Muffin, Darling, Honey

In English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David, claims the word crumpet evolved from a regional expression for a piece of skirt; for a time a crumpet, colloquially anyway, was a term of endearment a fella might use to describe his sweetie. Eventually, ‘muffin’ displaced crumpet as way to express love and fondness in a very British way, without actually acknowledging it.

Not quite as wholesomely, the Saucyhome has come to love a good strumpet on the Thanksgiving table. Here, the strumpet isn’t the traditionally defined woman of misunderstood, loose or easy virtue - no need for a holiday for their company, always welcome – instead the neologism refers to a food that is half crumpet/half stuffing. Originally, strumpets were designed as a way to free up oven space on a busy day and kill the stuffing and dinner roll bird with one culinary stone. Strumpets ended up quickly turned into a Thanksgiving mainstay.

The problatunity with strumpets is getting the batter consistent. The batter has to be loose enough to go into the round forms they are cooked in; thick enough to hold up to the fillings while still being light enough to develop the telltale air pockets of a traditional crumpet. In order to solve this problem – The Saucykitchen has resorted to the bane of every improvisational cook – research and testing to perfect this recipe.

With all the strumpet cooking this week, it occurred to us as good as they are at Thanksgiving, they are the perfect vehicle for leftovers – Turkey, cranberries? Mashed potatoes and a dollop of gravy? Wild rice and roasted root veggies? Cooked in the middle of a fresh, yeasty griddle cake it is even better. If you aren’t ready to forgo the traditional stuffing and/or dinner rolls – break out a little strumpet batter on Friday or Saturday.

8-10 Strumpets

1 C. Stock
½ C. Cream (warm together to about 100 degrees (warm to the touch, microwave is fine)

2 Tablespoons yeast
1 T. sugar
½ t. salt
2 eggs
2 C All-purpose Flour
2 T. chopped Sage & Parsley

2 T butter
2 T oil

Warm the liquid. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl – Slowly whisk in warmed liquid. The mixture should be the consistency of a pancake batter. Cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place (top of fridge works well) until batter doubles in size – about 50 minutes.

Gather strumpet fillings - The short time on the griddle means fillings will not cook any further - so make sure anything you add to the batter is the right degree of doneness – wild rice, sausage, apples, cranberries, onions, celery, bacon, oysters or any traditional stuffing ingredient or a nouvelle addition like cream cheese and lox can be used.

Heat griddle or frying pan to a medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon oil and place rings on griddle. Fill and this takes some work – fingers, the back of an oiled spoon, fill the bottom of ring with batter and add filling and top with batter. Cook for 60-90 seconds, remove form, flip and cook for an additional 90 seconds. Keep in a warm place – repeat until batter is gone.