The British Chancellory of the Admiralty in Trafalgar Square maintains records which establish that General Pakenham and Admiral Lord Nelson, upon maritime death in the line of duty, were packed in casks of rum and shipped home to Dover, the better to preserve their tissues intact and to enhance the flavor in the even t other supplies ran low en route.

I'll bet you have some rum on hand that you may want to keep at the ready for similar medicinal >hic< purposhes.

>"<

-- Old Git (noemail@spam.problems), January 20, 2000

Answers

Um, this thread was started by Squirrel Hunter (see the whiskers twitching?). Here's the explanation:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002Max

Old Git --

The thought of eating the Admiral PICKLED in rum never once crossed my mind!!!! ..... I swear. I do belive this calls for a new thread, and you as the Hostess with the Mostess should begin it.

To the top of New Answers.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.tree), January 20, 2000.

My source for the info on Pakenham was "The British at the Gates" by Robin somebody (can't put my hand on it right now) and the info on Nelson came from Sweetie, who knows just about everything historical and has a prodigious memory. He read it "somewhere." But I also know from growing up in England that important officers were shipped home thus. Hey, it was before refrigeration and they couldn't very well cremate bodies on those wooden ships. One's mind boggles when thinking of the funerals. . . The fumes!

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 20, 2000.

You wanna use up your rum stash? Okay. Besides pina coladas (hint: start with pineapple sherbet, add a pinch of nutmeg and a tbs of orange juice to the usual ingredients), the following were two of my favorite ways to use up rum before I developed diabetes. Diabetic portions are 1/2 tsp of each (not on the same day). These are great microwave recipes for both--foolproof.

Bananas Foster

1/4 cup butter

1 tbs brown sugar

1-1/2 tbs cinnamon

4 bananas, split and quartered

3 tbs banana liqueur (don't buy the artificially flavored kind--it's awful. Bols is good)

1/3 cup rum (preferably Myers but any dark will do)

vanilla ice cream (can you use anything but Breyers???)

In 8" square dish, melt butter at 30-sec intervals until liquid. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Bring to boil on high, 3-4 mins, stirring at 1-min intervals. Add bananas, coating all sides with syrup. Microwave on high 2 mins. Add banana liqueur. Heat rum in 1-cup measure on high 45 secs. Pour over bananas and ignite (lower lights to do this). Serve over vanilla ice cream.

New Orleans Bread Pudding

6 slices French bread, torn into pieces, including crust (okay, if you have to, use that pasty white stuff they call bread)

2 cups milk (use up your powdered)

1 tbs butter

2 eggs, beaten (got dried?)

1-1/4 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla (the REAL stuff, don't use that artificial muck)

1/2 cup raisins (I know you have some stashed)

Rum Sauce: 1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs rum

Place bread in 9" round glass dish. Heat milk and butter on high 3 mins in 4-cup glass measure. Stir small amount of hot milk into beaten eggs. Return eggs to milk. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and raisins. Pour mixture over bread pieces. Cook on high 7 mins. Cook 2 mins longer if center is not firm.

Mix sugar and rum together in 2-cup measure. Add butter. Cook on high 2 mins. Serve warm over bread pudding.

And there's one more thing I just remembered--Pineapple Romanoff. You take a fresh pineapple and split it down the middle. Remove the flesh in chunks. Add some strawberries and marinate the fruit in rum. Let it marinate at least 3 hours or overnight. For serving, pile back into the shells and decorate with whipped cream and a few slices strawberries. I used to put sliced almonds on teh top in a fetching pattern with the strawberries. On special occasions I'd get those candied violets. . . Ahh--those were the days! From now on I think I shall call this desert Dead Admiral.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 20, 2000.

American moonshiners commonly threw raw meat into the product to enhance the flavor.

-- helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), January 20, 2000.

Old Git: Your insights breing a whole new historical perspeive to the English sea-shanty:

"Sixteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"

>"<

Did you see that Patrick O'Brian, died just last week? Author of those incredibly popular Aubrey/Maturin novels? He finished his 20th -- "Blue at the Mizzenmast" I belive it is called. Just out.

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upin.the mizzenmast), January 20, 2000.

Thanks Old Git for those recipes.We are sunshine bound next month.Very last sheet of paper "Made in England" formed this afternoon ! Over the last 10 years we have made 150,000 sheets one at a time by hand.Kind of makes you stop & think for a while !!

Sweetie was right about Nelson.In Windsor Castle they have on display the bullet that killed him & (I think) his coat together with the explanation of how he was pickled.Now what does Sweetie know about Admiral Grog ?

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), January 20, 2000.

Thanks OG for the great recipes!

Here's my contribution to the "wake".;^)

Hot Buttered Rum:

Boil water. Put shot of rum in coffee mug. Add pat of butter; 1 tbsp. of brown sugar; 1 cinnamon stick; 4 cloves. Add boiling water and mix well. Enjoy!

-- mommacarestx (nospam@thanks.net), January 20, 2000.