A Love Affair With Southern Cooking_ Recipes and Recollections - Jean Anderson [16]
2. For the filling: Cook the beef, pork, scallions, salt, black and red pepper, and allspice in a medium-size heavy skillet over moderate heat, breaking up the clumps of meat, for about 5 minutes or until no traces of pink remain. Sprinkle in the flour, then, stirring all the while, add the water. Cook, stirring now and then, for about 5 minutes or until lightly thickened and no raw floury taste remains. Cool to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll as thin as pie crust on a lightly floured pastry cloth. Cut into rounds with a 2¾-to 3-inch biscuit cutter, then drop 1½ to 2 teaspoons of the filling onto the lower half of each round, leaving a margin of at least ¼ inch. Reroll the scraps and cut additional circles. Moisten the edges of the pastry circles all around, fold in half to enclose the filling, and crimp the edges firmly with the tines of a fork to seal. Also prick the top of each round with the fork to allow steam to escape.
4. Arrange the rounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet, slide onto the middle oven shelf, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.
5. Serve hot with cocktails.
Variation
Main-Dish Meat Pies: Prepare the pastry and filling according to the recipe. After rolling the pastry as directed in Step 3, cut into 4½-inch rounds using a pan lid as a template. Note: Some cooks use an empty coffee can as a cutter and if you have one that’s about 4½ inches in diameter, by all means use it. Reroll the scraps and cut additional rounds. Divide the meat filling evenly among the pastry rounds, spooning it onto the lower half of each. Fold, seal, and bake the pies as directed. Makes 8 servings.
HEAVENLY CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE
MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS
Chicken livers have long been popular down south—perhaps because chicken farming is big business. Most old-timey southern cooks simply dredge chicken livers lightly in flour (or, better yet, in self-rising flour, which gives them a supremely crisp coating), and fry them. But Scott Howell, chef-proprietor of Nana’s, a classy restaurant in Durham, North Carolina, has turned them into an ethereal mousse. This is my adaptation of the restaurant recipe, which appeared a few years ago in my Food & Wine profile of Howell.
There are a couple of caveats: First, all ingredients must be at room temperature, otherwise the mousse may separate. Second, the softened butter must be added one tablespoon at a time with the food processor running. After four tablespoons have been added, I stop the machine for a few seconds. Any unincorporated bits of butter will rise to the top and I pulse these in before adding any more butter. Finally, I bake the mousse in an ovenproof glass loaf pan or ring mold or an enameled metal terrine, all of which transmit heat slowly and ensure even cooking. With a metal container, the mousse tends to overcook on the outside and undercook in the center.
1½ cups heavy cream, at room temperature
4 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter (drippings add nice smoky flavor)
6 medium scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks (use white part only)
One ½-inch cube fresh ginger, peeled
½ teaspoon brined green peppercorns, drained well
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound chicken livers, halved at the natural separation, trimmed of fat and connective tissue, and brought to room temperature (see headnote)
1½ teaspoons salt
8 egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sweet Madeira wine (Malmsey or Bual)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pats (use the wrapper markings) and brought to room temperature
1. Preheat the oven to 275° F. Lightly butter a 6-cup ovenproof glass ring mold, an 8½ × 4½ × 2¾-inch ovenproof glass loaf pan, or a 6-cup enameled cast-iron or glazed earthenware terrine; set aside.
2. Pour ½ cup of the cream into a very small, heavy saucepan or butter warmer and set over