Homemade Pizza Crust

Mr. Monkey thinks I'm crazy that I love cold pizza.  He wants his pizza leftovers warmed up and doesn't get the hype.  Maybe it's a throwback to when I was a teenager or even when I was in college, but I think a good pizza should taste great hot and cold.  Some pizza tastes fine hot, but as soon as it gets cold it's nasty.  Cold pizza makes a great breakfast, and if Mr. Monkey doesn't finish off his portion of the leftovers, then I'm going to have them for breakfast tomorrow! Hah!

You may wonder with all of this pizza talk why I'm including the recipe for the crust, but not the pizza itself.  Mainly it's because I was just giving this a trial run and didn't really pay any mind to quantities.  I also plan on making this again, so when I do I'll pay attention and post the recipe for the pizza as a whole.  I've got some ideas including redoing the roasted chicken pizza that you see above, a BBQ pork pizza, and maybe a cajun seafood pizza.  If you want a full recipe right away, then click here.

Homemade Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 
• 3 1/2 cups flour (bread flour or all purpose flour)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix yeast and warm water in a large bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.  Stir the remaining yeast if not fully dissolved after 5 minutes.
2. Stir together the flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar until the dough is smooth and elastic.  If the dough seems too wet, then add flour.  If you're going to use the rosemary for extra flavor, then make sure to add it with the other ingredients.
3. Coat a bowl lightly with olive oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl.  Roll it around to get covered in the oil, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
4. Let the bowl sit in a warm place for at least 2 hours.  Allowing it to sit longer will improve the taste.
5. While the dough is rising, lightly dust a large cookie sheet (round or rectangular) with flour or corn meal.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  It should be allowed to heat up for at least 30 minutes to an hour before you bake the pizza.
6. Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl, and punch the dough down to deflate it.  Remove it from the bowl and divide in half. 
7. Take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a lightly floured workspace.  Starting from the center, press the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.  Turn and stretch the dough until will not stretch any further.  Let the dough rest about 5 minutes.
8. Repeat step 7 until the dough is the desired size.  If you are worried about the dough tearing, then you can press it out once, and then place it in the pan to further press and stretch it.
9. Move the dough from the workspace to the pan.  Brush the top with a little bit of olive oil before you add your sauce and toppings.
10. After adding your toppings, bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese (if you added it) is golden and the crust is browned.

Makes 2 12 inch pizzas.

No Knead Bread - Easy to Make!

I love bread.  I don't think I could go on one of those diets where you give up all pastas, breads, and the like.  My grandpa would bake bread, and I remember how it smelled in the house.  I always wanted to bake my own bread, but had convinced myself it was difficult and therefore I had to either settle for a bread machine or just buy some from the store.  I did have a bread machine for a while, and it was neat... but HUGE.  I didn't even have the largest one you could get, and it took up so much space!  I opted to not keep it a few years back when I needed to move.  I was stuck buying bread from the store, convinced that making a nice crusty loaf of bread was far too difficult for a mere mortal.

And then I heard word of a no knead bread via this recipe.  "There has to be a catch," I speculated.  There is a slight catch, and that is time.  Since you're not kneading the dough you let it rise for several hours.  We're talking around 18 hours here.  At least 20 if you include the 2 hour rest before baking.  This may seem overwhelming, but it's not.  Simply mix everything up, cover it, and leave it alone.  Do whatever you would normally do during the day.

This bread has a nice crusty outside with a soft inside.  The outside part will lose some of that crustiness as it sits, but you can pop it back in the oven to crisp it up.  I also highly recommend mixing rosemary and/or whole garlic cloves into the dough, as it makes a wonderful side to any Italian dish.

