Category: Party Ideas

Fried Pies

3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup Crisco or other good vegetable shortening
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
Note: sometimes I add 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg to flour.
Mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, fork, your hands, or whatever method works best for you, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir together the beaten egg with the water and sprinkle over flour mixture. Sprinkle in the vinegar, mixing lightly, until ingredients are well combined. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut it into four equal pieces. You can then cut each of the four pieces into three equal pieces, leaving you with 12 golf-ball-size dough balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 5- to 6-inch circle. Your circles do not have to be perfect, and ragged edges are okay.

Put 2 generous tablespoons of filling onto one side of the circle of dough. Seal the pie by wetting the inside edge of the dough with water (use your finger), and then fold over the dough, making the familiar half-moon-shaped pie. Make sure the edges of the dough are even, and press and crimp to insure a good seal. You can use a fork to give you a bit of a decorative edge if you like. You can also correct the more ragged edges during this step because the dough is pliable. Just make sure the filling is sealed in and any holes in the dough are crimped.
You can deep fry or pan fry. If you pan fry you just need to turn the pies.

via

Or make this Fried Pi.

instructions HERE

Spider Web Rug

Here’s the simple step-by-step:

  • Purchase thin, black (often named charcoal) indoor/outdoor needle-punch carpet. You can usually buy this by the foot or as large rugs if you are making several. I purchased mine by the foot at the local Orchard Supply Hardware, (California locations only.) It was 26″-27″ wide. You can also purchase by the yard from Caldwell Carpet.
  • Buy a Prismacolor white-colored pencil. This pencil comes standard in Prismacolor colored pencil set or you can purchase it separately in most art supply stores and online. You may already have one in your stash!
  • Turn your rug over and draw a circle using a handmade compass of string: Tack one end of the string at the rug center point and tie the white pencil to the other end to reach the edge of the rug. Holding the tack secure and gently pulling as you go, draw a clean circle. For an oval rug, tack two nails aprox. 18″ apart at the center of the carpet onto a work surface or piece of scrap board. Tie a loop of string around tacks loose enough to reach the outer edge of the carpet. Holding the white pencil along the inside of the string, begin circling the nails with string pulled tight to create an oval shape. Here’s a YouTube video that will help you understand the concept better.
  • With standard scissors, trim out the rug shape.
  • Using your white pencil and a yardstick or other long straight edge, begin at any point of the rug, center or off-center, and draw 8 evenly spaced intersecting lines. The easiest way to make your lines evenly spaced is to draw a cross with two lines, then draw lines between those, then more lines between the second set. You know, like you’re cutting a pizza.
  • With your white pencil at the center-point, begin spiraling out with curved web lines stopping at each straight line and repeating around in a circle.
  • You can stop your webbing lines at any point leaving leggy, straight web-lines to the edge, or continue your curved lines until you run out of rug.
  • Dust off any residual white pencil flecks, and spray a coat of Krylon or other clear finishing spray and you’re good to go!via

Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

  • 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cooked and cubed (see tips for buying a rotisserie chicken below)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 (2 ounce) bottle hot sauce
  • 1 (8 ounce) bottle blue cheese salad dressing
  • 1 (16 inch) prepared pizza crust
  • 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  2. In a medium bowl combine the cubed chicken, melted butter and hot sauce. Mix well. Spread whole bottle of salad dressing over crust, then top with chicken mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
  3. Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Let set a few minutes before slicing, and serve.                via

 

Tips when buying a rotisserie chicken:

  • If there’s a choice, opt for plain instead of flavored. Although most of the flavoring is concentrated on the skin, which you’ll probably discard, it does inordinately perfume the meat and accumulated chicken juices (which you may want to use if the recipe calls for broth).
     
  • Look for a large, full-breasted chicken. It has more meat, of course, but it also has less waste and is less likely to dry out under a heat lamp or in a hot box. 
  • Pull the chicken from the bone as soon as you get home. It’s easier to separate while warm, it saves room in the fridge, and you can start your recipe without delay.
  • If you have time, dump the bones, skin and accumulated juices into a soup kettle, barely cover with water, and bring to a simmer. In 30 minutes, you’ll have a pot of stock that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours. 
  • Use shredded chicken to top pizzas, flavor pasta and rice, toss in salads, or beef up soups. I especially like it for curry and enchiladas – dishes I might not have time to make from scratch.
  • At the checkout, double-bag the bird in plastic and keep it upright–a cardboard box is even better. It’s no fun cleaning chicken juice off car seats.     via