Chinese pie VIDEO tutorial, the mashed potato topping too

This is a super quick, easy, cheap and delicious meal, it's a one pot on the stove and into the oven.  These are the videos, just go make it, trust me, you're going to love it.

Here is the blog post link to my Chinese pie:
http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2013/02/chinese-pie-isnt-this-cottage-pie.html


I was asked to do a video, so I did... it includes two videos, one for the pie and one for the pressure cooked mashed potatoes.

Hope they're clear enough, oh and be kind, I'm new at this.

the mashed potatoes recipe is:

6 potatoes peeled and cut into hunks
salt, pepper, water, milk, butter

Place the potatoes on a rack in the pressure cooker over about an inch of water, lock and load, high pressure for 8 minutes.

Remove the rack and drain the water out, put the potatoes back in the hot insert and mash, add butter and salt, pepper and milk as you like.  EAT.

Here's the video:

DRIVE BY baked eggs with mashed potatoes and hollandaise (if you have it) and hard, crunchy toast

When I was a kid, the number one thing I got when I was sick was a bowl of mashed potatoes with a poached egg on top.  The runny yolk would turn the potatoes a bright marigold yellow and the firm and tender white with the soft sweet mashed potatoes, well, it was culinary nirvana to me.

SO, when mum emailed me about a :new" mashed potato egg dish she'd seen on TV and we laughed about the fact she'd been making it for EONS,  There's no new ideas people, just versions of the same revolving in space.  So, in light of the "new" combination, I had to throw it together, in trendy form, what my mother had made us for YEARS, to share.  It goes quickly so pay attention:

DRIVE BY RECIPE:  BAKED (ON THE STOVETOP) EGGS IN MASHED POTATO WITH HOLLANDAISE

1.  Obtain little pots, use any cocotte you can get your hands on.  i have two sizes of these little lidded pots, I have red minis which are great for an egg with a little cream but to add potatoes, MY new personal favorite is the 8 oz Sur la Table oven to table STONEWARE MINI COCOTTES (I have yellow!)  NO, I am NOT paid to recommend an item

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-2303337/?affsrcid=AFF0005&adpos=1o3&creative=45091875941&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQjwzq63BRCrtIuGjImRoIIBEiQAGLHdYbGtSv3ysklzHbhfLN-yRLxpq51viiqadPz5R7QSeUYaAutD8P8HAQ

butter the little pots and line then with left over mashed potatoes.  I use a fork to 'grate' the cold potatoes in so they don't clump and stay fluffy when they're reheated

2.  break an egg over the potatoes, into the pot.

3.  Put pot in a pan with room temperature water that comes about half way up the outside of the cocotte.

4.  Put a lid on the sauce pan and turn it on HIGH, when it comes to a boil, turn to low to simmer until the egg is cooked to your liking.  *I* like firm white and runny yellow.  You can lift the lid on the saucepan to look, just jiggle it to see how loose the egg is :)

5.  Make toast, crunchy toast, use homemade bread.  Butter it liberally and cut it into strips (soldiers!) to use to dip through the egg and into the potato, yeah, it's that good.

6.  when the egg is done to your liking drizzle a little hollandaise over it, if you have any, and shove toast in an eat with abandon, joyfully

SIDE DRIVE BY RECIPE:  EASY HOLLANDAISE

I make this recipe and put it in a small mason jar and keep it in the fridge up to a week.  Easily.  Take the lid off the jar and nuke gently to bring to room temperature or slightly warmer as many times as you can in the week.  Trust me, I do it all the time and we have not been poisoned.

I use a stick blender to make this version of a quickie hollandaise and it's indistinguishable from the 'classic' stirred over a water bath version.

IN a tall bottle, jar, vessel just slightly wider than the head of a stick blender put:

1 egg yolk (XL or the largest of the eggs you have)
1 Tablespoon water
2 tsp lemon juice (or more if you want it more tart)
salt

Put your stick blender in and whip like crazy

SLOWLY drizzle in one stick of melted butter while you blend continously.

DONE, season to taste with cayenne or paprika or herbs or whatever floats your boat.  Keep on counter to use same day other than that, store it in the fridge and heat GENTLY to loosen to use through the week.

Here are a few pics...  driveby recipes are result only :)

 

grab leftovers, throw them in a pot, crack an egg over and steam bake till they're done

Chinese Pie (isn't this Cottage pie?)

I belong to more than a few foodie type groups on Facebook.

The groups I prefer are the type where all the members list the things everyone is making for dinner. No chit chat, no drama, just lists, the odd recipe and some pictures of the tastiest morsels. I participate (contribute) regularly in 3 of them and hope I pull my weight. I tend to post pictures of the final product and since I'm bad at writing actual recipes when I cook, I tend to throw a link to this blog instead of dutifully typing out exactly what I did. I rarely know what I did. I just do it.

Yesterday, a man said he was making Chinese Pie. ?? What the heck is Chinese pie. I looked it up and they said it originated in Quebec. HEY, I grew up in Canada and I've never heard of Chinese pie. I kept Googling and after reviewing the first 45,873 hits of the exact same thing, I decided that tonight, for dinner, it was Chinese pie night. I think it's Shrove Tuesday and we should be eating pancakes but we can do that tomorrow... today is Chinese pie.

