Saturday, March 13, 2010

Recipe Rodeo - Spicy Cheesy Brunchy

I'm going to throw a brunch recipe into Nini's Recipe Rodeo ring.
I just invented these today.  I needed to come up with a snack food for Scott to bring with him to Beer club tonight.  (He is learning how to become a brew master!)  I was planning to prepare a quiche for our Sunday Breakfast.  So, I decided to make a manly version of quiche, that can be eaten as a finger food.  I call them -

Spicy Cheesy Meaty Hand Pies

Pastry Dough
2 2/3 cup Flour
1 cup salted butter, cold & cut into small pieces
1/2 ice water

Cut butter into flour.  You can do this by hand, or with a mixer or a food processor.  If using a machine, just be sure not to mix it too long.  The butter should be like tiny pea in the flour.
Now slowly mix in a little bit of cold water at a time, just until dough comes together. 
Smash it into a circle, wrap with plastic wrap & chill it in the fridge for about an hour (but longer is fine, maybe up to 2 days or so...)

Filling
2 cups gruyere cheese, shredded
4 pieces of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 small can of diced jalapeno peppers
1 egg
1/3 cup cream

Mix shredded cheese, crumbled bacon & all the peppers & the juice from the can in a bowl.  In a seperate bowl, beat the egg & cream together.  Pour enough of the cream-egg mixture into the cheese mixture to make it all moist, but not soupy.
Add salt & pepper to taste to your cheese filling.

Assemble
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out dough into a rectangle shape, as best you can.  Roll until it is about 1/8" thick, I guess. 
Cut your dough into small rectangles.  Try for bigger than 3" across, or you will have a hard time filling it!
My little hand pies were all different shapes.  But, most of them looked like little shark egg casings to me.  Interesting, I suppose.
Put as much filling as you can in the center of your dough & then fold it over and press all the edges to seal them.

Line a couple cookie sheets with parchment paper if you don't want a gnarly cheesey mess to clean up later.  Put all your little pies onto the sheets.

If you had extra cream & egg mixture, you can brush it on the tops of your pies. 
Put in the oven & back until golden brown, about 25 minutes. 

I taste-tested two hand pies
before sending them on to the meeting, worry-free.

8 comments:

LindaFaye said...

you're amazing!!

Stef said...

you invented these? I am so jealous of you right now. I cannot invent recipes. I'm worried if I tried, I'd poison my family and they'd die.
These look delicious! I am very inspired.... to copy you and make them :)

Erin said...

Girls, these were just a variation on a theme - quiche. I learned how to make quiche from a recipe. And, this was just more cheese, less custard. Do make them Stef - I think you guys will like them!

Stef said...

Okay, Jason said I'm not being entirely truthful and he's right. I do make my own recipes, but nothing like this one. I mean, this looks like amazing food. I make a lot of soups and casseroles without recipes, but come on... nothing difficult there!

I will make them - they look too yummy to pass up :)

emilie said...

Wow, Yum. Thanks for double-testing them for us Erin ;)

Steph said...

Yumm. I think I will need to make these!

Nini said...

Yum! Thanks for joining the Recipe Rodeo! You are so creative! I will have to make these!! Thanks for the idea!

Steph said...

Yumm. I think I will need to make these!