Creamy Chicken and Egg Pie

I realised, it was 10 years ago since I made this pie. I can still remember, hubby and I were housemates then. We weren't even dating. There were a few of us in this big shared house and we took turns to cook.

Yes, we survived. From chicken wing dings (some frozen chicken crumbed chicken wings), massive amounts of instant noodles, odd concoctions of soups and stir fries, oven baked fish and chips.. yes..those were the days.

Did I mentioned that it was in that kitchen that I produced my rock hard rock cakes.

It was also around that period of time, that I made this pie. I recall that hubby's (who wasn't even my boyfriend then!) brother came over to visit. I thought that a pie could be just something different and a nice change for all. Maybe I was trying to impress them subconsciously. But it was better than all the odd concoctions and pre packaged stir fry sauces. It turned out ok and it was all gone.

I thought I would shelve that recipe.....

and there it was, 10 years later All shelved up. but just as good. The surprise is when you cut the pie and take a bite of the creamy chicken and that egg. It hits you.

Creamy Chicken and Egg Pie
1 shortcrust pastry
1 puff pastry

500 grams of chicken thighs, trimmed and diced
1 capsicum diced
1 onion diced
1 tablespoon of garlic
200 grams of lean bacon diced
2 eggs hard boiled and quartered
1 cup of soy milk/milk
2 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of djon mustard
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of sherry


Blind Baked shortcuts pastry in 180 C oven for 20 minutes. If you can, line a piece of baking paper and put some rice/dried beans on it when blind baking.

Mean while, brown chicken. Once done, set aside. Heat butter and melt. Whisk in flour till it is slightly golden. Then pour in milk, whisking it till it becomes thick. Add in mustard and cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes, adding some water if needed to water it down. Then toss in all veges and finally chicken.

Spoon mixture to short crust pastry (removing the baking paper and beans).Scatter egg randomly on pie. Top with puff pastry, poking a few holes at the top. Brush with egg. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with side salad

Red Wine Beef Onion Pies

There is nothing like winter that screams comfort food. Perhaps it's because Perth's winter isn't that harsh. Or maybe I have just grown to appreciate the sound of rain. I certainly prefer cold than hot weather.

The sound of the rain, warmness from a hot chocolate drinks reminds me how simple things in life can bring warmth to the heart.

I really like making pies at home. I'm a texture girl-crispy pastry and hot filling on the inside just hit a good spot in me. This time round, I decided to stew some beef, red wine and onion to make a hearty filling. Oh who could have thought the blend of red wine, beef and onion could make such magic?

I stewed the filling slowly, cooling it down completely before using my ancient pie maker. My pie maker toaster was handed to me when someone I knew left the country. Goodness know how old it is, my guess would be at least 8 to 10 years.

Age does not matter when it comes to wine.. ..and a good pie maker!

Red Wine Beef Onion Pies (Makes around 10)
5 sheets of puff pastry
1 red onion diced
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 cup of red wine
1/2 cup of beef stock
2-3 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
400 grams of beef chunks

Melt butter/margarine into a pot. Cook onions till very soft. Brown beef. Sprinkle flour over it. Add both red wine and stock into the mixture. Stir to combine. Add Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for around 15 minutes or so. Check, adding liquid if needed. Continue to stew for around 1 hr more, adding mushrooms at the 30 mins mark.

Once filling is done. Taste and season. Cool.

Cut pastry into size. Line pastry onto pie maker. Spoon mixture, pop the pastry top on and cook. Serve with a side salad.

If you do not have a pie maker, try using muffin tins. Preheat Oven to 200C. Bake pies for 15-20 minutes.

Chicken Mushroom Pie

Passing by a chicken specialty store one day, Granny asked "What's that?". I replied that it is a kind of chicken pie with mushrooms and bacon. I asked if she would like to try some and we could make some at home. She said yes. I gathered up the pastries and ingredients and went home with her to make some for dinner.

My granny does not know how to operate the oven. She was fascinated by the pastries can be easily defrosted and be filled with tasty ingredients. Once in the oven, she stood near it and observed the pastries being cooked. It really hit me on how I take things like this for granted. How even though technology has advanced, we shouldn't take it for granted.

I took her to see some appliances the week before and she told me that the fridge is really smart and I should buy it... why? because it beeps when the door is left ajar ;) My very adorable granny.

