Saturday, June 11, 2011

Traditional British Food: Sussex Potato and Cheese Cakes


Bacon, Sussex Potato and Cheese Cakes, Poached Eggs
(I also served this with a green salad with walnut-balsamic vinaigrette.)


Because Sussex Potato and Cheese Cakes are baked, they're really just cheesy, potato-y biscuits, not what you'd normally think of as a potato cake.  They're really yummy, though.

Paul poached the eggs because he can nearly always manage to crack an egg without breaking the yolk.  He is very, very patient and takes the longest of anyone I've ever seen to crack an egg.  I can't watch him do it, because I start wanting to yell, "Hurry up and crack it already!!!"  I just wallop the egg on the counter and frequently end up shoving my fingers directly into the yolk.  Not great for poached eggs.  We just use our large (13") covered skillet, fill it halfway with water, bring to a boil, salt the water, slide the eggs in one at a time with a saucer, then turn the heat down and simmer the eggs (covered) for 5 minutes.  You'll definitely want a slotted spoon to get the eggs out.  Even though they look a bit funky, I like the texture better than with an egg poacher.  Plus, if you go the "old school" route, you don't have to buy extra equipment.

Sussex Potato and Cheese Cakes

*****
Jean Simmons (1947)
Jean Simmons on the set of Uncle Silas
To continue the British theme, I recorded Uncle Silas from TCM (they're showing Jean Simmons movies every Tuesday this month).  Based on Sheridan Le Fanu's gothic novel, which I shamefully have not read, Uncle Silas has more in common with Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights than H.E. Bates's genial My Uncle Silas.

The film version of Uncle Silas was made in 1947 and stars a young and very pretty Jean Simmons as Caroline Ruthyn, who comes into a large sum of money, which would go to her unscrupulous Uncle Silas (Derrick de Marney) if anything were to happen to her.  Caroline, unaware of Silas's evil nature, goes to live with her uncle, who is cooking up something nasty for poor Caroline, aided by his dissolute son (Manning Whiley) and an evil cognac-swilling French governess, Madame de la Rougierre, played to perfection by Katina Paxinou.  Will the dashing Lord Richard Ilbury (Derek Bond) come to the rescue in time?

I was surprised at how engrossing this film turned out to be.  The sets are wonderfully decorated and the atmosphere is saturated with gloom and foreboding.  Uncle Silas would be perfect for a dark and stormy night.  Now I need to read the book!

Jean Simmons (1947)
Studio portrait of Jean Simmons in 1947
Uncle Silas is available on DVD.

Very Good RecipesVery Good Recipes tags: potatoes, cheddar, shallot, onion, egg

18 comments:

  1. the recipe looks delicious. I have not tried to poach an egg yet. It must be a difficult task. I don't know about the film but if it looks like a sisters Brontë's book, it must be charming..

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  2. Really, the trickiest part of poaching an egg is getting it out of the shell with the yolk in tact. The rest is just believing that the viscous mass floating in the water will eventually form into a poached egg!

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  3. But these are really tasty biscuits. :-) Sounds like a lovely meal. I can picture eating on the veranda with a glass of lemonade.

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  4. The potato and cheese cakes look and sound so delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Your blog is dangerous for a dieter ;)

    -j
    sorelle in style

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  5. J-
    I've actually been on a reduced-calorie diet for a long time because of my hypothyroidism. I promise I eat everything I make!

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  6. I have always thought egg poaching to be so much more tricky . . . I have to try this!
    Are the potato cakes cake-ey or more solid potato-ey?

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  7. Laura- These potato cakes taste very much like a cheddar biscuit rather than what I would normally think of as a potato cake. Maybe because they're baked instead of put on a griddle?

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  8. I have never heard of Sussex potato and cheese cakes before, but they sound good. Wasn't Jean Simmons lovely? Ah to have lived in that age ...

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  9. The Sussex Potoato and Cheese cakes look awesome! I can't believe it's going to be 102 there today...we're at 97. (It's cooler here(ha), you should come this weekend!) Wasn't Jean Simmons just lovely?

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  10. Eggs, potatoes and cheese on the same plate? Yum, just yum. The film sounds lovely, too. I'll have to check it out.

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  11. Breakfast for dinner = one of my favorite things!

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  12. looks sooo good!! :)

    katslovefashion.blogspot.com

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  13. This sounds delicious and the recipe is fairly easy to do. I love that. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  14. I will be in London in August (I can not wait!!) and looking at your dish makes me even more excited about my trip. Thanks for sharing and posting :)

    http://ladyonaroof.blogspot.com/

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  15. Oh, your potato cakes sound fabulous! I'm always looking for new potato dishes...these will be a hit with my family :)

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  16. that food looks so delicious!

    http://justfaabulous.blogspot.com

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  17. I really love British foods! Specially if the recipe was given to me. :)
    Looks like a great treat every weekends with my family. Can't wait doing this thing, specially the poached eggs. Must try!

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