What pie are you?

It seems like an easy enough question. A friend sent me a request to take a quiz by that name on Facebook. My mind raced as I waited for it to load. Surely I would be something good like French Silk, or Key Lime. A good old fashioned Apple pie or Boston Creme. Imagine my surprise when the answer was “You are Kalakukko”!

Kalakukko? Here is the text of the results:

You are Kalakukko: Found mostly in Finland, you’re prepared with Rye or Wheat flour, and stuffed with fish, bacon and pork. The fish used in this pie are usually vendace, European perch, or salmon. You’re normally accompanied by buttermilk, and many enjoy you either cold or heated. Delicious!

I had to look up the recipe for this pie since the all knowing quiz gods have proclaimed me to be Kalakukko Pie. I am not sure if I will make it but it was an interesting recipe.

Kalakukko

(from recipeland)

Ingredients

Filling

2 pounds fish, small
1 1/2 pounds pork, sliced into strips like bacon but about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
3 tablespoons salt
1 allspice, optional

Dough

2 1/2 cups water
3 1/4 cups rye flour, sifted
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, (sifted)
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 ounce yeast

Directions:

Clean the fish, removing fins, large scales and entrails. You may leave the heads if you dare to eat them.

Mix the flours and salt. Add the yeast to the water. When the yeast is fully dissolved, make a thick dough by pouring flour mixture into water and blending well. The ratio of flour to water depends on the nature of the flours. This ratio of 1:2 by volume works well in Finland with Finnish flours. Where flours contain more gluten you should use slightly less water.

Set aside about 4 T of dough to be used later. Roll out the remaining dough into a circular shape about 3/4 inch thick.

Assemble the meats into the dough: cover the inner half of the dough circle with half of the pork (the pork should cover a circle whose diameter is half the diameter of the rolled dough). Then put all of the fish over top of the pork, and add allspice and extra salt if you are using them. Finish with the second half of the pork.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Lift the edges of the dough all around the filling and glue together with a little water so that you have the filling surrounded from all directions with about 3/4-inch-thick dough. Put upside down (the seam downwards) on a baking sheet and let it rise about half an hour at room temperature.

Put the kalakukko in a 500 degree F. oven for long enough to brown the dough, which will seal it against moisture. Then lower the temperature to about 250 degrees F. and let it bake for 4 to 7 hours depending on the size of the fish (bigger fish need more cooking time). You can brush some melted
butter over the top of the dough just after lowering the temperature; this will give it a prettier appearance. If it starts to leak while baking, fill holes with the dough which was set aside.

Serve hot or cold

There you go, I am apparently a fish and sausage pie that needs to be cooked for up to 7 hours. I think I may go retake that test!

Read Across America, Seuss Style.

“Daddy it was Seuss day and you did not make my eggs!”

That was the first thing junior proclaimed when I picked him up today. In the past I have made him green eggs and ham for breakfast, not necessarily on this day, the Read Across America Day, but he had specifically asked me if I would do so this year since they had been talking about Dr. Seuss at school. Since I have been sick this past week and have been tired, I woke up late and made the fast breakfast of cereal, milk and juice.

Bad Daddy!

Now I will make it up to him soon, making one of his favorite breakfasts is always fun. He likes to describe how yucky it looks as he eats the green eggs. I once used a huge piece of ham, cutting two holes in it and frying the eggs in the holes. We called it the green eyed ham monster!

So here is the recipe straight from Seusville.

Green Eggs and Ham à la Sam-I-Am

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
4 slices of ham
8 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1-2 drops of green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

What You’ll Need

Knife, medium-size mixing bowl, wire whisk or eggbeater, large frying pan, spatula, aluminum foil, serving plates

1. With an adult’s help, melt a teaspoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add sliced ham and brown until edges are slightly crisp. Remove the ham from the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside.

2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat with a whisk until frothy. Then add 1-2 drops of green food coloring until you reach the desired shade of green.

3. With an adult’s help, heat a tablespoon of butter or margarine in a large frying pan over medium heat until the butter begins to sizzle. Then add the egg mixture to the pan.

4. Stir the egg mixture with a spatula until the eggs are firm and not too runny.

5. Transfer the eggs to individual plates. Garnish with a sprig of parsley. Add the ham prepared earlier. Serve with toast or warm rolls.

Feeds 4 hungry green-egg lovers.