Do Ye Know Wha' Day 'Tis?
It's Haggis Day!
Note, that is not National Haggis Day. That's because, today, EVERYWHERE in the WORLD is celebrating the culinary wonder that is our friend, the haggis.
I must confess, before the extensive research that went into preparing and posting this entry, I had never seen haggis in, well, for lack of a better word, it's natural state. I had only seen it in loose form, in jars or spooned up on plates, and generally none of that was REAL haggis.
Have YOU ever seen a real haggis?
Well, now you have!
Interestingly, "haggis" refers not only to the national dish of Scotland, but also to the small, furred, Highland creature whose meat it was originally made from. (Haggis are closely related to snipe.) You can read more about this reclusive animal here.
Although all types of haggis boil down to the same thing (sorry, pun was impossible to avoid) There still seems to be some variety in appearance.
Some haggis looks like a weird boiled-pudding-sausage hybrid...
Some commericial types are sort of shiny...
Some are dark and round...-ish...
Others are pale and long...
But all of them - and this is only my opinion, so be sure to tell me if you disagree - just look WRONG.
I found some recipes for haggis. They admit that it's a hard to get in the US. This could possible be, oh I don't know, because the USDA has declared haggis to be "unfit for human consumption" and several major ingredients are ILLEGAL in this country!!!
Apparently, a true serving of haggis is not complete without “neeps and tatties” - mashed turnips (or occasionally turnip greens) and what amounts to hashbrowns. And also, scotch. (some other sites discuss serving it with “neeps and nips” (of whiskey))
"Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!" Thus Robert Burns began his Address To A Haggis.
This poem, which continues: "An cut you up wi ready slight, / Trenching your gushing entrails bright, /... /And then, O what a glorious sight, /Warm-reekin, rich!" is traditionally read before serving, after the haggis has been "piped in" to the room by bagpipers. (kashtanga? quotableboy?)
In fact, Haggis Day falls on January 25, because this is the anniversary of the birth of Burns. All over the world, kilt-wearing individuals will be slicing the haggis in memory of Burns tonight.
And, if for some reason, you happen to NOT be in the mood to eat “warm-reekin” entrails of what looks like the speckled egg sack of some alien creature, there are plenty of holiday-appropriate alternatives. Try haggis samosas, haggis won-tons, even haggis ravioli!
Yes, there is even Haggis Helper.
(So, if you don't already have dinner plans...)
You know, you can fancy it up all you want. It's still the boiled stomach of a sheep.
I'm not so sure the cartoon illustrations help. I mean, it is somewhat better than a photo of the actual dish, but do you really want to eat an antimated whoopie cushion?
(and, yes, this recipe does include the illegal-within-the-US ingredients. Nothing that exciting. Sorry, it's not like it's pot-flavored haggis.)