Best of British Cooking & Blog Challenge visits
Dorset,
for Apples, Cheese and Rabbit Pie
Welcome to the FIFTH Best of British Cooking Blog Challenge, where we visit the lovely English county of DORSET. Famous for its beautiful coastline and rich agricultural landscape, this county has a rich food heritage, and I am lucky enough to have sampled its delights many times, as my sister lives in Blandford Forum and is an expert on Dorset cuisine – she has just started a blog and is available to answer any Dorset culinary questions if you visit her at Most Simply Traditional.
Food & Drink in Dorset:
Dorset is home to some of the finest, most delicious, first-class food you’ll ever taste. With its reputation for freshly caught fish, organic blue cheeses, specialist breads, local ales, award-winning handmade chocolates and the sheer luxury of local, premium ice cream – you are never far away from exceptionally good food in Dorset.
Stock up on fresh, local and organic produce at one of our farmers’ markets or head to a country pub for a ploughman’s lunch served with crumbly Blue Vinny cheese. If you’re feeling peckish in the afternoon, find a village tea room and indulge in some famous Dorset Apple Cake with a dollop of clotted cream. Come evening, you’ll find plenty of award-winning restaurants, some even run by the culinary stars of our TV screens, perfect for those special occasions.
Some Dorset specialities are:
Blandford Pudding – made with Gooseberries; Dorset Knobs – these are light, crisp roll-shaped biscuits produced by Moores of Morecombelake; Rabbits made tasty casseroles and pies; Rook pie – was a favourite cheap dish for low-paid labourers; Lettuce soup is traditional in Dorset; The Dorset Horn, a type of sheep, is famous for its tender meat as well as its woolly coat; Dorset Lamb Crumble is a good way to use up left-over roast meat; Long Puddle Lamb is a casserole containing Worcestershire sauce ; Piddle Bacon Cake – the Victorians renamed it Puddle Bacon Cake though (The River Piddle runs through the county but the Victorians thought the name rather vulgar and so they changed it to “Puddle”); Dorset Jugged Steak ; Dorset Sausage ( a meatloaf); Dorset Apple Cake; Sweetheart Cake traditionally eaten on Midsummer’s Eve; Blackmoor Vale (Hardy’s “Vale of the Little Dairies”) has its cake which is half-way between a rich fruit cake and a gingerbread; Golden Cap Pudding with oranges; Dorset Blue Vinny cheese and Dorset Cream Teas…..
So, what will you bake or cook for this month’s Best of British challenge? There is such a diverse range of ingredients and recipes to use, and I am looking forward to seeing what you all come up with! New World Appliances are sponsoring this challenge in conjunction with Fiona from London Unattached, and there’s a £50 amazon token for one winner chosen at random from this month’s entries…plus a GRAND prize of £300 of amazon vouchers for the overall Best of British Blogger which will be judged! Last month we visited LONDON and you can see the round-up of tasty recipes here: London Best of British London Round-Up
Lavender and Lovage Photo Dorset Blue Vinny
Rules:
- Post your recipe on your blog with a link back to The Face of New World Appliances and to me here: Lavender and Lovage.
- Add the ‘Best of British’ badge to your blog post – the badge is shown above and below.
- Add ‘Best of British’ in your blog post as a label or tag
- The recipe can be one of your own or one you’ve seen elsewhere. You are welcome to republish old recipes/posts but please add the information about this challenge.
- Please make sure you don’t infringe any copyright laws – if in doubt please ping me, Karen, or Fiona on twitter (@KarenBurnsBooth or @fionamaclean) or leave a note below or at mostsimplytraditional to ask for advice!
- Please be as creative as you like with the theme for the month.
- This month’s challenge starts today, 8th October, and closes at midnight on 7th November 2012
- Please add your recipe link to the linky below so I can visit you to leave comments and also add you to the end of month round-up!
- If you post on twitter, please mention @KarenBurnsBooth (or @fionamaclean and @newworldapps) and use #BestofBritish and we will try to retweet!
Is that a photo taken from The Anchor at Seatown I spy (the sarnies overlooking the sea)??
Yes it is Sally! I hope you will enter! Your book was ordered today by the way and will be posted tomorrow for Herbs on Saturday! Karen
Thanks so much for stepping in at the last minute Karen;) Lovely to have Dorset as part of Best of British – and don’t we all have a fabulous set of ideas to cook!
xx
Fiona
Not a problem Fiona, I didn’t have tome to post a recipe in the challenge though, so, that will have to wait until I submit one myself! Karen
Oh, that will be fun. I just visited Dorset last August/September. That picture up there looks like Durdle Door. I passed by this place on my last a bit too extensive walk along the coast.
Do you know anything about an old Dorset recipe for chocolate cake with beetroot?
Hmm…..and old recipe from Dorset? I DO know that beetroot was used in cakes during the war as a substitute for sugar, but whether it was a Dorset thing or not, I cannot say! Yes, that is a photo of Durdle Door by the way!
Really looking forward to taking part in this challenge! Half of my family are from Dorset and I went to uni in Bournemouth, so I do have a special affection for the county – there is also one grower/producer in particular from Dorset who I love and will most definitely be taking inspiration from!
BRILIANT! I am so pleased and I am intrigued to see which grower you mean…..maybe we share a love of the same grower! Karen
Hi karen! Ah I’ve missed reading your blog! Life has been crazy busy plus been away so am slowly getting back to the swing of things. I made my Dorset Apple Traybake and then noticed you are hosting Dorset so would love to link it up but I can’t see the linky. I’m really gutted I missed London BoB last month but never mind. Hope you enjoy this apple traybake – I certainly did 🙂
Aw I have missed you Ros….BUT, I DO know what life is like, and I have also been SUPER busy too! Let me check the linky is working and get back to you…..I LOVE a good apple cake and I bet yours is LUSH! Karen 🙂
The linky was broken, it is working now Ros!
Fabulous to see us (Updown Cottage) on Gold Hill pictured with all that fabulous Dorset food!!
It’s a lovely photo Jane and epitomises the beauty of Dorset! Karen
I am so confused – I know it doesn’t take much! I visited a blog earlier this month that I’m sure stated it was hosting Best of British. Only I couldn’t remember whose it was. I didn’t believe Chris when he told me it was you. Anyway I’m very excited about my entry which I’m posting tomorrow – excited because it is so delicious rather than it’s in the least bit novel.
In my experience Dorset Knobs are only good for cracking your teeth on and should come with a health warning! But my mother is very taken with their other biscuits and always brings a few packets home with her when she visits the area. We drive past Blandford on route to the New Forest where CTs mother lives and keep thinking we ought to make a bit of a detour one day to see what it’s like. You have some splendid photographs.
Thanks for the entry, looking forward to seeing it! My sister lives in Blandford and it is a lovely little Dorset market town. The confusion may have come about as I stood in to host Dorset when the original host had to stand down! Anyway, you are here now and know where Dorset is!! Karen
P.s I love the fact that I’m not the only one who thinks ‘dorset cereals’. I think the cream tea cake is my favourite. Delish!