Flaky Pastry

I've recently begun enjoying cooking. I guess the turning point was last Ramadhan. The place I live in has decent sized kitchen (unlike the last places I lived in) with all the basic whiteware, plus some advanced whiteware (like a breadmaker). The kitchen is hardly used, and so I decided to change that =P

I think it's also my flatmate's influence. She watches the Food Channel 24/7. So I join her occasionally and watch the different shows and stuff. I didnt realize being a chef is held in such reverie, they truley are artisits. Food at home back in Oman is tasty, but can sometimes become reptitve and boring. You basically lose the taste of what you are eating. I learnt alot of tips and tricks when it comes to cooking from watching the Food Channel, the most important one being that life is too short to eat bad food!

Anyways, here's a lovely recipe to make the flaky crust of pie (taken from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butter-Flaky-Pie-Crust/Detail.aspx). Tastes way better than any store bought one. Am gonna make a batch right now, with a spinach and mushroom filling, that I got from a Greek pastry recipe, called Spanakopita, and kinda twisted a bit to my liking. With the filling, I don't remember the exact amounts I use of each ingredient, I just eye ball it xD But a basic rule of thumb is use a teaspoon when adding herbs/salt/pepper.

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Pie Crust

• 155 g all-purpose flour (about 1 and a half cup)
  
• 2 g salt
• 115 g butter, chilled and diced (a teeny bit more than half a cup)
  
• 60 ml ice water

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

(The idea is to keep rolling the dough and add water little by little. Even if it looks bad at first, keep rolling the dough in the bowl with your hand and it will eventually form beautifully.)
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Pie Filling

• Feta
• italian herb cottage cheese
• cheedar
• parmesean
• 1 egg
• spinach
• mushrooms
• salt and pepper

Directions

Mix everything together, with the spinach being the last ingredient added, in a large bowl. Spoon the filling into the pie dough. Roll out another batch of dough to cover the top of the pie. Bake for about 30 mins, or until golden from the outside. So delecious ^_^