Burns Nght Post #4: The Wrap Up

The Dinner:
As y'all know, I rarely eat meat, but for Burns Night I'm happy to indulge in a little haggis. Stephanie has been making a veggie version for years, but last year Wendy brought the real deal. She brought it again this year, & I loved it. It didn't last long, & I feel that it's gotten a bad rap in culinary circles. I get the fact that it sounds nasty... sheep hearts, lungs, & livers ground up & mixed w/ oats & potatoes & then stuffed into the sheep's stomach... but it's delicious.

Stephanie's veggie haggis consists of red & brown lentils, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, & peanuts. It's awesome. We had it again last night & there are leftovers so I'll be having it again today or tomorrow... if it makes it that long.

I made Brussels sprouts w/ chestnuts. I sauteed the chestnuts in ghee w/ apple & red onion while boiling the Brussels sprouts. They then go into a casserole dish & slipped into the oven w/ more ghee. Brussels sprouts, along w/ haggis, get hated almost universally, & I don't get it. They're really good.

Rachel brought the neeps & tatties... mashed potatoes w/ turnips. Along w/ the haggis, it's the other traditional half of the Burns Night dinner.

Stacey brought oranges (orange & blood) steeped in Drambuie... they were a big hit... & as it turns out, Drambuie is pretty damn good.

Once the other food was gone, Dawn showed up w/ awesome bridies & pasties from Ackroyd's Scotch Bakery in Redford.

The Desserts:
Stephanie made Honey Creams. They're homemade ice cream w/ honey, scotch, whipped cream, egg whites & sugar... they're delicious.

Mary brought fantastic scones w/ whipped cream & fancy homemade jams.

Of course, there was also cheese, chocolate, & spotted dick... & lots & lots of Scotch.

The Scotch:
Dewars... This was mainly for the Honey Creams, but a couple pulls helped the readings go smoothly.
Abelour... I wrote about this a couple weeks ago & decided another bottle was in order.
Laphroaig... I picked this up last week. It's a nice peety Islay. It goes down smooth.
Glenfiddich... I called my dad a couple weeks ago & he was @ the duty free shop on his way to Windsor. I asked what kind of Scotch they had, & he said the Glenfiddich was 35 bucks. I said, "That's not much better than retail. He said, "For a 5th?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "These are liters." I said, "Hook us up!"
Oban... Pete brought this one. It's a nice mixture of the Islay smokiness & the Highland sweetness... It went down smooth.
Caol Ila... Andy brought this one. A fantastic Islay. Everyone loved it.

The Entertainment:
Aiden read "The Selkirk Grace" before the meal. It's the traditional Burns night grace. He practiced the pronunciation for quite a while & did great.
I read "Address to a Haggis" after the grace but before the dinner.
Jim read "To a Mouse" during dinner. He was great. no one could understand a word he said, but he was great.
Andy & Matt both read poems, but I don't recall what they're called, but Andy's was about brothers-in-law & Matt's had something to do w/ the deflowering of a young girl... I think.
I then read about 1/2 of "To a Louse" before it faded away as people lost interest... it was too late in the evening for another reading.
Jim & Joe also played some music... some Mayflys originals, plus some Beatles, GD, & RA covers. Isaiah loved watching them, & so did I.

The Photos:
Here is a link to Stephanie's Facebook album from the party.
Here is a link to Rachel's Facebook album from the party.

All in all, a good time seemed to be had by all. I can't wait until next year. Maybe we'll have to have something sooner like a Tartan Day party or Bloomsday in June. That might be good.

Burns Night Post #3: Who Would Rabbie Support?

We prepare to celebrate Burns Night tonight, & as always, the celebrations falls during the FA Cup Forth Round matches. Awesomely, Man U has already crashed out of the competition which leaves only Chelsea as a real challenge to Arsenal's sweet run towards the League/Cup double. Of course, Arsenal's 4-2 fight back @ mid-week against Bolton sent them to the top of the league table... granted, a Man U win this afternoon would see Manchester overtake them for a couple days. Still, it's pretty sweet to be top this late in the season.

So in honor of Burns Night & Arsenal's rise to the top, here's what may be the 1st in an new annual tradition... my Burns style poem for the weekend.
Enjoy!

"To a Goon"
Now, if wee Rabbie Burns were still agood
Do’na think that he would be a Chelsea man
For fookin’ fruit & prancin’ doon the road
Is not the way for our fair Burnsie, ken?

