FOOD:For those times when you must have some scrumptious stodge, try these treats to hit the spot, writes Domini Kemp
THERE ARE times when only tasty stodge will do, the type of food I reckon the celebrities from Heat magazine like to scoff between trips to the looney bin or the gym (both the same thing, in my book).
Back in the day, when I used to fancy myself as some sort of Jilly Cooper heroine, I always looked forward to competing at the Hickstead horse show in England. The reason for this wasn't necessarily the fantastic experience of winning or losing in one of the most exciting arenas against top horses and riders. No siree, it was much more to do with Polly's Van, of which I was a regular customer.
From 5am each day, Polly sold soft, fresh-baked, floury baps filled with crisp mountains of streaky bacon and soft-fried eggs. A good squeeze of ketchup and a giant mug of strong, sweet tea completed the feast.
Polly's baps were the breakfast choice of many bona fide Olympic champions who would queue up religiously for their daily brekkie fix. I liked to think that eating the same thing as some of these world-class greats would help me in my quest for showjumping stardom. Maybe, in some osmotic way, touching the tomato ketchup bottle after them would guarantee me a clear round.
In addition, those breakfast baps were perfectly executed every day. They had the perfect marriage of flavours, the right amount of fat - or plain old grease - balanced by the floury, powdery nature of the warm, soft bap. The ketchup singlehandedly helped the salty bacon "pop" in your mouth, and was further enriched by nature's perfect food, the egg.
Polly was also very obliging and made sure that I got extra-crispy bacon and a super-runny egg - it was heavenly. There is nothing quite like a greasy, protein-and-carb fest to get your arteries clogging up.
I still make the odd bap, in honour of Polly (now that I think of it, I doubt that was her real name), but I also like to make something a little posher, which is sort of a cross between French toast and a breakfast bap.
Ham and cheese fried sambos
4 eggs
150ml milk
Salt and pepper
4 thick (about 3-4cm) slices of white bread
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
8 slices of ham
400g hard cheese such as Cheddar, Gruyère, or a combination of both
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas four. Put the eggs and milk in a bowl, whisk and season with salt and pepper. Take a knife and cut out a pocket in each slice of bread, in much the same way as you would cut a slit in pita bread, so that you can stuff it.
Spread some mustard on the inside of each slice and stuff it with the ham and cheese. Put the breads flat in a gratin dish and pour the eggy-milk mixture on top of them. Flip them over after a few minutes while you heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan.
Remove the soaked bread from its egg-milk mixture and fry it on both sides until golden brown. Put the fried bread slices straight on to a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes.
Allow them to cool slightly before carefully slicing in half. Serve with some extra Dijon mustard on the side, to which you can add a splodge of mayonnaise or ketchup.
Chocolate pots
Although I'm not one for slavishly ordering desserts, I am, however, partial to something small and chocolatey that is easily mastered. These pots are perfect treats which would be good for kids' parties, brunch, or the day after the night before.
200g dark chocolate
100g butter
3 eggs, beaten
120g caster sugar
30g flour
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees/gas six. Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl along with the butter. Sit the bowl on top of a saucepan of gently boiling water. Don't have the water level too high in the saucepan; ideally the water shouldn't touch the bottom of the bowl.
When the chocolate and butter have melted, stir well and set aside for a minute. Whisk the eggs, sugar and flour together and then add in the melted chocolate mixture. Pour the mixture into oven-proof ramekins or dariole moulds you have placed on a baking tray, so that they can be transported easily.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are set. Remove and allow to cool slightly, before serving with a big blob of sweetened cream or crème fraîche.
If you want to be super-decadent, buy an extra bar of chocolate and when you've poured the chocolate mixture into the ramekins, dunk a square or two of chocolate in the middle of each pot, which will make them extra gooey and chocolatey. dkemp@irish-times.ie