Saturday 5 February 2011

Yorkshire Pudding Day for Sunday Favourites wth Chari.

On Sunday Great Britons everywhere will, hopefully, be celebrating Yorkshire Pudding Day.

Fotosearch image
To show my support for this wonderfully iconic British dish, I'm sharing a post from last year which was originally one of my Alphabe-Thursday contributions, and joining Chari for Sunday Favourites @ Happy To Design.


I should imagine that not many of my US followers know too much about the Wars of the Roses?
No, not the movie with Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner!

The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars fought in medieval England from 1455 to 1487 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

The name Wars of the Roses is based on the badges used by the two sides, the red rose for the Lancastrians and the white rose for the Yorkists. Major causes of the conflict include: 1) both houses were direct descendents of king Edward III; 2) the ruling Lancastrian king, Henry VI, surrounded himself with unpopular nobles; 3) the civil unrest of much of the population; 4) the availability of many powerful lords with their own private armies; and 5) the untimely episodes of mental illness by king Henry VI.Source:http://www.warsoftheroses.com/
The end result of the Wars of the Roses was that Henry Earl of Richmond killed Richard
Of Gloucester at the Battle of Bosworth, became Henry VII and went on to found the Tudor Dynasty.
Now, (or nethin as we say in Lancashire) that was a few hundred years ago and I have to say that there is still some slight rivalry between the two counties.



However, on our recent trip back to the UK we stayed in a great little gastro pub with rooms, the New Inn, in the village of Marsden situated in the West Riding of Yorkshire, just a few miles outside of Saddleworth, where my family now reside.
It was lovely.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Marsden like this:
MARSDEN, a village and a township-chapelry in Almondbury and Huddersfield parishes, W. R. Yorkshire. The village stands on the river Colne, adjacent to the Manchester and Huddersfield canal and to the Manchester and Leeds railway, under the backbone of England, 4¾ miles E of the boundary with Lancashire, and 7¼ SW by S of Hnddersfield; is a large place; and has a station on the railway, a post office under Huddersfield, and fairs on 25 April, 10 July, and 25 Sept.
Source: A Vision Of Britain Through Time.


Although I am a born and bred Lassie from Lancashire, (that is not me in the vt! I just wanted you to hear the tune) I have to admit that there are some things that the folks over in Yorkshire have done well, and one of them is to produce Yorkshire Tea!
If you like your tea strong, this is the one for you.
Check out this fabulous website to find out all about it.

Another very special foodstuff to come out of Yorkshire and one that I think everyone knows about, is Yorkshire pudding and if I say so myself the ones that I make are Historic!
In a good way!
Helping to make Yorkshire puddings, a traditional part of the family Great British Sunday Roast when I was growing up, was a treat for a young girl and over the intervening years I have tried and tested many different recipes.
However, I always come back to Delia's classic Yorkshire pudding recipe, (well, we do share the same family name: Smith).

I'm also joining in with The Tablescapers Seasonal Sundays this week,
click here to see who else is participating.

19 comments:

  1. Nobody could make Yorkshire pudding like my grandmother...a Lancashire lass!

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  2. My dads Yorkshire pudding is one of the fabulous memories I have of him even though he was a Londoner through and through.

    He was taught to make Yorkshire pudding when he was stationed their in wartime- His land lady taught him and it was the best ever!

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  3. Maggie,

    I love Yorkshire tea. Jackie talked about it and I ordered it in on Amazon. I noticed the other day Publix had it. There are many Brits in Florida for this season. It is wonderful and I have a cup every afternoon.

    Very good post. Have a great weekend

    Carol

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  4. I am even learning history on your Blog; I love yorkshire pudding/ We have a special restaurant called Mr Prime rib; they make the best.

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  5. That's it - there's a lovely roast in the freezer and it's coming out as soon as I've written this comment. Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and oodles of gravy - does it get any better than that on a cold winter day?
    Thanks for the inspiration!

