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Oct. 30th, 2015
Pie Friday: Halloween edition
Oct. 30th, 2015 10:00 am
Shepherd's pie is a staple around here. I seldom use a full pound of meat although I did when there were 6 of us. My kids always complained I was too cheap to pop for shepherd and fed them hamburger.
Shepherd's Pie (actual shepherd optional)
1 lb ground meat (beef or turkey or pork)
1 lb frozen mixed vegetables, heated
1 onion
2 packages beef gravy mix, made to directions
1 package mashed potatoes (we like roasted garlic), made to directions
Brown meat and onion with salt and pepper to taste. Drain. in baking dish, add meat, vegetables and gravy. Spread mashed potatoes over top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. You can sprinkle it with cheese or paprika for color and flavor.
Pumpkin pasties are a staple from the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express.
Here are sweet and savory variations
Sweet Pumpkin Pasties
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
1 lb canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbs. melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. cardamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 can evaporated milk
18 oz. pie crust pastry (enough for four single standard pie crusts)
Add eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Stir in the pumpkin, butter, salt and spices. Add evaporated milk and mix well. Bake the filling in a large casserole dish that has been buttered or sprayed with pam. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until your fork comes out clean. Let the filling cool completely.
Make or purchase pie crust pastry. Roll pastry thin and cut into circles about 4 inches in diameter. Put a spoonful of the pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed. Cut with a paring knife three small slits in the top for venting. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees only until crust is a light golden brown, around 10 minutes. Brush each with some butter and dust with cinnamon and sugar.
- from http://www.geekychef.com/2009/01/pumpkin-pasties_25.html#sthash.EVSIWCFO.dpuf
Savory Pumpkin Pasties
225 g peeled pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, crushed
50 g strong cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
2 tsp chopped sage
1½ tbsp crème fraîche
225 g ready-made shortcrust pastry
1 large egg, beaten
METHOD
1. Put the pumpkin in a steamer basket set over a pan of boiling water. Steam for 3-5 minutes until tender but not disintegrating. Set aside on a plate to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment.
3. In a bowl, mix together the onion, garlic and grated cheese. Stir in the seeds, sage and crème fraîche, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Roll out the pastry and cut it into 4 x 20cm circles, using a plate as a template.
5. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of each circle. Brush the edges with beaten egg. Fold the pastry over to make a semi-circle and seal the edges well. Crimp with a fork or your fingers. Brush the outside of the pasties with beaten egg.
6. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Serve warm, with a green salad if liked.
Spooky graveyard pie
3 cups (about 32) finely ground chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs, divided
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels
8 chocolate filled vanilla wafer cookies
Black and purple decorator writing gels
WONKA® Sluggles™ Gummies Candy, WONKA® SweeTARTS® Skull n’ Bones* or other assorted spooky Halloween candies
COMBINE 1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs and butter in 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and upsides of pie plate. Set aside remaining 1 1/2 cups crumbs for dirt topping.
WHISK together evaporated milk, egg yolks and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is very hot and thickens slightly; do not boil. Remove from heat; stir in morsels until completely melted and mixture is smooth.
POUR into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs. Press crumbs down gently. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.
DECORATE cookie tombstones as desired with writing gels. Insert tombstones around edge of pie. With spoon, mound cookie crumbs to form “fresh graves”. Decorate graves with candy to make the pie as spooky as you want it to be!
- Thu, 13:58: My friend and editor is under the hot lights. https://t.co/SHCHLLOeBg
- Thu, 13:59: https://t.co/TA40FEVTih
- Thu, 14:00: Halloween 2015: Thursday https://t.co/JfFMvn660c
- Thu, 14:00: posted a new entry to 'valarltd' at LiveJournal. https://t.co/Vsdv85LL2k
- Thu, 14:01: I've read the first 4 and they are really amazing https://t.co/b2baVicwfH
- Thu, 14:04: On Bluebeard https://t.co/lVnPSSVBzt
- Thu, 14:06: Off to deposit my first paycheck from Michaels.
- Thu, 17:53: Patton Oswalt Wasn't Even On Stage, And He STILL Won The GOP Debate https://t.co/2SzEyTaxxw
- Thu, 17:54: https://t.co/lxhBUOL06L
- Thu, 18:28: How would you market yourself on eBay? https://t.co/AlDGb7fiG4
Halloween 2015: Free Short Story Friday
Oct. 30th, 2015 01:00 pmSounds of the Season:
Your free Short Story:
My first professional sale ever:
Prey
Your Creepy Pics of the Day:
Hosted by a $19,000 hand made octopus chandelier.
( Read more... )
Your free Short Story:
My first professional sale ever:
Prey
Your Creepy Pics of the Day:
Hosted by a $19,000 hand made octopus chandelier.
( Read more... )
Friday Short Story: Prey
Oct. 30th, 2015 01:13 pmthis story is so not safe for work. And the consent is fairly dubious. It's also the first pro story I wrote. It appeared in Torquere's 2004 Monsters anthology.
Prey.
There it lurked, hulking atop a low rise, half hidden by overgrown tress and out-of-control weeds. Old Baptist
Hospital with its wide lawns, iron fence and empty windows, loomed at the intersection where Pauline ran into
Crump, a photographer's dream of light and shadow.
I drove by it a lot, my eyes always shifting to it of their own accord, but on this late autumn afternoon, I finally stopped to shoot. No one stopped me as I drove up the old drive, running over the weeds that came up over my bumper. I parked out by a building with a huge smokestack labeled "Hope Clinic." My cynical side made me
wonder just what sort of "hope" the clinic peddled.
( Read more... )
Prey.
There it lurked, hulking atop a low rise, half hidden by overgrown tress and out-of-control weeds. Old Baptist
Hospital with its wide lawns, iron fence and empty windows, loomed at the intersection where Pauline ran into
Crump, a photographer's dream of light and shadow.
I drove by it a lot, my eyes always shifting to it of their own accord, but on this late autumn afternoon, I finally stopped to shoot. No one stopped me as I drove up the old drive, running over the weeds that came up over my bumper. I parked out by a building with a huge smokestack labeled "Hope Clinic." My cynical side made me
wonder just what sort of "hope" the clinic peddled.
( Read more... )