[agonybag]

Dingwall,
I did avail myself of McKimmie's very generous offer of sending samples of his meat pie shells. He FedEXed four shells, two each of the two sizes he produces. They arrived in excellent condition and were absolutely wonderful. They baked up beautifully. The pastry is far superior to any that I have, so far, been able to make from my recipes. They were able to withstand an overly generous amount of filling without bulging at the sides or the lid pulling apart from the shell. We ate two of them fresh from the oven and froze the other two as soon as they were cool enough to place in the freezer. These we ate ten days later. There was no discernable diffference in the texture or flavour of the pies. I am still experimentig with the filling. For this last attempt I boiled the ingredients in home made beef stock instead of sauteing. It made a big difference. I think I am on the right track with that change

I am in hot pursuit of some "'Meat Pie Moulds". A fellow piper, who lives in Ayrshire, has twelve of them, not round but oval shaped. We may be able to make a trade of some sort. In the mean time I have forsaken cans, jars and bottles in my struggle to form beautiful meat pie shells. I will be in touch with McKimmie to place an order for his lovely pie shells. Would anyone besides myself like to know how McKImmie forms his shells so nicely?

Best wishes to all,
agonybag