# Shrove Tuesday



## Ishbel (Feb 26, 2006)

Traditionally, in the UK, the last Tuesday before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday or PANCAKE DAY! There are pancake day races etc in different towns and villages.  Here's some photographs   http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Album/PancakeRace.htm

BUT, all children want pancakes on Pancake day. I make plain ones with lemon and sugar and also banana and toffee sauce ones.

I'm not sure if this is a tradition anywhere else, but if so..... what's your favourite pancake filling (pudding type ones of course!)


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## texasgirl (Feb 26, 2006)

Don't have pancake day. Wish we did!!
You have pudding filling for them? What is the toffee sauce?
Come on Ishbel, share. These sound like heaven!!


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## Constance (Feb 26, 2006)

The race looks like great fun, Ish! 

On Food Network, I've seen pancake races held at various festivals in small communities around the USA. It must be a custom that started with you all. I don't know of them being connected with Shrove Tuesday, though.

Here a lot of folks think of Shrove Tuesday as "Fat Tuesday", and people tend to celebrate Marti Gras Style...whether it's part of their religion or not.  
Americans tend to pick up customs that are fun, and being the melting pot that we are, we have a lot to choose from!


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## Robo410 (Feb 26, 2006)

lots of churches have pancake suppers on shrove tuesday (Mardi Gras, fat tuesday)  But American tradition is butter and maple syrup.  We also serve sausages etc .


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## urmaniac13 (Feb 27, 2006)

we did a pancake cookout on Lucilla's birthday, a familiar scenery took place though it was the neighbour's dog who got the treat instead of pigeons...

Izzy, this is a bit different from the pancakes that is made from self raising flour... more like crepes... is there a special recipe for them?


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## Ishbel (Feb 27, 2006)

Urmaniac:  This is a basic pancake batter that I use  - slightly thinner than that for Yorkshire pudding.

8oz plain flour
2 medium eggs
17fl oz milk (approx 500 ml)


Sieve the flour and make a well in the centre, beat in the eggs. Beat in the milk a little at a time until the batter has the consistency of single cream. Leave to stand for at least half an hour before making the pancakes.

Spoon a ladleful of mixture into  crepe pan or a small frying pan, which you've oiled lightly with butter.  When the pancakes are done on one side, we 'toss' them (my children often ended up with them sticking to the kitchen ceiling, through overzealous 'tossing'!)   Traditionally, they are served with just freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice and a sprinkling of sugar and then rolled up into cigar-shaped cylinders.

To make the banana and toffee filling.

250g bar of good quality butter toffee (broken up if in a block).  I use MacGowan's Scottish toffee
3 tbsp milk
1-2 bananas per person
Put the toffee and 3 tbsp milk in a heavy pan. Stir consistently over a low heat until the toffee has melted and the sauce is smooth. It doesn't have to boil but should be nice and hot.

Fry the pancakes.  When bubbles appear (after about 1-1½ minutes) toss or turn the pancake. Stack them up and keep them warm while you cook the rest. 

Place slices of banana down the middle of each pancake and pour over a generous amount of toffee sauce. Fold over each side of the pancake into the middle. Decorate with more slices of banana and an extra portion of toffee sauce


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## mish (Feb 27, 2006)

Ishbel, that looks like fun. I've heard of egg races, but no pancake races, here. Not sure if you mean pancake or crepe fillings, but there are two restaurants here that come to mind. Neither have pudding fillings, but just about every filling you can think of under the sun.

For the crepes, a restaurant I went to long ago was called the Magic Pan in Beverly Hills...they were all over the place. You name it, and they could wrap it up in a crepe. For the pancakes, there is a chain of restaurants called IHOP (International House of Pancakes). They run promos from time to time with yummy fillings - like caramel toppings on waffles (with bananas etc.), french toast and pancakes. They have several fruit syrups. The possibilities are endless as to what you can put in the crepes/pancakes - anything from seafood to dessert. 

I recall seeing/hearing about a place in New York City, where the crepe/waffle is shaped like a cone, and you can choose any filling, (ice cream etc.) and take it to go (eat and walk). Somewhere, hope I can locate it, had a recipe (from I think Wolfgang) for Chinese pancakes. Here is the recent promo for Cinn-a-stacks http://www.ihop.com/indexnatl.html

Thanks for sharing the link.


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## Ishbel (Feb 27, 2006)

British pancakes are more like French crepes than the thicker American style - which are more like what we Scots call drop scones and the English call 'Scotch Pancakes' - just to confuse the matter even more!

I do occasionally make savoury pancakes - but the tradition behind Shrove Tuesday was to use up eggs and lemons and sugar before the hard time of Lent....


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## mish (Feb 27, 2006)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> ..... what's your favourite pancake filling (pudding type ones of course!)


