Today is the start of the first annual Anglophile Week here on Life With Dee! Francophile Week was so much fun and several of you contacted me to say how much you enjoyed it. I hope Anglophile Week will be just as popular.
Just as I did for Francophile Week, I’ve created a themed menu for this week. This week’s menu features a British influence. I searched out some of the most iconic British foods to include and I’m eager to try some of them myself. Full disclosure: We probably won’t be eating this exact menu this week for a couple of reasons. First of all, we won’t be eating at home a couple of nights. Second, we are trying to eat a more Mediterranean-style diet and those were the foods I bought on my grocery haul last week.
Still, I thought it would be fun to create an entire week of British-style meals to share with you. I found recipes for each of these to which I’ve linked in case you would like to try one or more. As an added bonus, one of these dishes is linked to a guest post a blogging friend wrote for me years ago. She is from Wales and now lives in England. So let’s get started!
Dee’s British Menu
Monday
For the sake of honesty I’m just going to admit that we were not impressed with the food we had during our admittedly very short time in London a few years ago. I’m pretty sure the burger we had at a pub was amongst the worst thing I’ve ever had. Truly, it was inedible and had me actually wishing for a McDonald’s. We did, however, have a very tasty Shepherd’s Pie.
10 things you didn’t know about shepherd’s pie
Did you know the difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie?
Tuesday
I’ve been told that we really should have tried Indian food while in London. Fun fact: chicken tikka masala was created in Glasgow. This is one we will actually eat this week. I have all the ingredients and I bought pita bread which is an adequate substitute for naan.
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- basmati rice
- pita bread
Wednesday
My blogging friend, Tori, shared this very simple recipe with me several years ago.
- Bubble and Squeak
- salad
Thursday
- Toad in the Hole
- mashed potatoes
- greens
- baked beans
Friday
- Lancashire Hotpot
- mashed sweet potatoes
- steamed broccoli
Saturday
From what I read, most people in Britain don’t make fish and chips at home; this is generally a take-out meal. I’m not including a link to a recipe for this but since “mushy peas” is a common accompaniment which most Americans aren’t likely to be familiar with, I found a recipe for that.
- fish and chips
- Mushy Peas
Sunday
As a child our family ate out quite often and one of my favorite things was prime rib. Back in the “olden days”, this was usually accompanied by Yorkshire pudding. I rarely see this anymore which is a shame. I just might have to give this one a try.
- roast beef
- Yorkshire pudding
- roasted potatoes
- steamed broccoli and carrots
For dessert:
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Scones
And since no British menu would be complete without tea, here is my guide to a perfect “cuppa”:
I had a lot of fun researching British food. Here are a few links and videos you may enjoy:
13 Classic British Foods We Love
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This post is linked up on I’m an Organizing Junkie. For more menu ideas, check it out.
Great menu! Cool that you included a recipe I sent you on it. It seems weird to me that a Sunday roast isn’t considered a typical thing to you. It used to be what happened every Sunday for me. I still often do a veggie version on a Sunday, even though being married to a Canadian and becoming a vegetarian have combined to make me break the habit of a weekly Sunday roast.
As you might expect, I don’t have a menu again. I’m not very good at making them, and even worse at sticking to them. But you no doubt already figured that out.
I think the big Sunday dinner thing used to be fairly common here in the States, too, (especially in the South) but less so these days. When I was a kid growing up in Southern California, we usually stopped by a deli after church and bought all sorts of freshly sliced deli meats and cheeses, fresh rolls, salads and such then took them home and made a big lunch. I love the idea of a big family meal on Sundays. We tried starting that with our adult kids and our niece who lived here at the time. We managed it a few times but then their schedules changed which didn’t allow it. I keep trying to figure out a time that would work for us.