MBE v tigs78 chicken and leek pie challenge

mrbadexample

newleaf wrote:

My other two penn'th:
Pastry...

Thanks for that newleaf, I'm still a little nervous of the pastry, as I've never made it before. Ooo....:think:....I'm just going to put that cup of water in the fridge... :whistle:

jobbingmusician

mrbadexample wrote:

Ooo....:think:....I'm just going to put that cup of water in the fridge... :whistle:

AND THEY'RE OFF.....

I think the 'bit of leek as pie funnel' idea sounds excellent!!! Wodge of tinfoil sounds OK too - if you have any - but there's something VERY attractively OS about using a leek!

(Thinks -shall I tell MBE to take a leek, or would that be taking the p*ss?)

mrbadexample

Wirenth wrote:

I remember my mum once making a pie funnel out of a piece of extra-strong tin foil, which she shaped like a cone and shoved into a hole in the pie.

Funny you should say that, I was looking at the foil pie-cases in Morrisons, thinking "if all else fails I could make one out of that".

Wirenth

And one more thing....some people I know get a huge mixing bowl filled with ice and water to soak their hands in for a few minutes before tackling the pastry.

tigs78

jobbingmusician wrote:

OK, breasts it is, then. Cut them into pieces (as before, aim for the size of piece that YOU would like to find in a pie. Or maybe a bit bigger in case they shrink...cheap breasts have water added :eek: ) Fry these in olive oil with the leeks.

jobbingmusician wrote:

Yes, it's a basic white sauce. But it will make it tastier if you fry off the bacon and leeks and add the flour to that, rather than just starting with flour in your pan.

Right, I've been through the entire thread and copied and pasted the actual cooking posts and tips into Word so that I don't have to return to the computer every few seconds to see what the next step is. I have one last question....

Am I frying the chicken with the leeks and bacon aswell? Bit concerned that if I do that then my floury sauce thing will not work because there are too many things in the butter base for it to work properly when I do the stirring it round bit.

If i'm not putting the chicken in with the leeks and bacon how do I cook the breasts?

mrbadexample wrote:

Ooo........I'm just going to put that cup of water in the fridge...

jobbingmusician wrote:

AND THEY'RE OFF.....

Snooze you lose MrBE, mine was in hours ago!

jobbingmusician

Yes, I was thinking that you'd fry the chicken (in strips) with the leeks and bacon. If the pan is too small, do them first and put to the side - DON'T wash the pan, just get on with your leeks and bacon, then put them back in once you're happy with the consistency of the sauce.

Or, as an alternative, you could add them (raw) to the sauce at the end and cook for longer. But you will have to stir the sauce regularly to keep it from burning on the bottom of the pan.

mrbadexample

tigs78 wrote:

Snooze you lose MrBE, mine was in hours ago!

I'm just happy to have remembered at all! :rotfl:

tigs78

newleaf wrote:

My other two penn'th:
Pastry
The more confidently you tackle it, the better it will turn out.
Keep everything as cool as possible, ingredients, basin, hands.
Use a knife to cut the fat into the flour and only begin to rub it in when it gets too small to cut. Rub in lightly using fingertips only.
Add the water very gradually - a spoonful at a time. You can always put more in, but if you put too much in you can't take it back out and it's ruined.
Knead gently and handle as little as possible.
If your piece of pastry isn't quite big enough, make sure you roll it out thinner. Don't try to cheat by 'stretching' it, if you do it'll just snap back the minute it goes in the oven.
Good luck - can't wait to see the pictures

Seeing as I've already had my 'last question' I thought I'd ask this one on behalf of MrBE...

If we are keeping the ingredients as cool as possible, does that include the butter? I would have thought that it would be really hard to 'rub in' straight from the fridge.

I ask this question based on bitter experience when I tried to make some fairy cakes using butter straight from the fridge. I stuck my electric mixer in the bowl and my entire kitchen was peppered with cold hard lumps of butter, when I retrieved them all it took about 15 minutes to mix it all together and that was using an electric mixer not my mere fingertips!

mrbadexample

tigs78 wrote:

Seeing as I've already had my 'last question' I thought I'd ask this one on behalf of MrBE...

:rotfl: I have to say, I like yer style! Obviously, I was wondering that.








The answer is yes. Butter too. :whistle:

tigs78

mrbadexample wrote:

The answer is yes. Butter too. :whistle:

How on earth do you know that? Are you trying to sabotage my pastry?:D;)