- Hungry Melly

I’ve always been curious of how some of these dishes out there have earned such silly names. Of course, they all have multiple stories behind them. Most of them starting with “they say”. Who are “they” anyway?? Most of them coming from Britain.. I decided to test out a few. For now, these are the ones that I chose to experiment with. I always have fun recreating meals, so if there’s one I should try, let me know!!

SINGING HINNIES – A Northern English treat. “Singing” refers to the sizzling sound of the griddle cakes being fried and “hinny” is the pronunciation of “honey” in that portion of England, a sweet term of endearment.

These griddle cakes are a scone form of pancakes. They are very dense and delicious! I used a plain scone recipe I found online and added raisins. Instead of baking them, they should be fried! Yummy!

WELSH RABBIT/RAREBIT – A dish from Wales that contains absolutely no rabbit. They say the word “rabbit” caught on as a joke to Welsh peasants who could not afford to buy meat, so they purposely gave it a fancy name. The name eventually changed to rarebit to stop people from thinking that the dish actually contained rabbit.

This dish calls for melted cheddar, beer (any type) and a splash of Worcestershire sauce mixed together in a pot until melted, then poured over a mustard smeared toast (I used sourdough). Broil it for a few seconds to get it a little crisp on top. It’s delicious!! It’s basically an open faced grilled cheese sandwich with the taste of beer!! What’s not to love!?

TOAD IN THE HOLE – A British dish with sausages baked in a batter. They say it’s name refers to the way toads wait for their prey, with their heads popped out. Traditionally, this dish is in a casserole form served with an onion gravy. I chose the muffin pan route so that I could make different types.

These were all made with a Yorkshire pudding recipe I found online. On the left of the board is the traditional toad in the hole made with a plain sausage link. The top are wrapped with bacon and drizzled with syrup. To the right are baked with pepper jack cheese. All served with an onion gravy… All pretty tasty!!

SCOTCH WOODCOCK – Another odd named British beauty. It was often served as an hors d’oeuvre to the royals and continues to be served throughout the UK. They say the name is most likely a dig by the English against the Scottish.

I was a little hesitant on eating this, as I am not a big anchovy fan. It’s buttered toast with anchovy, creamed scrambled eggs with capers on top. The capers and the anchovy do add a nice saltiness to the egg. Not a bad dish if you like anchovies! I would prefer extra capers instead…

FROG EYE SALAD – A popular midwestern dish. The name comes from the type of pasta that’s being used, as it resembles frog eyes. Recipe seems like a lot, really very simple. A lot of “chilling”

Cook and cool 2 cups of acini di pepe pasta. Mix it with a drained can of crushed pineapples (save the juice) and a can of drained mandarin oranges. Put it all back into fridge. Heat up the pineapple juice on med heat with a cup of sugar and whisk in one egg until thickened. Pour it over the pasta and fruit. Chill in the fridge. Once cooled, fold in a container of cool whip. Served nice and chilled. The recipe calls for mini marshmallows or shredded coconut too. I opted for just the coconut. It’s a pretty good dessert! Definitely different. To me it kinda seems like a twist of an ambrosia and a rice pudding.

FUNERAL POTATOES – More known as a southern or western dish, like the name, these were traditionally served at funeral gatherings. They’ve become widely known now as a great potluck dish too. The name of this dish is my least favorite of them all, but the taste, is my favorite!!

It’s a potato casserole made to your liking. Any type of potato (sliced, diced, hashed) I used frozen diced. Mix it with shredded cheddar (or any type of cheese) and a diced onion. Pour in a can of cream of chicken soup and a small container of sour cream. Toss it altogether in a casserole dish. Sprinkle some crushed corn flakes on top and bake it all at 350 for an hr. I also broiled the top to crisp up the corn flakes. This dish is soooo good and dangerously addicting! Potluck worthy for sure!!

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK– That’s right, another British dish.. Another dish that got its name by the squeaky sounds it can make coming from the pan. It was traditionally served with potatoes and fried cabbage as a breakfast. In modern times, it’s become mostly a Sunday dish now, mashed with potatoes and whatever leftover type of vegetables you have laying in your fridge (or even freezer) and pan fried.

I mashed up some cooked, peeled potatoes. I used broccoli, carrots and peas. Mash it all together and pan fry it. You can fill the frying pan up making it one or make little cakes. I chose the cake route, they fell apart, but were still very tasty!

DEVILS ON HORSEBACK– These are most likely considered British. They say these are a spin on “angels on horseback” which were oysters wrapped in bacon, a French dish. The British decided on changing the oyster to something sweet. They say the color between the prune and the bacon also adds to its devilish look.

The dish is generally prunes stuffed with an almond or some type of cheese, wrapped with bacon and then baked. Served with warm syrup, they really are to die for!! Addicting!!