To anyone who is living or has ever lived in England

[Qwertyuiopasd]

why, oh WHY must you put meat in pies? who thought this was a good idea? its meat... in a PIE! PIE I SAY!


err, I mean, just uh.... wondering about uh.... english culinary phenomena...

~Qwerty

[boghog]

Mmm... meat pies - invented by the English, perfected by the Quebecois:


La tourtiere! La reine des tartes!

Ground beef with spices in a flaky shell... what's not to like?

I can't see how anyone can think that meat in pie form is anything other than wonderful (except, of course, vegetarians or others who eschew meat altogether).

When I retire, I want to have a little farm where I cross-breed tourtieres and pasties (and maybe samosas).

[Qwertyuiopasd]

I don't eat calzones and hot pockets hardly qualify as pie. I don't think I eat those either.. I think I eat the mini pizza ones, and those just have sauce and cheese in them..

[kat]

I love meat pies.

[Dr. Otis Lansa]

Meat pies are awesome. Pastry and... ANYTHING is good.

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Mmmm..... MEAT pie *aaglglgglglgglg* (Homer Simpson-esq drooling)

My great grandmother made a KILLER mincemeat pie, that had meat (among MANY other things) in it.

Alas - she took her recipe with her when she Took The Next Step. She was one of those "natural" cooks that "pinch and dash" her way to the results. Thus, exactly HOW she made something was either a hands-on experience (working WITH her during) or else a complete mystery. *sigh*

But it was KILLER pie.

I have yet to experience one like hers yet, and I HAVE looked (and tried various variations, to no avail).

I do know that it had ham, raisins (white and black), walnuts, apples, and FSM-alone knows what else.

I imagine some home-grown pork-fat was liberally added, too - likely in the crust as well.

But %^)#)(%$ those were good pies!

...

Thanks, Q, I haven't thought of great grandma Haney's mincemeat pies in AGES. (she passed on in the 70's)

[boghog]

why, oh WHY must you put meat in pies? who thought this was a good idea? its meat... in a PIE! PIE I SAY!

Qwerty,

Just wondering - did you have a bad experience with a meat pie or something?

[Qwertyuiopasd]

no, I just heard that they put meat in pie.

it was honeslty my sisters idea. I suppose I'll try some....

even if it does taste good, whose idea was it to put meat in pie? its like, who decided to eat white things that come out of chickens?

[boghog]

The one that makes me wonder is cheese. Imagine the first time someone had it:

"Whew! This milk's gone completely bad - it's even turned into solid chunks. It's no good for drinking any more, but maybe I'll slice it up and have it on crackers."

[Bob the Unbeliever]

My brother always asked the question:

Who was the first person to drink beer? It's rotten grains, after all - it smells rotten, and at first taste, "accidental" beer likely tasted rotten, too.

Likely didn't have that much alcohol in it either, so the "kick" was not likely much-if at all.

But, some brave fool was thirsty enough to drink it --- and civilization was born* as a result!





_______________________

* in that the beer theory of the birth of cultured farming - you needed a surplus of grain to have enough extra to make beer, and that required you to intentionally plant your grains and stick around to keep the animals from eating the harvest. All that eventually led to modern civilization ...

[boghog]

[quote="Bob the Unbeliever"]But, some brave fool was thirsty enough to drink it --- and civilization was born* as a result!

I read a Dr. Who book once that had a claim that civilization was a result of wine. The start was how you describe for beer, but it went on to illustrate that carpentry and metallurgy were required to make barrels, then glass-blowing for bottles, then commerce to allow duty-free shops, then air and sea travel to provide an excuse for the duty-free shops to the excise officers, who had invented themselves along the way somehow.

[Sheik Yurbouti]

Drinking the first beer I can almost understand. But the first one to eat a raw clam? Now that guy had guts!

[beagle]

no, I just heard that they put meat in pie.

it was honeslty my sisters idea. I suppose I'll try some....

You mean you've got to be a teenager without ever eating a meat pie?
I'll bet you've never had Bovril or Marmite on toast either.
Or a grilled stoat and hedgehog baguette? (OK, I made that one up).

I read a Dr. Who book once that had a claim that civilization was a result of wine.

I gather for most of our history drinking wine or beer (or even tea) was a lot safer than drinking the water neat. Certainly it's something I try and avoid, just in case.

[Dr. Otis Lansa]

Huh... Grandma made meat pies (usually turkey) on a regular basis here. Ever had a perogy, Q?

[anthrobabe]

DR. Who is one of the greatest things to come out of Britain!

Marmite--- OMG don't open it - OH please don't open it,

grilled stoat and hedgehog baguette-- now that sounds like good old fashioned southern USA comfort food.