No Knead Bread - Basic Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour (bread flour or unbleached all purpose flour)
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp fine table salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water 

You will also need:

• A pot or dutch oven with lid that is oven safe to 450 degrees
• Parchment paper or silicone mat (oven safe to 450 degrees required) if not using a well seasoned cast iron pot 
• Plastic wrap
• Large bowl 

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, and warm water together in a large bowl until combined.  The dough will be very shaggy looking.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest for at least 18 hours.  Make sure that it is in a warm (but not hot) location!
3. When you come back to the dough it will have increased in size and be all bubbly and sticky.  Lightly flour a small sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat, and turn the dough out of the bowl onto it using either a wet spatula or wet hands.  If you're using a well seasoned cast iron pan, then simply lightly flour your counter top.
4. Fold the dough end to end a few times and form a ball.  Place this ball, still on the paper or mat, back into the bowl it rose in, and cover the bowl loosely with a towel.  Allow to rest for at least 2 hours.
5. An hour into the rest period, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Place the covered pot you will be using into the oven while it is preheating.
6. Once the 2 hours is up, carefully remove the pot and add the dough being careful to make sure the paper or mat goes into the pot first so it rests on the bottom.
7. Bake covered for 30 minutes.  Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is nicely golden.  The bread will make a low, hollow type sound if you tap it.

Makes great open faced sandwiches and french toast too!

Pumpkin Pie Purse

Sometimes I find myself with odd amounts of ingredients.  I had leftover pumpkin puree from a pasta dish I had made previously, but it wasn't enough to make a whole pie.  I also had some puff pastry from a dinner that was supposed to be a Guinness steak and cheese pie, but ended up being stew due to me forgetting to take the puff pastry out of the freezer. -_-  I wanted to make a dessert with the pumpkin, and I wasn't sure what to do with the puff pastry.  I decided to try to make a pumpkin purse of sorts.

I like the idea of fruit purse type desserts, but the last time I had one it was quite disappointing.  The taste was good, but there wasn't much apple at all for the amount of pastry present.  Considering I paid $4 for it, I was pretty annoyed.  With this, I wanted to make sure there was a decent amount of pumpkin in the center.  I have a very small casserole dish that my mom gave me.  It must be 4 inches wide and about 3 inches or so deep.  It was perfect for this, and I ended up with a dessert that could make 4 moderately sized portions or two larger sized portions.

The bake time is approximate.  I set it for 25 minutes originally, and then kept incrementing the time up as I checked it to see if it was done.  The total bake time was probably close to 40 minutes, but I advise you keep a close eye on it past 30 to make sure all is going well.

Pumpkin Pie Purse

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg - lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
• 1 tbsp buttermilk (heavy cream or regular milk will also work)
• 1 sheet of puff pastry- thawed if frozen
• Flour for rolling the puff pastry out
• Honey for brushing the top - optional

Directions:

1. Lightly flour the surface of a board or counter.  Spread puff pastry sheet out on the floured surface, and sprinkle a little flour on the sheet itself.
2. Using a floured rolling pin, large bottle, or large glass roll the pastry sheet out slightly so it will be thinner.
3. Cut the pastry sheet in half.
4. Lightly flour a small (approximately 4 inches) casserole dish or baking pan.
5. Carefully place one half of the pastry sheet in the casserole dish with the extra part hanging over the sides.  Carefully place the other half perpendicular to the other pastry sheet (think of a plus sign +).  Keep the sides of both sheets hanging out, and lightly press them together and make sure no part of the inside of the dish is exposed (no pumpkin leaks!).
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Mix the pumpkin with both of the sugars, the egg, cinnamon, and seasoning.  Stir until well combined.  The mixture will be visibly lighter in color than the original puree.
8. Spoon the mixture into puff pastry.
9. Fold one end of the pastry over the mixture.  Use a little water on the end of the next fold to make them stick together.  Repeat until the folds cover the pastry.  Use a little water to make sure the purse is sealed.
10. Brush surface with a little honey if desired.
11. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, checking at the 35 minute mark to make sure the pastry is puffing and turning golden.  The purse will be done when the pastry is puffed, flaky looking, and lightly browned/golden.

