chosen spice.
Continue cooking until a golden brown crust has formed.
Serve hot or cold, with a spoonful of jam or seasonal fruit.

------

Margaret Hilton's recipe for Posh Corned Beef Hash...

Cut up 2 onions and fry with butter and garlic. Take a tin of corned beef chop it up and mix in tomato ketchup, Soy sauce and a tbl of brown sugar. Put all ingredients on a ovenproof dish, then add some cooked and halved new potatoes on top, finish off with grated cheddar cheese cook in the oven 200C or gas 6 for 10 mins.