06 | January | 2013 | Hearty Eaters

I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for Apple and Lancashire Cheese Pie for about a year, but it always gets lost among all the other things I decide to make– Well, no more!

The first problem I ran into was I couldn’t find in Lancashire cheese in my local international cheese department. Since it’s a type of cheddar I decided to mix to cheddars together:

It worked out fine, but I’m still curious as to what Lancashire cheese tastes like…

Ok here’s the recipe!

Preheat oven to 375.
Peel and thinly slice 3 potatoes (1/5 pound-ish)

Add them to a saucepan of boiling water. Add a dried veggie broth cube to the water. Boil for 3-4 minutes then drain and set aside.

Thinly slice 4 apples into disks. I used honey crisp, because why the heck not?

And then slice 2 shallots.

Grate or buy pregrated 8.8 oz’s of Lancashire or sharp cheddar cheese.

Earlier in the day I thawed out a box of puff pastry (16/17oz) 2 sheets. Roll one sheet out until it’s 1/2 to a 1/4 inch thin. Set aside on a greased cookie sheet (or a cookie sheet covered in parchment, which is what I used) and roll out the other piece of pastry. You’ll want the stretchier, biggest piece for the top.

You’ll then layer your slices. Add a layer of potatoes to the pastry dough on the cookie sheet. Leave enough room at the edge for sealing later. Season with sprinkles of thyme, garlic salt and pepper.

On top of the the first layer of potatoes and seasoning, add a layer of apples and shallots.

Then add a layer of cheese and more seasonings. The seasoning measurement is really up to you and how flavorful you like it. I like flavor, so I kept sprinkling.

Repeat all layers again until you use up almost all your potato, apple, shallot, and cheese. Don’t add the second piece of puff pastry- that’s for the big finish!

I had two layers, almost three.

Slightly beat one egg. Brush the edges of both pastry pieces with a little egg. Save the leftover egg for later.

The Big Finish – Lay you other puff pastry crust on top of your layers.

Seal the edges and brush the top of the pastry with the leftover egg.

Voila!
I laughed because it kind of looks like a mammoth ravioli!

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and puffy.

Then it’s ready!

We had ours with a warm lentil salad and a spicy mustard based dressing and glass of stout ale.

Melty cheese and apple wrapped in pastry warmed up our winter cold night. I’m glad I finally tried the recipe!

We had plans on New Years Eve, but the party ended up being canceled. So we followed Lyn’s advice and decided to treat ourselves to a little Downton Abbey marathon and some of our favorite cozy/party eats.

Nothing says cozy and party at the same time like homemade pizza!

It was half cheese/half veggie Lentil loaf crumbles, sausage, roasted brussel sprouts, and tiny tomatoes.

Breadsticks, too.

And of course the big wine glass.

John asked for a homemade chocolate pie. He never fusses about eating the leftovers from all the pies I make for others people, so when asks for a pie he gets whatever he wants!

Yes, indeedy- it was nice and cozy!

On New Years Day we always start the morning with something sweet to celebrate the sweetness of a new year. We had homemade bread with honey and butter as our breakfast in bed.

For lunch I had to have my black-eyed peas. John isn’t a believe and after being together well-over a decade, I don’t force the good luck rituals on him (he’s pretty lucky already!)

I made a hash with veggie sausage, kale, garlic, cauliflower, carrots, walnuts, and onions.

(I had enough leftover that I ate it for breakfast the next day).

We also have the “Young Family Planning Summit” on New Years Day where we schedule possible places we want to travel. Afterwards we celebrate the hard work of planning fun by going out for fondue at the Melting Pot.