Bibliophile Eats - Meat Pie

Okay...Food.  We all need food right? Seriously, it's a necessity. Without it...well, I hesitate to think of the horrors!  Today, I'm sharing with you some pictures of the meat pie that we make at least once or twice a year (especially when the weather gets cooler - because it's fairly time consuming and it tastes better when you make the pie crust from scratch!).

This is not your average "pot pie" as most Americans see it...no this is a Pennsylvania Dutch Meat Pie...there is a distinction.  Please do not call this deliciousness a pot pie around someone who grew up eating Pennsylvania Dutch cooking - you just won't win the argument.  I distinctly remember the first time we made this (following the original recipe) and we used rice instead of potatoes (which is still an option) and it soaked up the delicious gravy in this tasty, tasty dish.  It was also the one and ONLY time we'd gotten my roommate's son to eat not only gravy but rice as well...so score on that.

Anyway, I don't have the recipe handy for this one, but if I manage to remember to grab my recipe book for next week's entry, I will edit this week's post and throw it in there. Promise!

 

Homemade pie crust.  Seriously, what is not absolutely wonderful about that series of words?  Everything is wonderful about those words.  Deliciously flaky, yummy pie crust fitted in to a 2-quart casserole dish - yes, you need that much room for this yummy, yummy dish. 

See? All that beefy, meaty, veggie filled gravy goodness must have room to breathe in that delicious handmade pie crust! So delicious and it fills your house with so many yummy scents!  Then you pour it in the pie crust and it begins to take on a new life! Then it's topped with another layer of that deliciously wondrous handmade pie crust. 

Okay so my edges need work, don't judge! However, aesthetics aside....what is in this delicious pie crust encased bundle is pure, belly filling, deliciousness. This is right before it went into the oven, to further enhance the flavors and turn that flaky, delicious pie crust a delightful golden brown. 

Some time was given for it to cool (though to be honest, not very much).  Then it was time to cut into this flaky, golden brown heaven and reveal the meat and veggie filled gravy interior. 

And now, it's time to eat!  Enjoy! 

Bibliophile Eats: Homemade Focaccia Bread

So, the roommate and I have been browsing allrecipes.com and were looking for bread recipes that don't require a bread machine because we are lacking one.  We'd come across a couple of them, and tried some of them out, tonight we made this one, Focaccia Bread, to go with dinner.  It turned out absolutely FANTASTIC!  This was decidedly one of the best things ever.  We even have left overs to go with dinner tomorrow night here at Casa Bibliophile.  You can find the recipe if you click on the link above, it is super simple and it takes about an hour or so, and you can cook it with your meal if you are making something in the oven, or if you want to make it early you can use it for sandwiches or whatever (will be using two pieces on Monday to make a sandwich at work, and subsequently making my coworkers jealous!).

This was after the ingredients were mixed, and the dough was kneaded and set to rise for twenty minutes in the bowl that was brushed with olive oil.  It smells absolutely stellar at this point in time and all you can really smell is the herbs and the olive oil and I also just love that fresh bread smell.

Spread out to about half an inch thick all around on the cookie sheet which has been greased or oiled (we opted for olive oil) and then sprinkled with mozzarella and parmesean cheeses.  Though, I think next time the cheese will go on about half way through baking. Either way, it turned out fantastic, and it was paired tonight with steak and onions, beef rice-a-roni with corn.  It was deliciously tasty.

Finished product.  Fresh, homemade focaccica bread, all sorts of herbs and cheese and delicious steak and rice.  That was dinner tonight.  Enjoy.