I make pasties a couple times a year, using this recipe as a starting point. I prefer a beef/pork mix, but frequently use all beef; I don't use MSG; I usually add a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. I do make the pastry. This last is definitely the most labor intensive, pain-in-the-butt part. When I was making them last week, I was kind of under the gun, because we were having family & friends over for dinner, and I let both my mom and my daughter help with the pastry. For whatever reason, it didn't turn out well. Don't get me wrong; they tasted fine in the end. But that crust was terrible to work with.
So I started thinking of alternatives. My mom really likes the Pillsbury pie crusts, and they're ok, but they still have that faintly chemical, almost plastic, taste to them. I thought puff pastry might be a yummy alternative. But when I got to the store, I was in a hurry, and the first thing I saw was crescent rolls in a can. I know, I know. "You complain about a fake taste in pre-made pie crust, but you're ok with pre-made crescent rolls?"
Well, no, not really. But I got them anyway.
Fast forward to last night, the last night of my current German class, the night I have to get out of the house by 4:30, the night Jeff has a Property Committee meeting at church, to which he'll take the girls. I decide that since these are of necessity going to be pretty small pasties, I'm not only going to dice the vegetables small, I'm going to par-cook them first. I saute the onions, then throw the chopped carrots, potato, and rutabaga in the pan, pour a little water in, slap a lid on, and let them steam a bit. This was the successful, smart part of the experiment.
After the veg cooled down and I added it to the meat with seasonings, I cracked open the crescents. This was the frustrating, irritating part of the experiment. The pieces wouldn't hold together. Besides coming apart at the perforations, they also broke apart in the middle, or smaller pieces broke off from the ends. So I had to piece them together, and patch across the top, making Franken-pasties. They were not attractive, but they were done, and I ran out the door to class.
When I got home, Jeff & girls were not yet back, but I saw there were a couple pasties left. It turned out that both girls ate them, and even liked them! O miracle of cheap, crappy crescents! Jeff also thought they were good, but agreed with me that the crescent part was too rich, and also kind of flimsy.
I won't use crescents again, but puff pastry is still a possibility. So is bread dough, though that really is not in keeping with the original idea. I'd still rather not deal with pre-made crusts, so the real answer might be to just suck it up and make my own crust again. But I like making them smaller, and par-cooking the veg is a good choice.
Maybe next time I'll have pictures!
4 comments:
The recipe looks good, although I have no idea what a rutabaga is. I assume you don't use MSG, though?
Are these basically a portable beef pot pie? I've read about them for years but have never made them.
Nope, don't use MSG. Rutabaga is sometimes called a swede, or a Swedish or yellow turnip. It's a root vegetable, not one of my favorite, but the husband says it isn't a true pastie without rutabaga, so since they're mainly for him, I put some in.
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v89r04FsdpY
I have to say, though, that his pronunciation as "paste-y" instead of "past-y" is just WRONG. ;)
I've always assumed it was "paste-y" until I was talking to British friends about them. They had a great laugh at me. Mr. Doom said, "I TOLD you. A 'paste-y' goes on a stripper's nipple!"
I never mispronounced after my mom said to me, "Past-ies are what you eat. Paste-ies are what Brooke Shields wore in The Blue Lagoon." Yes, I am that old, thanks!
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