Pastys

My hubby and I first became acquainted with the concept of the pasty from reading Lilian Jackson Braun's Cat Who... books.  Pastys .(also sometimes spelled pasties, and occasionally known as Cornish Pastys) are empanada-shaped hand pies.  In the Cat Who . . . . world of Pickaxe, they are filled with steak or ground beef, onion and turnip. Turnip is not on either of our favorite veggies list, so I was relieved to learn that the original Cornish version often uses potato instead.  (Early versions used venison, but we're sticking with beef). 

Pastys

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium.onion, chopped

1 medium potato, peeled and minced

4 sprigs parsley, minced

2 tbsp. breadcrumbs

1 tsp.Worchestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4. tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 c. beef stock

1 egg

4 c. flour

2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. sugar

1 1/3 c. butter

4 tsp. white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  I a large mixing bowl, combine beef, onion, potato, parsley, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, nutmeg and stock. 

In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar.  Cut in butter using two knives or a pastry blender until mixture is pea-sized and crumbly.  Add vinegar and 10 tablespoons water.  If necessary, add additional water, until you can roll the dough up into a neat ball.  Roll the dough out to 1/4" thick, and cut into a dozen 5" to 6" circles.  Place circles onto ungreased baking sheets.  Divide the meat mixture into a dozen equal pieces, and place one piece onto each pastry circle. 

Fold the circle in half around the meat to form a moon shape, moistening the edge with water if necessary.  Beat the egg in a small bowl, and use a pastry brush to brush egg wash across the pastys.   Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Cheese Straws

June was a crazy month, with three cooking classes out at the University, a tea party, and a couple of food-related articles.  I know I owe you guys follow-up on all of it (and I'll try to get to that over the next couple of weeks), but today I wanted to get in the kitchen and cook some old-fashioned comfort food.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the fridge, so I decided to make some cheese straws.  I didn't have any cheddar on hand, so I did the cheese straws with Parmasean.  The dough came out a bit dry, so I added a little water.  I like my cheese straws with a bit of a kick.  If you don't, you could alway omit either the cayane or the white pepper, or both.

Parm Cheese Straws

2 c. parmesan cheese, freshly grated  
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup butter, softenend
2 tbsp. very cold water
in a large bowl, combine all ingredients, working the butter into the rest of the ingredients with the tips of your fingers or a pastry cutter.  If necessary, add a litte more cold water.  When the dough can be gathered together into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and referigerate for half an hour or more.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Remove dough from referigerator, and roll out to form a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 1 1/2" x 3" pieces and place 1" apart on a baking stone (or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper).  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until  browned.

 Note:  If you want to make "fancy" cheese straws, skip referigerating the dough, and press it through a cookie press into strip "cookies" instead.