Serves 2 to 4

Golden Rum Cake

Today's my anniversary with Mr. Monkey!  It's been three years since we've been together, and I'm looking forward to several more.  I wanted to make something special for the occasion, but I haven't built up a lot of my baking supplies from when we moved.  I hunted around and found this recipe over at Food Blogga.  It's taken from the Booze Cakes cookbook, which I've now determined that I must get my hands on.  This cake is seriously simple to make, and it tastes so good!  A warning about the glaze... you put the rum in AFTER the main part of the glaze has cooked on the stove!  This means the glaze will be very strong tasting (which is awesome), and it will have alcohol in it.

The cake was a big hint with Mr. Monkey, and I sent him to work today with a slice that I made sure to get a good bit of glaze on.  I had a piece this morning for breakfast (don't judge me), and it was nice, moist, and delicious.

Honestly, I just love any excuse to use my bundt pan.  It's purple, it's Nordic Ware, and it's awesome.  Plus it has it's own cake carrier that it came with.

Happy anniversary Mr. Monkey! <3

Golden Rum Cake!


Cake Ingredients:

• 2 sticks ( 1 cup) unsalted butter - room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup dark rum
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) of butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark rum 
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour a 9 to 10 inch Bundt or tube cake pan.
3. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating after adding each egg.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. In another bowl (or in the measuring cup you use for the milk if it's big enough), stir together the milk, rum, and vanilla extract.
7. Beat the flour mixture and milk mixture into the mixing bowl with the butter. 
8. Pour batter into pan, and bake for an hour (or until golden brown).
9. Cool cake on rack, and then place on serving platter (or carrier platter).
10. For the glaze: In a small pot melt the butter over low heat, and then stir in the sugar and water.   Raise heat slightly and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the rum.
11. Slowly pour the glaze over the top and sides of cake until completely absorbed.  You can also dust with confectioner's sugar (I forgot to!) before serving.

Makes 10 servings (in theory...).

Acorn Squash for Breakfast!

That wee little sock monkey is encouraging you to try something new!  What is that?  Acorn Squash for breakfast, that's what!  Acorn squash has a slightly sweet taste on it's own, and the texture can be pretty smooth (especially if you puree it).  It takes a little bit to bake it, but when it's done you can either eat it all on its own, or mix with something else.  You could even make muffins and bread as you would with pumpkin!

Steel-cut Oatmeal with Acorn Squash mixed in!

Basic Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 large acorn squash - should feel heavy and firm to the touch 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
3. Place acorn squash in center of the pan, and place pan in the oven.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, turning the squash at least twice during baking time to ensure even cooking.
5. Squash will be done when you can easily slide a paring knife into the side.
6. Remove squash from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before attempting to handle it.
7. When squash is cool enough to handle (but not cold), slice in half.  Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.
8. Remove the meat from the skin.  There will be harder woody parts inside where the ridges of the squash were, so be sure to remove those too.
9. Either puree the squash or mash with a large spoon. 

From here you can add honey, brown sugar, butter, or cinnamon if you so desire and eat it on its own.  You can also mix it with oatmeal, or use it in place of pumpkin in a pumpkin recipe.

Serves 2 to 4 depending on serving size.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Buckwheat Honey Buttercream Filling

Last week I was trying to think of what I wanted to bake.  I had some pumpkin to use, and was debating on making a bundt cake or something else.  I grabbed my Whoopie Pies cookbook by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell and found just what I wanted to make.  The pumpkin whoopie pie recipe was easy, but then came the hard part... what kind of filling should I use?  I wanted something that would make me think of fall and complement the pumpkin flavor.  I almost made a regular buttercream filling and subbed the vanilla with a pumpkin pie coffee syrup I just bought.  Instead I found the honey buttercream filling and opted for that.

The buckwheat honey isn't a requirement, but I chose it because of it's strong flavor.  I wanted a honey that was rich tasting and that wouldn't be overpowered by the rest of the filling.  Buckwheat honey is a very dark brownish amber color that reminds me a lot of molasses.  I got my honey from a local vendor at the Farmer's Market.  If you can't get this kind of honey, then any type you have on hand will do just fine.

