Caiplie House Goings On

I am Finlay Kerr no fancy middle names for me although I have had to tag on a Jnr.  Finlay Junior.

There is of course, Finlay Senior or Father Finlay, Old Finlay or Big Finlay. To confuse things there was Uncle Finlay but no longer and before I arrived Old Finlay was actually Grandfather Finlay!

Anyway I suppose I was wee Finlay for quite a while until I got up to big Finlay’s shoulder and as a tough rugby playing eleven year old didn’t really like being wee! So for a while I was young Finlay but at fifteen you feel pretty grown up so young doesn’t really feel right! It must have been around then that I went Junior.

Now for most of those years there weren’t many of us around us Finlays had to stick together. A few had drifted in from the West but we were a rare breed. However a strange thing happened in the late eighties or early nineties a new Finlay appeared and a female one ….in Australian soap Home and Away….what?

Wee Finlay F

Surely this wasn’t the reason that soon after a veritable crowd of Finlays appeared ? There were baby Finlays everywhere. For years I was pretty certain if someone shouted Finlay it was for me! Of course if it was my Mother shouting my Father and I looked at each other and remained silent. Now I flinched as I walked down the street. Finlay stop that! Finlay get down!

Of course there were The Archies the Anguss the Bruces and the Malcolms as well. All the old Scottish names have come back in vogue.

Interestingly I got an email from a regular visitor to the B&B here in Crail, a German called Stefan who along with his wife Julia have visited every summer since I have been here at Caiplie House. In fact they got the shock of their lives last summer when they turned up and Mad John Boggie was booked in to perform his first ever stand up gig. I am not sure they got all the humour! Not even the native speakers did!

Anyway Stefan was telling me they had just had a baby boy and guess what……..after deliberating long and hard they have gone for an ancient Scottish name over a German name, there is a new Wee Finlay! Finlay Fasbender

Best wishes to you all!

Finlay Jnr.

I was trying to avoid using this blog for ranting on about personal crusades or issues.I was certainly trying to avoid debating religion, politics or football but here goes a political footbal rant:

I am very passionate about sport, I love watching and taking part although the taking part is becoming less and less of the contact variety!  Some of you may say I always played a pretty low contact form of rugby…thanks! 

In my dreams as a boy I played for Scotland at football and rugby, OK in my dreams I play for Scotland at football and rugby. So many of us have those dreams and the closest we get is getting emotional at Flower of Scotland in the East stand and going through the bitter sweet rollercoaster that is watching Scotland, Beating France-getting beaten by Macedonia. Beating England getting beaten by Italy.

What is it like to be out there in the blue strip? How good must that feel? Or maybe coming up through representative and age groups sides it feels like a natural progression. I hope not, I hope at 100 caps you still get butterflies and feel the responsibility of representing your nation!

So how could anybody turn the opportunity to represent your national side down? How can players at 30 years old decide to retire from the national side? If you are lucky you will have 4-5 years more left, in exceptional cases eight, hats off  to Davie Weir. Is the fact that you miss a few more games per season really going to lengthen your club carreer by one more season? Would you want it to? Do you need it to?

So here is a classic breakfast dish, healthy, filling and quick.

I call this one The Crailer

Caiplie House smoked haddock and poached egg

I get some strange looks when I offer people haddock at breakfast…some people just don’t get it FISH? and a shake of the head as if I am mad or worse a laugh. Seriously this is amazing!

Not as pungent as kippers the smoked haddock is subtle and smooth.

Get to your fishmongers and see if they stock them, go for the en-dyed variety unless you like that radioactive orange look! You may find the dye is only egg yolk but often its more than that.

The undyed are called white smoked but they should be an off white or cream colour and smell wonderful. I have been using Arthur Nuttall who delivers to the door on a Saturday in Crail or GJ Wilson of St Monans. They both smoke their own, braw!!

So for poaching anything you want a nice big thick pan which will hold the heat for as long as possible.

Get the water up to boiling and turn down to a simmer, get the pan nice and hot and keep it hot for a while before dropping the haddock fillet in. Happy days, a lovely free range egg poaches at the same speed as a fresh fillet. No need for vinegar or vortexes….fresh eggs that is  the trick!

Pop a halved tomato under the grill with a spot of olive oil and a spot of sea salt. They should all be ready together.

Shake the pan gently, the egg should wobble but not flop, think toned not flabby! but not solid.

Quick sprinkle of parsley on the fish and it looks, smells and tastes amazing.

If I am treating myself I would grill a tattie scone at the same time!

Great breakfasts at Caiplie House, Crail

OK so here it is after a little prompting!!

Caiplie House scrambled eggs and smoked salmon

On my breakfast menu at Caiplie House I call this Fit For a King and ramble on about monarchs and rivers a bit! Quite simply this is scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

To make a nice portion for one person:

Take two medium sized free range eggs, a knob of butter and a splash of cream. Beat the mixture in a microwave proof jug or bowl. Blast for one minute and check and stir. Depending on the size of eggs and the knob of butter and splash of cream you may need another 15 secs.

You want to catch the eggs so there is still a little bit of liquid on the surface of the mixture. It should look like a teaspoonful of runny egg.

Start to fork the mixture out onto a warmed fish plate. For perfection the eggs should sit up on their own, not flop down (undercooked) nor crumble (overcooked). You want a shine to the eggs, you will be amazed how that last drop of moisture disappears.

I have been getting my smoked salmon from GJ Wilson in St Monans, awesome! They have their own kiln and smoke it to perfection. It is just smokey and oily enough without being overpowering. Shop around for a good supplier near you.

Place a rose of cold smoked salmon on top of your shiny scrambled eggs, you can be as artistic as you like but don’t let the eggs go cold !!

Sprinkle a little freshly cut parsley or a few chopped chives on top to finish it off.

Serve with a couple of slices of nice granary bread.

Fit for a king…or queen

Try a great breakfast at Caiplie House, Crail