Friday, April 29, 2011

Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

Sense of Home


Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen adapted from a March 2006 Bon Appétit recipe~
12 to 16 servings

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 cups (packed) shredded peeled parsnips (about 3 large)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
3 cups (about 12 ounces) powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.  Combine flour, ground ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a medium-sized bowl, stirring to combine.  

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar, add eggs, buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla while whisking.  Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring to just combine.  Stir in parsnips and walnuts.  

Transfer batter to prepared pan.  Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool completely.

For Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth.  Beat in heavy cream, grated ginger, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Spread the frosting over the cake and serve.



Thursday, April 28, 2011

Homemade Crème Fraîche

Sense of Home


Crème Fraîche
In a pint or quart jar, depending on how much you wish to make, pour in fresh sweet cream (not ultra-pasteurized*) add a large or small (depending on how much cream you are using) dollop of plain yogurt or buttermilk, and stir. Cover and leave the jar sit in a warm spot for a day or two (longer if your house is cold).  I placed mine in my microwave so that it was out of the way and it is a warm spot since it is located above my stove.  Once the cream has thickened (mine took two days with temps in the upper 60s, in the summer heat I'm sure it will take less time) it is ready to use.  Store in the refrigerator where it will keep for a couple of weeks.

*Although the directions in the book I used said the cream should not be ultra-pasteurized, the only cream I had available was an organic ultra-pasteurized whipping creme so I gave it a try and it worked just fine.  I also make homemade whole-milk ricotta using organic ultra-pasteurized whole milk and it has worked every time.

Sense of Home / Recipes  


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Artichoke, Potato, and Portobello Mushroom Casserole

Sense of Home


Artichoke, Potato, and Portobello Mushroom Casserole
~from the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2006~
6 - 8 servings

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 large artichokes
2 pounds of Red potatoes, about 4 or 5 medium-sized, peeled thinly sliced
4 large portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced
6 ounces Feta cheese
4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon (for preparing artichokes)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Brush13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  

Add the juice from half a lemon to a large bowl of cold water.  Cut off the artichoke's stem; rub cut surface with the other lemon half.  Peel off the leaves.  Cut off, or twist and pull out the purple leaves, taking some of the choke with them.  Clean out the remainder of the fibrous choke with a small paring knife.  Rub the artichoke all over with lemon and drop it into the lemon water.  

Using a food processor or mandoline, thinly slice the potatoes.  Drain and slice artichoke hearts.  Arrange half of the potato slices in the prepared dish, covering the bottom completely.  Top with half of the artichoke hearts and half of the mushrooms.  Coarsely crumble half the feta over the dish, layering everything as you would for lasagna.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half of the garlic, then 1 tablespoon Parmesan.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Cover with remaining mushrooms, then artichoke hearts, feta, garlic, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Top with remaining potatoes.  Pour wine over; drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Cover dish with foil.  Bake 40 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.  Sprinkle top with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan.  Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and top is brown, about 25 minutes.  Cool slightly and serve.


Monday, April 25, 2011

French Onion Soup

Sense of Home

French Onion Soup 
~adapted barely from Smitten Kitchen where it was adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking~

1 1/2 pounds (about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, additional to taste
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef stock (preferably homemade)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a Viognier, from Cline)
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

To finish [Gratinee], optional
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 cup freshly grated, Parmesan cheese 
1 cup grated Gruyere
olive oil to drizzle
approximately 12 1-inch thick rounds of French bread

Heat butter and olive oil on medium-low heat in a large, heavy bottom pot.  Add onions, stirring to coat.  Cover pot and reduce heat to low, letting them cook and soften for 15 minutes.  Now, if you are like me and tend to cry over onions, run your hands under cool water and dry your tears.

After the 15 minutes is up, uncover the pot and turn the heat to medium, add salt and sugar.  Saute onions, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes until they are a deep golden brown.  Sprinkle caramelized onions with flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.  Add the wine in full, then add the stock a little at a time, stirring between additions.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the top so that the soup will remain clear.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if it needs it, just remember, if you finish with the cheese and bread topping, the cheese will be adding salt to the soup, so go easy.  Set aside.

If finishing with the Gratinee:  Place French bread rounds on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Broil bread rounds until toasted, watch closely.  Grate the onion.  Mix the two cheeses together.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Arrange six oven-proof bowls or crocks on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bring the soup back to a boil and divide between the crocks.  Add to each crock of soup, 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and approximately a tablespoon of grated cheese   Stir to combine.  Place one or two toasted bread rounds on top of each crock of soup and mound as much cheese as you like on top.

