Friday night I got to escape for a little night out with my girls R, S, & W. We went back to our hometown (which is only a few minutes away LOL) to enjoy some mexican food at Rancho Grande. This place is seriously a hole in the wall; it's cash or check only, no booze, and I swear the place has not changed one thing in 20 years right down to the velvet pictures on the wall. Luckily the food hasn't changed in 20 years either. I get the same thing everytime, cheese enchilada dinner deluxe. Mmmmh, taking that first bite is so, so good. The corn tortilla and cheese, uh, just so good! I might just lick the plate clean if I weren't in a public establishment....LOL
Saturday we had a spur of the moment "playdate" with my husband's cousin, her husband and kids. We ordered pizza from this place in Linden that is mainly a party store, but they do have good pizza. Actually, it's the bread sticks that keep us coming back to this place. They put about a half inch of "butter" in the bottom of the to-go box and then pile on the bread sticks and put a ton of parmesan cheese all over it. I love soaking the breadsticks in the butter goo and parmesan. They are very reminicent of old school Little Caesar's breadsticks. I even lie to the children that the breadsticks are gone so that I can hog them all. Terrible, I know. I'd rather give myself the heart attack, ya know. I'm just looking out for them. ;-) ha ha ha
The past few weekends Hubby has been making breakfast. I am loving it. About a month ago, we watched this Good Eats episode about eggs, and since then he's been testing out his egg skills. I like my eggs over easy, sunny side up, runny~whatever you call it; however I cannot make them myself. He's also been cooking up pancakes, waffles, and this Sunday was french toast. I could really get used to his weekend specials. I hope he continues! :) So, for last nights dinner, I was pumped up to make this recipe I saw in the latest Rachael Ray mag (nov 2009). I had to buy it because so many things actually looked good in there. I used to subscribe to her mag, but then the recipes got so crazy that I let it go. I found a good deal over at Mags for Less for less than $9, so I decided I'd subscribe again.
My dinner turned out pretty good, but I would make a few changes if I made it again. I'll put my changes in parenthesis.
Beef, Cheddar and Potato Pie
serves 8 prep 45 min bake 45 min
2 pounds ground beef
2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 cup dark beer (we used Amber Bock) -you could totally use beef broth
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water
1. Preheat oven to 375^. In a large skillet, combine beef, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and potato and cook, breaking up the meat, over medium-high heat until the beef is cooked through and some liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the beer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cheese, 2 teaspoons salt (I would only use 1--two was way to salty for our taste) and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Let cool.
2. On a floured surface, roll out 1 puff pastry sheet inot a 12-inch round. Place in a 10 inch skillet or deep pie plate. Roll the remaining puff pastry sheet into an 11 inch round. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat mixture into the pie pan. Lightly brush the edge of the crust with some egg wash, then place the second sheet on top. Press the edges to seal, then trim them to a 1/2 inch edge. (NOTE: my bottom pastry did not finish cooking in the allotted time. I would not use a bottom crust if I made this again. I also didn't bother with making the pastries into rounds, I just left them square and formed them into a circle in the pan, only trimming the top crust a little to make a circle shape.)
3. Place the pie on a baking sheet. Brush top with more of the egg wash and cut and "X" into the pastry. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt (again, a little much, just sprinkle a little on) and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the the crust darkens too quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool for 15 minutes.
Overall, this was really good. The beer flavor was nice and mild. It was just disappointing that the bottom crust was still a little doughy and the salt was a bit much. The crust thing could have been my fault. I used a Pampered Chef stoneware pie plate, maybe I needed to bake it longer?? Dunno, we were so hungry and of course when I pulled it out, the top looked done, so I had no idea that the bottom wasn't.
Tonight we are having Teriyaki Pork-and-Mango-Stir-Fry, outta the RR Mag again. I'll be sure to let you know how it was!
No comments:
Post a Comment