Hearty Beef and Mushroom Pies

Hearty beef and mushroom pies for dinner...........To use "Hearty" when describing any food conjures up such a vision of plenty and comfort. The actuality is that I made enough of last night's beef casserole to use for a meat pie for this evening. Although the filling was the same beef recipe, with the addition of a deeply glazed pastry top and the roasted pumpkin, the crunchy roasted Parmesan potatoes and steamed beans, it was a whole new dish.

Pastry Lids for Meat Pies and Parmesan Roast Potatoes.
You will need:-
potatoes for 2 servings
finely ground best quality parmesan cheese
olive oil

1/2 teaspoon butter
1 small egg, separated
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

Steam the potatoes, I used cocktail chats and once steamed, cut them in half.
Thaw the sheet of puff pastry, spread the half teaspoon butter over one half of the pastry sheet, fold unbuttered half of pastry over onto buttered half, forming a rectangle, cut the rectangle in half again, forming 2 squares, using a sharp knife, cross hatch or slash the pastry, not cutting through into the second layer. Place pastry on baking paper on an oven tray.
Mix the egg yolk with a few drops of milk and brush liberally over scored pastry.

Whisk the egg white until foamy, add the cooled potato halves, turn to coat, then tip into a well oiled baking dish, sprinkle with finely ground parmesan cheese. Place the baking dish and the pastry sheet into 210 deg C oven. baking without turning potatoes until potatoes and pastry are both well browned.

As dinner was so easy it seemed a good idea to lash out on a warming but simple dessert.

Caramel Apple Slices with Vanilla Ice-Cream.
1 granny smith apple per serve, peeled, cored and sliced into 4 rings
1 dessertspoon butter
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
1/4 cup pouring cream
1 dessertspoon milk

Melt butter in a heavy fry pan, turn to low heat and add apple slices, allow to caramelise slowly to a golden brown, turning as needed.
mix brown sugar, milk and cream together and pour around apple slices in pan, simmer until sauce changes colour, increase heat and reduce to a syrupy sauce, serve apples in bowl with scoop of vanilla ice-cream, pouring the last of the caramel cream syrup over the ice-cream.

Bubbling away happily, a caramel sauce in the making.

The finished dessert.

Please cue the Muzac, something stirring I think, and then the announcement
........."This blog posting comes to you by courtesy of the Darling"..........he loaded the dishwasher while I blogged, jokingly saying he would need credits, as he gets credits for piccies on my other blog, and of course I am happy to give credit, well, life has to be a bit of give and take don't you think?.