Bake soup bowls or crocks on tray for 20 minutes, then preheat broiler.  Broil for one or two minutes under the broiler until the top is lightly browned.  Enjoy!

  

Friday, April 22, 2011

Chai-Spiced Cheesecake with Ginger Crust

Sense of Home

Chai-Spiced Cheesecake with Ginger Crust
~Bon Appetit, February 2007~
12 servings

Crust
Nonstick canola oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger

Filling
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Topping
1 1/3 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


To Make the Crust:
Spray a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides with the nonstick spray.  Sift the flour, ginger, and salt into a bowl.  Then in an electric mixer bowl beat butter and sugar until well blended.  Beat in egg yolk and flour mixture, then stir in the crystallized ginger.  Gather dough into a ball and on a floured surface flatten into a disk. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a 9-inch round.  Carefully transfer the dough to the prepared springform pan.  Press onto bottom and 1 1/2- to 2-inches up the side of the pan.  Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Pierce frozen dough crust all over with a fork.  Line crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights.  Bake until set, about 30 minutes.  Remove paper and beans and continue to bake crust until it is just golden brown and cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes, watch closely.  Cool crust on rack.

To Make the Filling:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add mascarpone; beat until smooth.  Beat in in whole eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in yolks.  Add the next 6 ingredients and beat until blended.  Transfer filling to cooled crust in pan.

Bake cake for 1 hour.  Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees F. and continue to bake until the cake is set around the edges but the center moves slightly when pan is gently shaken (the top of the cake may crack), about 25 to 30 minutes longer, watch closely.  Remove cake from oven and increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

To Make the Topping:
Whisk all of the topping ingredients in a small bowl and spread evenly over the top of the cake.  Bake until set, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and run a knife around the cake sides.  Refrigerate uncovered overnight, then cover and leave chilled until serving.

This dish can be made 2 days ahead.

When Serving:
Remove pan sides.  Cut into wedges and serve.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Desserts

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Sherried Chicken

Sense of Home

Sherried Chicken
~From the Sense of Home Kitchen inspired in part by a Gourmet, March 2008 recipe~
Serves 4

1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds), cut into 8 serving pieces
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 large carrots, chopped in thirds diagonally
1/2 cup medium-dry sherry (not cooking sherry)
4 medium-sized red potatoes, peeled and cut to 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
2/3 cup sour cream
Fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Dry chicken pieces with a paper towel to prevent splatter when placing them in the oil.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat oil and butter in a large oven-proof pot over medium-high heat.  Brown chicken in a single layer, turning once, doing so in batches if necessary.  Transfer to a plate, reserving 2 tablespoons fat.

Saute sliced onion over medium heat in the same pot using the reserved fat, until they begin to caramelize, add garlic and saute for one minute more.  Return chicken and collected juices to the pot and add carrots and sherry, simmer uncovered for 3 minutes.  Cover and place in preheated oven and braise for approximately 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and carrots are fork tender.

While chicken cooks boil potatoes in salted water until they are just tender.  Drain and return potatoes to the saucepan.  Add parsley and gently stir to coat.

Once chicken is cooked stir in sour cream and potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to taste.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Main Dishes

Monday, April 18, 2011

Maple Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

Sense of Home

I worked a forty hour week, then a full weekend, followed by a 12 hour Monday, a 10 hour Tuesday, and then finished off the week with eight hour days.  In the middle of all that craziness I went to the nursing home to help my Grandmother with her lunch.  I haven't mentioned it before, but my 96 year old Grandmother went into a nursing home this winter.  She now cannot eat without help and the wonderful staff at the home help her when my mother or I are not able to come, but usually at noon my mother stops by to help her with lunch and I have taken my turn.  I brought a simple sandwich made with this bread and ate my lunch while also helping her to eat hers.  This woman who raised 6 children, countless chickens, grew a huge garden and canned it's produce, helped to run a farm, for years used a wringer washer and hung clothes on the line to freeze-dry in winter even though her hands grew so cold they were stiff and hurt, cooked three square meals for her large family and farm-hands, now needs someone else to help her with the very basic of needs.  She feels useless, and wishes she could still be active, and yet, even when I am so busy and feel stressed and rushed I find that while I spend time with her I begin to feel myself relax and I always come away feeling very calm, she has more worth than she will ever know.


