Burns Supper

It had to be done, I don't really have any particular interest in Robert Burns, or poetry in general, but it was an excuse to eat haggis, not that I need an excuse I do have haggis fairly regularly. I had bought a haggis and a turnip earlier in the week so I only needed some potatoes. I didn't need to go to Stockbridge Market today but there was nothing on TV and so I headed out after lunch. I almost missed the bus to Stockbridge I saw it coming down the road and just managed to get to the bus stop in time to hop on, it only runs every 1/2 hour on Sundays and I might not have bothered if I had missed it. 

I knew Eden.Mill were bringing out another bottle of Whisky Spirit for Burns Night and I was interested to try it, I was also planning on making a Whisky Sauce and thought I might use their Whisky Spirit. I tried some and decided to get a bottle, it is made from different malts to their Hogmanay spirit so although similar it is different, it still reminds me of an Islay, quite sharp and a bit smoky but not as sweet and maybe a bit nuttier than the Hogmanay Spirit. I also piked up a bottle of chili oil and a bottle of Honey & Mustard dressing at the market.

After the market I dropped into the Stockbridge Tap for a couple pints, they had on "Jaffa the Hutt" from Loch Lomond brewery, it's a version of their "Silkie Stout" infused with Jaffa oranges. After a couple pints I headed home and picked up some potatoes and cream on the way.

I managed to successfully burn my turnip by letting it boil dry in the pan while peeling the potatoes and had to throw them out, luckily I had only used about half the turnip so I chopped up the rest of it and started again, this time keeping an eye on it! I decided not to mash the turnip but leave it in cubes just for a different visual effect. I made the sauce using a beef stock jelly thingy with some cream and the Whisky spirit I bought today. I'd read on a couple internet sites that you should set light to the Whisky to burn off the alcohol so it is not too bitter, this seemed such a shame so I decided to add honey instead. It worked quite well giving the sauce an unusual bitter, sweet counter balance which worked pretty well with the spicy haggis.