Dingle Pie

I made this tasty pie as per the recipe, but I can’t see why one couldn’t shortcut by putting the ingredients in a casserole dish and making only enough dough for the top crust.  The dough is actually fairly simple and quick; however, there are a few steps involved for the filling as all savory pies are guilty of.  This is a great weekend cold weather comfort food!

serves 6

1 pound of boneless lamb

9 ounces yellow onion, small dice

9 ounces carrots, small dice

2 rounded teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground

10 fluid ounces of stock (quality chicken stock is fine)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

Hot Water Crust Pastry

12 ounces all-purpose flour

6 ounces butter, salted

4 fluid ounces water

pinch of salt

preheat the oven to 400°

Trim the lamb of fat, if necessary, and cut into 1/2″ cubes.  Place the trimmed fat (or a tablespoon of oil) in a hot saucepan.  Render the fat and remove the remaining pieces.  Add the onion and carrot to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove vegetables and toss the meat in the remaining fat (if there is none, add olive oil).  Cook meat until browned on all sides.

Heat the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan just until fragrant.  Crush or grind into a rough powder.  Add the flour and cumin to the browning meat stirring for  2-3 minutes.  Add stock gradually and bring to the boil.  Stir occasionally.  Add the vegetables back to the pot and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until lamb is tender.  Cool.

Meanwhile make the pastry:  Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center.  Dice the butter, put it into a saucepan with water and bring to the boil.  Pour the liquid all at once into the flour and mix together quickly; beat until smooth.  At first the pastry will be too soft to handle – place in the fridge for approximately 1/2 hour.  Once the pastry is cool.  roll out to 1/4 inch thick to fit an 8 inch tart tin.  Set some pastry aside for the top and any decoration.  Line the tin with the pastry while trimming the edges.  Fill the pastry lined tins with the meat mixture.  Brush the edges of the pastry with the water and place 1/4 inch thick pastry top on sealing the edges all the way around the tin. Decorate with any trimming and pierce a hole in the center of the pie to allow steam to escape.  Brush the top with egg wash.

Cook the pie for approximately 40 minutes.

Mom’s Tasty Tacos

Growing up, we always loved Mom’s tacos.  Part of reason we would request them so often is she used a secret ingredient to make them extra tasty.  Well, maybe it isn’t so secret but it sure adds a lovely flavor to this very Americanized dish!  The secret ingredient…..Parmesan!

serves 4

8 corn tortilla shells

vegetable oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 package taco mix (or your own spices)

1 1/2 pound ground beef

generous amounts of grated Parmesan such as Kraft®

garnishes: chopped tomato, lettuce, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and left over chimichurri sauce (see post: 8/23/2010 for sauce)

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan over medium-low heat.  Cook onion until soft.  Add packet of taco seasoning and stir until fragrant.  Add beef and cook until brown, drain fat.  Pour in a cup of water and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile in a non-stick skillet add enough oil to submerge tortillas, about an inch, over medium heat.  To determine your oil’s temperature, tear a small portion of an extra shell and place it in the heated oil.  The torn tortilla should instantly simmer and begin cooking.  When oil reaches temperature fry one tortilla at a time turning and folding into a taco shape.  Drain each tortilla on a plate lined with paper towels and shake Parmesan all over the outside of the shells.  Fill with beef and desired garnishes. ¡Sabrosos!

onions and spices

secret ingredient - parmesan!

garnishes

Fast & Feisty ‘South of the Border’ Pie

from Pamela Karleskint

Grab your most obnoxious matching shirts, your mp3 playlist of kooky retro party music AND this timeless potluck winner.

The great twist on this dish is the surprisingly moist and rich topping verses the more traditional cornbread style, which can get dry and unappetizing.

serves 4-6

1 pound of hamburger or turkey

1 envelope of taco seasonings

4 ounce can of diced green chilies

1 cup of jack cheese, grated

1 cup of canned (drained) or frozen corn

1¼ cup of milk

¾ cup of Bisquick, or similar mix

3 eggs

⅛ teaspoon red pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400° F. Cook hamburger and drain fat. Stir in taco seasoning mix. Put seasoned meat in a greased oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with green chilies and cheese. Beat remaining ingredients until smooth and pour over top of meat mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

from Pamela Karleskint

Funky Blue Mac & Cheese

Who doesn’t like Mac n Cheese!  This recipe is a slightly modified Cook’s Illustrated version.  This particular mac n cheese has the distinct blue cheese flavor, so if you aren’t into blue, you may want to try something more traditional.

The history and origin of macaroni and cheese is convoluted, as are many foods we eat today.  From the varied resources I looked into, I suppose it would be safe to say the the dish was popularized in the U.S. by Thomas Jefferson during his presidency.  Jefferson had a keen interest in foods and the gadgets that helped make them, such as a pasta machine.  Jefferson came back from a trip to Italy with a pasta machine, which he then improved upon leading to plenty of mac n cheese making in his household.  Personally, I’m very glad he popularized this dish verses something like Gypsy moth soup…

CRUMB TOPPING:

4 slices white or ‘light’ wheat sandwich bread, torn in to small pieces

1/2  cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

PASTA AND CHEESE:

1 pound fusilli  pasta

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup grated Fontina or mixed bag Italian cheeses

4 ounces of blue cheese, crumbled

1 cup  grated Parmesan cheese

1 4.5 ounce can  fire roasted tomatoes, chopped and drained

4 ounces prosciutto, chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups heavy cream

1.  FOR THE TOPPING:  In a food processor, pulse the bread slices and place in a bowl.  Stir in the Parmesan, salt and pepper.

2. FOR THE PASTA: Preheat oven to 500 degrees with the rack in the middle (more nearer the top) of the oven.

3. In a pot add enough water to cook the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt.  At a boil add pasta and stir to separate.  In a large bowl, mix all the remaining cheeses and chopped prosciutto.

4. While pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a small pot over low heat.  Stir in the flour and cook gently to remove floury taste, about 1 minute.  Do not let flour brown.  Slowly add heavy cream, fully incorporating it as you pour.  Increase heat slightly to bring the cream mixture to a very gentle simmer.  Gently add tomatoes and remove from heat.

5. Once pasta is al dente, drain quickly, then pour noodles into the cheese bowl. Immediately add the cream mixture over the top of the noodles and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Let rest for 3 minutes.  A good time to rinse out sticky cheesy bowls, etc.  Remove foil and stir making sure the cheeses and noodels are fully incorporated.  Pour into a 9×13 baking dish.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and pop it into the oven for about 7 minutes, making sure the topping is browned.  Serve on warmed plates.