 
Thanks Ishbel. Never had a pudding filling in either a crepe or pancake, but the fillings I mentioned are some of my favorite pancake fillings


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## urmaniac13 (Feb 27, 2006)

The banana and toffee filling sounds so delicious... we can get Werther's Original, the flavour would be right on but it is a hard candy not a chewy type... do you think it would melt fine?


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## Ishbel (Feb 27, 2006)

Not too sure about the melting point of those sugary sweets, Urmaniac.  Scottish toffee is a creamier thing altogether.  But try it and see....


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## mish (Feb 27, 2006)

urmaniac13 said:
			
		

> The banana and toffee filling sounds so delicious... we can get Werther's Original, the flavour would be right on but it is a hard candy not a chewy type... do you think it would melt fine?


 
There's always Nutella


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## Brooksy (Feb 27, 2006)

Izzy
Try: Brown sugar, cream & butter in a pan over low heat. Cook until slightly thickened. Add the sliced 'nana and cook for a short time and pour over the pancakes.

Or lightly brown the butter before adding the brown sugar & cream. Two different flavours, but worth a try.


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## Brooksy (Feb 27, 2006)

mish said:
			
		

> There's always Nutella



And a big dollop of ice cream on top....


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## mish (Feb 27, 2006)

Brooksy said:
			
		

> And a big dollop of ice cream on top....


 
Absolutely, Brooksy  And nuts too!


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## auntdot (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes, Ishbel, and I have heard about pancake days, and know there are many who do this.

Our pancakes are usually make with a leavening agent.

We call the other stuff crepes, and I love to make them.

And panckes are really great with lots of butter, real maple syrup, and crumbled bacon on top.

Or strips of crispy bacon on the side.

Nothing better.


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## Brooksy (Feb 27, 2006)

auntdot said:
			
		

> ....And panckes are really great with lots of butter, real maple syrup, and crumbled bacon on top.
> 
> Or strips of crispy bacon on the side.
> 
> Nothing better.



You gotta be from Canada Auntdot....  We've heard about you lot.

The major problem I've got is that I cannot get REAL Maple syrup anywhere...

Last time I was in the Big Smoke I couldn't find it. Very disappointing.

Is there some way of making a substitute?


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## Constance (Feb 27, 2006)

Ishbel, when my kids were little, I used sourdough, and made my pancakes from scratch. Now, I generally use Biscuick for my pancakes, but I make the batter thin enough so that the little rounds are somewhere in between a crepe and a pancake. They are flexible enough that you can wrap the pancake around one of the little sweet smokey links that I love to serve with them.

When my grandson was doing morning football practice in the summer, he'd bring a bunch of buddies home for breakfast afterwards. Pancakes and French Toast were faves. One day, I didn't have any breakfast sausage or bacon, and I sliced and fried up some of my husbands Venison salami...they loved it. 

I miss that...but the boy ran away from home, dropped out of high school and is now in a treatment center for meth addiction.


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## Ishbel (Feb 27, 2006)

Constance
What's bisquick?


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## Alix (Feb 27, 2006)

Ishbel, Bisquick is a ready made biscuit/pancake mix.
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...um=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-50,GGLD:en


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## purrfectlydevine (Feb 27, 2006)

Fastnacht (not sure if it is spelled correctly) Day is the tradition around here as the way to use up the sugar and fat before Lent.  Fastnachts are doughnuts traditionally made with potatoes in the dough.  They are served plain or with powdered sugar.  Many churches take orders for them and sell them as a fundraiser.  The grocery stores with bakeries sell them and one of the stores has curb service Tuesday morning.  Of course the local doughnut chain makes them also.


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## urmaniac13 (Feb 28, 2006)

I thought of another good substitute for scottish toffee... we can also get Polish creme caramel here, that has real creamy smooth texture and soft, I am sure that will melt well with heat... 

And Mish is right... there is always nutella... wonderful companion any time both with bananas and pancakes...


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## Chaplain Kent (Feb 28, 2006)

My favorite Sh rove Tuesday story comes from my Jewish cousins. She was trying to impress her overly protective kosher mother-in-law with how she could prepare the perfect kosher meal. All the preparations were made and checked by the book, separate dishes were, plates and utensils were purchased. The kitchen was scrubbed and not a detail was overlooked. A few moments before the arrival of the in laws. The wife asked her husband if she had forgotten anything? He went down a mental list and at the end of that list was dessert. The meal was not complete with out dessert and there was not time to prepare a proper dessert. the wife decided to dash out to the bakery and purchase something while the husband waited for his parents to arrive. Fortunately the wife returned just before her in laws and the dinner went on with out a flaw. The mother-in-law was quite impressed and began to be a little relived that her son would be at least fed by this woman who was now his wife. Then came the dessert. They were placed on a silverplatter which was a wedding present and never did a dozen "hot cross" buns purchased on Sh rove Tuesday look more appealing. 
The couple ended burying the dishes in good kosher fashion the mother-in-law never ate at their house again.


