Golden Buck (an English Savoury)

Let me begin by apologizing for my protracted absence. Much in the IK is breaking down: the overhead kitchen light, the stove door, the house electrical panel. And so on.

Then there’s the van. It spent over two weeks in the shop. Five thousand dollars later, it is finally home.

I drive a wheelchair accessible van. It is nineteen years old, and the end is nigh. Unfortunately, such vehicles are difficult to replace. Think back. Are there any wheelchair accecssible van vendors in your neighborhood? Now try to remember where the local Honda dealership is.

Prettier than the van.

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No vehicle left me unable to run all but the most basic errands. Sure, I could’ve downloaded an app and gotten groceries delivered, but I’m not wild about strangers choosing my lettuce. Nor am I mad keen about rideshare services. Your parents and teachers pound it into you: DON’T HITCHIKE. NEVER GET INTO A STRANGER’S CAR. Along comes ridesharing. Get into a stranger’s car! Not only that, pay for it!

Instead, yours truly raided her pantry, where she found the ingredients to make a Golden Buck.

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The Golden Buck comes to us from English Country House Cooking: A Family Cookery Book, by Fortune Stanley. Published in 1972, English Country House Cooking is a compilation of recipes collected from Mrs. Stanley’s cook, Isabella Menzies, and from “distinguished country houses.” Mrs. Stanley was herself a keen cook whose genuine interest should defuse any notions of upper-class snobbery.

The Golden Buck epitomizes the savoury: butter, cheese, white wine, eggs, and a generous shake of Worcestshire sauce are carefully stirred together, poured over toast, and broiled. The result is as unappetizing to behold as it is delicious to eat. Below, my first attempt.

Into the kitchen.

Making a golden buck is not difficult–blend ingredients over low heat, spoon resuling egg mixture over toast, broil.

The only tricky part–you knew this was coming, right?–is making the sauce without scrambling the eggs. Even if you do, the Golden Buck still tastes good. Below, scrambled bits in my maiden attempt.

Scrambling is not inevitable. Mrs. Stanley suggests making the sauce in a double boiler. Lacking one, you can fill a large pot with simmering water and set a heatproof pot or pan atop the larger pan. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the top pot. The sauce now cooks in gentle wafts of steam. Lacking photos of this, I give you butter.

I lack both a double boiler and the patience to cook in gentle wafts. It’s hard enough cooking in the dark. With carpal tunnel. And then there’s the news. A double boiler? Entirely too much to contend with.

Instead, I treated the Golden Buck’s sauce like any other egg custard: I slowly added the beaten egg mixture off heat, whisking continually. Then I moved the pot back to medium low heat, stirring placidly.The sauce starts out thin, and you may wonder if it will ever thicken. It happens suddenly, so don’t go anywhere. Don’t even think of checking your phone.

Incidentally, have your toast ready to go. This is not the time to realize you a. completely forgot about it, or b. burned it. Ask me how I know.

The Golden Buck wants generous seasoning, or it will taste as bland as it looks. Give it about two teaspoons of Worcestshire sauce….

an assertive grinding of black pepper, and a generous hit of lemon juice.

Taste critically, and add more seasoning if necessary.

Spoon the eggy mixture over the toast….and….

broil until bubbling. Be ye not dismayed by the Golden Buck’s appearance. You are part of a long tradition of classic English cooking, returning to a time when people ate their food instead of photographing it. A time when food was honored, appreciated, and savored, not styled to gain the fleeting approval of strangers or deployed to, God help us all, “influence” others.