Pasties for the Super Bowl

Well, that title is a double entendre if I ever saw one. And trust me when I say there's no stripper video here. LOL. This is a food blog so everyone settle down.

"Pasties" ALSO refers to the plural form of pasty, a delicious meat pie. And I can't think of a better snack for the Super Bowl. A pasty is basically a pot pie without the pot. They're hearty with lots of pastry and just about everyone loves them.

My first introduction to pasties was many years ago in Petoskey, Michigan; Mother bought them in a bakery on Mitchell Street called Lee Ann's, now Johan's. They're a staple up there, although one initially thinks of a British pub when one thinks of pasties.
The pasty arrived in Michigan's Upper Peninsula via Cornwall, England. When tin mining started going bad in England during the 1800's the Cornish miners immigrated to America hoping to earn their keep in newly developing mines. The pasty was originally made as lunch for miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat. The traditional recipe includes diced or sliced steak, finely sliced onion and potato. Other common ingredients included rutabaga and sometimes parsley. The use of any carrot in a Cornish pasty is frowned upon by purists.

Today, pasty contents vary. Common fillings include beef steak and stilton, chicken and ham, cheese and vegetable and even turkey and stuffing. Other speciality pasties include breakfast and vegetarian pasties. Pork and apple pasties are readily available in shops throughout Cornwall, with the ingredients including an apple flavoured sauce, mixed together throughout the pasty.

This recipe has been a hit every time I've served it. I discovered it in Sarah Leah Chase's Cold-Weather Cooking cookbook. She named them after a Scottish man named Jim Paterson who was working for her at the time. I think you'll really like the ingredients-sausage, leeks, shiitake mushrooms, apples (plus some Calvados!) and sage. I'm including the pastry recipe because it's lovely and flaky, but you can save time by just using ready made dough. Pillsbury's refrigerated rolled pie crusts work fine. Your pasty won't end up quite so cheesy, but there's some in the pasty filling anyway. These are also smaller than the traditional pasty, making it easier to serve as an appetizer or snack. They are traditionally eaten by hand, even the big ones. If I serve these for supper, I never can resist some fruit salsa with them. Try inventing your own pasty- it's easy.

One small note: you can make them ahead of time and refrigerate for several hours before baking.When you're ready to serve, brush on the egg wash and bake.

Paterson's Pasties
Adapted from Cold-Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase

Ingredients:

Pastry:
3-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into bits
2-1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
pinch salt

Filling:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 leeks, white and light green parts, rinsed well and minced
1/3 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps minced
12 ounces bulk pork sausage
3 tablespoons Calvados
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Egg wash:
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons water

Method:
Prepare the pastry: Place all ingredients except eggs in a food processor. Process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the eggs and process just until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the filling:
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the leeks and mushrooms and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the sausage and Calvados and cook, crumbling the sausage with the back of a spoon, until the sausage is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the apples, sage and Cheddar cheese and cook a couple minutes more. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Divide the pastry dough in half and roll out to 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface. At this point you can cut out any size circle you wish. I cut out 5-1/4 inch circles.

To make the pasties: Put a tablespoon or so of filling in upper half of the circle (keeping in mind the amount of filling you use will depend on the size circle you have cut).

 and fold the dough over to form a half-circle.

Seal by pressing edges together with a fork.

Repeat with the remainder of your circles and transfer the pasties to your lined baking sheet.
Beat the eggs and water together and brush over each pastry.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot.

The pasties can be stored in the refrigerator for a few hours before baking.
Makes 2-4 dozen, depending on the size of your circles.

Condos and Crabmeat

Have I mentioned I live in a condominium? It was the first one built in the U.S. That's right: the first. We have the plaque to prove it. Not a co-op, those were around way earlier, but the first condo. And this is not one of those ghastly high rises which came later, worse luck, but a city block of several smallish, pastel-colored buildings on A1A, which means the ocean is right across the street. I've lived here a while and condo living (or any apartment living for that matter) is often dicey. My father's advice: don't make waves.

Normally, I don't. But..... it's all about a new fire alarm system the city says we have to install. I have no objections to complying with code but with who will do the installing. The Board chose an expensive company...costing nearly $60,000...and did not bother to look further. Appalled, we got another bid from a well-regarded company, $20,000 less for the same work. The Board refused to meet with them, discuss their references or consider their bid and informed us they had signed a contract with the other firm and that was that. Go away.
I really do hate arrogance.

So, the upstarts in Building A (that's us) made waves. We wrote letters; we asked for arbitration; we ignored the invoice; and we finally refused access to our apartments. Our entire building was on the same page. Which is nothing short of amazing. The end result? Threatening letters from Board attorneys (which we pay for) and finally a notice that the city would start fining us $500 for each day the work was not in progress. Request for arbitration is law but the Board informed us by registered letter we would have to pay all attorney fees and any fines while waiting for arbitration and ditto if we lost. Dicey indeed. It may well end up costing more than the savings we hoped for. It. Just. Ain't. Fair.

Most of us caved. Some did not, but they haven't a hope in hell of beating the system. It's gonna happen. Work has begun on the willing (I use the word loosely) apartments. There'll be stobe lights, klaxons, speaker systems telling you to get out! get out! and if this ever goes off in the night, just dial 911- forget the fire- because I will have had a heart attack. The equipment is 5 feet from the head of my bed.

