A Wee Dram to Robert Burns

This was Marty's idea via an article in The New York Times. I filled in the details.

Scottish poet Robert Burns celebrated his birthday last Friday, January 25. He's pretty old. Our New Hampshire friends were in for the weekend and were game. First we did a scotch tasting which included 3 single malts. We had an appetizer of lamb pies, Forfar Bridies. They were rich (lots of butter in the pastry) and lamby. For dinner, I made one of my specialties, Scottish Hot Pot, which includes stew beef, veal sausage, potatoes, apples, port wine, tomato paste and thyme. It's rich and delicious, perfect for a cold winter night. I don't know what the Scots would drink with this, but we trusted a Malbec.

We read some verses, including Auld Lang Syne, but we also read a poem about William Wallace's bloody fight to drive the English out of Scotland. Wallace is a supposed ancestor of mine. I have a tartan scarf I bought in Scotland, which I drag out on celebrations like these.