Friday, is Pie day!

(Featuring a Chicken, Bacon,Mushroom, Leek & Tarragon plate pie.)

There can now be little doubt that we are experiencing the last remaining vestiges of the British summertime.

The opportunity for alfresco dining is fleeting now, and once again, my thoughts turn to a more autumnal style of cooking. Unlike my brother Dave, (who last month decided, quite inexplicably, that the time was right for `Beef stew & dumplings!`) I much prefer this transition from one season to another to be something of a gentle segue, rather than a sudden jolt from `salad to stew!` There will time enough this coming winter, for hearty, suet puddings of steak and offal, but for now, I will be taking a lighter approach. This approach includes the accompanying side dishes, (although I was later overruled by Gina on this point.) and beer matching. The time shall come for rich, dark Stouts and

Porters and hearty Belgian quadrupels, but that time is not quite yet. (Although, who knows what tomorrow shall bring.)

The Pie:

The pie filling is comprised of organic chicken breast, saved from Sunday lunch. The chicken was originally cooked in the Cobb BBQ system, and was stuffed generously with garlic and lemons, with more of the same, along with a glass of dry white wine added to the moat, for the purpose of gently steaming the bird to help keep it moist.

Chicken and mushrooms were both sliced thickly, Leeks and smoked streaky bacon, (also cut into chunks) are gently sauteed in butter, a little flour is added and cooked through before the addition of FGBP and a generous sprinkling of dried tarragon.

I want the finished pie`s filling to be more of a sauce than a robust gravy, and so the roux is let out using full fat organic milk.

The pie filling is layered and piled high in my enameled camping plate, the top receives a liberal egg wash and is baked in a hot oven for 50 minutes.

The sides (including the all important beer match.)

My original idea was to keep the overall dish light, by serving it with buttered new potatoes and a steamed green vegetable. Gina then reminded me that the fridge contained cooked white cabbage and broccoli as well as braised onions and garlic cloves, left over from cooking the schweinsaxe. And that is how, in the interests of #ZEROFOODWASTE

we accompanied the finished pie with bubble and squeak. (Please remember folks. `If it ain`t burnt! it ain`t bubble!`)

The accompanying Beer!

A plate pie of this type calls for a British beer. Once again I was of a mind to keep things light! (although the bubble & squeak had slightly scuppered that plan.) I opted for the classic, Cornish IPA, Proper Job. The combination of Willamette, Cascade, and Chinook hops would perfectly match the lemon and tarragon in the pie, while the 5.5% alcohol would stand up to the crisp earthiness of the bubble & squeak.

Winter is most definitely coming. But it is not here yet!

Cheers Chums!