I really enjoy cooking. I love to rifle through cooking magazines and cook books. I dream of spending time at some fabulous cooking school in France. For now, I look forward to the planning, shopping and preparing of meals for my family. They are a terrific audience. At every meal I can count on nine or ten willing appetites ready to try my latest fare or simply enjoy a family favorite. They are also brutally honest. I usually can take it! “Wounds of a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Proverbs27:6.
Cooking allows such creativity. Besides experimenting with new recipes, you can alter basics to expand your repertoire. Certain mediums are actually like a fresh canvas awaiting your ingenuity. My favorite blank slates are the boneless, skinless chicken breast; pie pastry; french bread and pasta. Each allows versatility in the kitchen and can be the basis of so many terrific dishes.
I have a number of wonderful chicken recipes I’ve collected and customized over the years that I will share with you on a regular basis. Today I want to give you my favorite pastry recipe. It is easy to work with and is useful in both deserts as well as main dishes. This is a recipe my mother gave me. I believe it originated with my grandmother.
Basic Pastry
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups shortening
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 egg
1/2 cup cold water
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Attach a flat beater and blend on medium speed until combined into a workable dough. Divide the pastry into 4 pieces. Remember to weigh each piece if you can to assure uniformity. Wrap each piece in wax paper and chill.
You can keep the pastry in the refrigerator for 2 days or freeze after placing in a Ziplock bag up to 2 months.
As you can see this recipe allows for 4 single-crust or 2 double-crust pies. At times I need a more substantial pastry so I divide the pastry into 3 pieces. This works particularly well for quiche.
This pastry needs minimal additional flour for rolling out and allows reworking without destroying the integrity of the pastry.
Tags: pie