I subbed 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie seasoning for the allspice and nutmeg since the pie seasoning contained both, and I had it on hand.  I also used a roasted ground ginger.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp roasted ground ginger
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin (do not use pre-seasoned!)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift (or whisk) together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie seasoning, and salt in a separate bowl.
3. Either using a mixer with a paddle attachment or by hand, beat the brown sugar and butter together in a bowl until just combined.  Add the pumpkin and egg, beating well.  Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.  Be sure to scrape the sides and under the batter mixture to make sure that all the dry ingredients are combined with the wet.
5. Using either a small ice cream scoop or a cookie scoop, drop scoops of batter onto the prepared baking sheets spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Be sure to have an even amount of scoops so each pie half has a "buddy" for filling!
6. Bake one sheet at a time for about 15 minutes each, or until the cakes are firm to the touch.
7. Cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. 

Yield: I ended up with 30 total halves, enough for 15 whoopies.  This was using a cookie scoop.

Note: You can reuse the parchment paper, so if you have more whoopie pies to scoop than pans to fill, then you can remove the pies from the paper when they are cooled, and then add more dough to the sheets. 

Buckwheat Honey Buttercream Filling

Ingredients:

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar (icing sugar)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp buckwheat honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1.  Beat together the confectioners' sugar and the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
2. Add the heavy cream, honey, lemon juice, and salt.  Mix until smooth. 

Now if you're like me, your kitchen will still be pretty stinking warm from cooking the whoopie pies.  If you're also like me, then you're wanting to taste these really bad and will dump all the filling into a pastry bag and start filling whoopie pies as soon as they are cool.  The filling will get oozy!  Still delicious, but an oozy mess.  If you have the patience, then I would recommend covering the filling and putting it in the fridge for about 30 minutes before using it to fill the whoopie pies.  This gives the kitchen a chance to cool off, and will help the filling not get oozy while you're working with it.  Feel free to use a pastry bag or just grab a spoon, knife, or spatula and fill away!

Fluffernutter Cookies - Only Three Ingredients!

There was a time I didn't know what Fluffernuters were.  In fact that time was as recently as last week.  I kept seeing people talk about it, and I would scratch my head and shrug.  Traditionally, a fluffernutter is a sandwich that is made with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff (or marshmallow cream if you don't have the specific brand).  It sounded wonderful, and I nearly made one for myself with some leftover marshmallow cream that I had, but then I saw this recipe over at Picky Palate.

I was skeptical. Only three ingredients?  How will that even work?  What if they are just an oozy mess?  Maybe I should try adding something else?  In the end, I decided to give it a shot.  I didn't have QUITE a full cup of the marshmallow cream, but even so they turned out delicious.

Fluffernutter Cookies!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup marshmallow cream
• 1 cup peanut butter 
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and put to the side.
3. Mix the egg, marshmallow cream, and peanut butter  until just combined.  You want to have a nice marbling in the marshmallow cream.
4. Scoop the dough onto the pan with a cookie scoop leaving about an inch or two between the cookies.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch out for the browning of the peaks to prevent burning.  The cookies may be fairly gooey when you take them out, but they will set as they cool.
6. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack (and try not to eat them all while moving them to the rack!).

Yields 15 to 18 cookies depending on scoop size.

Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins

 My boyfriend and I are doing what we can to save money due to job situations.  Saturdays used to involve us going out for breakfast before we got groceries, but we've since decided to have breakfast in house.  I still wanted Saturday breakfast to be somewhat special, so I decided to bake something simple using whatever I had.  I found this recipe for a chocolate chocolate chip muffin, but I didn't have nearly enough chocolate chips.  Undaunted, I used cinnamon instead which resulted in a warm, spicy chocolate muffin that went over well for breakfast.