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  6. We LOVE Yorkshire Gold. We usually have PG Tips, because my daughter likes it and it is cheaper than YG. When we lived in Suffolk it was easy to obtain. Here in America, it is harder and lots more expensive.
    And yes, Americans do know about the Wars of the Roses. At least this American does. I suppose it might be because I'm a student of Late Medieval English/French History.
    I love your blog. My maternal grandfather came from Avranchs and so that area has always fascinated me. I love visiting in Normandy. We have family in Rouen, too.
    I look forward to reading more on your blog. It is always a pleasure.

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  7. I have never eaten Yorkshire pudding but I would like to try it.

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  8. Maggie, my "chef" has even made Yorkshire pudding. It was delicious, but it's been many years. I think I'll forward him the recipe link. ;-)
    Hope you are enjoying a splendid weekend. ~ Sarah

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  9. What a fabulous history you have shared with us! I love your stories and photos. I have to admit to recently reading a trilogy of young adult fiction that discussed the War of the Roses in a totally different light than the true historic. But it's fun now to see a real reference to the time. And I also must admit to being totally ignorant to Yorkshire pudding. Beyond hearing of it, I have no clue what's in it or what it tastes like. I find it utterly charming that there's a national Yorkshire Pudding Day.

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  10. OMG! I love yorkshire pudding, my grandmother used to make it because she came from England. My mother took the recipe and keeps it a secret! I would love to make it. Thanks for sharing! Found you @ Sunday Favorites. Now I am your follower. 8>)

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  11. Thanks so much for sharing! Learned some bits. Although I've never had Yorkshire pudding, I think it is now a must!

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  12. Glad you got to go to England. Hope the weather was agreeable. xo Jenny

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  13. OMG, Yorkshire pudding is one of my FAVORITE things in life!!! LOVE,LOVE,LOVE your post!!! and I will definitely try the recipe you recommend... I do make Yorkshire pudding all the time and find the YP here in the States is more of a Popover texture(I DO LOVE IT though), and when I visit the British Isles and had it there it was the PUDDING texture(I LOVE THAT TOO). My Mom always made gravy with her drippings and I prefer now to have the Pudding instead. Thank you AGAIN. I'm anxious to try your version. Hugs to you,
    Donna

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  14. Yorkshire Pudding Day ~ How perfect!! Bentley will love it since that's his homeland! We always have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding at Christmas, but today is the perfect excuse to make it again!!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  15. I love, love, love your post today (even if it is a rerun). I just finished reading "The White Queen" by Phillipa Gregory. "The Red Queen" is waiting. I made the YP once -- it was really good. I am going to check out your recipe.

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  16. Hi, Yorkshire pudding and yorkshire gold--two of my favorite yummies! I often try to make the pudding with our roasts, but I haven't got it right yet! I'll keep trying. And the tea is now available in supermarkets here, thank goodness. It's not inexpensive, but I think it's worth it when I need treats! Linda

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  17. Oh I love this post. I love England. I've been there twice and can't wait to go back again. I'm going to go back and go over every single inch of your post.

    - The Tablescaper

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  18. Hello!
    This is an interesting and informative post, glad it has an encore!

    I've had Yorkshire tea, but not the Yorkshire pudding!

    Katherine

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  19. Hi Maggie...

    My friend, I do apologize at being so late to get by to see your Sunday Favorites post. I have been a busy little bee!

    Well dear lady, I sooo enjoyed this post that you chose to share with us for the SF party this week! I must admit that I remember studying about the War of the Roses in history but that has been some time ago. It's a very interesting time period for me...thank you for sharing the particulars with us!

    Ooh...your Yorkshire Pudding looks fabulous, Maggie! Of course, I had to follow your link over for the recipe. Thank you for sharing it with us! So very nice to have you join in with the fun of Sunday Favorites this week, dear lady!

    Have a wonderful week,
    Chari @Happy To Design

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!