Dinner Is Served 1972

IT’S THE PIEATHALON!

Can you believe it’s been 5 years?

I can’t. I really can’t.

In the five years since I’ve been the mastermind behind Pieathalon:

• Brian and I moved out of the old apartment (Seafoam Cantaloupe Pie)
• I bought a house and adopted Margot (Melton Mowbray Pie)
• I was the traumatized by said house and started to lose my mind (Peanuts-and-Beer Pie)
• Sold the house (thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus) and got a condo in a swanky high rise (Betty Crocker’s Chicken Sausage Pies) . 

Another Pieathalon later and I am still in the condo with Brian Boitano and Margot, but we’ve added Mr. Sauce, Esq. (and his plethora of belongings) to the mix.

And now all together we are celebrating Pieathalon 5 with the oddly named Kate’s Pie!

This recipe comes from the British cookbook  Marvellous Meals With Mince (1985) authored by Josceline Dimbley and it was assigned to me by Sally at My Custard Pie.

So let’s get started!

If you were paying attention in my last post, Male Chauvinist Chili, I was cooking the ground beef for both the chili and this pie at the same time. Because I am a multi-tasker, goddamnit!

Since this was a melding of both dishes, the meat mix included onion, garlic, oil, 1.3 pounds ground beef, and chili powder. The onion was from the chili. Not the pie.

Anyway, since I am such a multi-tasker while the beef cooked, I chopped the assorted peppers for the chili and chopped the hard boiled eggs for the pie.

When the meat mix was done, I removed 1/2 lb of the meat and put it in the crock pot for the chili. Into a casserole dish (I didn’t have a pie pan big enough!!!!) went the remaining meat, corn and the chopped egg.

So this recipe is weird, right?

To make the butter/flour/milk mix, I didn’t want to use another pan, so I just used the beef pan. That mix then went on top of the beef/egg/corn mixture.

But seriously, this is still a weird combo, right?

So I let the “pie” cool for 3 hours or so before covering it with puff pastry.

The recipe said to “use the trimmings for decoration.” So I may have gone bonkers with my tiny little aspic and hors d’ourvers cutters.

It’s like the Lucky Charms leprechaun vomited on it.

Now one of the things I know about puff pastry is that it needs more than 30 minutes to fully do it this thing. I learned this because of Chopped. So many times the contestants get to the 3rd round and choose puff pastry as a dessert. It never cooks all the way.

So the judges either get raw dough, or nothing at all.

via GIPHY

Anyway, I had ample time for the puff pastry. Perhaps more time than necessary.

I charred the edges. I even covered the edges with foil and everything. Whatevs.

So, how was it?

Odd. Not bad. But odd.

A little Mexican-y because of the ground beef and the corn and the chili powder.

But quiche-y because of the milk custard.

And the puff pastry is totally British-y pot pie.

I don’t know where the hell the chopped egg fits in. Mr. Sauce said it was kinda like tofu because there was no flavor. So I guess the egg was just filler. For the filling. Filling Filler.

This is the only explanation for this weird combo–which is provided by the book’s author:

My youngest daughter Kate has always loved pies. For weeks I had been working on recipes for this book ad every evening her suppers had been made up of rather exotic experiments. “I just want a pie,” she begged. So I made this one, a sort of Southern pie: beef with a slight bite of chilli mixed with eggs and sweetcorn, topped with a fresh parsley sauce and puff pastry. She like it, so did her friends and so did the “grown-ups.”

OK, this still makes no sense to me. But you do you, Josceline.

Now everyone go check out the other TWENTY THREE pieathletes and see their pies!

It’s not from a Vintage Recipe Card! Surly made a Dutch Peaches and Cream Pie

Kelli at Kelli’s Kitchen whips up a Chocolate Mousse Pie

Dr. Bobb experiments with Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie

Marguerite Patten’s Cheese Pie is on the menu over at Kelly’s Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en

Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers put Sweet Onion Pie to the test

Kari, The Nostagic Cook, presents The Tansey

The Granny Pantries are open as Poppy Crocker tries her hand at a Strawberry Ginger Pie

The Battenburg Belle gets her bake on with a Frosty Vanilla Pie

What is Mock Pecan Pie? Find out with Sally at My Custard Pie

Taryn tries her hand at Vincent Price’s Pineapple Meringue Pie at Retro Food for Modern Times

Camilla goes on another Culinary Adventure by making a Peaches and Cream Tart

Peter Fuller, the curator of Vincent Price Legacy, UK gets all cute with a Puddin n’ Pie

Say ‘bon jour’ to Renee’s French Raspberry Pie over at Tortillas and Honey

The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook goes Hawaiian with Aloha Meringue Pie

A pie called The Millionaire? What? Mimi at Once Upon a Salad will find out!

Sue, of Vintage Cookbookery (and the world record holder for the largest privately owned cookbook collection) serves up Yul Brenner’s Walnut Pie

I don’t know who Tyler is, but he has a pie. Go visit Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm

Go inside the Heritage Recipe Box with Clara and an Olde English Egg Nog Pie

Open the Book of Cookrye and discover Cool Mint Cookie Pie

Debra at Eliot’s Eats gets fruity with an Apricot Meringue Pie

Join Judy, Vicki, and The Book Club CookBook for the questionable “Almost a Pie”

The classic Seafoam Cantaloupe Pie is what’s for dessert at Recipes4Rebels

Kaci, the Homicidal Homemaker, presents Lemon and Beer. In a sponge pie!