Hot Lousiana Meat Pies – James Mcnair

-PASTRY-
8 c All-purpose flour
4 ts Baking powder
1 c Vegetable shortening OR lard
4 Eggs
1 c Milk

-GLAZE-
1 Egg; beaten
Cayenne; for dusting

To make the filling, melt the shortening (or lard) in a saucepan over
medium- high heat. With a wire whisk or wooden spoon, blend in the flour
and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the ground
beef, pork, yellow and green onions, red pepper, parsley, garlic, crushed
red pepper, and cayenne and saute until the meat is browned. Season to
taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

To make the pastry, sift flour and baking powder together into a mixing
bowl. Add the melted shortening, eggs, and just enough milk to make a stiff
dough. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding flour a
little at a time if necessary, until no longer sticky, about 5 minutes.
With a heavy rolling pin, roll dough out as thin as for pie crust, about
1/8-inch thick. Using a 5-1/2-inch saucer as a guide, cut out about 20
circles with a sharp knife. Roll out each circle as thinly as possible with
a few more strokes.

Preheat oven to 400?.

Spoon about 3 T. of the filling onto one half of each dough round, moisten
the edges of the dough with cold water, fold the other half over the
filling, and press edges together. Crimp the edges together with the tines
of a fork or a fluted pastry sealer. Arrange the pies on a lightly greased
pastry sheet; brush with beaten egg and dust with cayenne pepper. Bake
until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot or at room
temperature.

Makes about 20 pies; serves 10.