Chapter Nine.

Mrs Bridget's Apple Pie.

The Butchers.

When I was with my Nan recently I wanted to inquire about this recipe she gave me. Mrs Bridget's Apple Pie. First I asked who Mrs Bridget...? She told me this was a 'little old lady' that came to the Butchers, which my Nan and Nicholas used to run in the 1980's. She said that this recipe used to make customers fly through the doors to grab a pie along with their selection of meats. Nicholas was also a very good addition as Master Butcher, apparently holding the title of...

Nicholas with a piece of machinery used in the shop.

However I re-created the recipe for Mrs Bridget's Apple Pie:

 

Although with my twisting ways I decided to cut some of the pastry out of it. 

With the addition of a lovely home-made vanilla custard, et voila, the masterpiece that could have made millions if the shop was still running :(

The texture of the pastry was really good, it had the right amount of crisp, crunch and softness. I managed to cut the apples up to a good size and keep them as equal as you can is a good tip. I also used honey to drizzle over and it gave the pie a really glossy glaze. Now I know you may think it looks like a 'Tarte Tatin'- or an apple tart. But in my eyes this is the best re-creation I could do.

My Nan was very impressed anyhow and everyone seemed to enjoy it, even Dad had second helpings.
On the other hand, I have some recipes the shop used to sell:

My Nan used to attend a cooking course when she was in her late teens early twenties, where she began to collect recipes and typed them up or wrote them down, depending on how successful she was at them. These select few recipes were so good she made them to go into the shop and they sold really well. Nicholas and Nan both had a good cornish pasty recipe which I think was combined with this one above. If your wondering what all the child-like scribbles are, they were done by my Mum in her high chair when she was a baby.

Still as cheeky!

I managed to get another interview with my Nan about her time as a Butcher, or Butcher's wife. And she describes the 'goings on' in the shop, what they sold etc. It was a very successful business and unfortunately only due to the supermarkets expanding they're meat produce, they had to close in the late 80's. I was not around when the shop was running, however it was true to the name of a family business. Mum, Dad, Uncle Stephen and many more people who were friends and family all had a job at some point with Nan and Nicholas' shop.

Here is the interview... Please excuse the roughness, however it was quite difficult interviewing dear Mrs Marsh, she is slightly deaf and hard to video. I am very grateful for these videos I have posted so far though. Nigella would always prefer this style rather than it being edited!
In the video as well she highlights her memories of what her aspirations in cooking were. She also looks at Delia Smith's recent opinions on baking and how people don't make time to just bake anymore, the '33p' cupcake is definitely what my Nan would make time to do. Nowadays it is interesting how food habits have changed as well. People depend and thrive through the supermarkets and it's all food on the go. Yet there is the popular and ever-growing interest in the cake and baking industry. The glorifying television programmes like "CAKE BOSS"and "The Great British Bake Off", are both trying to impress viewers and make them realise how 'easy' or demanding a baking project is. I really enjoy these programmes as they help younger people value and appreciate old methods of cooking, and cooking to share.
The idea of food as memory is inspiring and with many writers like Elizabeth David, Alice B. Toklas and even chef personalities like Nigel Slater, they all use food as the device to remember a personal account. It is this notion of remembering the taste, how it was made, the textures, they all help you to remember the exact time and place you were in. Looking into my Nan's recipes has really shown me insight into the traditional methods of cooking, looking at how to twist and modernize old recipes, and to remember the good times shared through the food and dishes my Nan and I have shared or cooked together.
Looking into the idea of 'family' and cooking in the home as an important source of wellness and balance to help in family life.

All of us together on Holidays in Disney-world.

To conclude, with this blog I have attempted to portray my Nan's cooking or her recipes through the use of a memoir, and to express food a nostalgic and memorable. I have looked into the course material and have a few comparisons or inspirations from them like Toklas and Slater. Nigella Lawson's personal and anecdotal style is really inspiring and has changed the way chefs or cooks look into the recipes. It helps the reader identify and try to visualise the moment of the first trying of the food, or it's a recipe passed down from generation to generation that symbolises food as secretive or as legacy. I hope to have effectively explain the earliest memories of food my Nan has had and myself. I feel this conjunction of our ideas and opinions has helped bring us closer and has definitely improved my cooking skills! I am now not as terrified with guilt that I can now cook a joint of meat. Make pies, breads and sponges to satisfy and give people pleasure. Mrs Marsh's memoir is a very interesting and skilled set of recipes for home cooking. They symbolise the idea behind getting together as family, friends and just enjoying food together. It is this idea that has inspired me throughout the blog and I hope to have effectively shown different angles of this notion.