Maple-Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
~From the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from a February 2008 Bon Appetit recipe~
Makes 1 loaf

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (105 degrees F. to 115 degrees F.)
1 tablespoon yeast (or 1 packet)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (grade B)
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon salt

Combine warm water and yeast and let set for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.  Place egg, butter, maple syrup, maple extract, and yeast mixture into a heavy-duty mixer.  Stir with paddle until combined.  In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Attach a dough hook onto the mixer and beat at a low speed while gradually adding dry ingredients, scraping down bowl occasionally.  Beat until dough is smooth and pulls cleanly away from bowl, adding more flour by 1/4 cupfuls if dough is very sticky.  Scrape dough from hook and turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead dough for 10 to 15 minutes.  Place back into bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap and towel. Let rise in a warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Butter a 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan.  Butter sheet of plastic wrap.  Scrape dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Shape into 8x3-inch log.  Place in prepared pan; cover loosely with prepared plastic, buttered side down.  Let dough rise in a warm draft-free area until center is 1 1/2 inches higher than pan, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Gently pull plastic off dough.  Place bread in oven; bake until deep golden, about 30 minutes.  Cool in pan 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of the bread; turn out of pan.  Cool completely on a rack.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Bread

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sunday Stills

Sense of Home
Sunset

Friday, April 15, 2011

Lemon Butter Cookies

Sense of Home


Lemon Butter Cookies
~from the Sense of Home kitchen~
Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon extract
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar in a mixer.  Add eggs, lemon extract, and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.  Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together, add lemon peel and stir into butter mixture.

For drop cookies:
Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes in a 350 degree F. oven.

For refrigerator cookies:
Dust work surface with flour.  Roll dough into two or three cylinders, depending on how many cookies you want to bake at a time.  Wrap dough cylinders in plastic, chill in refrigerator for up to a week.  To bake, cut dough cylinder into 1/2 inch slices and bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately 13 minutes.

Store cookies in air tight container for one week or store in the freezer for up to one month.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Cookies

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Chicken Curry Soup

Sense of Home

Chicken Curry Soup
~From the Sense of Home kitchen; adapted from Bon Appetit, August 1993~
Serves 4

2 cups chicken stock
1 13 1/2- to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 Fresno chili pepper, minced
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

For Garnish:
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup freshly cooked white rice
Lime wedges

Bring chicken stock, coconut milk, curry powder, and chili to a simmer in a heavy medium-sized pot  over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, add chicken and continue to simmer as chicken warms and flavors blend, about 5 minutes.  Mix in lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Spoon rice into individual soup bowls, ladle soup over rice and garnish with green onion and cilantro.  Serve lime wedges separately.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Soups and Stews 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Kitchen Garden

Sense of Home

Just for clarity, this is last year's garden, the space is now clear of snow, but still very muddy and not quite warm enough to sprout any seeds.  I have been thinking about this summer's garden though, I am ready to feel the dirt between my fingers again.  This year I would like to try growing some plants I have never grown before.  Last year I tried eggplant and fennel for the first time with great success and this year I am anxious to try something else. Growing vegetables is like cooking, it is an experiment, a little adventure to see how something turns out, a challenge to try to turn into a success.  It is also a way to save money on groceries and bring healthier food to the table.  It is a way to taste vegetables that would never be for sale at the grocery store.  I always plant several kinds of heirloom tomatoes and leaf lettuces (some heirloom) that I have never seen for sale nor tasted anywhere else.
Last year I grew an heirloom radish that I have never seen nor eaten before and it was very tasty.  I look at my garden as my chance to taste several different kinds of vegetables, it is part of the enjoyment of summer.



Farmer's Markets and CSAs are terrific sources of fresh vegetables and some fruit, but there is nothing like growing the food you are eating for dinner.  Even if you don't have much space you can grow a kitchen garden.  I have 300 square feet (that's 10 feet by 30 feet worth of space), not large, but with that space we provided the majority of the vegetables we ate during the summer and I canned all the whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa and pickled jalapeños we needed for the winter and we are still eating on them.  A couple of weeks ago we ate the last of the potatoes we grew last summer and the few that went to seed I took to the local Head Start program and when I went to do story hour two weeks ago they had them growing in one of their classrooms, the summer garden potatoes have become a classroom project.