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## Ishbel (Feb 28, 2006)

Traditionally, Hot Cross Buns aren't eaten until the end of Lent - although, in reality, they are available all year round nowadays!


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## GB (Feb 28, 2006)

Forgive my ignornace, but what exactly are Hot Cross Buns? Is there something in them that is not kosher?


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## Ishbel (Feb 28, 2006)

GB
They are a bun (here's my recipe I posted a while back )http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f116/traditional-british-hot-cross-buns-7356.html?highlight=cross+buns

They were traditionally eaten in Christian households after Lent, to celebrate the end of the fasting period... They are a fruited bun, traditionally served with a 'cross' on them.. hence NOT something traditionally found in Jewish homes!

PS - they are delicious, try them, but omit the 'cross' to save hurting the feelings of family


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## Jikoni (Feb 28, 2006)

Happy pancake day everyone. GB, this is what hot cross buns look like.
They are yummy. I imagine that for the fact that they have a cross on them and eaten by christians at the end of lent kind of makes then not popular with the jewish  as per the story by captain kent.


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## GB (Feb 28, 2006)

Hmmm I wonder why the couple had to bury their dishes. Just having something with a cross on it would not make the dishes non kosher. Even if they were "contaminated" somehow (having meat and dairy on them together for instance) there is a way to purify them again. They should not have had to get rid of their wedding gift.

Those buns sound delicious. I will have to try them.


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2006)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> British pancakes are more like French crepes than the thicker American style - which are more like what we Scots call drop scones and the English call 'Scotch Pancakes' - just to confuse the matter even more!
> quote]
> 
> lol, shaking head.
> ...


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## licia (Feb 28, 2006)

I don't understand customs of many, but I understand how wonderful hot cross buns are. Our bakeries only carry them shortly before Easter, and I am going to only buy them once this season.


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## ronjohn55 (Feb 28, 2006)

Here's one of the paczki I mentioned in the IHOP thread...

(It's pronounced poonch-kee)







We don't have the pancakes or hot cross buns here in metro Detroit. We have paczki for Fat Tuesday.

More info..
http://www.polishnews.com/fulltext/chef/2003/chef82_1.shtml

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006602280369

John


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2006)

ronjohn, last sunday morning i hit the local polish bakery for rye, ham, and potato salad and i saw those paczki. i was tempted, but the 4 foot tall and wide babushkas beat me, literally, to it.
i read something about that they are consumed the thursday or friday before ash wednesday, something like a fat thursday?


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## ronjohn55 (Feb 28, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> ronjohn, last sunday morning i hit the local polish bakery for rye, ham, and potato salad and i saw those paczki. i was tempted, but the 4 foot tall and wide babushkas beat me, literally, to it.
> i read something about that they are consumed the thursday or friday before ash wednesday, something like a fat thursday?


 
Bucky! You're still alive! Thank goodness! Yes, NEVER mess with Polish grandmother (Babcia) in a babushka, you're lucky they didn't pinch your cheeks to death!

The paczki came about in the build up to lent as a means to use up all the "decadent" things around the house before the fasting and sacrifice of lent (you know, get all the crap out of the house before you start the diet!). 
Fat Tuesday is the big day for it, but you do start seeing them beforehand. 

There's actually a Polish market I go to that has them year round, since paczki is really just Polish for "donut". They do seem to get a bit bigger this time of year though. The box of a dozen that I brought in this morning easily weighed over 2 pounds. 

John


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## cc2003btw (Feb 28, 2006)

One tip for all you pancake makers. Don't whisk the mixture too much....  

I was worried about the lumps, did it fine the other day. Humph.


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2006)

ronjohn, i just googled paczki, and found out that in america paczki day is fat tuesday, and in poland, it is fat thursday, aka thusty czwartek.

lol, maybe they haven't grasped the concept of a calendar yet, and are using one from a few years ago... ( i knew i could come up with a polish joke for that one  )

my neighborhood is so polish that when i was talking a walk down my block the other day, 2 people tried to begin conversations in polish with me: one in a car asking directions, the other on foot asking for a neighbor's address. and all kidding aside, the woman in the car was going up the block, a one way, the wrong way.  
i told her she was driving like a dupa!


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## kimbaby (Feb 28, 2006)

chocolate chip pancakes for me


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## Alix (Feb 28, 2006)

Well we traditionally do potato pancakes for dinner today. Mmmmmmm. I will likely do something else too. And Ken, if you read this...YOU'RE GETTING RICE PANCAKES!!


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## Ishbel (Feb 28, 2006)

I made a batch of hot cross buns (OK, so my religious days are WELL behind me!) and they tasted delicious!


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