Every Fridays, me, my kids, my sisters and their kids spend the day till dinner at my parents. The kids have a ball, and I have a break from the daily routine. The children are generally left to do whatever they want, which is usually doll play, imaginary games and stuff. Sometimes though we get them to do some crafts or cooking...which they really enjoy.

So this Friday I thought 'Let's try pie making!' . Yes, Instructables Pie Contest played a big role in that decision. :-) Especially the prize for the 'DECORATION'. ;-)

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients
1.5 lb (600g) - Beef Steak, chopped coarsely ( add seasoning to taste)

2 Tbs All Purpose Flour

2 Tbs Olive oil.

1 Onion , chopped finely

2 Garlic cloves, crushed

150g Mushrooms, chopped coarsely

400g Tomatoes finely chopped.

3/4 Cup Beef Stock.

2 Tbs Ketchup

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

Celery

1 tsp allspices

Seasoning

Shortcrust pastry. -about 4 sheets if you are buying store bought

1 Egg, beaten lightly

Step 2: Filling

This pie is very filling as it is and tastes wonderful. It is pretty easy to do too once you get all the ingredients together

1. Season the beef. Then coat beef in flour and shake off excess.

2. Heat half the oil in a large pan, cook the beef until brown. Remove from pan.

3. Now add the remaining oil to the pan and cook onions, garlic, mushrooms until all the vegetables are softened.

4. Now add the beef, tomatoes, stock, sauces. Mix well.

5. Add seasoning to taste. Bring to boil and let simmer till thickens. Finally add the celery and stir a bit before switching off the fire.

You now have a delicious savory filling for your pie!

If you do not like savory you can always have a sweet filling and do the decoration for the pie. :-)

Step 3: Decorating Your Pie

Decorating your pie is fun! It's like playing with clay :-) you can let your imagination run wild!

If you are not buying store bought shortcrust pastry. It's pretty easy to make.

This is the recipe I used to make shortcrust pastry

200g / 7 oz plain flour or all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

110g / 4 oz butter, cubed

2-3 tbsp very cold water

This will make an approximation of 10 oz pastry.

As I was preparing for a big crowd, I increased accordingly.

Preparation:

Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Work as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.

Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.

Wrap the dough in clingfilm / plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Then take it and dust flour onto your table and roll out your pastry.

Decorating

First for your pie you must do the base. So roll out your dough and drape over your dish. Press all the corners and edges. Cut off excess.

Now prick the pie with your fork and blind bake your pie.

I wanted to make a rose. But I realized that the crust, while able to maintain the shape of the rose bud was unable to hold the larger petals upright. So I cut circles in half for the petals. Then I shaped it and placed on a tray. I also shaped the bud and placed it too on the tray and half backed it, or till it was just hard enough to hold the shape.

Now take your pie dish and fill it up with the filling. Lay the outer petals ( which was not half baked) on the edges of the dish. Usually in a pie the edges get burned fast. as you have already half baked the parts for the center of the pie you should be able to get an even color all over.

Now place your bud in the center and gradually place the petals surrounding it as shown in the picture. If you find it hard to push the petals in, move the filling a bit with a knife and push the petal in so it would hold an upright position. Glaze your pie and bake it. That's it!

Isn't it pretty?

Our girls wanted to try too, The other pie picture you see is what they made using fondant cutters.

I hope you liked my pie :-) and hope you would try it too! If not the recipe (as I noticed most of the entries are sweet)

then at least the decoration.

Also please don't forget to vote for the pie contest. I have put this entry especially for the Pie Decoration Prize.

Thanks for taking the time to read my instructable. I love hearing your feedback, so please leave a comment of your thoughts or input.

I will give out 3 month pro membership to anyone who either tries out the decoration or the recipe. :-)

looking forward to your pie pictures !