To go with a “back to school” vibe for our Recipe Club gathering I thought it would be fun to bring a dish inspired by a book.

I actually got the idea from my mom. My mom is in a book club and the members all take turns hosting. Whenever it’s my mom’s turn to host she comes to me for ideas – not that I read the books.

For my contribution I obviously had to go with a Harry Potter inspired dish! For my birthday one year I received The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and the time had come to break it out!

Cornish Pasties jumped out at me as the perfect option. The only problem was the time commitment required for preparation. Mainly because the weekend before we were going to be out of town visiting my brother. I decided on making the pasties before we left and freezing them. Then all I’d have to do on Recipe Club day would be to bake them. Unfortunately, my pastry dough was a big fail. I froze the filling to deal with when we returned from vacation. The “no time” solution was to put it in a pre-made pie crust and serve one big Cornish Pasty Pie. I’m happy to say this variation was still a success! Unfortunately it didn’t make for the prettiest entree as freezing the potatoes turned them brown, but the flavor and texture was still there.

Scroll past my recipe for a list of the other literary inspired recipes that completed our meal! (Yes, we actually had a complete meal this time, unlike our 5 ingredients or less potluck.)

This recipe makes 2 pies. You can freeze one of them for a later date.

Cornish Pasty Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chuck steak, finely diced
• 2 Russet potatoes, peeled and finely diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 frozen pie crust shells

Steps:

1. In a large bowl combine beef, potatoes, carrots, and onion. Season liberally with S+P.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Thaw pie crust according to package directions, allowing 2 of them to flatten to be turned into the top of the pie.
3. Fill two of the pie crusts with half of the Cornish pasty filling each. Top with the flattened pie crust and cut slits in the top. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake 1 hour. Uncover pies and bake another 5-10 minutes, until golden.

*This recipe is adapted from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook*

Here are the other recipes brought to the book club potluck:

• Pumpkin Juice (inspired by Harry Potter):
  http://foodinliterature.com/food-in-literature/2014/05/copycat-harry-potter-pumpkin-juice-recipe.html – with the following changes: 1/2 C apricot preserves instead of apricot nectar and none of the sugar.
• Biscuits (inspired by Becoming Lady Lockwood):
  http://www.bhg.com/recipe/quickbreads/biscuits-supreme/
• Ham & Cheese Quiche (inspired by Green Eggs and Ham): Beat 4 eggs with 1 C heavy cream and 1 C milk, season with S+P, pour into a baked pie crust; add feta cheese, diced ham, and chopped asparagus; top with shredded cheddar cheese; bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F.
• Aloo Matar (inspired by The Namesake)
• Brockhall Badger Carrot Cakes (inspired by Redwall): Combine 3/4 C mashed potato with 6 oz grated carrot, 6 oz grated onion, 1/2 C bread crumbs, and 2 tsp fresh parsley; drop spoonfuls of the mixture into a frying pan with a little oil and cook on both sides for 3-4 minutes.
• Layered Raspberry Yogurt Parfaits (inspired by The Cat in the Hat)
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (inspired by If You Give a Mouse a Cookie): Beat 1/2 C + 6 tbsp butter with 3/4 C brown sugar and 1/2 C sugar; add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla; in a bowl whisk together 1 1/2 C flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt and add to butter; mix in 3 C old-fashioned oats and 1 C chocolate chips; bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

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