I love to cook and am one of those people who read a new cookbook like most women read a trashy romance novel: front to back and the good parts twice!
There are cookbooks in several rooms of my house, including the bathroom. *** I figure a cookbook is kind of like the Three Minute Bedtime Story book. A recipe is something you can read in a just a few minutes and there's no reason to waste that time in the john!***
Well, I gotta quit reading those recipes.
Today is a great example. I read a recipe for fried pies and decided to make some. Fred and I both enjoy them and it's something I haven't done in years. My favorite flavor is apricot, with pineapple being a close second. There were no apricots in the pantry so I sent Fred to the store to get some while I was making the pie crust and preparing a pineapple filling to use.
Since I haven't done fried pies in so long I did a little research online for a crust recipe suitable for fried pies and found one that sounded a lot like my regular pie crust recipe so I decided to give it a try.
The online recipe was a disaster! I managed to get two pies done and cooked before I scrapped that idea. The dough was so stiff it just would not roll out! The two pies I made with it never did get the golden brown color I wanted so, I scrapped that idea and made a batch of my regular pie crust.
My crust recipe is evidently not intended to be fried! I prepared two pies, dropped the first one into the hot oil, and watched the crust literally disintegrate! Fruit filling spilled out into the hot oil and made a wonderful sizzling and popping sound while the hot oil splashed all over the stove top. I managed to get most of the filling scooped out and tossed the pie onto a paper towel.
By this time I'm totally frustrated with the whole fried pie idea. But, I have a pan of apricot filling as well as a pan of pineapple filling that I don't want to waste. I decided to salvage what I could and just make traditional pies with the fillings instead but there's not enough of either to make a full sized pie. So I had to search the cabinets to find dishes that could be used to bake small pies.
I had just put them into the oven to bake when Fred came in and asked if I'd given up on making fried pies. I think he was a little worried when I told him, "Yes, I gave up and just made one big apricot and one big pineapple pie and they're in the oven." I'm pretty sure he envisioned fried pies the size of a medium pizza!
So, another afternoon was spent on a kitchen adventure. It wasn't the first and hopefully it won't be the last!
4 comments:
We've all been there, and some of us (NAMELY ME)never learn and repeat our mistakes out of stubborness to make it happen! LOL. I'm sure your "regular" pies were delicious!
OMG! You blew up the pie!
Linda, here is my mom's fried pie recipe, best I ever ate!! We sold them at Texas Red's in Red River, NM like crazy.
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3 to 4 Tab. Crisco
3/4 cup milk
Use choice of dried fruit, covered with water and sugar to tast. We use apricot, peach and apple mostly.
sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in shortening (Mom preferes 4 T for "shorter" dough)
Put on floured surface, roll and cut to size of small saucer or plate. Fill with fruit, not too full. Fold dough over, use finger to dampen edges so it will seal. Crimp. Prick with fork on one side. Put in skillet and fry in shallow amount Crisco. She cooks 2 at a time with folded edges together. One recipe pastry makes 10 to 11 pies usually. Occasionally, wipe skillet with paper towel and use new crisco.
"Try it, you'll like it!" Kay Magruder
Thank you Kay! That's the recipe I needed since it has a leavening agent in it. Traditional pastry dough has too much shortening in it to suit my taste.
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