Recipes of Our Mothers - Mrs. K Writes...

Perhaps you might remember reading about my love of pork pie? I was at a most celebratory wedding reception for my dear childhood friend Tina late this past summer when the mother of the bride happened to tell me of her pork pie recipe, as such things often do come up in cocktail conversation.

As the weather has started to change and we are all dressing for fall, I set out to make Mrs. K's pie while Baby was out of town on business. I already had a ready made crust to use as her recipe suggests, but I also made my Nana's pie crust to drape my pie with a comforting blanket. While I worked on the crust and then rolled out the dough with Baby's great-grandmother's rolling pin (the sole thing she held on to when she escaped from Russia, over a hundred years ago), I wondered what both might have had in their thoughts years ago while baking and turning out dough with such quiet patience.

Alone with my own thoughts, fashioning the pie, I further mused of generations: my old friend rollerskating with me in my parents' basement when we were children, her new husband who is a chef, her mother cooking in the kitchen, my Nana's cradling hands, Baby too far away, and the fleeing image of a woman who left Russia with only a rolling pin smoothly hewn from burled wood. Fine company indeed.

Slowly simmering the ground pork and beef with onions, salt and pepper...

peeling the potatoes before heading to the stove top to boil them for about 45 minutes as the meat cooks...

and here's the meat mixture about to be combined with the potatoes that I mashed once cooked.

Take it away, Mrs. K!

Mrs. K writes, "Here's the Pork Pie Recipe that I use. Got it from my sister-in-law many years ago. It looks complicated, but it is the easiest Pork Pie Recipe that I've ever used."

My comments in italics as usual.

Pork Pie Recipe
(Makes two 9 inch pies)
Ingredients
2 pounds ground pork
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper Lots of it
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. cinnamon I used less
1/8 tsp. ground cloves I would use less or add tarragon as a different spice
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 med. onion chopped fine
2 cups water
3 large potatoes
2 9" pie shells with top crust (I use Pillsbury ready made)

Method
Combine ground pork, beef, onion, salt, pepper and water in a deep fry pan. Mix and cook slowly for 45 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN! Add spices and cook 15 more minutes. Let stand a bit so flavors will blend. Peel and cook potatoes until done. Mash while hot and mix with meat mixture. Let cool about an hour. Place in pie shells. Bake at 350 degrees on the middle rack for about 30 minutes or until crusts are browned. You can prepare pies, but wrap one in Saran Wrap covered with aluminum foil and freeze for another time. Defrost before cooking.

Do enjoy!