Re: When is a pie not a pie?

[NanaNana]

There are a couple of definitions of a 'pie', but I'd always believed that a 'pie' consists of a pastry case, with a filling, then covered over with a lid of more pastry.

I get driven to distraction when pubs and resteraunts describe eg. Steak and Ale pie, then deliver a steak and ale mixture with just a pastry lid. Where's the pastry case that the steak and ale should be sitting in??????? GRRRR.

Does anyone else feel the same? Cos I feel totally hard-done by when my 'pie' arrives.

[poppett]

I know what you mean Nananana.

You must like a pie with a soggy bottom!

I remember my granny had a pie dish. It was rectangular enamel in white with a blue rim (mine is a green one) and it was handed in to the butchers shop every Wednesday and was collected as a ready to bake pie on Saturday morning. The meat was cooked in the tin and the pastry lid added once it had cooled. She also had a pie dish, which was like a huge plate, and this was handed in on Saturday and collected on Tuesday with pastry on the bottom, mince and onion mixture in the middle and pastry on the top. Our local shop takes in steak pies and mince rounds from a butcher in Dingwall once a week, but nowadays they come in silver dishes with plastic wrapping on them.xx

[bowlingbun]

I recently stayed at the Saunton Sands Hotel near Barnstaple, four star, very posh, for me anyhow, but doing a brilliant value winter break deal. They mucked up the first two days main meals (I complained about more courses at this hotel than I've ever done in my entire life!!!). For the third night, I tried to work out what was impossible to muck up, and opted for fish pie. You know those large ladies hats with a little indent in the middle for the head, well the fish pie arrived in an upside down version of a hat like that. Odd, I thought. Even stranger was the fact that the potato which is usually at the top, was piped (so slushier than usual) around the dished bit, and the "filling" was in the middle, open. Most of the staff were foreign, maybe they didn't even know what the end result was supposed to be?!

[poppett]

Interesting Bowlingbun as fish/shepherds/cottage and cattleman pies have no sign of pastry at all in this part of the world, just made in an ovenproof dish and portions scooped out and plated. As far as I know the only difference between shepherds and cottage is the addition of cheese and sliced tomato on top of the cottage so I suspect it is shepherds leftovers revamped the next day. Cattlemans is made with beef mince and sometimes has a can of beans layered into the middle of the meat and crushed crisps on top of the potato.

This is beginning to sound like the pie (or not so pie) club.xx

[Juggler]

Shepherds pie is made with lamb and cottage pie with beef. Both are called pies but have no pastry.
Real pies have a bottom layer of pastry, filling and a top.
Pubs seldom get it right!

[crocus]

I think that technically pies have a covering on the top - usually pastry, but could be potato - whilst things with pastry underneath are tarts. I agree, though - the best pies have pastry both underneath and on top

BTW, bowling - it sounds to me like the posh restaurant you went to follows the Heston Blumenthal school of deconstructive cookery where they take all the ingredients of a dish and rearrange them! It is apparently very fashionable at the moment - I think its just bonkers!!

[susieq]

personally I prefer a pie with only a top pastry crust and lots of yummy meat underneath !

[bowlingbun]

When I went to Bournemouth last weekend I had another disappointing meal in a posh restaurant. I just wanted a very good steak and a very good pudding, apple pie, crumble or similar. Apparently posh means no proper English food?! Perhaps the foreign chefs don't know how to make pastry?

[Sajehar]

I'm with Susique

I only like a pie when it has pastry on top... bugger all that soggy pastry on the sides and bottom; I'd rather have the filling!

And the best pastry of all is flaky pastry.... I HATE short crust pastry... YUK! I've spent years scooping out the fillings of apple charlottes/strawberry tarts, and leaving that god awful pastry behind.

I am not a fan of short crust pastry, but I do like suet pastry... go figure... I can't!

[Eun]

When we get a steak pie husband and son eat the meat and I only eat the pastry as I don't eat red meat. I only eat chicken or fish - thank you gall stones!

Eun