Monday 20 October 2014

Meat and Tater Pie



Well, folks, I’m into week four without a kitchen, thanks to mother’s “hurt” back. (It didn’t stop her from going to polka the other night.) But I had a brilliant idea. Why not borrow a friend’s kitchen? The only problem was finding a friend. It took me a while (and a lot of money) but I finally met a fellow caker who was willing to let me use his oven to make this Meat and Tater Pie.

This recipe comes from Pie Fare from Paris Fair. Now before you grab your beret and paint a moustache on with eyebrow pencil, that’s Paris, Ontario, not Paris, France. Talk about having an inferiority complex! Why would you set yourself up for that kind of fall? Ontario is weird, though. After all, this is the province of Paris, London, Stratford and Swastika.

Anyways, Meat and Tater Pie was delicious. In fact, my new friend (I think his name was Randy Andy) said the crunchy corn flake topping was the best part. It did get a little greasy on the bottom (I could only afford regular ground beef) so you might want to drain it before serving it up. Or sop up the grease with Wonder Bread.

As soon as we were done, Randy Andy told me I had to leave. He had someone else coming over to use his bedroom. Looks like I’m in the wrong business! LOL!

1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon mustard
½ cup crushed corn flakes
Combine: press mixture on bottom and sides of a 9” pie plate.

2 eggs
2 cups mashed potatoes (see note 1)
¼ cup chopped onion (see note 2)
2 teaspoons parsley flakes

Beat eggs; add remaining ingredients: spread in meat shell. Place plate on baking sheet. Bake 350 F – 35 minutes.

½ cup crushed corn flakes
2 tablespoons melted butter
grated cheddar cheese (enough to cover top of pie)

When pie has cooked 35 minutes, top with the grated cheese, then corn flake/butter mixture. Return to oven to bake 10 minutes until cheese melts.

Note 1: I used instant potatoes. Of course. But they were a little runny.
Note 2: Randy Andy said he would've sauteed the onions first as they were a little crunchy.

Source: Pie Fare from Paris Fair, Paris, Ontario

14 comments:

  1. The clown on the cookbook looks___________(you're the writer, fill in the blank).

    This doesn't sound terrible. Where I live they're called, "Meat crusts" which sounds like...it should be offered up to you by a demented clown. I get the clown=pie association, but you'd need a pretty tough clown to take a meat-crust pie to the face. Meat Crust Pie to the Face would be a good name for a record.

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    1. The clown on the cookbook looks...like a clown that could get real mean, real quick. Any other takers on completing the sentence? Winner gets a date with the clown.

      I'm really glad that you kept the word "crust" in there, Goody. Otherwise, it would've read "a meat pie to the face." And that sounds wrong on a number of levels.

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  2. this actually sounds pretty good to me. it has the same crushed cornflakes and butter with cheese topping that my fave green bean casserole of yore - Swiss Beans - has.

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    1. When it comes to the caker lifestyle, that crushed cornflake and butter topping shows up in all kinds of different ways. My mom used to use it as an exfoliant.

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  3. So basically meatloaf with mashies on top. Sometimes I'll "frost" a meatloaf with mashed potatoes and let my guests think it's a cake.
    My guests are easily fooled.
    Not too sure about the corn flakes on top, though. It always feels a little like eating gravel to me.
    Oh, and chopped onion? It comes frozen in a bag. I don't care how astronomically expensive it is, it's worth it.

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    1. Friendly Pro Tip: Dice up a few fresh onions and spread them out on a cookie sheet, put the cookie sheet in the freezer until the onions are frozen, then put the onions in a freezer bag and use as needed. Yes, it will stink up your freezer--but no more than a commercial bag of frozen onions which are smelly even when they're unopened--and you'll both save a bundle and have ready onions if there comes a time that you can't find frozen chopped onion at the grocery (neither the Loblaws nor the No Frills in my neighbourhood carries them, but I have seen them at Food Basics which means Metro would probably have them too).

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    2. Your guests sound easy to please, Veg-o-matic. If I told my family I was serving cake and then put a meatloaf on the table, there'd be tears. Mainly coming from me. Because they'd be hitting me. Don't mess with the promise of cake. Ever.

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    3. Easy-to-please guests are the ONLY kind I ever have.

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  4. This would be even better with some spinach, garlic, and basil pesto in the mash, parmesan in the cornflakes, and no cheddar.

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    1. What's this "spinach" that you speak of? And does it come in a can?

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    2. I suggest frozen spinach in nugget form--clean and ready to go. Tinned spinach does exist (though I think it's more of an American thing), and other than the tinny taste it's probably just dandy after you rinse it and squeeze out the moisture.

      Hmmmm...now I'm craving Kraft Dinner with some spinach in it.

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    3. Now why would you go ruin Kraft Dinner by adding vitamins to it?

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  5. Ok, here's my sad attempt at finishing the original sentence.... The clown on the cookbook looks... like he's pleased to "meat" you. I always did have a fondness for bad puns. This recipe looks pretty good though, despite the picture of the clown on the cookbook. I've always found clowns to be quite creepy, especially around Halloween.

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    1. Don't f with the clowns, Madame M. Or the clowns will f with you. At least, that's what granny always said.

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