Chicken Mushroom Pie

3 pieces of puff pastries (into quarters)

300 grams chicken in cubes
1 tsp of garlic
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
seasoning such as salt, pepper and some mixed herbs.
1 spring of rosemary
(100 grams of bacon which I forgot!)
2 tablespoon of spread
1 tablespoon of flour
1 cup of soy milk

In a pan, saute chicken, mushrooms and garlic. In another pot, melt spread (butter or margarine) and stir in flour till golden brown. Whisk soy or normal milk in till it becomes thick. Add more milk or stock if needed if too thick. When it is done, your chicken should be browned. Add sauce to pan. Sprinkle in all seasoning and herbs. Season and taste if needed. Cook till it thickens. Then, cool.

Spoon mixture in each pastry. Seal with beaten egg. Use a fork to seal it tight if needed. Brush pastries with egg. Bake in 200 C oven for 30 mins. 

Timely to post a pie.... because... today is Australia Day!  

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

Quick and Easy Lentil Pie

I nearly forgot about this recipe!! The last time I made this was in June 2009- when I was in search for more vegetarian recipes. Being short on time. I re-created this one evening, and realized how much I missed and love cooking with lentils. I think this pie came up better than then the first time I made it.

I added alot more grilled capsicum and forgot about the spinach leaves! oops. But remembered to put in some garlic and red onions. I also put in some indian spices like cumin which gave it a nice spiced touch. 

Best of all, hubby didn't even think it was vegetarian. 

Quick and Easy Lentil Pie (I made 2 pies)
2 can of lentils
100 grams of chargrilled marinated red pepper sliced
50 grams of feta cheese
1 red onion sliced
some crushed garlic
2 tsp if cumin
2 tsp of tumeric
1 tsp chili flakes
cracked pepper and salt.
2 sheet of puff pastry
egg wash

Preheat oven 200C.
In a salad bowl, mix lentils, marinated red pepper,  seasoning and feta cheese. Spoon mixture on to the middle of the puff pastry. Seal on each ends. Brush with egg wash. Baked for around 20 minutes till golden brown.

Chicken and Leek Pie

There is something about Spring and Autumn that makes me want to make pies. Moreover, I love cooking with the oven. It's really time saving- and easy. I like to roast some vegetables with it usually. Again, just marinating the vegetables with some olive oil or even some sweet chili sauce makes it tasty.

This time round, I made a one dish chicken and leek pie. It's much easier than making them individually. One thing though,  making pies individually makes them more freezer friendly (easier to defrost one at a time).However, by making a one dish pie, there is less wastage. Often, I find myself lost on what to do with those leftover ends of the pastry! LOL

As usually, I added some chili flakes for abit of a zing. I don't think I can do without chili flakes these days. I like my food spicy! Must be something to do with my grandmother teaching me how to enjoy spicy food since I was 5 years old.

Chicken and Leek Pie (serves 4-6)

500 grams trimmed and diced chicken thighs
2 leeks washed and sliced
1 red onion sliced 
1-2 tsp chili flakes
white pepper
salt
dash of white wine if you have
1/2 cup of water
1 piece of puff pastry defrosted


2 cups of soy milk or milk
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoon of spread
1 cup of low fat cheese

Preheat oven 180C.

In a separate pot, melt spread. Stir in flour till it becomes golden brown. Add milk and whisk in low heat till smooth. Add cheese. (add more milk if mixture is too thick)

In a pan, saute leeks and onions. Add chicken and cook till brown. Season with chili flakes, salt, pepper and white wine. Add some water if mixture appears too dry. Add the bechamel sauce and simmer. Do a taste taste. Spoon into oven proof dish. Line with puff pastry, scoring the top and then placing pieces of pastry in a cross action on the top. Bake for 25 mins. 

Onion and Mince Pie

My goodness! This is certainly been a winter meals week hasn't it been? I was flipping through Jamie Oliver's Minstry of Food book and the delish looking mince pie caught my attention this time. It was easy to do too, so I decided to try making a classic English pie for dinner one evening.

I think I didn't put enough flour in because the gravy isn't as thick as what I thought it should be. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a hearty pie with the crisp crust and tasty mince. What surprised me was that Jamie Oliver used marmite in this dish! woohoo, so grandma is not the only one who do that for her stews. Wait a mind, maybe Jamie Oliver took the idea from Grandma? Or maybe Grandma was influenced by the British way of cooking in her days as working as a nanny in British households (the days when Singapore was governed by British)?

