Lunch Box Pies
On March 16, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerGone are the days of the tartan plaid lunch pail replete with soup canister, trapped beneath a spring-loaded arm, and monogrammed cloth napkin. So sad. These savory pies, formed and baked in cupcake tins are perfect for lunch box days, picnics at the lake, afternoon snack for a carload of kids, or enjoyed as we are. As a St. Paddy’s day treat with a Guinness chaser.
Lunch Box Pies
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 large onion–finely chopped
2 stalks celery–finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs creole seasoning
a few shakes of Tabasco sauce more or less to taste
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup hot water
1 recipe pie crust
Creole Seasoning
from Emeril’s New Orleans Cooking
2 Tbs chili powder and paprika
1 Tbs ground coriander, garlic powder and salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, black pepper and dried leaf oregano
Mix together and keep in an airtight container
Chop onions and celery and sauté until soft. Lightly cook pork and drain off grease. Add ground beef to pork and cook 5 minutes. Add onions and celery. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes. Drain any grease. Add seasoning, tabasco and salt. Add hot water and bread crumbs and mix well. Let stand 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line muffin tins with pie crust. Fill the crust 3/4 full with filling. Close with top crust. Decorate as desired. Brush with lightly whisked egg yolk. Bake at 400 until pie crust is golden..about 20 minutes. To make shamrock, color some of the egg with green food color and use a paint brush to paint design.
St. Patrick’s Day Cake
On March 11, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerI do enjoy a snazzy chapeau. Especially if it is edible.
This is a simple 7″ layer cake placed on a 10″ cake round. Place the fondant covered cake in the middle of the round. Roll out a strip of fondant wide enough and long enough for the brim, curling up the edges. Using a brush, paint a bit of water on the round (only a little) to help the brim stick and carefully place along the edges of the cake. The shamrocks are fashioned from lightly colored fondant cut out with a cookie cutter. softened the edges a bit with my fingers to give them a bit of movement. The buckle is simply rolled fondant covered in edible gold leaf, then brushed with a bit of bronze luster dust. I used just a bit of water to adhere all the elements onto the cake.
If you would like more details or further instruction on how I made this, please ask. I promise i won’t tell you that a leprechaun left it behind, at the pub I frequent.