2008-10-08

Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie

There's a new food event being held by some of my favorite bloggers. It's You Want Pie With That? The first month's theme is a pie inspired by a movie, and really, my lack of self control is somewhat shameful, since I am unable to resist Tim Burton's juicy pie inspired cinematic masterpiece, Sweeney Todd starring the yummy Johnny Depp.
Now before you click away in horror and banish me from that list of family friendly blogs, I'd like to remind you that this is October, and it's time to start preparing for Halloween. Besides, I didn't really use long pig.
For the crust, I made a double batch of Alton Brown's Pie Crust Recipe, substituting Earth Balance Margarine for the butter and lard. Aside from the necessary allergy substitutions, I wanted to make the filling somewhat authentic to the period, minus the cannibalism. I consulted The Medieval Kitchen, Recipes from France and Italy by Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi and also found this useful recipe from PBS.
2 C cooked chicken
10 dates, chopped

1/3 C dried cranberries

1 C white wine

1 Tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

olive oil spray

Prepare pie crust as directed. Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine chicken, dates, and cranberries and place in pie shell. Mix together all other ingredients except olive oil spray. Pour over chicken mixture. Place second half of crust over pie and decorate as desired. Spray crust with olive oil. (This is to help it brown, since an egg wash will make bad things happen to The Kid.) Bake for 30 minutes.
This was the first time I've made a pie crust that didn't involve graham crackers. Fortunately I didn't feel that this needed to be a pretty pie, so I just had fun with it. The top was a little doughy, but otherwise it tasted wonderfully rich and spicy, a perfect autumn dish.

10 comments:

Nowheymama said...

That looks great! We love Earth Balance and Soy Garden.

NKP said...

So creative. I am a little disappointed that you didn't go all the way with the cannibalism though... (kidding)
Great entry for Halloween season.

Maggie said...

The spices and dried fruit sound delicious in this. I love the finger and chicken bone decoration!

Judy said...

This sounds like a chicken-cranberry sandwich in a crust. A nice, creative rendition that sounds delicious, sort of sweet and savory at the same time.

Nichicakes said...

Oh this is awesome, I didn't see it until today because your name isn't in the list!
Git thee in the blog roll lady!

Anonymous said...

Very creative (w/o being gruesome!). Great job.

Susie Homemaker said...

Welcome! That's a cool pie - really creative!

Anonymous said...

Sounds yummy! Love the decorations in your pie crust. Very creative. :)

An Apron Straitjacket said...

When I saw your listing on "You Want Pies With That?", my first reaction was "EWWWWWWWWWW, Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie", which was said aloud. My husband didn't quite get what was so ewwy about a meat pie. So I had to explain to him that it was the "Mrs. Lovett's" part and remind him of the film, after which, he agreed with a resounding "EWWWWWWWW". We both agree that the decorated crust was an excellent touch!

Anne said...

I love it, so creative! Great job making your first pie crust- it's something that gets easier and easier and is always rewarding. And I agree- Johnny Depp is yummy! :)