English Onion and Mince Pie 

2 red onions chopped 
500 grams beef or lamb mince
1 bunch of rosemary coarsely chopped
1 carrot diced
1 cup of beef stock
1 small bunch of celery chopped
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of marmite
seasoning. 

1 piece of puff pastry defrosted

Pre heat oven 180C.

Cook onion till translucent. Add mince and break it up as it cooks. Add all ingredients (just not flour). Simmer for 5-10 mins. Stir in marmite. Do a taste test and adjust taste accordingly. Stir in flour till mixture thickens. Cool slightly.


Spoon mixture in heat proof dish. Seal with puff pastry, slitting a cross in the middle and patching it up with some reminder of the puff pastry. Bake for 30 minutes till golden brown.

ps-one tip is to place the dish onto a baking tray so that it is easy to remove from the oven.

Lamb Pies with Mash and Mushy Peas

A few years ago, I tasted pies from Harry's Cafe De Wheels. Then more recently, I went back to Miami Bake House in Mandurah and totally fell in love with their pastry there. We ate one pie there around 3-4 years back and didn't think it was great but Miami Bakehouse have certainly gone up a few notches with its pastry!

Again, this is my attempt to bring something similar to our little home kitchen. I was too lazy to use the pie maker and just folded the pastry into half instead! I cheated and used store bought gravy-still it made a good Friday meal with little fuss!

Lamb Pies with Mash and Mushy Peas

300 grams of lamb mince
3-4 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp of soya sauce
2-3 tsp of mixed herbs
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
generous dashes of pepper

2-3 pieces of puff pastry cut into quarters

2 potatos boiled and mashed
1 cup of peas defrosted in the freezer, mashed with reduced fat butter, milk and pepper.

Saute lamb mince. Add sauces and herbs and mushroms. Add around 1/4 of water or stock and simmer. Cool.

Preheat oven to 200C. Once meat mixture is cooled, spoon a few tablespoon onto pastry, fold and brush with egg wash. Bake for around 25 mins.

Rogan Josh Chicken and Potato Pies- Honey and Soy Salad Dressing

What I love about pies is how can you convert leftovers into something that looks and tastes like it takes hours to do. I had a jar of Rogan Josh sauce in the fridge with the intention of finishing it up before it goes bad. Given that I still have a few pieces of puff pastry in the freezer, some potato and chicken, it didn't take me long to figure out a pie will do the trick!

I probably overdid the potato though..and that would have tasted better with a stronger sauce. Nevertheless, it was one easy meal that was freezer friendly. Perfect for the hubby to take to work for a snack or light lunch.



I have also recently discovered how easy it is to make honey and soy salad dressing! DOH! Although I would have never put those two together, I was quite curious to why the Aussies love having that on their salads. So I decided to experiment and the result was actually quite good... surprisingly! A tsp of sesame oil and sesame seeds add that crunch and texture.

Rogan Josh Chicken and Potato Pies- Honey and Soy Salad Dressing (around 12-13 pies)
4 puff pastry defrosted
300 grams of chicken breast thinly sliced diced
1/2 jar of sauce
2 potatoes diced finely -cook briefly in boiling water till just done.
1 onion chopped finely

Cook onion till nearly done and add chicken. Add sauce. Taste. Add potato and simmer for around 15 minutes. Add some pepper if needed. Cool.

Cut pastry to shape. Spoon filling into pastry as per pie maker instructions. Cook till the machine says it is done! =) Or just wrap the filling into the pastry and bake in 180C for around 25 mins in the oven.


Honey Soy Sesame Dressing
4 tablespoon of soya
1 tsp of honey
1 tsp of sesame seeds(I ran out when making it for this salad!)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1tsp of sesame oil

Whisk all together. Serve with your favorite salad.

Creamy Chicken and Leek Pie

You know that sometimes, a break is needed to refresh mind, body and spirit. With our long working hours-AR and I barely stopped to breathe straight after our wedding celebrations back in late April/May. Our signs of needing a break starts with feeling tired and with little motivation to do much.

