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--> --> July 9: Clotted cream and Sally Lunn By Jeff Cheek A reader wrote in asking about Clotted Cream and Sally Lunn, two dishes he had found repeatedly in English novels Just what are they, he inquired? Clotted cream is easy. It is also called Devonshire Cream Let a container of whole fresh milk stand for six hours, slowly heat it, but do not exceed 180 degrees. Skim off the rich, fatty cream, which rises. That is clotted cream. Sally Lunn is a coffeecake like bread, often served with afternoon tea in England. Put there is a century old dispute between the English and the French. And it proves that once a rumor gets started, it is hard to kill. The English say that Sally Lunn was a proper English lady who owned a bakery and teashop in Bath, England. She created a delectable loaf that was so popular that her customers started calling it "a Sally Lunn." Hence the name in cookbooks. Then she met the great French chef, Escoffier. He charmed the proper Englishwoman but actually only wanted to steal her recipe. He then introduced the bread in France as his own creation. The French disagree. Escoffier was known as "the chef of kings and the king of chefs." He cooked for the British King, the President of France, and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany Wilhelm said: "I am the king of Germany, but you are the king of chefs." Escoffier invented many new dishes to honor celebrities, like Peach Melba for opera diva Nellie Melba, and Chicken Tetrazzini for Luisa Tetrazzini, another star. He did not need to steal Sally Lunn's recipe! There is one fatal flaw in the English rumor. Sally Lunn was born in the 18th Century. Auguste Escoffier served as chef of London's Savoy Hotel from 1890 to 1899, the last decade of the 19th Century. She would be at least 100 years old when Escoffier was supposedly using his suave, Gallic charm to purloin her precious recipe. Baking a Sally Lunn is not difficult but it takes a lot of time. INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup milk 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter 1 package yeast 1/4 cup very warm water 3 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 1/2 teaspoon mace 4 cups flour Confectioners sugar PREPARATION: Scald milk with sugar, salt, and butter in saucepan. Cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast in warm water, stir until dissolved, then add eggs, lemon rind and mace. Combine with milk mixture in large bowl. Add flour, stir and beat until dough is shiny elastic. Cover with towel, set in a warm place, let rise until double in size, about one hour. Stir dough down, spoon into a greased tube pan. Let rise again, until almost double, another hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from mold, cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing