Pie for Dinner

For a post about alcohol alternatives, I do realize the beer in the background is hypocritical.

 

I have been trying to cut out alcohol from recipes as of late. This has lead to some interesting discoveries, like reduced pomegranate juice as a sauce for steak. The inspiration for this recipe is for a steak and guiness pie, but was alter to accommodate the alcohol and the fact we did not have any steak in the freezer, just a pork tenderloin. I do realize a different cut of pork would have been better suited for the long cooking time and that is what I recommend for the recipe below. I suggest pork shoulder or a pork roast cut up.

 

Pork Pot Pie

 

Ingredients:

 

1 ½ lb pork, diced

2 tbsp Flour

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled & chopped

4 sticks celery, chopped

½ sweet potato, diced

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried rosemary

1 bay leaf

2 ½ cups chicken stock

28 oz can tomatoes

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

 

Method:

Season pork, and toss with flour. Heat olive oil over medium heat, brown meat in batches, set aside. Add onion, frying for 1 minute, add carrot, celery, sweet potato and spices. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add stock and tomatoes, bring to boil, stir and simmer for 2 hours. Season to taste.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer stew to ceramic pot or mini ramekins. Roll out pastry, cut into circles to fit dish. Brush rim of pot with beaten egg, then place pastry over top, crimping at edges. Score top, or try for a design if feeling artsy. Bake in oven for 45 minutes.

Great with a side salad.

Peach Pie

I had no plan to make a pie this past weekend, but we had peaches that were getting a bit too ripe, and happened to have frozen pie crust in the freezer. It turned out pretty well, even if it was a store bought crust!

To make, peel and slice 5 cups of peaches and drizzle with 1 tbsp lemon juice. Combine 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp salt. Toss the peaches in the flour mixture. Beat one egg and brush the frozen pie crust with it. Pour the peach mixture into the pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes.