British Meat Pie

My friend from childhood made this delicious beef pie for her husband yesterday. She graciously gave me permission to post her picture and also to share her recipe.  So without further ado, here is Lisa Morton Mills' recipe as given to me in our own words.  Thank you Lisa!

My recipe was created from talking to my husband, looking online at British Meat pie and my mother in law, so here goes and realize it is my own creation:

1/2 of a large sweet onion

1 lb. cubed meat (recipe I found called for ground beef but I'd already been told that real British pie is made with small chunked beef)

6 small red potatoes chopped to thumb size

Chopped carrots

2 small stalks chopped celery

1 teaspoon crushed fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons of ketchup because I did not have something called "marmite"

1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon of thyme

A "shot" of Worcestershire

I browned the meat and onions and then put it on to boil about an hour before I wanted to make the sauce.

This allowed me to chop all the vegetables. They aren't supposed to be large like in a stew, but thumb size. I cooked this mixture in a two quart boiler not a Dutch oven, so that gives you an idea of the size the mixture makes.

I allowed it to cook down by half, then I added in all the veggies and set it to a low simmer.

Real British Pie uses something called marmite, which I didn't have.  It’s a brown gravy thickener, so I used a tablespoon of brown gravy powder but my sauce had already cooked down pretty thick.

I bought a premade pie crust because I never roll mine out far enough.  Poured into a corning casserole and baked at 400 degrees until golden brown....HUBBY loved it!  Very "Foyle's War"!

PS......red potatoes hold a better shape when cooked, so don't substitute those, and you can leave off the shot of Worcestershire.  We didn't taste it. But I was trying to copy marmite.

FYI!

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Fiesta Chili

I know. There are a million chili recipes. In fact, I think I have a dozen or more in my head at any given moment. Ground chuck, stew meat, beans, no beans? And the sacrilege of CORN added?!? Well, this was my version this week and we enjoyed it so I guess it rates a thumbs up!  

2 T. olive oil

2 medium white onions, chopped

2 pounds ground chuck

2 T. chopped garlic

1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz. Rotel tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste (and that can filled with water)

1 - 14.5 oz can Fiesta corn, drained

1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chili beans

2 small cans diced green chilies

1 T. beef bouillon granules

2 T. chili powder

In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, add olive oil and onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, about 5 - 7 minutes. Add ground chuck and break up with a spoon. Cook until meat is all crumbly and browned. Drain well.  

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and let cook for several hours.

Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or chipotle cracker bites.

Chipotle Cracker Bites

I mixed up these little munchies to top bowls of steaming hot chili tonight. Ready in 20 minutes, they were perfect bites of crunchy, zippy goodness.

1 - 11 oz. box of Sunshine Oyster Crackers
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 1/2 T. Tones Chipotle Seasoning

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. In a large bowl, mix crackers, oil and seasoning. Spread in an even layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Some Fall Scenes from North Alabama

We drove up to Huntsville Saturday and I thought you might enjoy some pictures I took while we were on the road.  The leaves haven't reached their peak yet, but give them another week or so.

Rosie's Mexican Cantina

We dined at Rosie's Mexican Cantina in Huntsville Saturday afternoon.  The decor is fabulous, the music entertaining while not overpowering.  And the food?  Well, the food is delicious.

Here's some pics of the interior:

And now for the drinks and food!

Cuervo Gold Tequila and Cointreau blended with fresh lime juice and topped with Grand Marnier.  

The Cadillac of Margaritas!  $8.25

The chips were warm and fresh and the salsa was thick and chunky.  

Now on to our appetizer:  Deluxe Blanco -- Layers of spicy beef, queso blanco & pico de gallo

cup $6.25 | bowl $7.25

Perfect balance of heat and cheesy goodness.

My entree:  Taco Dinner

Spicy Beef or Chicken, soft or crispy tacos

Medium (2 tacos) $8.75 | Large (3 tacos) $9.75

Served with Mexican rice & refried beans

No soggy shell for these lovely tacos.  I loved them.  Beans and rice were typical Mexican restaurant sides, but still tasty.

Harold's choice:  El Grande Platter -- One Beef enchilada, one Cheese enchilada, one tamale & one chile relleno stuffed with Beef & cheese  $14.95.  No complaints from Harold for this meal.

The outside patio was simply delightful for this Fall afternoon.

