Monday, August 29, 2011

Pastie Pies (By Gourmet Diva)

You may be thinking, "I've seen this post before".....you are correct. This is a previously posted recipe, but it also happened to be my "Original Diva" recipe for this month. Enjoy!

Pastie (pronounced past - y) pies are a family tradition in my house. I will try to retell the "background story" my mom used to tell us as kids. According to Scandanavian tradition, wives would bake these early in the morning for their husbands to take with them for lunch at the coal mines. The husbands would put them in their pockets and they would stay warm until lunch. (I have no idea how much truth there is to this story...but it's what I grew up with, so I thought I'd share!)

Ingredients:
Crust:
3 cups flour
1 TBSP salt
1 cup crisco
1 cup cold water

Filling:
1 lb ground chuck (I reccomend 90% lean)
4 medium potatos (cut into small squares)
1 medium onion (chopped small)
butter (you will use several small pats for each pie)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Crust
Sift flour and salt. Add Crisco and work in with fork (this will take a few minutes, be patient!). Add water and stir to form soft dough. Refridgerate overnight, or at least a few hours to reduce stickiness. (the longer you refridgerate the easier it will be)






Divide into 5 or 6 balls, roll into circles a little bigger than a small plate. When rolling, add flour to reduce stickiness. Then drape each circle over a small plate with a little hanging over the end.



Filling:
In the center of your circle place a layer of meat (pull apart with your fingers), a layer of potato, a layer of onion, salt and pepper to taste, and a small pat of margarine. Repeat all layers again and end with a layer of meat.



Fold the edge of the dough over the top of the filling and crimp edges. Poke the top of the pies with a fork to release steam during cooking. Flop the pastie into your hand and transfer to a lightly greased pan (use a cookie sheet or pan with sides, as you will have some juices escape during cooking.




Cook in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Then turn oven down to 375degrees and bake 20 minutes or until golden.



Serve with ketchup to dip your bites in. It sounds strange, but the ketchup totally completes this delicious meal!

TO FREEZE:
Very important tips if you freeze these!
1. I reccomend wrapping each individual pie in wax paper before freezing. If you don't the dough tends to stick together and it's hard to get them apart!
2. YOU MUST COOK THIS STRAIGHT FROM THE FREEZER TO THE OVEN. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT thaw first. (never ever thaw a frozen potato...just ask Saucy Diva...it's not pretty!)

Sidenote: This dough is awesome. Get creative with calzone recipes, etc. :)

Also, if you are in a pinch for time, you can make it as a true "pie".





-Gourmet Diva


Bowtie Pasta with Marscapone and Roasted Veggies (from Dessert Diva)

This was my contribution to this month's "Original Recipes" DTD. I don't remember where I first got this recipe, but it has evolved over time. This is definitely one of our go-to recipes when I need a quick and easy dinner.

Ingredients
1 box bowtie pasta
1 head (I don't think that is the correct term, but I don't know what is so I'm going with it) asparagus, sliced into 1 inch pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
8 oz. marscapone cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, lay asapargus and mushrooms on a baking sheet in a flat layer. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes or until veggies are fork tender. Drain pasta; add veggies and marscapone. Mix well and serve immediately.

This dish is best served immediately. I'm a big "leftovers" person, but these leftovers are kind of blah. If you aren't feeding an army, I would suggest halving the recipe. Enjoy!



Thursday, August 25, 2011

Cilantro Lime Marinated Pork Tenderloin

This month's theme is Original Recipes. I'm not going to lie, this freaked me out! I am very quick to admit that I'm a chef wannabe. I love to cook, but I'm not at the level of making up my own recipes.

The other night I made a (non-original) chicken with cilantro sauce recipe and liked the flavor so much, I tweeked the sauce recipe to make it marinate and paired it with pork tenderloin...because let's be honest, what ISN'T good with pork tenderloin.

I know that creating a marinade is the equivalent of a baby step, but I hope you enjoy my first attempt at an original recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano

Directions:
1. Mix together the marinade
2. Place pork and marinade in a Ziploc bag, marinate over night
3. Heat grill to medium high
4. Discard marinade and grill for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through.
5. Let stand for 5 minutes, then slice thin.