"American" food.

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I've also heard that the heavy crust at the edge was for miners to hold onto with their coal-coated hands, and then be tossed away (I assume in better times). We have pastie places around here, and the ones I've had were delicious, but very, very, very heavy fare. Kinda made me think of tourtiere in a way. Savory pies have sort of left our culture (besides maybe some of the Italian ones), and they used to be the working-man's staple ... easy to carry, good hot or cold. In some cases they were the 1800s equivalent to fast food .... a person (usually a widow, I think), would make them up every night, then sell them from a cart to workers who had no kitchens (I'm referring not only to pasties, but all kinds of savory pies and turnovers). A person could come out of their mine, factory, whatever, and buy one, eat it out of hand in a few minutes, and be back at work in no time. A whole pie could be purchased on the way home from work and be eaten from for several days.
 
Yes, claire, they are very, very heavy! Definately not an every-day kind of food--at least not for me. I guess that was part of the appeal for the miners--they were sure to keep them nourished and full until they got home in the evening. My grandma used to make them from scratch--they're still the best! I remember one summer my cousin went to visit her during a horrible heat wave. It was in the mid 90s and she didn't have air conditioning. She had made him pasties (keep in mind, these heavy monsters aren't good summer food) and was so excited to have him there he had to eat two to please her. He said he's never felt so ill! :LOL:
 
Good fun! People who read what we are writing have to remember, these foods were created in coutries that never got truly warm as we know it, and where fat and extra calories were a GOOD thing!! If you try them now, bear that in mind!!!
 
you can eat as many as you wish, so long as you are digging hundreds of feet in to the ground!
 
sounds quite interesting, and I really enjoy reading about the history of these little gems...
however....
I'm wondering about that one bite you take where it's 1/2 meat/onion/potato/carrot and 1/2 jam.........sounds kinda weird....
I wonder if there are any bakeries around here that have them as regular fare.
 
I have a recipe somewhere at home, jkath. I'll try to dig it out and post it for you.

I forget where I read it but there's a certain name for the ones with the jam in one end. Anyway, it's not common at all. That's why I always just dip mine in some jam, if I'm using it. I've never made them myself, as hubby isn't crazy about them and they're too much of a temptation for me! They're best saved as a special treat when my parents or I visit the UP. My grandma bought me a little thermal bag so that we can bring a couple home. She calls it The Purple Pastie Pouch. :) I tend to ration them out so much that they're freezer burnt before I get to them! I just hate the thought of being without, I guess! :oops:
 
PA Baker said:
Bangbang said:
Claire said:
UP Michigan Pasties are yummy :!:

I love them, too, Bang!

I horrify my family because I like them with strawberry jam sometimes. Rest of the time I eat them with ketsup or just plain. How do you eat yours?

There is a place here in Livonia that makes them. I eat them with ketsup or butter. I have bewen known to eat at least three per day. Especailly when I am up north.
 
PA Baker said:
I have a recipe somewhere at home, jkath. I'll try to dig it out and post it for you.

I forget where I read it but there's a certain name for the ones with the jam in one end. Anyway, it's not common at all. That's why I always just dip mine in some jam, if I'm using it. I've never made them myself, as hubby isn't crazy about them and they're too much of a temptation for me! They're best saved as a special treat when my parents or I visit the UP. My grandma bought me a little thermal bag so that we can bring a couple home. She calls it The Purple Pastie Pouch. :) I tend to ration them out so much that they're freezer burnt before I get to them! I just hate the thought of being without, I guess! :oops:

I remember reading abut that once. There were pies with meat on one end and jam or apples on the other. Meal and dessert in one.

Pam
 
You don't need a recipe for pasties, you just put stew in a pastry, fold in in half, and bake it. That's what they did in the old days. Mrs Jones' tasted different from Mrs Smith's. In January you had a completely different flavor than in June, and different yet than in September. I'd be willing to bet that someone threw my split pea soup into a pie crust and gave it to her husband to take to work one day.
 
The sweet and savoury sort of a pasty originated in Bedfordshire (in England) and was called a 'Clanger'.

The honour of where pasties were invented has been a matter of friendly rivalry between Cornwall and Devon for centuries - Devonians call them Oggies!

(I put this information on the thread started about pasties by PABaker in one of the other fora - so apologies to those of you who are reading it for the second time!)
 
This is one of those things you shouldn't use a recipe for. The idea is that you have a great stew for dinner ... be it plain old beef stew, poor man's soup, or coq au vin (chicken stew). Then you put the leftovers in a pie crust. Ta Da!!!!
 
Claire: It's true that you can fill these things with virtually anything. In fact, we have a pizza place in my home town that made their name making pizza pasties. However, in the U.P, the traditional pastie is made like this:
1 lb. very coarsly ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 cup diced potato
1/2 cup diced rutabega
1/2 cup sliced carrot (optional)
2 stalks celery, sliced
three cloves garlic, minced
1/2 stick (about 3 tbs.) butter
1/2 recipe single pie crust per person

Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a lightly oiled heavy pan. While the beef is cooking, place the veggies into a pot of boiling water and cook for no more than ten minutes.

Drain the ground beef; drain the veggies, combine together with the butter. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Let cool a little. Roll the pie crust halves into nin-inch circles. Spoon filling onto one side and fold the other over the top. Roll the outer edges inward to form a kind of handle. Poke a few vent holes in the top and bake for about 30 minutes in a 375' overn until the crust is browned to your liking.

Serve with beef gravy (thickened with a roux), or catsup, or both, and with a glass of very cold milk, or better yet, a tofu/banana/straberry smoothie.

Yum :D

This is comfort food at its best and is not for someone who has to watch their carbs or calories, which is why I make them about once a year.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Lugaru said:
norgeskog said:
If you want authentic American food, need to go to the Native Americans who were here first. THe other foods in this country are merely adaptations of the European or country of origin of those who immigrated here and settled, then took their culinary habits and used native food items to enhance them.

That's one of the subjects I have always been very curius about yet know nothing of. The girl I dated for the longest time has exactly half Cherokee but grew up eating canned and boxed food so knew nothing of native cooking. And it's something I've never seen a special, book or article about.

Do you know of any good resources for native and naitive inspired cooking?

There is a Native American Culinary Institute on line, they are not well organized but some recipes and ingredients there. Google Native American Foods and see what you get. I was surprised.
 
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