Happy Burns Night!

Well I don't know how many of you will be piping in the haggis or even thinking about haggis, but many of our Scottish friends will be.  So in honour of my DH who is half Scottish here is a bit about Burn's Night and of course his infamous poem "To a Haggis". 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/burnsnight/

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin was help to mend a mill
In time o'need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin', rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
Bethankit! hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad make her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckles as wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
His nieve a nit;
Thro' blody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned,
Like taps o' trissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer
Gie her a haggis!

It's veggie haggis, neeps, tatties and cloutie dumpling for tea at ours tonight!  Hope wee one likes it.   

Thanks for that.  My other half had me try to read 'To a Haggis' last year, it had him in tears!  Wish me well choking down my bitefull of haggis.  Ugh!

OK, what is Haggis?  Never heard of it before!!!

It's animal innards and oatmeal in a sort of curled up sausage shape. Worse than gelatine really! I've never tried "real" haggis but I have had veggie haggis which was very nice.

OK, what is Haggis?  Never heard of it before!!!

(HAG-ihs) - Haggis is a Scottish dish made from sheep's offal (windpipe, lungs, heart and liver) of the sheep, which is first boiled and then minced. It is then mixed with beef suet and lightly toasted oatmeal. This mixture is placed inside the sheep's stomach, which is sewn closed. The resulting haggis is traditionally cooked by further boiling (for up to three hours).


Nice, huh?  Now you see why I'm dreading it? 

Just think of it as a sheep hotdog or Spam or processed food of your choice.     Or just buy the veggie ones..

I too shall try my first haggies tonight...

Just think of it as a sheep hotdog or Spam or processed food of your choice.     Or just buy the veggie ones..

I too shall try my first haggies tonight...

LOL  That is a different way of looking at it.  Thanks.  Enjoy yours.

I had haggis for the first time at a Gaelic Society dinner.  So long as it was covered in tatties and washed down with liberal amounts of whisky, it was ok.  Otherwise ... 

I feel sick!!!!  People like this!?

To be served with these recipes:

*bleep*-a-leekie soup
1 small chicken
8 soaked prunes: stones removed and saved
100g diced bacon
500g leeks: washed and thinly sliced
2 litres of water
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
salt and pepper
Remove the skin from the chicken and place in a large pan, together with the bacon and prune stones. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Keep covered and simmer for two hours. Strain off the liquid, remove the stones and roughly chop the chicken. Add the chopped chicken, leeks, tarragon, salt and pepper to the liquid and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add prunes at the end of cooking time and serve.

Haggis, neeps and tatties
Haggis
A one kilogram haggis should be boiled in a large pot for approximately 20 minutes. For larger sizes, consult the label for boiling time. Vegetarians should look out for the many variations of vegetarian haggis.

Neeps
4 large turnips
50g butter
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Peel and quarter the turnips. Boil for 25 minutes or until soft. Drain and mash, adding the butter, sugar and salt.

Tatties
6 large Maris Piper potatoes
70 g butter
milk
salt and pepper
Peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil for 20 minutes or until soft. Drain and mash. Scold the milk by bringing it to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Add the milk mixture to the mash until preferred consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cranachan
6 heaped tablespoons porridge oats
3 tablespoons honey
1.5 pints of double cream
150g raspberries
2 teaspoons caster sugar
Cover a baking tray with parchment. Preheat oven to 160°C. Mix the honey and oatmeal thoroughly, spread the mixture on the parchment into 10 thin round shapes. Cook for 10-20 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool. These will become wafer like when cold. Whip the cream and sugar together, add the raspberries and two of the wafers broken up. Gently stir the mixture to create a marble effect. Spoon into a cold bowl or glass dish and place a wafer on top.

Bannocks
2 cups of porridge oats
1 cup of flour
2 pinches of salt
butter or margarine
half a cup of boiling water
Pre-heat your oven to 200°C. Take a bowl and mix together the dry ingredients (you can add an optional pinch of soda bicarbonate to make them rise a little). Using a knife, cut three-quarters of a cup of butter or margarine through the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse bread crumbs. Add the boiling water and mix thoroughly until it forms a dough. Take a rolling pin and roll the dough into a thin sheet. Cut the dough into small round sections (about 7cm across) and place on a greased baking tray. Finally, cook your portions in the preheated oven for around 10 minutes.

My favorite part of the whole thing is the warning on the how to celebrate site:

"Warning: it is wise to have a small cut made in the haggis skin before it is piped in. Instances are recorded of top table guests being scalded by flying pieces of haggis when enthusiastic reciters omitted this precaution!"

So beware and watch out for flying bits o'haggis!

 

I first had haggis, neeps and tatties at a great pub in Glen Nevis, Scotland with my DH who is Ulster Scot.  First time and I loved it all.  Very peppery bite!  Sadly, I did not know about Burn's night, so we will not be celebrating.  The DH would never think of telling me.  Oh well, there is always next year!  Enjoy, everyone who is partaking.

Well my haggis are on the boil along with the neeps.. I have to say... FIL brought back the Veggie ones and they actually sound nice...

The veggie haggis I've had was very nice, similar to a herby veggie sausage