Party Pies

My memory of childhood was a that a party was never a party without Party Pies.  Sausage rolls and party pies went side by side, and were a staple at all under age events in Australia!  I love their cute, dainty little size and the perfect balance of crunchy top pastry and slightly under-done base.  I remember always, ALWAYS biting into them too quickly and burning my tongue on the hot beef inside despite the number of times the cook would say ' now kids, they are just out of the oven, let them cool down a bit first'.  I loved them dipped in tomato sauce and eaten as quickly as possible, trying to get my share before the adults noticed they were available and the Dads ate their unannounced portion.

My girls are now nearly 7 and 8 and I fear that since living in the US since they were 3 and 4, perhaps their understanding of Party Pies and their place in the world of childhood parties is not so entrenched.  I decided to make them this week.  Not for any birthday party or event, just because.

I declared it a 'no-veggie night' and off I went....

Ingredients:
500g / 1 lbs chuck beef, ground
1 sml onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tblspn worchestershire sauce
2 cups beef stock
2 tblspn cornflour
fresh thyme, finely diced
3 tblpsn tomato paste
1/2 cup carrot puree
salt and pepper

Shortcrust pastry

Puff pastry

1 egg, beaten.

Method:

• In a medium hot skillet, sauté onions until clear, then add carrot, garlic and herbs
• Add your meat, season with salt and pepper and cook well, until browned
• Add the worchestershire sauce and cook until absorbed
• Now add the tomato paste and mix through. 
• In a bowl, whisk together your cornflour and beef stock before pouring over the meat.
• Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer.  Allow it to simmer for about 30minutes (or more).
• Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Allow the meat mixture to cool well before trying to compile the pies.
• While waiting for the mixture to cool, prepare your shortcrust pastry and then leave to rest in the refrigerator for at least 45mins before rolling out.
• The recipe I love the most for Shortcrust Pastry and which works every time is Gordon Ramsey's. It is SO easy, seriously there is no excuse for store bought shortcrust if you have a food processor - it literally takes less than 3 mins. Find it here at http://whatsfordinner-mum.blogspot.com/2013/04/chunky-beef-mushroom-pie.html but essentially it is 2 parts AP flour :1 part butter :1 part iced cold water.

To put together the party pies:

1. Bring out your puff pastry from the freezer to thaw. (I don't know how to make puff pastry and store bought is SUPER easy to buy!!)
2. Preheat your oven to 375'f or about 190'C
3. Prepare your muffin trays by lightly spraying with cooking spray.  I like to use a regular size muffin tray for party pies, you could use the larger Mexican size if you were making these for adults or some other large ramekin.
4. Roll out your shortcrust pastry, to about 3mm thick.
5. Using a cookie cutter or other round shape, cut out your shortcrust pastry bases to fit the bottom and sides of your muffin tray.
6. Spoon in the cooled meat mixture until almost level with the top.

7. Cut out your top pastry using the puff pastry sheets.  I used a scalloped edge cookie cutter which   

    looks nicer when cooked.  Lay it top of your meat and press lightly against the base.  I didn't use 

   egg wash or anything to helps seal, just a little pressure and it stayed pretty well stuck.
8. Continue until all the mixture is used.  If you wanted to keep them for another time.  Flash freeze 

   them in the muffin tray at this point and then when frozen enough to remove from the tray, bag and 

   label them in freezer bags.  
9. If cooking straight away, then brush the tops of the puff pastry with egg before baking for about 

   22-25mins.

Orzo pasta salad

During the summer I like to have some vegetables roasted at the beginning of the week to make my salads more chunky as well as healthy.  I don't always have protein for lunch so some roasted squash or red pepper or eggplant goes a long way for me.  Here is a summer dish I just love.  You could use pearl cous cous or orzo or quinoa, whatever you fancy.  The girls love that the orzo is small and cooking it in chicken stock gives it, it's own flavor.  You can substitute any vegetable or salad ingredient you like but here is a good balance of colors and textures to make a yummy lunch or light dinner.   Obviously if you don't have vegetables roasted already, then you would need to get the oven on and get those done first.  I have them in containers in the fridge so I just warm them through under the broiler or just mix them in with the hot pasta and thats enough for me.   I love to add chili flakes on mine as well for an extra kick.  

Ingredients:
orzo pasta
chicken stock

2/3 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup broccoli florets, small 

2 tblspn basil, freshly chopped

1 clove garlic
knob butter
sea salt

cracked pepper
2/3 cup diced mushrooms
1/3 cup shaved parmesan cheese

grilled eggplant, diced

or butternut squash, roasted
optional: Grilled chicken breast slices

Method:

• Cook pasta in boiling water with chicken stock
• Soak florets of boccoli in boiling water for 5-8mins (while the pasta is cooking)
• Dice mushrooms, heat a shallow skillet pan and cook mushrooms in a knob of butter. Add garlic, salt and pepper and cook until mushrooms release water and brown up.
• Dice other ingredients, and place in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper, a drop of olive oil, chili flakes (optional) and add cooked garlic mushrooms.  Toss well.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain well - retaining 1/3 cup of pasta water in a separate bowl.
• Mix through a 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese while hot and then add to mixed vegetables.

Drunken Short Spare Ribs

These short ribs are really easy to pull together and using the slow cooker makes for a simple cooking method allowing loads of time to infuse the deep flavors.  It is not too strong and definitely not spicy so the whole family devoured these.  My girls loved them so much I started to think they may have noticed the wine!

I have done this with both short ribs with bone in and also boneless spare ribs... they were both amazing however if you tie the bones up before you start you will have a nice presentation when serving.

I made a roasted garlic mash potato to have with it, which in my opinion is the only way to go. It would be something I'd be happy to serve at a dinner party and using the slow cooker means it would be ready whenever you were.

I found this recipe at www.eatliverun.com/recipes and I didn't change a thing.  I used whatever nice red wine I had in the house, but don't go cheap.  Use a quality red that you would enjoy now.

Serves 3-4

Active time: 25mins

Totally time: 6-7hrs

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs beef chuck short ribs

2 whole shallots, minced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 tbspn vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon

1 cup beef broth

3 tbspn brown sugar

2 tbspn tomato paste

1 1/2 tbspn all purpose flour

1 1/2 tspn salt

1 tspn pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat.  When hot, add the short ribs.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the ribs in the pan and brown.  This takes about 3-4 mins each side, as you want them nice and caramelized.

• After the ribs have browned, remove carefully and set them in the bottom of your slow cooker
• Take the pan off the heat briefly to cool down and drain or wipe out any remaining fat.
• Return to medium heat and add the minced shallots and diced celery.  Saute for about 5 mins until tender, then add the tomato paste.  Mix the paste into the vegetables and continue to sauté for another few minutes
• Pour the wine and beef broth into the skillet and stir. Add the brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt and pepper and flour.  Stir well to get rid of any flour lumps.
• Bring sauce to a bil and reduce to simmer for a few minutes.  Pour sauce right over the ribs in the slow cooker.  Sprinkle remaining salt and pepper on top and place the lid on.  

• Cook on HIGH for 5-6hrs or on LOW for up to 12hours.
• When done, the meat should literally be falling off the bone.