Royal wedding nibbles

  • By Michelle Locke Associated Press
  • Wednesday, April 27, 2011 12:01am
  • Life

Throwing a watching party for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton doesn’t have to be a royal pain.

But with the wedding scheduled for 3 a.m. local time, you probably are going to find that plenty of coffee is, so to speak, your cup of tea.

Patra Wroten, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area and writes about parties and other occasions on her blog, I Do Declare, has found a workaround to the inconvenient timing: a slumber party for some friends.

“It really was just a great excuse to get a group of our girlfriends together,” she said, “and take off work.”

Her party will start Thursday evening and go right through to the Friday festivities with a few hours set aside for rest.

They plan to watch a tape of the marriage of the prince’s parents, eat English food and may just have a little drinking game — a sip for every time someone says, “future princess,” for instance.

Ready to host your own wedding-watching party?

Here’s a suggested menu for morning dining, English style:

Fruit and chocolate scones

23/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups dried fruit, nuts and/or chocolate bits

Coarse sugar, optional

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until well distributed. Add the cream, sour cream and vanilla. Mix until almost combined, then add the fruit and nuts and mix just until distributed.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick and 10 inches across. Cut the circle into 8 wedges, then transfer each wedge to the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze until well chilled, 15 to 30 minutes.

While the scones chill, heat the oven to 400 F. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool before serving.

Makes eight scones. Per scone: 602 calories; 323 calories from fat (54 percent of total calories); 36 g fat (19 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 84 mg cholesterol; 70 g carbohydrate; 9 g protein; 3 g fiber; 947 mg sodium.

Recipe by Alison Ladman

Bismarcks also are known as Dutch babies and German pancakes. Though this oven pancake isn’t commonly served as a breakfast item in England, its savory counterpart, known as a Yorkshire pudding, is served for Sunday dinner with leftovers being served with jam for dessert. Use any fruit you like for the filling.

Fruit Bismarcks

1 cup milk

4 eggs

1 cup bread flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

11/2 cups fresh fruit, such as sliced peaches, citrus segments or berries

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, flour, baking powder and salt until smooth.

Place the butter in a pie plate or oven-safe skillet. Set the pie plate or skillet in the oven. When the butter has melted, swirl the pan around to fully coat the bottom and sides. Pour the batter into the hot pan and immediately return to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375 degrees and continue to cook until browned and puffy, about another 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Heap the fruit in the center, then serve dusted with powdered sugar or topped with whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 174 calories; 78 calories from fat (45 percent of total calories); 9 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 125 mg cholesterol; 17 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 2 g fiber; 115 mg sodium.

Recipe by Alison Ladman

Named for the sound it makes while it’s cooking, bubble and squeak is a breakfast hash of sorts designed to use leftovers from the previous nights’ boiled dinners.

It generally is made from shredded boiled cabbage, mashed potatoes and whatever else is around.

Leftover meats could be shredded or chopped and thrown into the mixture, as well as carrots, onions and squash. Our version assumes the vegetables are cooked, but if you don’t have any leftover veggies, simply boil them until tender.

Bubble and squeak

1 pound sausage meat

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 russet potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed

1 cup shredded, cooked cabbage

1/2 cup chopped cooked carrots

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high, cook the sausage meat until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pan and reserve.

Add the onion to the sausage drippings in the skillet and cook until translucent and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the potatoes, cabbage and carrots, as well as the reserved sausage meat. Mix and cook until well browned, 15 to 20 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally and flipping the mixture over and about. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 390 calories; 182 calories from fat (47 percent of total calories); 20 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 54 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 16 g protein; 3 g fiber; 540 mg sodium.

Recipe by Alison Ladman

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