Steak & Guinness Pie

I decided to try and make my husband an Irish meal for St. Patrick's Day this year. I'm not Irish at all, but he is. Neither of us like the traditional St. Patrick's day fare of "Corned Beef & Cabbage" so I went on the hunt for a meal with Guinness. He likes Guinness to drink, and I like it to cook with. So when I found Jamie Oliver's recipe I thought it looked like a winner.

Besides the fact that this isn't the prettiest meal I've made, it was certainly delicious. I swapped out the puff pastry for my pie dough because my husband requested it that way (he loves my pie dough) and added a few more carrots and celery then what was called for. But besides that, I followed the recipe as it was. I have to say, when I saw that the recipe called for cheese I was a little hesitant but it added SO much complexity and depth of flavor. I absolutely loved the cheese in it. I got an imported Irish Stout cheese and it was very strong, but lent itself perfectly to this pie. This was a meal my husband and I both loved and I'm pretty sure I'll be making it again next year!
Ingredients
Adapted from: Jamie Oliver

olive oil
3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
30g butter, plus extra for greasing (This is 2 tablespoons)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (I used 4 small carrots)
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped (I used 2 sticks)
4 field mushrooms, peeled and sliced (I omitted)
1kg brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes (I used venison)
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 440ml can of Guinness (no lager, please!)
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
200g freshly grated Cheddar cheese (I used Kerrygold Dubliner with Irish stout cheese)
500g best-quality ready-made all-butter puff pastry (I used 1 recipe Pie Dough)
1 large free-range or organic egg, beaten
Directions

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, butter, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water (I used about 2.5 cups) to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry off the block (or half of the pie dough). Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin. Butter a deep pie dish, then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the side. Tip the stew into your lined dish and even it out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.

Jimmy's Apple Pie

One of my coworkers looks forward to autumn all year. Why? A) because he's a hunter and B) Because he loves apple pie. He is an older bachelor, who has been divorced for a while. However, he says that no one can make apple pie as good as his ex wife.

Well, that was enough for me to start on the quest of making Jimmy's perfect apple pie. I wanted to make it perfect for him because he basically lives on frozen food and well, I'm a competitive cook. When I hear that someone makes the "best" of anything I have to try and make it better. It's just in my nature.

So after many attempts and many pie's in Jimmy's belly, I have finally perfected his apple pie. I got some critiques along the way and have now mastered his favorite apple pie (which is basically a dutch apple pie in case you're wondering) and am pleased to say that he has given it a score of 10/10.

Ingredients
Filling recipe adapted from a vague outline of ingredients by Jimmy's ex wife, and a little of my own tweaking. Topping recipe adapted from Ina Garten's apple crisp recipe.

1/2 recipe Pate Brisee for one pie

Filling
6-8 cups apples, peeled sliced and cored
1/2-3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
pinch allspice
2 tbsp. flour
juice of 1/2 lemon
Topping
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough and place in a pie dish. Trim edges if needed. Set aside. In a large bowl, toss together the apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and all spice. Spoon filling into crust lined pie dish and arrange apples so they fit neatly in the dish. It might seem like you have too many apples, but they will bake down.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

Around the edges of the pie, fit pieces of aluminum foil over exposed crust. This will prevent your crust from burning. Place pie on a large baking sheet (to catch any apple that might bubble over) and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until filling starts to bubble. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, remove foil from crust edges and discard. The crust should then turn a golden brown color at the end of cook time.

Sugar Plum Pie

I often go to the Farmer's Market with no idea what I'm going to get. Whatever looks fresh and delicious that day, I'll try! I especially love getting something that I've never tried before and then figuring out what to do with it when I get home. This happened with Sugar Plums! They were all over the market, so I had to get some! Like all plums, these had a tart golden skin with a sweet flesh. So since I hadn't made a summer pie, I decided to give it a whirl!

This recipe was great. I didn't skin the plums, thus the pie itself was a bit on the tart side which is what I wanted. I didn't want it to be overly sweet for the summer. However, if you do want it sweeter just add some more sugar. The recipe itself was easy to follow and made a great filling for the pie.

Ingredients
Source: Dessert Internet Cookbook, Recipe from the Serenity Inn - Sonora, California

1 Recipe Pie Dough
11 or 12 plums, pitted and thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten
Directions
Place one half of pie dough in pie dish and trim the edges. Set aside.

To make the filling, cook plums and water in skillet over medium heat until juice thickens slightly. Remove from heat. In small bowl, combine remaining flour and sugar with baking powder and egg and enough juice from plums to form smooth batter. Stir unto plums until evenly coated. Pour into crust. Top filling with other half of pie dough. I made a lattice design and surrounded the edge of the pie with daisy cut-outs, but you could also lay the sheet of pie dough over the whole thing. Just make sure to pierce the top to let the steam escape.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Cut into 8 pieces. May be garnished with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream.