Apple Coffee Cake

We're still enjoying those delicious Crow Mountain Orchard apples. Yesterday morning I made this apple coffee cake courtesy of Betty Crocker. I had to bake it a little longer than the recipe stated. Make sure you do test to make sure it's baked properly. You may need to add another 5 minutes or so like I did.

Streusel Topping

2/3 cup Original Bisquick® mix

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

½ t. ground nutmeg

¼ cup cold butter

Coffee Cake

2 cups Original Bisquick® mix

2/3 cup milk

3 T. granulated sugar

1 egg

2 medium cooking apples, peeled and thinly sliced (2 cups)

2 T. chopped nuts

Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 t. milk

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch square pan with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix 2/3 cup Bisquick mix, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until crumbly; set aside.

In medium bowl, stir together 2 cups Bisquick mix, 2/3 cup milk, the granulated sugar and egg; beat vigorously 30 seconds with spoon. Spread half of batter in pan. Arrange apple slices on batter; sprinkle with half of streusel topping. Spread with remaining batter; sprinkle with remaining topping. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on cooling rack 20 minutes. In small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over warm coffee cake.

German Potato Salad

 

If you're looking for a unique potato salad, with NO mayonnaise but lots of vinegary bite, you'll love this one. My love of all things vinegar related are legendary, so it's no surprise that this potato salad was absolutely delicious to me.  The addition of caraway seeds and a little sprinkling of minced red onion on top help elevate this salad to something completely different than your comfortable mayo based picnic/cookout potato salad.

For the dressing:  

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 T. grainy mustard

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 t. caraway seeds, lightly toasted

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Slowly whisk in the oil until combined.  Whisk in the caraway seeds.

For the salad:

1/4 cup plain rice vinegar

kosher salt

3 1/2 pounds, medium waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold

3/4 lb. bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled

1 cup small diced sweet onion

3/4 cup small diced dill pickles

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Combine the rice vinegar and 2 t. salt in a large bowl.  Let sit to dissolve the salt.  Put the potatoes and 2 T. salt in a 6 quart pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch.  Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.  Cook the potatoes until barely tender when poked with a fork or skewer, 20 - 25 minutes.  If the potatoes aren't all the same size, remove them as they are cooked.

Gently drain the potatoes in a colander and set aside until just cool enough to handle.  Using a paring knife, peel the potatoes by scraping off the skin.  Cut the potatoes in 3/4 inch chunks.  Add the potatoes to the bowl with the rice vinegar and gently stir with a spatula to coat.

Gently fold the bacon, onions, pickles and parsley into the potatoes.  Whisk the vinaigrette back together and fold enough of it into the potatoes to generously coat them.  You may not need all of the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve while still slightly warm or at room temperature.

From:  Fine Cooking Issue 106

Betty Crocker Apple Pie

Sometimes the classic recipes are the best.  This one comes from our good friend Betty Crocker. Such a delicious flaky crust and the tart tang of Crow Mountain apples were a perfect ending to our meal.  Of course, some vanilla ice cream would be perfect served on top of a slice!

For the Crust:

2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 t. salt

2/3 cup plus 2 T. shortening

4 to 6 T. cold water

For the Filling:

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

¼ cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

½ t.  ground cinnamon

½ t. ground nutmeg

1/8 t. salt

8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (8 medium)

2 T. butter or margarine

In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt.  Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas.  Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Gather pastry into a ball.  Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface.  Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable.  This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky.  If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

Heat oven to 425°F.  With floured rolling pin, roll one pastry round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate.  Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate.  Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

In large bowl, mix sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon salt.  Stir in apples until well mixed.  Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate.  Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over filling.  Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate.

Roll other round of pastry into 10-inch round.  Fold into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape.  Unfold top pastry over filling; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate.  Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired.  Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking.  Serve warm if desired.

Apple and Cabbage Slaw with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This was one of the sides for the Bratwursts for Oktoberfest. Upon further reflection, this would have been great ON the brats. Oh well, live and learn. I suspect we will have to grill up some more brats and investigate further!

For the slaw:

2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 cups shredded green cabbage

2 carrots, peeled and grated

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

3 green onions, finely chopped (white and some green)

2 apples, cored and chopped into matchsticks

For the dressing:

4 T. canola oil

4 T. honey

4 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. hot German mustard

1 t. ground caraway seeds

juice of one lime

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine all the slaw ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Pour over slaw and using tongs, mix well.
  