So the dear hubby booked us a night away at our favourite town-Mandurah. Happens to be where we got engaged too. This trip brought us to a little Cafe named Cafe Pronto- that served the best dessert style coffee ever. I think it was called Parfait Pazazz with Jazz. It features crushed hazelnuts on the rim-with creamy chocolate parfait(apparently made in its premises with cream and their chocolate).. with a hot espresso poured over it. Well, it's like a jazz up version of affrogato except this one tastes much richer. My favourite part? Dipping the TINY gingerbread man into the glass.

Anyhow, we are feeling alot more refresh for a Monday!

My first recipe of the week? The Creamy Chicken and Leek is one that I made to freeze. I love the tasty splash of sherry or dry white wine in this (some left overs that we had!). Again, I used Carnations low fat creamy milk, hence it has the texture without the calories.


Creamy Chicken and Leek Pie (makes around 12 pies)
400 grams chicken breast meat diced finely
1 leek chopped (white part only)- would have preferred to have 2 leeks
1 tablespoon of spread
1 tablespoon of flour
1 can of carnations evaporative milk
1/4 cup of white wine/sherry
pepper/salt

3 puff pastry sheets

Melt butter. Cook Leek. Sprinkle flour and mix well. Stir in milk. Once it thickens, add chicken. Simmer for 10 mins till chicken is cooked and andd wine. Season to taste.
Pre heat pie maker and cut pastry to size. Spoon mixture onto each pastry case. Cover pie and cook per pie maker instructions.

Chilli Beef Pies

Due to my change in work hours, it is getting harder and harder to prepare dinner regularly. One of my favourite meals to make and freeze are individual pies. This is also probably one of the hubby's most requested meal-simply because it is easy for him to grab a few pies off the freezer and re-heat it before I come home or to take it to work for lunch.

It is rare that I buy a pie (Unless it is Jesters' Pie) from the shops. There is just something odd or artificial testing in pies these days. Making our own pies means that my paranoid of what goes in our body gets satisfied and we have "slightly healthier" pies to eat.



Chilli Beef Pies (makes around 12-14 pies)
400 grams of lean beef mince
1 red onion chopped finely
chopped mushrooms
3 tsp of chilli powder
2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
3 cups of shredded low fat cheese
5 pieces of reduced fat puff pastry

Defrost puff pastry. Heat 1 tsp of oil and cook onion till soft. Add mince and browned. Add mushrooms and chilli powder and sauce. Taste and season. Cool.
Preheat pie maker. Cut pastry to size. Place bigger round pastry onto maker. Top with beef then cheese. Cover with 2nd piece of pastry. Cook till machine says done!
Repeat for other pies!

Serve with salad and chips.

Cottage Pie

Have you ever had something to eat as a kid that you just cannot forget?

My first taste of cottage pie was at a friend's farewell party. I think we were 15 years old. She was one of my close mates in class and we had debates over Shakespeare's Macbeth. But her dad was relocating to the UK and subsequently to Sydney, hence the farewell party was held.

I took a bite of her mom's cottage pie and I was sooo sooo hooked on it. Seriously, I have NOT tasted such a well made cottage pie since then. I remembered being cautious.. not quite certain what I was eating (I was brought up in a Traditional soup, vege and meat meals home) but gave it a go anyway. It was in a aluminum tray...and it was huge.

And it was gone in minutes.

The worst thing was I was too stunned (and very unsure about my cookery skills!) to even ask for what her secret was. AND we lost touch soon after her re-location..

I can't get that image and taste out of my mind though.

Here is my version of cottage pie when the pangs hit.



Cottage Pie (serves at least 6)
3-4 medium sizes of potato (I used royal blue)
1/4 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of spread
seasoning

1 red onion chopped
1 tsp of garlic
olive oil
400 grams of lean beef mince
3-4 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
1/4-1/2 cup of beef stock
1 cup of peas
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
1 can of tomatoes
1 tablespoon of spicy mango chutney
2-3 celery sticks chopped

Cheddar and Parmesan cheese (around 1 cup)

1) Chop and cook potatoes till done. Mash with milk and spread. Season.

2) Pre heat oven 180C. In a deep pan, fry garlic and onion till soft and done. Add beef mince. Break the mince up as you cook it. Add stock and simmer. Add chutney, sauce and seasoning. Stir in the veges. Cook for around 10-15 minutes till done.

3) Place beef mixture in an oven proof dish. Then top it with the mash potato. Sprinkle some cheese on too. Bake for around 45 minutes till it is bubbling hot and golden brown.

