Autumn English Dinner for the Hungry... Yum!

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that both of my parents are English, but there it is! The truth is out-- they're both born and raised Britons! One of my very favorite English dishes is something that Mummy used to whip up every year when the weather got chilly. Now that fall has arrived up at Fox Ridge, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to put this recipe into action...

Classic English Toad-in-the-Hole Recipe

• Prep time: 35 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 scant teaspoon Kosher salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb of bangers (an English sausage made with pork and breadcrumbs), or good quality pork or beef sausage links (in casings)

METHOD

1 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with the salt and a pinch of pepper. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the eggs, milk, and melted butter into the well and whisk into the flour until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.

2 Coat the bottom and sides of an 8x12 or 9x9 casserole dish with vegetable oil (we use high smoke point grapeseed or canola oil). Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Put the empty dish on the rack. Preheat the oven with the dish in it to 425°F.

3 While the oven is coming to temperature, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high. Add the sausages and brown them on at least a couple sides.

4 When the sausages have browned, and the dish in the oven hot, pull the oven rack out a bit, put the sausages in the casserole dish, and pour the batter over the sausages. Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the batter is risen and golden.

Serve at once.

Yield: Serves 4-6.

*If you can't find english banger sausages, a standard bratwurst will also suffice. There are two keys to making this dish a success: 

1.) Make A LOT of the yorkshire pudding batter. You might even be inclined to make more than the recipe recommends above...

2.) If you can find it, HP brown sauce will bring this dish to the next level. Albeit, English cooking doesn't get a very good rap, but HP brown sauce will really do wonders!