World Cup games start this weekend and while I’m not a big soccer, er, football fan, I love the idea of countries battling it out on a world stage — away from the United Nations and away from the Olympics. So to kick off (pun intended) a summer of international exploration, I gladly plan to base some of our exploration on World Cup matchups!
So for the 2:30 p.m. (Central Daylight Time) Saturday (June 12) clash of England versus U.S.A. we bring you the best of England.
TUNES: Pick a British band, just make sure they’re from the mainland of England and NOT Wales or Scotland! Also see the Wikipedia entry for football chants here!
I had no idea the English teams had so many variations of songs. But I do recall a lot of face-painted, clog-wearing, country-flag draped, beer-in-hand jolly fans SINGING and CHANTING throughout the stadium when I was at the 1994 World Cup qualifying in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. Forget the teams on the field, there’s as much electricity and festivity in the stands and in the crowds of FOOTBALL FANS streaming to and from the stadium.
BACKGROUND READING: First, a tip of the hat to good friend Chuck Culpepper (We miss you Chuck! Come visit!) who wrote about learning the nuances of English soccer. Click here to buy Chuck’s book!
EATING: Anything by Jami Oliver is a great start! Bigger bookstores have Jamie magazine, which is fun to read because of the recipes calling for mililiters and grams and anchovy fillets. And the turn of phrases which are oh-so-colourful like mum, meringues, cottoned on, peas, lovely, chutneys, courgettes, programme, gasman, milkman, fish pie and the like. Yet not as strange as my butchering of proper English probably sounds to the English!
Anyway, my fave new cookbook right now is undoubtedly Jamie’s Food Revolution. It’s fabulous! In the first week I received the cookbook (thanks dear Hub) I made half a dozen recipes. My daughters were to the point of exclaiming, “What’s for dinner? Bet it’s something from Jamie Oliver.” After watching his Food Revolution I got to the point of replying “Yes loves, et is” in a very bad English accent.
FILMS: I think “My Fair Lady” might be a nice movie when the girls get tired of watching football.
RECIPES: Check out Emeril LaGasse’s recipe for Toad in the Hole — a very English breakfast popover from his Th
ere’s a Chef in My World! cookbook. I love the name!
For lunch try Jamie’s Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce (from page 52 in his new cookbook.) We swapped turkey bacon for the richer stuff.
And for dessert, try Emeril’s Summer Pudding with white bread (or challah bread) and lots of berries. I suggest trying a classic pudding, it was the one thing I liked when I ordered dinner at the famous Rules restaurant in London. (So I didn’t realize the kidneys in the steak and kidney pie were REAL kidneys. I thought perhaps they might be referring to kidney BEANS. No such luck!)
But for this tamer, pure English menu, it might be enough to get us to root for England!
