Apple Pie

A friend, Jo, shared this apple pie recipe with me and I love it, especially the crumb topping.

I cheated with frozen pie crust like she did.

- About 4 Granny Smith apples (chopped or sliced)
- Mix apples with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

In a mixing bowl, mix together:
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- a little nutmeg if you like
Then mix apples into mixing bowl and mix together. Pour into pie crust.

For the crumble topping:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter

Rub butter with fingertips into flour and sugar till mixture becomes crumbly and sprinkle over pie. Bake till pie has turned a brownish color at 350F.

Japanese curry pie

Even though I wanted to 'close' my kitchen, I couldn't do it as I had some stuff which I needed to get rid of in the fridge. This pie has been waiting to get done and I even got the ingredients last week, just been either busy or lazy, never got round to it. I had some ready pastry in the freezer to clear off which was what made me want to make it in the first place. Coincidentally lots of chicken pies have been popping up in the blogs. So I guess, it's Pie Time! Check out little corner of mine's and My Kitchen Snippets' pies. They are gorgeous. Me, I didn't have the time nor the patience. :P

Came home after doing some shopping and found that I didn't have chicken stock, according to recipe I used previously. So had to think of a substitute. Bingo! I had some Japanese Vermont curry cubes in the fridge waiting to be used. Thus, I ended up with this Japanese curry pie. I added one stick of carrot, half a brown onion, one potato, loads of mushrooms, and some bits of corn kernels. So glad I managed to get rid of quite a bit of odds and ends.

As for little one, she doesn't like potatoes or pies, so I got 2pcs of sausages which I wrapped in the same pastry and made sausage rolls. She was most happy to have them with her orange tomatoes, baby corn, and dragonfruit. :)

Cottage Pie

I watched an episode of The 'F' Word once and Gordon Ramsay's guest was arguing with him that she was making a shepherd's pie, when in actual fact she was making a cottage pie. I'm not entirely sure what the difference in ingredients is, but only the fact that when one is made from beef it is called a 'cottage pie' and when made with lamb, it is 'shepherd's pie'.

I've not made this dish in a long time and since I bought some minced beef at a discount, decided to do it. This is naturally one of hubby's favourites because of the potatoes.

I don't have exact measurements but the ingredients I used are as
follows -

1. Minced Beef
2. 3 big potatoes, boiled and mashed with approx. 1/4 cup fresh milk and a knob of butter, seasoned with salt and a mix of black and white pepper
3. Some peas
4. 1 carrot, cubed
5. 1/2 an onion chopped up
6. 1 tomato, chopped
7. Seasonings - cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, oregano
8. Some breadcrumbs to thicken up minced beef mixture
9. I added some grated cheddar to the top (optional). You can use an egg wash

Cook everything together except the mashed potatoes. When beef is cooked, place in a baking dish and top with mash. You can choose to pipe it nicely if you like. Sprinkle some cheese on top and bake till brown. Enjoy!

The humble chicken pie

Was flipping through an old issue of Donna Hay magazine yesterday (a gift from a friend a few years back), and came across the recipe for Basic Chicken Pie. Decided to give it a try since I had some Pampas puff pastry in the freezer. However, the base of the pie was supposed to be in the form of short crust pastry. Anyhow, you can use the same puff pastry to do it, but as I was in Carrefour this afternoon, I chanced upon the Carrefour brand of ready rolled dough. Whoopee! I love them actually and I think they are so much easier to use than Pampas.

So having prepared the filling last evening, it was very easy to assemble. Popped them in the oven for approximately 20-25 mins and they were done. Yummy!


Basic Chicken Pie (taken from Donna Hay's magazine issue 16)

Ingredients -

1 tbsp oil
1kg (2lb) chicken thigh fillets, chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
3 tsp thyme leaves
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tbsp plain flour
1/3 cup (2-1/2 fl oz) water
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) chicken stock
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) milk
375g (13oz) block ready-prepared shortcrust pastry
375g (13oz) block ready-prepared puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method -

1. Preheat oven to 220degC (425degF). Heat a large non-stick saucepan over high heat. Add the oil and chicken, cook for 3-4mins. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the onion, thyme and garlic and cook for 3-4mins. Return the chicken to the pan. In a small bowl, combine the flour and water. Add the stock, milk and combined flour and water. Cook for 10mins, stirring until thick. Set aside to cool.

2. Roll out the shortcrust pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3mm (1/8 in) thick and line the base of a 20cm (8 in) round metal pie dish with the shortcrust pastry. Spoon in the cooled chicken mixture. For the pastry top, roll out the puff pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper to 3mm (1/8 in) thick.

3. Place the pastry top on the pie. Cut a small round in the centre of the puff pastry as an air hole. Press the edges of the pastries together to seal and trim the pastry. Brush the top with a little of the beaten egg. Place on a baking tray and bake for 25-30mins or until the top is puffed and golden. Serves 4.