One thing I really miss from England is a pork pie. You can get them if we travel the 60 miles to Cork or Kilarney (45 miles in a straight line).
So I got the wife to make us a loaf tin sized pork pie. Here are the pictures.
The pastry is shortcrust and the filling is pork mince. We ate it with spuds and vegetables. The mince was our own though. People often call British food bland. I think if it's cooked right with good ingredients, it's right up there with the best. You can't beat home made food can you?
I washed it down with a few cans of Newcastle Brown Ale. That's another thing I miss Britain for. A good pint of bitter with an head on it.
There is a beer festival in Killarney next month. I am tempted to go. Do you live near a real ale (CAMRA) pub? Tell me about it and make me Jealous and drool. Wetherspoons are opening a pub in Cork soon. Things are looking up. Guinness and Murphy's stout are good. But you can't beat some real ales can you?
So I got the wife to make us a loaf tin sized pork pie. Here are the pictures.
I washed it down with a few cans of Newcastle Brown Ale. That's another thing I miss Britain for. A good pint of bitter with an head on it.
There is a beer festival in Killarney next month. I am tempted to go. Do you live near a real ale (CAMRA) pub? Tell me about it and make me Jealous and drool. Wetherspoons are opening a pub in Cork soon. Things are looking up. Guinness and Murphy's stout are good. But you can't beat some real ales can you?
I dont eat a lot of meat. I cant remember when I last had a pork pie. ages years and years.
ReplyDeletewe are having chicken for dinner I havent eaten any meat for 8 weeks. The Mr had some last week. it doesnt feature high on the menu, we eat a lot of asian food, I dont miss it.
Hi Sol. Pork pies are great hot or cold. You can even take them on a picnic. We eat a lot of food from around the world; Mexican, English, Irish, Italian, Asian..? Thanks!
DeleteLooks good- you can't beat home made! :o)
ReplyDeleteHi CT. Yeah home made is great. I miss regional food from around England, so we make our own. Thanks!
DeleteI shall 'borrow' the pork pie idea off you if I may........I found a large bag of minced pork in the freezer yesterday, but put it back because I didn't know what to do with it! As for real ales drunk in 'proper' pubs........the only Irish pub I know of here in SW France is nearly two hours drive away, and crikey but the drinks are expensive, so unless we are invited to play music there, which is hardly, we shall have to make do with the occasional watery beer in our local French bar, or a cup of coffee in our local supermarket!
ReplyDeletePlease let me know how your pork pie went Vera. I like France for it's cafe culture and the way they don't expect you to pay for your drinks straightaway, unlike Britain and Ireland. In Portugal you can sit down at a table and the bar staff come to you and take your order. Do you any wine producers or hypermarkets near you? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat is one lovely pork pie! It is funny the things you miss, I too miss lovely English ale and I still think the best soda bread comes from Belfast. Micro brewing is steadily growing here in the republic though, we have a new brewery here in Co Louth, Jack Codys. slainte!
ReplyDeleteHi Linnet. We miss lots of things like a good rock concert, brass bands, public transport (bus, train) and all the food specialities from the diferent counties; meat and potato pies, Cornish pasties, cider, Cheddar cheese, Lancashire crumbly cheese, pie shops and real ale. Don't know why Irish pubs don't sell English bitter. They sell enough lager from overseas. I have sampled the beers from the Franciscan brewery in cork - very good. Thanks.
DeleteAs a former publican, I'm afraid lager is just easier to keep. There is a real art looking after English real ale and it does like to sit around for long so you need to have a good turn over of the product. There doesn't seem to have been a tradition of local brewing here as Guinness & Harp dominated the (much smaller) Irish market for so long. I miss those lovely Youngs pubs, lovely beer and usually gorgeous buildings. All the best!
DeleteThanks for that Linnet. I always wondered why you never saw English ales in pubs in Ireland. I believe that Guinness was brewed from roasted barley because they didn't grow hops in Ireland.
DeleteI miss English pubs with real ales especially. Thanks!
I want that more than i want to breath
ReplyDeleteGet baking John. It's very easy to make. So I am told! Thanks!
DeleteDecent pork pies are getting rarer, the superstore offerings tend to be more pastry than anything else and lack the jelly found in a good pie.
ReplyDeleteReal ales seem to be making a bit of a come-back after decades of thin and tasteless keg beers and lagers, our local Wetherspoons has a fair selection, changing weekly.
We find it difficult to get a pie other than chicken and ham or chicken and mushroom or chicken curry. Never seen a meat and potato pie here. Seen minced onion pies and a rare steak and kidney. You can't even get pies in the chip shops. We find it's easier to make your own.
DeleteYes Wetherspoons looks good and very reasonably priced on their websites. How much is a pint of bitter these days Cumbrian? Thanks!
That pie looks scrummy Dave. I've seen small buffet pork pies in a pack, but that's about all. I miss a nice Cornish Pastie, mmm. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe (missus) makes pasties Deb. You can fly from Dublin to Cornwall. I think the Sterling is too strong at the moment for a UK holiday. I love Cornwall, especially the Lost Gardens of Heligan and St Michael's Mount. Thanks!
ReplyDelete