No place for even a small garden?  Even a few pots of plants on a deck or front step can provide enough tomatoes for the summer, I know of someone who grows potatoes in large pots on her patio.  I always grow a few cherry tomatoes and herbs in pots, they need more watering attention, but the pay off is well worth the time and effort.  Peas and vine beans do not take much space, they can grow up a wire fence or a chicken wire attached to a deck railing. Strawberries can be grown in a flower bed and the few plants we have produced berries throughout the summer, and there is nothing like eating a strawberry fresh from the garden, warmed from the sun.  To be able to step outside in the morning and pick a few strawberries and raspberries for breakfast, and then come home after work and pick peas, a green onion, lettuce, radishes and some early tomatoes for dinner is truly rewarding.  Spending a few minutes in the evening weeding is a wonderful way to unwind and makes light work of the garden, something I am truly looking forward to.





Sense of Home / Homemade Living / In the Garden

Monday, April 11, 2011

Adzuki Beans with Chiles

sense of home


Adzuki Beans with Chiles
~adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2008~
4 servings

2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed
2 cups boiling water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 cups cooked adzuki beans or 2 15-ounce cans aduki beans, rinsed, drained
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cooking Adzuki beans from the dried state:
Place 1 1/8 cups dried beans in a large pot, cover with ample water and soak over night.  Rinse and drain thoroughly. Place the beans back in the large pot and add 3 1/2 cups of water, cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes (2 hours if the beans have not been soaked).

Chile Sauce:
Place chiles in a bowl, pour 2 cups boiling water over them, and soak about 20 minutes until chiles are soft.  Strain, reserving 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.  Remove seeds from chiles, place them in a food processor along with the onion, garlic, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup soaking liquid; puree.  Note: This may be done up to 2 days ahead, covered and chilled.

Beans:
Heat oil in a large pot or pan over medium-high heat.  Add chile puree; stir until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Add beans, broth, bay leaves and black pepper.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes.  Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.



Thursday, April 7, 2011

Asparagus with Lemon and Butter

Sense of Home


Asparagus with Lemon Butter
~ from the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Gourmet, April 2004~
Serves 4 to 6

2 pounds medium to large asparagus
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Rinse asparagus and break stem where it naturally snaps off.  Place asparagus in steamer and steam for approximately 5 minutes until it is bright green and just tender.  Toss with butter and lemon juice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Side Dishes

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Banana Walnut Cake

Sense of Home


Banana Walnut Cake
~adapted slightly from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook~
Makes one 9 x 9 cake

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup mashed banana
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cake or pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped walnuts

Set oven at 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9 x 9 pan.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, gradually beat in sugar.  Add eggs and beat thoroughly.  Add bananas and vanilla.  Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately.  Bake for approximately 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Desserts

Monday, April 4, 2011

Beef Pasties with Caramelized Onions and Provolone

Sense of Home


Beef Pasties with Caramelized Onions and Provolone
~adapted from a March 2009 Bon Appetit magazine~
Makes 4 large pasties

Crust
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
7 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
4 teaspoon olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
10 ounces skirt steak, cut crosswise on diagonal into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp provolone
1 large egg white, beaten to blend

Crust
Sift flour and salt into a large bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until a coarse meal forms.  Add 7 tablespoons ice water.  Toss with fingers until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if it is dry.  Gather dough into a ball, divide it into 4 equal pieces.  Shape each into a disk and wrap it with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.  Can be made a day ahead.

Filling
Heat olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions.  Saute until they are deep brown, reducing the heat if necessary to prevent burning, about 30 minutes.  Add wine and thyme.  Simmer until the liquid evaporates, stirring often.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and chill.  Can be made a day ahead.

Position one rack in the top third and one rack in the bottom third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.  Sprinkle work space with flour to prevent sticking, roll out each dough disk to a 9-inch round.  Spread 1/4 of onion mixture on half of each round, leaving 1-inch plain border.  Top onions with beef strips.  Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt over beef on each, then top each with 1/4 of the cheese.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Brush dough border with some egg white.  Fold plain dough half over filling.  Seal edges.  Pinch sealed edges with fingers.

  Place two pasties on a rimmed, parchment lined baking sheet and another two on another rimmed, parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush each pasty with egg white.  Cut 3 slits in each top crust.  Bake pasties, switching baking sheets to opposite racks half-way through, until crust is golden brown and filling is cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes; serve.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Main Dishes