Louisiana Hand Pies (Meat, Fruit, or Crawfish)

 

Pastry:

3 cups White Lilly Self-Rising Flour

1/2 Cup shortening or butter

1 Cup milk

Filling:

1 lb ground meat

1 lb breakfast sausage

1small onion diced fine

3 cloves  garlic 

Salt and pepper to taste

Make meat mixture first so that it can cool  Brown ground meat and sausage together   Add onion and garlic   Cook until softened    Season with salt and pepper.  Let cool.

Mix pastry as you would when making biscuits   Cut shortening into flour   Add milk and stir   Pour out onto floured surface.    Knead and add flour until you have a stiff dough that is not sticky. Divide into golf-ball sized pieces and roll each into a round circle about five inches in diameter. 

To make meat pies put one tablespoon of meat mixture in the middle of the pastry round, brush water on edge of round,  close round into a half moon, and use the tynes of a fork to seal pie.  Trim with a knife if needed    Bake or fry pies at 350 degrees until golden.

Note:  You can fill pies with anything you like including crawfish pie mixture or fruit filling.  

Mary Martha Washington Cake (Pound Cake)

I know there is no Mary Martha Washington.  But, my stepdaughter, Kallee Hinton, thought this was what her grandmother was calling the cake.  Actually, it was called Mary Marshall's Cake recipe after a friend of my mother-in-law, Janey Trussell Foote.  But we all call it Mary Martha Washington Cake.  This takes time to mix -- you need to make it while you are doing some other chore in the kitchen.

3 sticks of real butter, softened

2 cups of white sugar

6 eggs

1 cup of sour cream

2 cups of  White Lilly All Purpose Flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream in a mixer (with whisk attachment) the butter and  sugar together until a light colored yellow.  Add one egg at a time and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes for each egg added.  Do this for all six eggs - 30 minutes total.  Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Then add dry ingredients with mixer on slow one spoonful at a time until all is incorporated..  Be sure to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.  Finally, prep a large tube or Bundt pan with crisco and flour (or use cake release spray with flour).  Put in batter and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Check with a skewer for doneness.  Do not overcook as it will be dry.

This cake is actually better the second day   Topping it with strawberries and whipped cream is my favorite way to enjoy this cake.