Toad In The Hole for tea, English tradition from my childhood

As I prepared dinner last night talking to a friend on the phone I mentioned I was making Toad In The Hole.....dead silence. "You are making WHAT?"  So I figured I'd better explain.

A dish from my childhood for English nursery tea with a funny name, Toad in the Hole is nothing more that Yorkshire pudding cooked with embedded bangers which are sausages to Yanks. The dish has become a fortnightly (2 weeks) favorite for my husband and myself with our hoarded English bangers we can occasionally find at a QFC market or buy at Central Market in Poulsbo, WA coming home from Seattle.

Yorkshire pudding is traditionally served with roast beef, preferably...but no healthily...cooked in the fat in the pan at the end of the roasting time.  Yorkshire pudding becomes popovers when cooked in smaller portions, but it's delicious how ever you cook it. So...here is a recipe I have adapeted to feed the 2 of us from my grandmother's recipe omitting most of the eggs & fat. This can be used for supper with salad and vegetables and can be legitimately served at tea....meat tea or high tea or as a great breakfast dish. It was traditionally a children's dish, hence the fun name.

Toad In The Hole for 2
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees or 400 degrees if convection oven is used. Lightly grease a heavy pie plate...I use a Corning Ware one I treasure.

Break up 1 sausage...preferably an 4-6 inch long English banger but any mild sausage will work...after rmoving the casing...and space around bottom of the pan. You can also use link sausages or kielbasa slices if desired.  Place into pre heated oven for 5 minutes.

In small bowl beat 1 egg and 1 egg white until well blended. Add 1/2 cup milk and beat in. Add a dash of salt and 1/2 cup sifted flour in portions, beating well until well mixed with no lumps.

After the 5 mins, remove the pan with sausage and add the batter all atonce and return the pan to the oven, baking 15 minutes.

Turn down the oven after the 115 minutes to 350 degrees or 325 if convection without opening the door for 15 minutes longer. Remove, cut and serve. If desired serve with butter or margarine and pepper (my favorite).

A cool 20 degrees at the moment here in Sequim, WA with still about 8 inches of snow and roads that will freeze ever harder tonight. Sounds like a good day tomorrow to work on adding items to Antiques And Teacups...if the internet connection stays good. It's been on and off all day. Hope it is nice where you are, and you are preparing for a thankful day on Thursday. Will post a special blog discount for the weekend.
Cheers!