Apparently, Chinese pie is ground beef, layered with corn and mashed potatoes, then baked. Well, isn't that Cottage Pie? Cottage pie without the vegetables? I'm so confused. Some recipes had creamed corn which makes me wretch at the thought so I stayed with the versions that use straight up corn.

I decided that on this bad day I'm having, Chinese pie seemed the perfect meal. I had beef, corn and potatoes so that's a solid bonus. I can't see how this isn't going to be bland and awful. Seriously, I'm a snob for veggies and herbs and seasonings and stock. I can't understand how this won't be a dry, powdery blob on my plate.

Although, that being said, there's really nothing bad if it's under mashed potatoes so here we go. I've never made this before so we're going through the first time together.

CHINESE PIE (Tracy's version?  is it my version simply because *I* made it?  I say yes)
(I was accused recently of not giving credit for a recipe I wrote and posted. Well, I didn't because I'd MADE UP that recipe that day and thought it silly to give credit to me, in this case; I did not make this recipe up so I duly and humbly give credit to the entire population of Quebec, the entire Chinese railroad worker population and all their descendants and relatives as well as the whole of the Internet)

Quickie instructions:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion (NOT in the original recipes I saw but I HAD to put it in because I'm genetically incapable of cooking meat without an onion, maybe the addition of the onion makes it my version?)
15 oz can corn
mashed potatoes (I'm going to mash 4 giant ones which I'll pressure cook)

Brown beef in cast iron skillet
Add onion and fry around a bit
Pour drained corn over it, smooth it out but don't mix
Layer with mashed potatoes (I'll make a thick layer!)
Bake until brown and delicious looking.
Eat it

Long winded, with photos and commentary, version of instructions:

Brown the beef in a cast iron skillet, i put a little bacon fat in there to help get it started and brown it up, after all I'm going to drain this so it'll just leave flavor. Ohh, look how lovely and brown. Add the onion and shush that around a bit then smooth it out.

  
Melt a little bacon fat in there, you know, to help get it started and brown the meat.  For those who know me in real life, you KNOW I took this bacon fat picture then immediately added more ;)  Just a bit.  I browned the meat until there were dark crispy bits.  There wasn't any fat to drain off so I didn't bother.
  
Add the onions and shush 'em around a bit. Pour the drained corn on it and flatten it out a bit
   
Now, take some potatoes and peel then, cut them up and throw them in the pressure cooker, on a trivet, over about 1 cup of water.  ONLY because I got asked how I cut.  In half lengthwise, cut off the roundy bits about 1 inch, both sides then cut the square middle bit into strips.
  
Cut and into the pressure cooker
  
Lock and load for 7 minutes.  Quick release and I just lift out the steamer basket and let them dry a minute while I toss the water out.
  
I'm going old school masher today. Put the cooked potatoes back in the insert, it's hot so they stay warm and mash your heart out.  I'm not even going to pretend to give you a mashed potato recipe.  It's a personal thing, everyone's is the best.  Make your best version.  I just added copious amounts of butter and milk, salt and pepper and a few grates of nutmeg to be chefy.  I made them a little looser than usual because I wanted them to spread nicely.
  
MASH MASH MASH then plunk it on top of the meat and corn, spread it out a bit
  
Yeah, I drew a fork through so it'd have peaks to go brown and valleys to hold the little puddles of butter I'm about to dot on top.  Yeah I did it.  I also sprinkled paprika on it because that's what all of the online recipes said to do, I'm nothing if not obedient. Into the oven, 400 for 30 and we'll see how it comes out.

WELL WELL, that came out BEAUTIFULLY!  The potatoes puffed up a bit and have a bit of a crust but they're soft and yielding beneath...I see successful crispy peaks and little butter kissed valleys... yeah, that works.
   
As per instruction, I let it sit about 10 minutes and scooped out portions.  It's not much to to look at and for reasons completely unknown, it's absolutely, totally, wonderfully delicious.  I thought it would be bland, dense and awful and I was WRONG!
 
Absolutely delicious.  The meat is meaty, the corn tastes like corn and the potatoes are rich and crisp and soft all at the same time.  There's no sauce but it doesn't NEED any.  Connor had some ketchup on the side because I told him I'd seen that on some of the posts.  He's not a ketchup kid but LOVED it with a little Heinz red.

I'll make it again.  Often.  As I said, Connor absolutely LOVED it and had THREE helpings!  I managed to convince him he needed to leave some for his father (after I helped myself to just a little bit more).  I'm sure he'll like it, even if he won't gush.  I think this would be great in individual servings, even jars, in the freezer, pop 'em out and heat them up.

I have to say, clean up was a breeze too, fry up and layer in the same pan and I did the potatoes in the Pressure Cooker so there was only a masher, a knife and the insert.  EASY.  We LOVE easy.

I'll take a moment to say I am pleased I didn't futz with this first time out,  I briefly thought of adding other veggies, carrots and then maybe some liquid to make a sauce or a gravy and then I realized I was trying to turn it into cottage pie, or shepherd's pie.  This isn't either of those.  It's old school, simple, good, food.

I'm a great champion of old fashioned, simple, food.  Food that takes a little time and sometimes is as easy as three ingredients baked in the oven.

I'm pleased I did this straight.  Next time, though, I'll do it exactly the same way. So, the verdict: 100% success.  Go make this...SOON!

/enjoy