Pennypincher’s Pantry

My food groceries have just been delivered, thanks Mr. T!      I am so glad that I ordered online as it’s freezing here tonight, about 5 C, brrrr. As the dark nights are here, it would be a total nightmare going to the shops in the cold and dark.  I have worked 34 hours at work this week and I am quite tired, so instead of trudging round the shops I intend to make Nigella’s fudge sauce tonight!!

I have just pulled out the recipe from the bero book, for home made chicken and mushroom pie that I am going to bake on Sunday. I know Wendy from ‘a wee bit of cooking’ up in Scotland wanted to browse it, so here goes!

Ingredients: For short crust pastry

feeds 2 in a medium pie dish 

 6 oz  plain flour 12 - 13 tablespoons

3 oz fat butter  plus enough cold water to make into a  dough.

mix the butter and flour together , rubbing butter in to flour with fingers, then add tiny drops of water to make into a dough.  

For inside pie:

Left over chicken from roast on Saturday,  sliced mushrooms add to sauce

Sauce:    Melt a tbsp of butter in a small heavy-based pan, add a heaped tbsp of flour and stir until it looks sandy and crumbly (You can fry chopped up bacon in the butter and add the flour straight in).

Gradually add milk whisking all the time. About half a pint is about right, but stop adding milk if you think it is thick enough.

You can replace some of the milk with chicken stock or wine, or add a slug of dry sherry for a rich flavour.

mix sauce and chicken and mushrooms, place in bottom of pie dish.

roll out pastry and top pie dish, make hole in top of pastry so that air can escape during cooking.

mix egg and a splash milk together, brush over top of pie, place in centre of a medium hot oven for approx 30 mins, times may vary in different oven types