Chocolate Rum Pie + Holiday!

In a few hours time, I will be jetting off for a long awaited holiday. One that I don't have to worry about submission deadlines and work responsibilities.

I see food, family, friends, shopping and most of all....good fun!

Rest asssured I will be bringing my camera along and will be updating often!

I cheated with this chocolate rum pie. I used a sweet shortcrust pastry instead of making my own.. but hey, whatever that saves time and looks good right? =)

I delibrately chose this pie to post today because I believe that it represents a sweet start to a new journey ahead.

So stay tuned people!!

Baked Chocolate Rum Tart
300 grams dark chocolate (70%)
200grams butter
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoon of castor sugar
generous splash of rum
25cm prebaked shortcrust pastry crust

icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 170C. Chop chocolate and butter. Melt over saucepan and stir till they are well combined. Cool.

Meanwhile, bake pastry shell for 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat eggs, yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk with wire whisk till thick and pale yellow in colour. Put a 1/4 of egg mixture into chocolate mixture and fold gently. Do the same for the reminding egg mixture.

Fold the splash of rum in.

Pour mixture into pastry shell and bake for 10 minutes or so. Cool and dust with icing sugar. Serve with ice-cream or cream. =)

See you later guys! I'm off to do more packing! *waves*

Cottage Pie

The last time I posted this, it was in 2006! Hmm..Looking at the old post, I realized I'm taking this blog alot more seriously now.

This is actually a cottage pie since I used beef mince instead of lamb. The time round, I added some cheese in my mashed potato and used 98.5% fat free milk + olive oil instead of butter. The butter version is obviously richer but the olive oil one has a lighter taste to it. Oh, another difference? I added a tablespoon of mango chutney into the beef mixture. It was the best decision I made that day. The chutney added a different dimension and taste to the beef mixture. A little tangy and definitely alot more body to it. Another one pot dish! =)



Cottage Pie
4 royal blue potatoes
salt
1/4 cup of olive oil or less
handful of cheddar cheese
1 tsp of chopped garlic
1/2 cup+ of evaporated creamy 98.5 fat free milk or normal skim milk

400grams of beef mince
3 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoon of mango chutney
garlic
olive oil

1) Boil chopped potatoes in a pot of salted water. Drain and mash in the warm bowl with olive oil, milk, cheese and seasoning. Set aside.

2) Pre heat oven at 200C.

3) Heat oil in pan and gently fry garlic. Add mince and cook till brown, breaking the mince up as it cooks. Add tin of tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and chopped mushrooms. Simmer for around 10 minutes. Add seasoning if needed. Stir in the spoonful of mango chutney. Spoon into baking dish and top it with mash potatoes. Bake under grill for 25 minutes till it is bubbling and the top turns golden.


Check out Singairishgirl's version as well.

Apple, mango, nectarine, sultana and chocolate pie

When you least want it, drama follows. What is the worst thing that could happen to a postgraduate student expecting to finish her 200-300 pages thesis anytime?

The computer died.
That was when I realized how valuable and precious the word "back up" means. Thank to the constant reminders from AR who even took the step of stashing a DVD of my write up in his office locker. "Just in case the house burned down," he said. I laughed it off then but now I'm so thankful that I have copies of my work everywhere.

As a tentative measure, I resorted to working on my laptop again. The only problem is that I have about 5-6 programs running at the same time and it is a 5 years old laptop... yup. U guessed it. It lagged big time. In fact, it crashed twice last night, and I had to remind myself to "stay calm" (especially since I was editing 316 references!).

Then the man who I pledged myself to be married to (In exactly 1 year 1 day's time) came to my rescue (HA! sounds so heroic! I can't believe I just wrote that statement!). He stayed up all night to fix the computer up. He grabbed a few moments of sleep as the computer loads. So, by the time it was 7:30am, the desktop was up and running again.

Thank you AR. =)

_______________________________________________________

In light of the above event, I decided to follow the theme and blog about a pie that I made around 2 weeks ago. I'm not even sure how I'm going to write the recipe up! As a disclaimer, this is probably one recipe that you should not try from this blog =) .



I had 3 pieces of puff pastry left and thought a pie might be a good idea to use it all up. Just as I was stewing the apple pieces, it occurred to me that 3 apples will not be sufficient to filled up the pie dish! Ok, correction, it wasn't a pie dish, it was quiche dish.

