March  05
Matthew Richard Lucas' Birthday

In the UK, Matt Lucas is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the scorekeeping baby, George Dawes, in the TV comedy panel game Shooting Stars, and  for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the TV sketch show Little Britain and spoof interview series Rock Profile.

Matt began his career in comedy on the London stand-up comedy circuit at the age of eighteen as Sir Bernard Chumley, legendary actor and raconteur - a character who was to appear later in BBC' Lttle Britain. in which he played several roles which he also wrote. He rose to fame as George Dawes, the giant baby, who would deliver a string of meaningless gags and insults, as Marjory Dawes, George's mum,  as the apparently disabled Andy Pipkin, as the homophobic homosexual Daffyd Thomas, and as the morbidly obese Bubbles DeVere. Matt is openly gay, and based the character Daffyd Thomas on himself, recalling how he felt he was "the only gay in the village" only to find out that everyone accepted it and wasn't shocked

Lucas also gained rave reviews for his portrayal of Mr. Toad in the BBC's production of The Wind in the Willows (2007), and played  Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010). Americans may best know him for his role as the roommate of Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids (2011).

Matt made the headlines through the UK in October 2008 when he and his partner Kevin McGee had what was termed the UK's first celebrity gay 'divorce'.18 months after they had entered into a civil partnership. Kevin McGee allegedly was granted a 5 million pound settlement which was estimated as a third of Lucas's fortune. Ten months later,  Kevin McGee killed himself.

Matt's delightful romp as Mr. Toad makes Toad in a Hole an especially appropriate birthday treat. Toad in a Hole is a traditional English dish of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter. The origin of the name "Toad in the Hole" is vague. Most suggestions are that the dish's resemblance to a toad sticking its little head out of a hole provides the dish with its unusual name. The concept p cooking meat in Yorkshire pudding batter originated in Hannah Glasse's 1747 The Art of Cookery, which includes a recipe for Pigeons in a Hole, which is essentially pigeons cooked in a Yorkshire pudding batter. A variety of other meats have been used in the recipe, but sausages have remained the most popular. Enjoy it with a viewing of The Wind in the Willows.

 

Toad in a Hole

1. Put the flour in the mixing bowl, add salt and mix.
2. Make a well in the center and break the egg into it.
3. Slowly whisk the egg into the flour, making a thick paste. Keep mixing in more of the flour, adding some milk if the paste becomes too thick to manage and beating out any lumps.
4. When all the flour has been incorporated, add the rest of the milk and whisk the mixture thoroughly. The mixture should be like single cream in consistency, but if in doubt err on the liquid side.
5. Chill the mixture. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set.
6. Preheat oven to 300°F.
7. Smear a shallow baking pan with a little butter to prevent sticking. Arrange sausages and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, turn the oven up to 425°F so that the fat in the pan becomes smoking hot.
8. Remove batter from fridge and whisk before using again.
9. Reset oven temperature to 300°F. Remove sausages from oven and pour the batter over them. Return dish to oven. Bake for an additional 40 minutes. Resist the urge to peek or the batter will collapse.
10. Cut up the dish into portions and serve with cooked green vegetables on the side.