Blueberry Turnovers

With blueberries at their peak, I decided it was high time I made a baked good with them as the star! I've never made a turnover before, so this was a great way to use them.

This was a great and simple recipe. It's like a little hand held blueberry pie which is perfect for outdoor entertaining during the summer time. The only thing I wish was that the filling stayed inside the pastry better so there would be more of the filling. I tried everything to seal shut the edges, but to no avail. A little always bubbled through. But all in all this was a perfect little summer time dessert that was deliciously sweet with a flaky and buttery crust.

Ingredients
Source: Martha Stewart

FOR THE DOUGH

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 4 to 8 tablespoons ice water
  
  FOR THE FILLING
• 2 cups mixed fresh berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (quartered lengthwise), and blackberries (halved if large) (I just used blueberries)
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, about 4 teaspoons
• Eggwash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
• Sanding sugar or granulated sugar to garnish , optional
  
  Directions
  Prepare dough: In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 4 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess. (I don't use a food processor for my dough...I just do it in a bowl with a hand held pastry blender)
  
  Transfer half of the dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form into a square 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Repeat with the other half. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days).
  
  Prepare filling: In a medium bowl, toss together berries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
  
  Preheat the oven to 425. On a lightly floured surface, roll first disk out to an 8-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut into six 4-inch squares. Spoon berry mixture into the center of each square. Brush 2 opposite sides of each square with egg wash and fold into triangles. Crimp edges to seal. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with second dough.
  
  Brush tops with eggwash. Sprinkle with sugar if desired and make a 1/2 inch incision to create a steam vent in the middle of each of triangle. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating sheet pan halfway through.

Chicken Pot Pie

Until about 6 months ago, my husband has never had homemade chicken pot pie! He was always served the frozen stuff. So I finally made him a "real" chicken pot pie and he just loves it! I absolutely love this recipe. I've changed it around quite a bit, but it's rich, creamy and hearty. Pair that along with your favorite pie dough, and you have a wonderful comfort food...perfect for a cold night.

Ingredients
Adapted from Pillsbury

1 recipe Pie Dough
1/3 cup butter
1 small-medium onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup chicken brother
1/2 cup milk
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium skillet, brown chopped chicken until the chicken is cooked through and there is no pink left inside the pieces. Set aside to cool.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Keep stirring for about 3-5 minutes until the roux has a very light golden color. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened, about 10 minutes or so.

Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Roll out refrigerated pie dough and place on the bottom of a pie pan. Then spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. If desired, brush top of pie with an egg wash. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

Place foil around the edges of the pie crust to prevent excessive browning. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During the last 10 minutes or so, remove foil from edges to allow them to brown as well, but keep a close eye because they can burn quickly!

Pate Brisee (Pie Dough)

This is my favorite recipe for pie dough. I like that it doesn't require any shortening, because I don't usually have that on hand. But I always have butter in the fridge so I can make this in any pie dough emergency! It's also super flaky and buttery...just how we like it! This recipe was written to be made in a food processor, but I don't have a very good food processor so I don't use it. So this is my recipe without the use of a food processor!

Ingredients
Adapted from Martha Stewart

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water (I usually need at least 1 cup of ice water...I don't know why I need so much but I definitely do to hold the dough together).

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and with a pastry blender mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Add ice water in a slow, steady stream. With your hands, mix water into flour mixture until it holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to over process. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Pear and Cranberry Pie

I got this recipe from the Good Things Catered blog. It's a great blog, and a great recipe! As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to make that for Thanksgiving because it's different from the traditional "pumpkin pie". This was a great pie! The directions were very clear and easy to follow and the pears with the cranberries worked out very well together. Plus, it made me a pear convert. I hated pears until I made this pie! And not only does it taste great, it's just too pretty!

Ingredients:
1 recipe sweet pie dough
5 large, ripe green or red skinned pears
1 1/4 c. fresh cranberries
1/3 c. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 tsp zest of orange
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp raw sugar (I used granulated)
1 Tbsp beaten egg

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Roll out 1/2 recipe of pie dough and place into deep pie dish, trimming edges.
-Place prepared pie dish into fridge
-Core and slice pears thin and place into large bowl with cranberries.
-In small bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg, orange zest, and water.
-Stir to combine well and pour over pear and cranberries.
-Toss mixture until all pieces are coated well.
-Remove pie dish from fridge and fill with fruit mixture (you can pour half in and then use remaining half to form a decorative top, as shown.)
-With remaining pie dough, cut out decorative edge and place around edge of pie.
-Brush edges with egg mixture and cover pie loosely with foil.
-Place into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
-Remove foil from top, sprinkle with raw sugar and continue to bake, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.