Chef Paul Prudomme's Louisiana Kitchen/Paul Prudhomme

Cajun Meat Pies
Servings Prep. Time Cooking Time Calories % from Fat Fat Sodium Carbohydrates Protein Cholesterol
8 individual pies N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A


INGREDIENTS:
DOUGH: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened 3 tablespoons sugar 2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 tablespoons cold milk about 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, in all
about 4 cups filling: Andouille Smoked Sausage Filling, Hot Meat Filling, Creole Filling, Hot and Sour Filling, or Salty and Sweet Filling. vegetable oil for frying



1 Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer; with dough paddle, blend on high until creamy. Then blend in the following just until each is incorporated into the mixture: sugar, eggs (one at a time), vanilla and milk. Add 2-1/2 cups of the flour and mix on low speed until the flour won't fly out of the bowl when the speed is increased, about 5 seconds. Overbeating will produce a tough dough. (Note: If your mixer doesn't have a dough paddle, knead in the last remnants of flour by hand.) The dough should readily form a ball and hardly stick to the sides of the bowl; add more flour if necessary to achieve this consistency. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to roll out (dough will keep several days).
2 Make the filling of your choice and set aside.
3 Flour a cutting board with about 2 tablespoons of the remaining flour. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (you'll have enough scraps to make 2 more pies). Sprinkle a little flour over each piece of dough and form it into a ball. Roll out each portion with a floured rolling pin to a circle slightly larger than 7 inches in diameter, about 1/8 inch thick. (If the dough has been refrigerated several hours, it will tend to shrink after it's rolled. If this happens, roll it out as thinly as possible and wait 1 to 2 minutes before proceeding to the next step.) Place a 7-inch salad plate upside down on the dough and cut the dough around it. Use a long knife if needed to loosen the dough from the cutting board. Lightly rub the top of each circle with flour and fold in half. Reflour the board and rolling pin as needed.
4 If you made the filling several hours ahead of time, reheat it enough to redistrubute the solidified fat.
5 Unfold each piece of dough and put 1/2 cup of filling to one side of the dough. Spread the filling over half the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Fold the circle in half over the filling; seal the edges by pressing firmly with a fork, making a 1/2-inch decorative border. Trim the border neatly with a sharp knife to 1/4 inch.

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