Serves 6 (leftovers are good, too)
Egg Pastry:
1½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
4-5 tablespoons milk
Filling:
2½ pounds top sirloin, cut into 1½" cubes
2½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon fines herbes (bit of thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary,
marjoram & basil)
6 tablespoons flour
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup dry red wine (optional)
1 beaten egg
For the pastry, mix flour, salt and butter until the combination resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg & milk and mix until dough holds together in a ball. Chill.
Coat the meat cubes in a mixture of salt, pepper, herbs & flour. Brown the mushrooms in butter and remove from the pan. Add meat to the pan in which the mushrooms were sautéed & browned. Alternate layers of meat & mushrooms in a 2-quart casserole, starting with the meat and ending with an even layer of mushrooms. Pour the red wine over all.
Roll the chilled pastry on a generously floured board to make a round about ½" thick and large enough to fit the top of the casserole. Moisten the edges of the casserole and press the edge of the pastry round onto the rim. Flute the edges of the pastry cover and brush with beaten egg. Bake at 350º for an hour. If the top of the pie begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the rest of the baking period.
From The How to Keep Him (After You’ve Caught
Him) Cookbook – Doubleday – Jinx Kragen & Judy Perry – 1968