Sunday, June 27, 2021

Mosaic Monday #137: A Taste of Home

One day, I asked Spousal Unit if he had any special wishes for Father's Day.  Well, I got more than I bargained for ... "Pork pies, sausage rolls, Branston Pickle, scotch eggs, pasties."  In other words, he was hankering for a taste of home.  He had already looked on line and rejected the option - shipping was prohibitively expensive.   I was determined to see what I could do!

I took my turn investigating the Web, and rapidly confirmed that shipping meat products, even within the US, is costly.  The Branston Pickle, on the other hand, was in stock and reasonably priced.  I ordered three (one for another Brit who lives nearby) and was pleased to see that it would arrive in plenty of time for the special day. **Branston Pickle is a jarred pickled chutney.

As most of you know, I am not the chef in this house, but I can cook when I have a recipe!  So I turned to my good friend Pinterest.  A sausage roll recipe was easy to locate.  Check.  I studied several Scotch egg renditions, and had to dismiss the idea since the most authentic versions require a deep fryer.  For good reason, we don't have one.  Next I researched pork pies, and chose a recipe that seemed easy enough and appealed to me based on appearance.  

Pork pies are traditionally served cold, so I made them the afternoon before Father's Day.  (Since Spousal Unit also does all the shopping, I am sure he had a fair idea of what I was preparing. But he has told me time and again of the deep satisfaction he experiences when he eats a meal he has not had to plan or to cook!!!)  The best I could do to preserve some of the surprise?  Cook the pork pies while he was working out downstairs.  They were just coming out of the oven when he emerged, and so I abandoned all pretense and showed him the results.  He was so excited that I couldn't resist letting him try one right then.  He loved it!  He noted that it tasted more like a meat pie than a pork pie, but given that a pastie is a meat pie, I was not disappointed with that.

The next morning, I gave him a gift bag, together with his Father's Day cards, and he was ecstatic to see not one but two jars of Branston Pickle.  "This will go perfectly with the pork pies!" he exclaimed.

Later that afternoon, I baked the sausage rolls.  To round out the meal, Spousal Unit opted for Boddington's beer.  As he tucked into his plate, I knew I had a home run, based on the celebratory smacking of lips and the low mmmmmm that emanated from somewhere in his chest.  And apparently, now that the pork pies were cold, they tasted much like a traditional one.   "Best Father's Day ever," he declared.  "Can I have the recipes?" he asked.  That's when I knew I had it in the bag.

**Please note that my comments will be slightly delayed this week due to an overnight camping trip.


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33 comments:

  1. That is so much fun! You did so well! Isn't it hrad keeping surprises??!!

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  2. ...all I wanted was for everyone to be together and it happened.

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  3. Oh wow, everything looks delicious! I've always wanted to try Scotch Eggs, but I don't like to deep fry! I'm sure hubby was super happy! Good job Angie. :) I love that..."Fishing you a Happy Father's Day"...so cute!

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  4. Wish a happy Fathersday. All you cooked looks delicious ... and yes, it's fun to cook some special. I love to try new recipes.

    And of course a fresh cold beer.

    Happy MosaicMonday

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  5. That looks like a really nice Father's Day gift set you planned out. The sausage roll recipe...I must check that out for my husby. He adores sausage too. It has been such a long while since I have felt energetic enough to get on here and do what I enjoy so much. This past year following my sister's death and then the ongoing Pandemic, even most think it is over. it is just a daunting time for me, for many. I have missed getting on here and thought my 12 year anniversary was another good time to attempt it. Thank you always for caring and your kindness afforded me.

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  6. lol, maybe you are a better chef then you think :)
    Wish you all a great week

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  7. Awww, that really was super special, bravo you!

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  8. Very special day indeed! Fantastic! ❤

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  9. Good for you, Angie! You hit it out of the park. What a special day you created for your husband. Yum!

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  10. What wonderful homemade, delicious, and nostalgic treats you made for your husband for Father's Day and finding the special pickles he desired too! Hope you are having a wonderful camping trip and are staying cool in the heat wave, Angie

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  11. Looks yummy! There is nothing like comfort food to take us back.
    Amalia
    xo

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  12. You really went all out! I'm sure he enjoyed it.

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  13. You done good. After so many years, it's often hard to come up with anything new where surprises and gift-giving are concerned. That beer would have been more than enough for me. ;)

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  14. Hello, Angie
    I am glad your hubby enjoyed his Father's Day meal. A delicious meal to remind hubby of his home. The pork pies looks yummy. Take care, enjoy your day! Have a great new week ahead.

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  15. What a wonderful Father's Day it was, Angie. A taste of home is indeed special and it does bring back memories of happy times past. I'm sure your husband appreciated your lovely gesture.

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  16. Happy Monday. You are a good spousal unit yourself. Cheers to you and hubby!!!

    (✿◠‿◠)

    much love...

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  17. How nice to make him some of his favs! I made chocolate cupcakes! They deserve some special treatment and I'm blessed too with a hubby who likes to cook as much as I do! Happy MM!

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  18. You really were in the spirit of the day. It was like Christmas and Father's day combined.

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  19. Your pies look fabulous! Glad that it was a home run. So nice to honor your kids father that way. Hope you are having a good start to your week.

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  20. The pork pies and sausage rolls look delicious!

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  21. Your spouse is a fortunate man.

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  22. Angie, That was a great Father's day gift! Thanks for sharing and hosting. Sylvia D.

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  23. You did really well Angie! Such a great Fathers Day. I love Branston pickles and am so happy we can buy it at the local supermarket.

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  24. I can so get it about the Branston Pickle (and the pork pies!) we have been known to take up valuable weight limit flying home with pickle in the bag! Nowadays we can get BP across the globe. What a great gift and what a good wife!
    Have a lovely day
    Wren x

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  25. Ah - the food of my childhood!

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  26. Perfect fit for Father's Day. We always want to keep our guys happy.
    Bob always cuts Alder for fire wood. But sometimes another tree may be down---we had a huge Cedar go down several years ago. So we used that wonderful wood too.
    MB

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  27. I love the pint of beer, serene.

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  28. After reading that I think I need to visit The Pork Shop in Poulton le Fylde. Get Spousal Unit to visit their web site and watch a grown man cry.

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  29. I've not had sausage rolls in ages! My mom always served them at open houses (Christmas!)!

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  30. Good for you going to all that work for Fathers Day and good for him appreciating it so much.

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  31. A very special meal for the spousal unit. Nicely done, Angie!

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