So anyway, after blind baking the pastry, it became really obvious that if I use that filling, the pie might become a "stingy pie". You know, the "full of pastry but barely there filling" pie? So guess what I did?

I went to the fridge and digged out every fruit I have in there. So that means my pie consisted of

1 mango
1 nectarine
n the 3 apples that I was stewing.

Ok. everything chopped and into the saucepan with the apples. Oh dear, it still looked sparse.

Open pantry cupboards.

Light bulb moment- chocolate! Chocolate makes everything taste good.

oh! And some sultanas. Ok, in the saucepan it went as well.



So here you go. This is my "Apple, mango, nectarine, sultana and chocolate pie"

3 pieces of puff pastry
3 apples
1 mango
1 nectarine
handful of sultanas
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 Cinnamon stick
2 tsp of mixed spice
1/4 cup of chocolate chips

Line a dish with puff pastry. Patch pastry up if it didn't fit the dish. Blind bake for around 15 minutes.

Mean while, stew skinned and chopped apples, sultanas, nectarine and mango with brown sugar, cinnamon stick and mixed spice for around 15 minutes. Cook till soft. Line pastry with stewed fruit and sprinkle chocolate chips to fill the gaps if the filling isn't sufficient. Cover it with another layer of pastry, making 4 slits at the top. Bake for 25 minutes till puff and golden.

Serve with ice-cream.


hmm..ice-cream makes everything looks good ya?

Spinach and Fetta Pie

Spinach and Feta is another classic combination. The saltness of feta goes so well with the texture and taste of spinach. I have been wanting to experiment with filo pastry for a while now. The last time I used it was about 4-5 years ago. I remembered that experience to be tedious. The brushing of butter on each piece of filo. My clumsy hands tore several sheets of filo along the way and I was tired after making 24 spinach feta triangles! I decided to be less ambitious and tackle a pie dish this time round rather than individual tiny triangles that required more attention.

This time round, I tore a few sheets of filo again and was tired of brushing the pastry after the first 4 sheets. Then I grew lazy and decided to pile the sheets on the pyrex, praying that it will work. I figured out it will be more successful if I could stop tearing the pastry! Thankfully, the pastry still came out crisp and lovely despite not having butter brushed on individually. I'm pretty sure I have around 8-10 sheets on the pyrex.



Spinach and Fetta Pie (adapted from Donna Hay 1, pg. 170).
8-10 sheets of filo pastry
50 grams of butter melted

Filling
1 bunch of english spinach trimmed, soaked and washed.
150 grams of fetta crumbed
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice
1 cup of light and easy evaporated milk
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 200C. Tear spinach.

Prepare filo pastyr by brushing each sheet with butter and layering it with another piece of filo. Repeat. Place pastry in pyrex or square baking tray (around 8 1/2 inch pan), letting some of the pastry hang out.

Combine egg, milk, fetta, mixed spice and seasoning in a jug. Place spinach onto the pan first. Pour egg mixture next. Bake for 20-25 minutes till the filo turns golden.



ps: coincidentally, Singairishgirl made spinach puffs too!

Paddy Malone- Irish Pub Food

We are switching gears totally! Lets turn our attention to Irish pub food (singairishgirl might be able to help me here *wink*). A couple of weeks ago, we decided to head up north to Joondalup to visit a bridal shop (yes, the things my hubs2be do for me). We got hungry halfway through our journey and decided to stop by for some tucker.

And what a find!

Paddy Malone is situated between Corner Reid Promenade and Central Walk. We got lucky as we were there for lunch so it was nice and quiet. The menu offer a decent range of food and we were torn between what to order. Should I have Bangers & Mash or Celtic Chicken? hmmm...


AR's order-O'riely's Ribs AU$23! OH YEAH! Look at that portion peeps! It was HUGE and that was for our lunch. Hickory maple bbq pork ribs served with beer battered chips and garden salad. The meat was tender and off the bone. The beer battered chips were freshly battered (and not those frozen yucky kind). Oh so good. I'm still thinking of this.


My order- Beef n Guinness Pie AU$19.50. I decided that since we are in an Irish pub, I might as well order what they are famous for right? Underneath that crispy secret were tender chunks of beef, mushrooms and a rich Guinness sauce. I'm getting picky here but it was towards the saltier side. You get a choice for your side dish, either vegetables potatoes or chips. Needless to say, I took vegetables and potatoes of course. The were steamed. Nothing special but a good match to a heavy tasting dish like this.


