need to find recipe!

[lucy123]

Don't know if anyone can help me here...

I used to have a fantastic recipe book, whose author I sadly cannot remember - she was a food writer on a newspaper though. The book was paperback, had a silver cover and was called something like "40 quick and easy recipes". Some tealeaf who I used to share a house with now has my copy (along with several records, but I won't go into that).

Anyway the recipe I am after (for this weekend) was called "Toad in the Clouds" - it was very much like Toad in the Hole, but involved tomatoes and mushrooms, and a much lighter batter (some french batter I think).

If anyone has the book, could you post the recipe please, and the name of the author so I can buy it again!

No sorry...

It wasn't by Lindsay Bareham was it?

well, thanks anyway. Elliot I've just searched Amazon for Lindsay Bareham, but the book isn't there (could be out of print though.) damn!

could you just saute the toms & mushrooms, add them to a normal toad in the hole mix, but separate the eggs first, beating the egg yolks in and whisking up the egg whites to soft peaks before folding them in? I've never made t.i.t.h. but this should work?!

I've had a look in my Lindsay Bareham books and it isn't there (I have 5 of her books). Really can't think who else has written for newspapers. Does Nigel Slater ring a bell? He writes for a paper. I'll try and have a look at all my NS books tonight for you although I did a cursory glance last night and none of them have a silver cover.

Sorry just re-read your message you definitely say a 'she'. I'll have a think anyway although I can't remember ever coming across a recipe called that. I have about 250 cookery books so I thought I had pretty much all angles covered.

Is it Fay Maschler? I've got a book by her which is silver, & she writes for the Standard. I'll go & check downstairs for the recipe...

Is it Fay Maschler? I've got a book by her which is silver, & she writes for the Standard. I'll go & check downstairs for the recipe...

Donna Hay writes for Marie Claire and has produced a lot of cook books. I doubt its her but you never know.

Can you search for the recipe on the internet? I just did a quick hunt on Goggle for Toad in the Clouds receipe and it came up with 10 pages of hits. Maybe its on one of those.

hoxtonchick - yes that's it, Fay Maschler! Fantastic. I'll go and look on Amazon now, but live in Spain so it'll take 6 weeks - would much appreciate it if you could post the recipe.

meanmum - i did a search too, but it returns all pages with the words "toad" "clouds" etc anywhere on the page - if you put speech marks round "toad in the clouds" it comes up with 0. First time Google has failed me!

Now I look at the list on Amazon, it's called "Eating In", but will take 3-4 weeks and I have to order the hardback. oh well.

Worst case scenario, call the Standard tomorrow (or email them tonight) and see if she can get it to you directly somehow.

Sorry, I should have assumed you had done a search already.

I'm here! DP threw me off the computer, but I'm back with the recipe while he cooks dinner....

Anyway, here it is:
500 g pork sausages
260 ml milk
60 g butter + more to grease the dish
150 g sifted self raising flour
4 eggs
2 large tomatoes, skinned & each one cut into 8 crescents
salt & pepper
mustard, as required
a little top of the milk or thin cream
60 g diced cheddar cheese

Heat the oven to 220 degrees C (gas mark 7). Skin the sausages & divide each one lengthways into 2. Make the batter, which is a gougere batter, rather than a Yorkshire pudding one, as follows. Put the milk in a large heavy saucepan. Cut the butter into it in flakes. Set on the heat, allowing the butter to melt by the time the milk has reached boiling point. At this stage tip in the sifted flour. Let the milk seethe up over it. Remove from the heat and beat vigorously until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Butter a 25cm diameter souffle dish. Cover the base with some of the batter. Arrange the sausages on the top, with tomatoes tucked in between. Season with salt & pepper & spread the sausages lightly with mustard. Cover with the remaining batter, smoothing the surface with a knife dipped in cold water & making sure the sausages & tomatoes are completely covered. Brush the surface with milk or cream & sprinkle with the cheese. Bake near the top of the over for about 40-45 minutes until richly brown & well risen.

There you go. Apparently written in 1971 - I wasn't even born then! Mmmm, hungry now, supper calls.

thankyou so much, hoxtonchick - I really missed that recipe! Feel free to ask for anything from my extensive library (Mrs Beeton updated 60s version anyone? has a good bit about how the wife should manage the house even if she has a job, unless her wages are absolutely necessary)

See your DP cooks - you lucky thing. Must nag mine some more.

I came home tonight & TOLD him he was cooking. Didn't seem to mind though, as I didn't manage to cook supper until 11pm last night... And then ds managed to join us... Just noticed I use far too many dots when writing. Hope the toad is good.

You could also try "Good Food Fast" by Fay Maschler which has that recipe in. Mine was also thieved, so I bought a replacement on eBay.

How does this happen?? .