And whoot of auld sir Alex’ red Manure?
(He wouldna be a Yankees fan me’thinks.)
Young Rab would ratha cheer the worker, sure,
Than fancy big buck squads with big buck stinks.

Take Merseyside and shove it up yer arse!
Not since the four fair Beatles was it plain.
He’d never been nor would he be a Scouse.
He’d floosh the Reds, wi’ shite, right down the drain.

He’d scoff at Villain ‘tenders to tha crown
Blue Cit’zens, too, wee Rabbie would na take.
Nor lily-white; tha Hotspur, he’d put down.
North London’s got but one fer foock’es sake.

Perhaps the Ayr United or the Killie
Would scratch his home town need for home town sport.
Fair Rabbie was no silly billy Gillie,
He wouldna’ take no silly billy court.

Not Hearts nor Hibs nor Hoops would be his team.
And Rangers only range for gearlie boys.
Though Scotland’s squads would be for him it seems,
They play a pretty plot with ugly noise.

He’d be a true red Gooner don’t ya ken?
Up the Ars’nal; top the table strive.
A club wi’ whom th’hard workin’ lass and men
Can drink and sing and fight and be alive!

Burns' Night Post #2: Iron Your Kilts!

Here are some links to get everyone ready for the big drinking game that is Burns' Night. This Saturday @ our place... bring your appetite for scotch & your appetite for good, good food.

Burns Night.Net

The Facebook Group

Burns' Poetry

Burns Supper

a fun little story from the Moscow Pullman Daily News... whatever that is

A fun little story from The News, a small paper from Nova Scotia w/ a rather uninspired name.

Burns' Night Post #1: Aberlour 12 Year & Other Whisky News

While I was waiting for Chinese food @ Chia Shiang a couple weeks ago, I strolled next door to Morgan & York to survey the Scotch selection. The last time I'd been there, I picked up a bottle of Glenmorangie Lasanta which was good but it had a bit of a sherryesque finish with which I wasn't completely down. It was aged in sherry casks so it's supposed to be sherry-y, but not that sherry-y. I don't mean to complain though. It was good (Glenmorangie always is), & @ 92 proof, it did its job, but I needed to try something different this time.I wasn't familiar w/ Aberlour, but I'm glad I got to know it. The 12 Year is in the same price range as Glenfiddich & The Glenlivet. It doesn't have the sweet, honey finish of the Glenfiddich; there are some caramel & cherry highlights instead. It's miles beyond the Glenlivet in flavors & complexities. It's probably been 4 or 5 years since I last bought a bottle of Glenlivet though so maybe I should give it another go... but then again, I had a glass last year & was I under impressed then too. In other Whisky (or whiskey) news, I read Kate Hopkins' 99 Drams of Whiskey a couple weeks ago. It's a fun book about her travels around the globe exploring distilleries & tasting whiskeys. She writes a great food site, The Accidental Hedonist, & the book was a really fun look into the process of making & enjoying the Water of Life.

Holiday Post #11: A cup of kindness yet

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and days o'auld lang syne ?

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot,
sin auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Burns Night is coming! 25 January 2010

And be sure to vote before midniight tonight... right now it's down to Heidi Klum, Sarah Michelle Gellar, & Adriana Lima.

Burns' Night: Saturday the 24th

Don't forget to start thinking about the poem you plan to read @ the Knapp/Dewees residence next week. You may also need to press your kilt & get a bottle of Scotch. Although, as always, if you need to choose between the ironing & the Scotch buying, choose the Scotch! I always do. I'm personally looking forward to both the kilt and the Scotch; in fact, I was thinking about going formal this year... we'll see if I really break out the flashers & dirk. To prepare for the festivities, you may also want to find a set of bagpipes (that actually have a hole all the way through the blowpipe & chanter). Another thing you could do would be to have yourself a merry little kilt-a-thon film fest by watching movies like Brigadoon, Rob Roy, Tunes of Glory, Braveheart, etc. A longer list of kilted films is available here. It's obviously not an exhaustive list, & some of the films mentioned are only peripherally kilted, but others are pretty damn good. The film on the list that I think I need to see soon is The Match... because along w/ a main character in a kilt, it's about the rivalry between a couple pub soccer teams.

Burns' Poetry

Recipes

Kilts

Utilikilts

Bag Pipes