Nikki here!

So I decided to make two pies for Savory Week: Steak/Beef Stew Pie and Chile Relleno Pie.

Steak Pie/Beef Stew Pie:

This recipe was originally only steak and onion with a puff pastry top, but I wanted to expand upon it with more vegetables (carrots, turnips, garlic) and an actual pie crust. It also originally called for mushroom gravy, which I replaced with actual mushrooms and beef broth, as well as a few spices such as rosemary and a bay leaf or two. Since the broth made the filling a bit watery, I knew I would need to prebake the pie crust; it was kinda fun to use the bean method (but not really…its not that exciting…); at any rate, I suppose this pie would either require a) more stewing time pre-bake; or b) time in the refrigerator to congeal and be served cold.

I think my experiment went fairly well; it was very tasty and savoury, and the lard crust was well suited to its beefy contents. The meat was a bit tough, so I’m not sure whether it needed to stew more or less (any meat experts out there?)

I topped it off with a goofy attempt at the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows symbol, which I then watched over the weekend and realized that the circle actually goes inside the triangle (whatevs). It all went to the same place anyway 😉

Pie number two: Chile Relleno

I found this recipe online and stuck with it the whole time. It was actually really freakin good; I believed it would be awesome, but a few of my friends were a bit skeptical (also, for all those Williams College people don’t know what Chile Relleno is, it’s a mexican dish made from stuffed, roasted Poblano Peppers, which are not spicy;cheese, and an egg batter. The pie also included precooked chicken and was topped by salsa. The lard crust was fine, and held together fairly well (probably my best crust yet as far as handling and timing goes).

 

Since it got raving reviews I would absolutely make this pie again, but with a few more peppers, as it is of my opinion that the more the merrier in regards to roasted peppers.

 

Outside of class, I was inspired to try this Leek and Gruyere cheese pie, which, with a delicious all butter crust, was pretty amazing in all its simplicity. How unfortunate that gruyere is so expensive!

 

 

 

Tagged: all butter crust, beef stew, chile relleno, gruyere, lard crust, leek, savoury, Steak, Vegetables