Did we finish all the food? No we couldn't. We tried real hard though. AR did finish my pie and most of the pork ribs but we struggled with the salad and generous amount of chips. If we were to go again, the portion of pork ribs + a side dish should suffice.


The best part? We used our entertainment voucher for this. It was a buy one main meal get one free. Hence we paid AU$23 for our meal. A bargain + a good meal!

We were told that they have Irish music every Wednesday and Sunday nights. On Wednesday, they offer a Irish Buffet (what's that?) for $24.50. They also have other specials such as a Pie and Pint for $16 on Mondays and Curry in a hurry $16 on Tuesdays.

Paddy Malones
Corner Reid Promenade and Central Walk
Joondalup

Black Pepper Chicken Pies

One of the most useful items that people left for us was a pie maker (+3 bookshelves). Dusted, cleaned and removed from the cupboard, I took it out to make some pies. You see, a close friend of ours doesn't cook and her family members went overseas. Other than the usual rice/vege/meat combo, I thought some pies in the freezer might come in handy for her.

Hence, the UFO look alike pie.

What not to adore about a pie though? Saucy meat encased in a flaky pastry. Black pepper is also one of the most versatile sauce mix you can have in the fridge. Black pepper stir fried pasta, black pepper chicken, black pepper noodles, black pepper crabs... you get the message. ;p



Black Pepper Chicken Pies (makes about 8 pies)
200grams of cubed chicken
4 tablespoons of black pepper sauce
1cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup of frozen vegetables
1/2 cup of water

4 Puff Pastry-estimate diameter of pie maker. Cut out a bigger ring and a smaller one.

Prepare filling
Heat oil in pan. Quick stirfry chicken. Add mushrooms and vegetables. Keep frying for about 1-2 minutes. Add black pepper sauce and water. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Cool.

Place the bigger piece of puff pastry on the pie maker. Gently press it down so it fits nicely. Spoon some cooled filling into the casing. Top it with the smaller piece of puff pastry. Using your fingers, press the smaller piece of pastry down. Cook till the pie maker tells you that it's done!

PS-when I'm in a very lazy mode, I pour the filling into a dish and top it with a piece of puff pastry. Bake in 200C oven for 20 minutes. Ta dah, black pepper chicken pie done in a jiffy.

Chilli Pot Pies

My love affair with puff pastry continues as I made chilli pot pies. Perth went through a chilly few days (yup..in summer!) so I wanted something simple but hearty. Out came the ramekins and the puff pastry.

Who would have thought that chilli and cheese go so well together? As poor students (err.. actually I still am!), we used to scrape the pantry for extra ingredients-especially since the guys were huge eaters! One "I'm running out of ideas, please fridge talk to me" day, with only a small packet of shredded cheese left, packet of beef mince and spices I thought of a cheese and chilli beef pie. So I bought some puff pastry and started experimenting. I even made huge batches of pies to freeze so that we have something quick to munch on. Now, I know this isn't new but I haven't discover Mexican food then, so I was rather proud of myself, until I realised that pretty much the whole world has discovered it. That was a "DOH" moment.

Who can resist breaking into that crisp shell and discovering cheesy goodness?


Chilli Pot Pies (makes about 4-6 pot pies depending on the size of your ramekin)
300 grams of lean beef mince
1 chopped onion
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 cups of mixed frozen vegetables
1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
2 tsp of HOT chilli powder
1/4 cup of stock
generous dashes of cracked black pepper

1 sheet of puff pastry
2 cups of shredded cheese

Method
Preheat oven at 200C.
Heat pan with olive oil. Add garlic and onion, frying till fragrant. Using a wooden fork/spoon, break the beef mince as it starts to cook. Add mixed vegetables after about 5 minutes of cooking. If the mixture looks to dry, add some stock. Continue simmering, adding the chilli powder and worchesterhire sauce to taste. Season to your liking.

Cut the pastry to desired diameters. Ladle chilli to ramekins. Top with cheese and finally with puff pastry. Bake for 20 minutes till puff pastry becomes golden and puffy!

Serve with grillled vegetables or a side salad.

What do YOU like in your pies? Let me know!