Super Savory Meat Pasty

Raise your hand if you like pie. How do you feel about savory pies? Savory pies cover a broad range of tasty goodness. There’re pot pies, quiches, and ...a hand-held wonder commonly called Cornish Pasties. Pasties (pronounced with a short ‘a’; rhymes with nasty) are distant cousins with those yummy Indian Samosas and delicious Mexican Empanadas. I’ve enjoyed eating Samosas and Empanadas, but I’ve never sampled or made a Pasty. Tonight that status changed as I made my first Super Savory Meat Pasty.

The origins of the Pasty are largely unknown, although they are commonly associated with the miners from Cornwall, United Kingdom. Years ago, miners’ wives prepared these baked envelopes of yumminess for their husbands’ lunches. The pasties were filled with meat and maybe a root vegetable, and sometimes were even divided into two sections ... one side savory and one side sweet. The miners tucked the warm pastries in their shirts to keep both themselves and their lunch warm, and the crusts edges served as handles for the miners to hold onto with their soiled hands. Legend tells us that the miners would toss the dirty, fingerprinted crusts deep into the recesses of the mines in fulfillment of superstitions about appeasing the mine spirits.

The only ones that I try to appease are the spirits of my kids and hubbyman. I was taking a risk making these as the food groups touch in this recipe, and that's usually a no-go for my older kids. Hubbyman, at first unsure whether or not to use a fork, ate his with gusto and ate all of his crust. I mean the man was picking up the crumbs to get every last possible bite. The two older beasts weren’t interested at all, but my wee one -- who could only eat the filling due to the wheat crust -- loved it. I thought the pasties, which were about the size of my hand, were gorgeous to the eye, and pretty darn tasty. See below for my suggested changes for next time. Also, before I begin, let me share that I used Pillsbury pie dough from the refrigerated case at the store and it performed beautifully. By all means, if you enjoy making your own dough, absolutely do so!

Here we go:

1 pkg of Pillsbury crust, unrolled and at room temperature
1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
3 potatoes – diced
½ onion – diced
1 carrot – diced
Kernels from one cooked cob of corn (Note: Next time I’d use more)
Season salt
Black Pepper
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Couple dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 small pats of butter
1 egg – beaten- for egg wash

In a large dutch oven, heat the oil and butter together. Add the potatoes, onion, and carrot and sauté until the potatoes are almost tender and are starting to show some color. Stir in the corn. Add the seasonings and the ground beef to the pot, and quickly break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the pink is gone. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Set aside to cool.

Place the crusts out on the counter (there are two circles per box), and cut each circle in half. You now have 4 half circles in front of you. Generously spoon a “mound” of meat mixture onto ½ of each of the four pieces of dough, keeping the edges clear.Place a small butter pat on top of the mound. Brush the edges with the egg wash, and fold the dough over the filling, pressing the air out as you seal up the edges.See how the pastry hugs the filling ... no air gaps. Crimp the edges to seal completely. Brush the egg wash over the entire surface. Cut a slit in the top to let out the steam. Place on a heavy weight non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes at 400 F.See how they look going into the oven?Look at what emerges after 18 toasty minutes!Suggested changes for next time: Everything I read about pasties indicates that they are dry, both the filling and the outside. I think next time I’d serve it with a sauce or gravy. Also, I’d add more corn. I was really surprised at how much flavor and oomph it brought to the filling. You could also make mini versions of these for school lunches or appetizers. I think I’ll try different types of filling such as chicken/artichoke/cream cheese. Of course, that wouldn’t be authentic, but it’d be gooooood! YUM! What kind of fillings do you think would be good?

Meatloaf - Paradise By the Oven Door Light

Do you like meatloaf? Although meatloaf can be found on just about every restaurant menu across the U.S., do you know that meatloaf (the food not the singer) really hasn't been around all that long? Granted, use of ground or minced meat has been around for centuries, but the loaf concoction recognized and enjoyed today really has only been around since the 1950's. Prior to that, many cooks were suspicious of purchasing ground raw meat, in part due to poor home refrigeration availability. Companies selling meat grinders actually started publishing cookbooks showing how to cook ground raw meats as a way to promote their products. Now a days, ground beef is readily available in supermarkets, and most people go pick up a pound or two without a second thought. What was once considered the comforting blue plate special has evolved into upscale "gourmet" versions much like what's happened with the burger!

To me, meatloaf is a shape variation of a gargantuan meatball! The rules for making meatloaf are similar to the hallowed ball version ... season liberally, bind with an egg, add a filler, moisten with a liquid of sorts, and mix lightly. Once that is complete, simply form it into a loaf shape, pop it in a preheated oven, and you've got almost an hour before you have to think of it again. Super easy and super comfort.

My loaf is a very simple version in deference to my little loaf eaters' taste buds. I simply combine ground beef, Montreal Steak Seasoning, sauteed minced onions and carrots, beaten large egg, and BBQ sauce. Hmmm ... notice how that Montreal Steak Seasoning is making its way into many of my recipes? I formed it into an evenly proportioned loaf shape, placed it on a foil lined sheet, and slid it into a preheated 350 oven for 50 minutes. I then slathered it, and I mean poured it on thick, with additional BBQ sauce, and popped it back into the oven for 10 more minutes. Once out of the oven, I let it sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Mmmmm,mmmmm, good!

There are zillions of variations of this. Depending on where you live, some folks like to used a mixture of beef and pork, and even veal, too. Instead of oatmeal, some folks use bread crumbs, crushed saltines, cooked rice, and even crushed cheddar crackers. I've had versions where it was loaded with a wagon load of chopped veggies, stuffed with gooey cheese, contained hidden hard boiled eggs in the middle, and topped with spicy salsa. There are recipes calling for it to be coated with cream of mushroom soup, ketchup, gravy, pineapple with teryaki, or even mashed potatoes!

The important thing with meatloaf, no matter which version you try, is to not over mix it or over cook it. You'll end up with a dense, dry, blech beef slab. Properly prepared, it's tasty and the leftovers are even better. I love meatloaf sandwiches, and anticipate them the same way I do leftover turkey sandwiches at Thanksgiving.

Here's my recipe:

Combine:
1.5 lbs of ground beef(10-15% fat: less fat is too dry and more fat is too greasy)
1/4 minced very fine small onion
2 small carrots, minced very fine
Butter to saute onion and carrots
3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (use homemade or your favorite bottled)
Several shakes Montreal Steak Seasoning (which reminds me I'm almost out!)
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 cup additional BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. In a small saute pan, melt a little pat of butter on med heat and saute the onion and carrots until they start to wilt. Cool the veggies. In a large bowl, using a light touch, thoroughly combine the meat, cooled veggies, oatmeal, egg, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, MSS, and parsley. Pour the meat onto the foil lined sheet, and shape into an evenly shaped loaf. Put in the oven, middle rack, for 50 minutes. Pour additional BBQ sauce on top,completely covering loaf. Put back in oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Slice either thick or thin. Make yummy noises.

See how yummy that outer sauce is? And the texture of the meat is perfect ... not too dense, and not falling apart. It went perfect with buttery mashed potatoes!

Oh, and since I didn't use bread crumbs, this was gluten free all the way, baby! (Note: If you use commercially prepared BBQ sauce, take care that it's wheat free/gluten free!)

How do you make your meatloaf?