International Intrigue

     Yesterday I posted my weekly menu planner and suggested that readers guess the cuisine I was attempting to replicate each day.  I figured Sunday's meal of London Broil and mashed potatoes would be a slam-dunk for everyone.  It certainly sounds like an English favorite, doesn't it?  But in corresp0nding with my British cousin, Rita, about my meal plans she promptly responded to me, "What's London Broil?"  Whoops!  Guess I had some investigating to do.  So I went on the Internet to Wikipedia and discovered that in the UK it is not the same cut of meat as it is in the US.  In fact, it's not even the same animal.  We enjoy London Broil as a flank steak or top round from beef cattle, while the English version is lamb.  And Canada has yet another derivation of that meal.  So I stand corrected! 
     But my beefy London Broil did have a decidedly English flavor to it.  I marinated it for about 5 hours in the 'frig in some Lancashire sauce that I brought back with me from my heritage tour of England last Fall.  It is a proud counterpart to the more familiar Worcestershire Sauce and is purportedly still made by the descendants of Grandma Entwistle.
     One note also about the mashed potatoes...This week both daughters have asked for my recipe.  It's nothing special, everyone knows how to make mashed (whipped) potatoes.  But a couple simple tricks make them light and creamy rather they gloppy and cloying.  After peeling and cubing the russets place them in cold tap water and let them come up to a boil on the stove and simmer for 13 minutes.  Then drain all the water from the pan and place it back on the stove for a few more minutes to allow any residual water to evaporate.  Put the cubed spuds in a large bowl and begin to break them up using a hand mixer on slow speed.  Slowly add some milk and butter that has been warmed but not boiling, just enough to melt the tablespoon of butter.  Turn the mixer on high to insure that no lumps remain.  At this point additional ingredients can be added if desired, like shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, minced garlic or chopped parsley.
     Have you ever cashed in on a bargain of 5 pounds of potatoes on sale only to discover that half of them have sprouted eyes before you could use them all up?  Here's a solution, according to Dr. Greg Porter of the University of Maine/Orono.  Place a ripe apple in the bag of potatoes to prevent them from sprouting.  He states that "the ethylene gas released from the apple suppresses the elongation of the potato cells, which is what causes the sprouts to form."  Now you know.

Pictured above is my "American" London Broil about to head into the oven, courtesy of Grandma Entwistle's sauce.