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grilled Bratwursts with Riesling Braised Onions

A rainstorm from the remnants of Tropical Storm Karen ruined my plans for the brats to be grilled outdoors. However, these cooked up nicely in a large skillet on top of the stove.  

The onions, cooked to a nice soft consistency in a little bacon fat, and then braised in Riesling were the perfect topping for the brats.

You'll need:

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

1 T. bacon fat (or olive oil if you prefer)

1/2 cup Riesling

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the bacon fat or olive oil and the sliced onions.  Lower heat to low and allow onions to soften and begin to lightly brown.  Stir occasionally so they won't stick.

When they become soft, and there's browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, add the wine and scrape up all the browned bits.  Allow the wine to cook until almost evaporated, stirring occasionally.  

The brats can be served by themselves with the onions or on a nice soft bun or roll with your favorite mustard.

15 Bean Soup with Cajun Smoked Sausage

Here's another one of those wonder meals that cook in the crock pot all day (with just a little bit of prep work the night before) and provides a great come home after a long day and enjoy dinner with little fuss evenings.  How'd you like THAT sentence!?!

Hurst's Cajun 15 Bean Soup with seasoning packet

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

1 pound Conecuh County Cajun Smoked Sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch slices

4 cups beef stock

1 - 14.5 diced tomatoes with juice

2 cups shredded cabbage with carrots slaw mix

1 T. chopped garlic

1 small can of shoe peg corn, drained

You'll need to rinse and sort through the beans. Put them in a large bowl and cover with water overnight. The next morning. you'll drain the water from the beans and put them in the crock pot. Here they are getting ready for their overnight soak.

Because I knew I'd be rushed in the morning, I browned the sausage and onions the night before and put them into the fridge overnight. Next morning you can zap them in the microwave just to get the chill off before you put them in the crock pot.

Turn the crock pot to high, add the drained beans, sausage, onions, beef stock and seasoning packet. If you can't find this brand of beans, use another mixed bean product and add 1 - 2 T. Cajun seasoning. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover. I would suggest cooking the soup on low for 8 - 10 hours or high for 4 - 6 hours. When the beans are tender, you're ready to eat.  

Please bake a pan of cornbread to go alongside. And bake it in a cast iron skillet. Please.  

Oktoberfest 2013 Nibbles to start the fun!

An assortment of stuffed eggs with various toppings, some crunchy sausage and cheese bites and nice sour Cornichons look lovely on this wooden tray, don't they? It's always nice to have a selection of different textures and flavors for your beginning course for a meal like this.  

And here's the recipe for the stuffed eggs:

Always remember to boil an extra egg to finely chop and mix in with the filling. You want enough filling to really fill up the whites!

7 eggs boiled, peeled and halved, yolk removed to a medium sized bowl

1/4 cup mayo (a little more/a little less)
1 T. grainy German mustard
2 T. sweet pickle relish
salt and pepper to taste.

Mash the yolks and the extra egg until smooth. Blend in the remaining ingredients.  Fill whites with the filling and top several of each with one of the following:  finely chopped red onion, a few sprinkles of caraway seeds and a teaspoon or so of Bavarian styled kraut.

Stuffed eggs topped with finely chopped red onion.

Stuffed eggs topped with a sprinkling of caraway seeds.

Stuffed eggs with a little taste of Bavarian sauerkraut.

Recipe for cheese and sausage bites:

1 pound breakfast sausage

2 cups Bisquick

2 cups finely grated, sharp cheddar cheese

1 t. ground mustard

1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. I find it much easier to use the dough hook on my Kitchen aid mixer. Roll into 1/2 inch balls and place on baking sheets. Cook in a 375 degree oven for 18-20 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned.

Table Setting for Oktoberfest 2013

This Oktoberfest was almost a non-event.  But I couldn't let it go by without having SOME sort of celebratory meal!

Recycled last year's tablecloth and runner with  small variations.  Food pictures and recipes to follow soon.

Apple Pie Filling

It was time to be productive with some of those wonderful apples from Crow Mountain.  In less than an hour's time, there were 7 quarts of apple pie filling canned and cooling and waiting for the winter to be baked in pies or cobblers.  

The house smells like a mixture of Christmas, a cinnamon factory and Johnny Appleseed's mother's kitchen.

There's dozens of these recipes on the Internet and I would be hard pressed to give credit for this recipe to the correct person.  

