Rudolph Pie Christmas Shepherds Pie Recipes

GIRDLEBUSTER PIE

Steps:

• In a food processor, process the biscuits with the 3 ounces of the soft butter and the chocolate pieces or chips until it forms a damp but still crumb-like clump. Press into a 9-inch (23cm) pie plate or flan dish. Form a lip of biscuit dough a little higher than the plate or dish if you can. This process takes patience as you need, ideally, to form a smooth even layer. Sorry. Freeze this biscuit-lined layer for about 1 hour so it gets really hard. In the meantime, let your ice cream soften, in the refrigerator, just until it can be scooped. Spread the ice cream into the hard biscuit-lined dish to form a layer. Then cover in cling film and return to the freezer.
• Put the syrup, sugar, remaining 3 ounces of butter and the salt, if using, into a saucepan and let it melt over low to medium heat, before turning it up and boiling for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the bourbon, letting it hiss in the pan. Add the cream and stir to mix into a sauce, then remove from the heat and let cool. Once the sauce is cool, but not set cold, pour it over the pie to cover the ice cream layer and then put it back in the freezer. Once frozen, cover with cling film again.
• When ready to serve, remove the pie from the freezer, take the whole pie out of its dish and cut into slices. Should you have any pie leftover, slip it quickly back into the dish and return, covered with cling film, to the freezer.

RUDOLPH'S PIE (SHEPHERD'S PIE)

Steps:

• Pour 500ml of near boiling water over the porcini mushrooms and leave to steep.
• Warm oil into very large thick bottomed pan and add the chopped onions, carrots and minced garlic.
• Cook, stirring for about 10 minutes.
• Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid.
• Chop coarsely and add with the button mushrooms to the vegetable mixture.
• After about 5 minutes tip the whole lot out to brown the meat.
• Add a little more oil to the pan, then tip in the minced meats, breaking them up with a wooden spoon.
• Stir for about 5 minutes until the rawness has left them a bit, and salt-unstintingly-and then return the vegetable mixture to the pan.
• Stir in flour and add the mushroom-soaking liquid, tinned tomatoes, diluted puree, Marsala and a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce.
• Stir well, cover partly with a lid and reduce heat so that the mince bubbles gently, for about 40 minutes to an hour.
• Meanwhile boil the spuds in a large pan of salted water until half way done, add the parsnips.
• Boil until done, drain, allow to dry a bit.
• Warm the milk and melt the butter in the heat of the potato pan.
• Rice or mash the potatoes and parsnips straight into this.
• Grate in some fresh nutmeg and add salt to taste.
• Put the mince into a large dish approximately 37cm x 32cm, then dollop the potato mash on top.
• Spread to edges and make fork lines on top.
• Dot with butter and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce.
• Cook around 10 minutes in a 225C oven.
• You want the top golden.