100 year old meat pie recipe,100 year old pie crust recipe, turkey pies, what to do with leftover turkey, Ida Bailey Allen

100 year old meat pie recipe.


Having great success  with  this years smoked turkey, figuring out what to do with the leftover turkey was even more important .  I think I have told you before that jimmy LOVES his meat pies. Any time I make a roast the leftovers are  made into individual meat pies and baked to perfection.  Meat pies were something I  couldn't deal with until I found Ida Bailey Allen's  rich pie crust recipe.  For years I never made pies of any kind because I just couldn't figure out how to make pie crust.  My pie crusts either fell apart or turned to leather.  And then came Ida.  Her first cookbook was published in 1917.  Before that she was a food columnist for a New York newspaper.  Her Radio cooking shows  skyrocketed her to food fame lasting well after WWII.  In her best cookbook of all '2500 recipes, cooking, menus and service' She  gives this very easy pie crust recipe.


100 year old pie crust recipe


2 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 cup  solid fat (butter/lard etc)
1/2 tsp salt
icewater


Ida says to cut the fat into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork.   Then add  'sufficient'  ice water  -up to 2/3 cup- and mix  until you get a firm ball of dough.


I use my kitchenaid (of course) to mix the whole thing.  I put my flour and salt in with the fat , put the  mixing paddle on low and let it go until  the  butter is  thoroughly mixed in with the flour.  Then I slowly add the ice water  as the kitchenaid is running.  Once it forms a dough ball, I'm done.  I know that this recipe goes against all  the conventional  pie crust wisdom that says  very little water and don't over mix. But, conventional never worked for me and this does.  Its the perfect pie crust for meat pies because  it doesn't fall apart.
The next step is to take small portions of the dough and roll out  to about the size of a large tortilla.  Put  a serving spoon full of your pie filling  on it, fold it over and seal the edges by mashing them together with a fork. (you can also cut squares and just fold the corners over the top and stick a tooth pick in it to hold it together)  Put your pies on a cookie  sheet and bake in a hot oven (425 degrees) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  One additional  step that is optional.... beat one egg in a cup of water and brush it on your pies for a lovely glaze  that makes your crust flakier.


And now for the filling.  This is a 'leftovers' recipe so you can put pretty much what you want inside.
For our smoked turkey leftovers I chopped up 2 cups of  turkey, added about  a cup each of cooked carrots and onions, 1 cup of leftover dressing and  mixed the whole thing with the leftover turkey gravy.  Since the original meal was already  seasoned  you don't need to worry about that end of it.
The gravy is important in meat pies so they are not too dry.
6 cups of filling makes 6 to 8 pies

100 year old pie crust recipe, Ida Bailey Allen, never fail pie crust recipe, rich pie crust recipe

 

100 year old pie crust recipe
Rich pie crust recipe
Can NOT fail pie crust recipe

I have claimed for years that I just don't have the pie crust gene. Every pie crust I ever made had been some level of fail. Until I found Ida Bailey Allens Rich Pie Crust recipe. This thing is the bomb shelter of pie crusts. It works every time! It is perfect for fruit pies in a pie pan, cobblers, Cornish meat pastries, pot pies, fruit tarts and pretty much anything you need a crust for. I am amazed! I have used it for all of the aforementioned pies with no hint of fail. Jimmy now requests Cornish meat pies regularly and I am excited for the fall and all the apples we will have from our trees.

It is very rich


2 1/2 cupfuls pastry flour
1 cup butter (use real butter for best results)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup ice water. (yes ... this is the correct amount of water)
Do not melt the butter.
Mix the flour and salt together and then cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter ( a fork will work but pastry cutters are easier) Be very thorough about this, you don't want any large chunks of butter in your mix. When you have finished cutting in the butter, make a hole in the flour mixture and pour in your ice water. Mix until it forms a ball. Roll it out onto a floured board with a rolling pin, sprinkling lightly with flour as you go to keep it from sticking

Ida Bailey Allen, Cheese Scalloped Potatoes recipe

Massively busy right now! Jimmy and I are both entering show season.  But we still have to eat no matter how much work needs to be done. So, here is last nights 'oh so yummy' recipe  for scalloped potatoes. From Ida Bailey Allen (my Hero)

Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

4 large potatoes sliced thin
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

1. In a saucepan, combine cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Heat slowly. Whisk until cheese is melted.
2. Mix your flour and butter together  (you will need to soften the butter for this) and add to milk and cheese mix. Whisk until it thickens.
3. In a baking dish layer your potatoes and sauce, making sure to leave enough sauce to cover the top layer of potatoes.
4. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. 

100 year old tomatoe bisque recipe, Ida Bailey Allen, Depression Kitchen, Home grown herbs

Its just an Ida Bailey Allen kind of day.  I found this blog on 'depression kitchen'  that features Ida
http://thedepressionkitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/ida-bailey-allen-and-her-national-radio.html
I am now a follower.
Dinner tonight will be Idas Tomato Bisque with homemade foccaccia bread and a salad from the  fall garden

100 year old Tomato Bisque recipe

3 cups stewed sifted tomatoes (I'm gonna puree with the food processor)
1/2 tsp baking  soda  (to lessen the acidity)
3 cups scalded milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter

Mix baking soda into tomatoes and set aside.  Put butter and flour in a saucepan  on medium and stir til melted together. Add milk, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until  milk thickens. When milk is thickened  add tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

I'm going to add  a tablespoon of basil  since I went to all the effort of growing it, drying it and storing it.  Ida recommends adding a bay leaf and one slice of diced onion if you have it.  I'm going to add these three in the butter and flour and sautee' them before adding the milk.

100 year old Cornish Pasties recipe, Ida Bailey Allen, left overs, Cooking for two, recipes for two, pork tenderloin

Cooking for two can sometimes be a real challenge. It takes some serious meal planning. Its not too hard with a twenty minute meal like pork chops or pasta... But when you want a roast (beef or chicken or tenderloin) it gets tricky.  Its nearly impossible to get a 10 oz beef roast.  When going for a food you know will have leftovers , the leftovers should be planned for. Ida Bailey Allen has a whole section for leftovers.  Tonight we will be having roast pork tenderloin.  Tomorrow I will use the leftover tenderloin to make Ida's Cornish Pasties.  I love this recipe and so does Jimmy.  Once cooked, the little pasties can be frozen for a quick meal at a later date.

Cornish Pasties

2 cups cold cooked diced potatoes
2 cups cold cooked meat
1/2 small onion,diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Pie crust (as I said in a previous post..... I make nappy pie crust, so find a recipe from a RELIABLE source)

Mix potatoes,onions,meat, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
roll your pie crust thin and cut into 4 inch squares.
Put a spoonful of the meat mix in the middle of each square. 
Wet the edges with water or milk and fold them over the meat mix.
Brush the sides with milk or water
place on a greased flat pan and bake for 20 minutes.