4 1/2 cups white sugar

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

2 t. salt

10 cups water (divided)

1 cup cornstarch

3 T. lemon juice

28 - 30 baking apples (I used Jonathan variety)

Wash and rinse in hot water 7 wide mouth quart jars, lids and rings.  Put in a pot of simmer water while you make the filling.

In a LARGE pot, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and 8 cups of water. Over medium high heat, bring mixture to a boil.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the cornstarch and remaining 2 cups of water.  Whisk to combine.  Pour this mixture into syrup mixture and mix well.  Allow to cook at least 1 minute and remove from heat.

Peel, core and slice apples.  Toss with lemon juice.  Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving at least a 1 inch head space.

Fill jars with hot syrup.  Using a wooden skewer or Popsicle stick, remove air bubbles.

Wipe rims to remove any syrup you may have dropped on the rim.  Put on lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for 25 minutes.

AFTER jars have sealed, but while still warm, you may turn them upside down to allow the apples to redistribute in case they have floated to the top.  If you pack the apples tightly, there will be less chance of this happening.

These apples can be used for cobblers or poured into pie crusts and baked.

Herbes de Provence Beef Pot Pie

Here's another Round Two recipe.  I had purchased the ingredients to make a nice pot of beef stew this weekend.  But when I opened the spice pantry this morning, I saw the jar of Herbes de Provence and my mind started wandering toward a comforting pot pie instead.  Not to worry, there is enough of the base filling left that tomorrow, I will go to Round Two:  A beautiful pot of beef stew and a skillet of hot cornbread to serve alongside.

If you're not familiar with Herbes de Provence it's basically an herb mixture containing fennel, basil, savory and thyme.

Canola oil

1 lb. beef stew meat, small diced

3/4 cup self-rising flour

1/2 T. herbes de provence

1/2 cup sweet red wine

3 cups beef stock

1 can of Fiesta style corn

1 T. olive oil

1 medium white onion, small diced

2 medium carrots, peeled, small diced

2 ribs celery, small diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 large potato, peeled, small diced

a few grinds of black pepper

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Pie crust for two crust pie

Over medium high heat, pour enough canola oil in a medium Dutch oven to cover bottom to a depth of 1/4 inch.  

The secret to this dish is to have the meat and veggies cut in as close to the same small dice size as possible.

On a small plate or shallow dish, combine flour and Herbes de Provence.  Coat about 1/2 cup of meat at a time.

Carefully drop the diced meat into the oil and brown, stirring occasionally.  Remove each batch to a small plate while repeating with remaining meat until meat is browned.  

When all the meat is browned, you will have a nice layer of "fond" on the bottom of the Dutch oven.

Next, you need to pour in the wine (or beef stock) and deglaze the fond from the bottom of the pot. My apologies for the flour mess all over the Dutch oven and stove top!  Oops!!

Now add the beef stock and bring to a gentle boil.

Add the browned beef and drained corn into the stock and reduce heat to simmer.

In a medium skillet, over medium heat, add olive oil and vegetables.  Let cook for 8 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften.  Add a few grinds of black pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Add vegetables to the simmering beef and stock.  Let cook for at least an hour.  Add additional water if needed.  You want the consistency of a very, very thick stew.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place one pie crust in a pie plate and add enough of the filling to fill the crust. Save the remaining for our Round Two tomorrow night!

Carefully place second crust on top of filling and crimp edges together.  Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until crust is browned and filling is hot.  Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.  

Bow Tie Pasta Salad with Lemon Pepper Chicken

I'm going to be posting some "Round Two" recipes every now and then. Remember the meatballs?  We enjoyed those in two completely different recipes. So here we go with the Lemon Pepper Rosemary Chicken  from Monday. 

I cooked four chicken breasts in the crock pot.  There were two left which I shredded while still warm.  We had about 1 cup of the green peas left.  They were mixed in with the chicken.  There was about half of the sauce left so I poured that over and mixed it all together really well.

So here we are at Round Two.
1 - 8 oz. package of bow tie pasta, cooked, rinsed with cool water and drained well
1/4 cup diced cherry tomatoes
3 T. diced red peppers
Juice of one lemon
1/2 - 3/4 t. lemon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

The nice bowl of shredded chicken, peas and sauce (slightly warmed)

In a large bowl combine all ingredients.  Taste to check for seasonings.  Add additional grated Parmesan on top if you'd like a little extra.

So there ya go.  Two completely different meals with one crock pot cooking of chicken!