Are you ready? I now have 4 fire alarm systems:

1. Was here when I moved in and will eventually be disconnected (I assume), though the detectors will not be removed.
2. Was installed by my home alarm company. More detectors, active.
3. Was added when the fire department came by and told us we needed to install some extra battery operated ones a few years ago. Still more active detectors.
4. The brand new one. Detectors galore.

What d'ya think? Overkill?
I need a drink.

And just what has this to do with Crabmeat? Not much, except I had company coming for dinner and had to work around installers, ladders, boxes of tools and coils of wire in the kitchen. It was a near thing, but I pulled it off.

My Deviled Crab was on the menu and it's a really old recipe; so old, I have no idea where I found it. Do you remember the funky clam shells we used to serve our crab dishes in? When I first started making this recipe, I used them. That's how old. Mine turned yellow and cracked so I finally got rid of them. It's an interesting combination of ingredients but the most important tip is to use really fresh crabmeat. And then haul out your old clamshells!

Stuffed Deviled Crab

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh crab, flaked
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons onion pulp (I grate mine)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 or 3 dashes Tobasco
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1 small tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Pinch dry mustard
Pinch mace
Pinch dried basil
2 tablespoons light rum
2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
Cracker crumbs

Grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

In a bowl mix the flaked crabmeat, the lime juice, onion pulp, black pepper, Tobasco and salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours before serving.

In a skillet melt the butter and add the chopped onions, green pepper, tomato, the garlic and the parsley. Sauté until the vegetables are tender. Add the dry mustard, mace, basil, rum and breadcrumbs. Stir over low heat for a couple minutes.

Add the crab mixture to the stuffing and heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pack into cleaned crab shells or individual ramekins. Sprinkle with a mixture of cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dot with butter and bake in a 350° oven until the top is browned and everything is heated through, 5-10 minutes.
Serves 6.

I'm On a Pudding Kick.....

My dad loved his rice pudding. Mother made it a lot, a very basic recipe with some raisins thrown in. She made custard much the same way, sans raisins. Nothing fussy, just quick and easy. Dad liked to take some softened butter, add brown sugar and cinnamon, mix it together and dump a heaping spoonful on top of his hot rice pudding. No cream, just the brown sugar/butter topping. It melted all over it; he loved that kind of stuff. His eating habits were really appalling when I think back on it, lots of butter, cream (he actually used sweetened condensed milk in his coffee), white bread and he liked his desserts. He kept one of those enormous chocolate bars in the refrigerator and broke off a piece every single evening of his life. He lived to be 94, was in good health (until prostate cancer hit at age  92), had all his teeth in spite of the chocolate, no cholesterol problems and still had a trim figure. What's up with that? Genes, you'll say, no doubt you're right.

One day I presented Dad with a different kind of rice pudding. A new recipe I had found called French Custard Rice Pudding and I wanted to try it out on him. He looked at it with dismay; he really didn't like change, but being a polite and also a kind father, he took a bite. After his first bite he smiled, looked up and said: "Is it rice pudding or custard?"

Well, both actually. And because he liked custard nearly as much, it was a success. He still wanted his brown sugar invention on top, even though I thought it was overkill. But then I'm not crazy about an overly sweet rice pudding. If you like a sweeter dessert, try a nice raspberry or apricot sauce (something made with melted jams, a bit of water and perhaps some rum or kirsch if you want to get fancy.); that would give the pudding a nice touch of color. Or you could make a crème anglaise. And there's always cream. Not appealing to me but there it is. Another wonderful thing about this pudding is it's just as good cold, if not better. But you sure can't melt your brown sugar topping on a dish of cold rice pudding. So Dad started to use maple syrup on it! Funny.

I've made it a lot since then. First for my parents, but also for my own family. Sometimes, if I don't have raisins, I've used whatever dried fruit I happened to have handy. But I must admit, I like raisins best. Talk about not liking change.

So... I give you double comfort food: rice pudding AND custard, all in one dish. I should also mention it's perfect to take to someone who's been housebound for one reason or another. Nearly everyone likes rice pudding and custard...pretty much from childhood on. Comforting. I think it's kind of neat to get two desserts in one.

French Custard Rice Pudding
From Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup uncooked rice ( not instant; I use Uncle Ben's converted rice)
3/4 cup raisins
4 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Method:

In the top of a large double boiler, mix 3 cups of the milk (reserve the remaining 1 cup), sugar, salt and rice. Cook over direct heat until very hot. Then place over hot water in the bottom of the double boiler. Cover. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until rice is very tender and the milk is almost but not completely absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, pour boiling water over the raisins to cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain.
Place rack in the center of the oven, preheat it to 350°. Butter a 6 cup shallow casserole or baking dish.
Stir yolks with a whisk and add the last cup of milk along with the vanilla and almond extracts.
Gradually mix some of the hot rice mixture into the cold milk mixture and then mix the yolk mixture with the rest of the rice. Stir in the raisins. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with nutmeg. Place into a larger pan, which must not be deeper than the baking dish. Pour hot water into the pan to about halfway up the baking dish.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove pudding from the hot water and cool on a rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Makes 6-8 portions.