As a side note, I did this both with and without cupcake wrappers.  The muffins without seemed be a bit more moist, but this may just be my imagination.  Either way, if you do not have any wrappers you'll be perfectly fine.

Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup + 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake wrappers, or lightly spray the cups with cooking spray.
3. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon into a large bowl. 
4. Whisk the dry goods together until well incorporated, and then add the chocolate chips. 
5. Whisk the milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl or large measuring cup.
6. Pour the liquid into the bowl with the dry goods and stir until mixed.  Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the dry ingredients get fully combined with the liquid.  The batter may be lumpy which is OK.
7. Spoon the batter into the cups filling each around 2/3rds of the way full.  If you have any leftover batter, then use it to top off the cups until they are all even.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, full, and springy.  You can also put a toothpick in the center of each to test to see if they are done.  If the toothpick comes out clean, then they are cooked all the way.
9. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes prior to serving.

Yields 12 muffins.  I'll leave it up to you to determine how many is a serving. ;)

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Scones!

I love to cook, but sometimes I cook to soothe anxiety or perk me up from a bit of depression.  Cooking takes my mind off of whatever stimulus has it in a funk.  It refocuses and re-centers me.  Having a recipe I find turn out awesome brings me a lot of joy, especially when it's one that is practical.

Yesterday I was in a gloomy spot, and I realized I needed to do something quickly to fix the problem or else my whole day would be consumed by it.  I decided that I should bake something, and I should use the cocoa powder.  I didn't want to make a cake so soon after finally getting done with the last one, and suddenly I thought of scones!  After digging around a bit, I found this recipe from the Paris Pastry blog.  It seemed simple enough, and I had everything the recipe required in stock.  The scones were super yummy, and they were fun to make since the last little bit involved some hands on (or hands IN) TLC.

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ sticks tablespoons butter, cold, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 large whole egg
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream (Might want to keep the container handy, I had to use approximately 1/4 a cup extra because this wasn't enough)
• Also have 1 large egg yolk (or 1 tbsp egg substitute) and 1 tbsp heavy cream to brush over the scones prior to baking.
• Granulated sugar to sprinkle over the brushed scones prior to baking

Directions:

1. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until well combined. 
3. Add the butter and either use a blender with a pastry attachment, or hand cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a stiff spatula.  The mixture will coarse and crumbly with a few larger butter clumps. 
4. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Whisk the whole egg and heavy cream together in a separate container. Stir into the flour mixture until the dough just comes together. Make sure to get all the dry crumbs under the forming dough, and add more cream as necessary.  If you need to add more cream, then add it a little bit at a time so the dough doesn't get runny.
6. Lightly flour a surface (a clean counter top will do), and pull the dough out onto the surface.  Gently knead it into a rectangle (3x18 inches, 1 inch thick works), and either use a knife or a pastry cutter to cut the dough into triangles.
7. Place the triangles onto the lined cookie sheet, and place the scones into the refrigerator for around 30 to 45 minutes.  You may want to cover the sheet with plastic wrap if you're worried about odor.
8. When it is nearly time to take the scones out of the fridge, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
9. Whisk the egg yolk and heavy cream together and brush over the top of the scones.
10. Sprinkle the sugar on the scones after brushing them with the egg and cream mixture.
11. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to make sure the sugar turns a nice golden color all over.  A toothpick or cake tester inserted into the scones should come out clean (unless you hit a chocolate chip).
12. Remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.  Try not to devour them all immediately.

Should make 10 or so scones, but your mileage may vary according to how large or small you cut them! :)

Snacks and breakfast!

I'll post the recipe tomorrow morning!

Oven Baked Natchitoches Meat Pie Recipe

I have a confession to make: I have a bad habit of picking the most complicated version of something new when I want to learn something. Case in point, several months back I hadn't baked a cake in a while, so the first one I did was a triple layer cake with lemon, lime, and orange for the layers. Oh, and marshmallow between the layers. It turned out fine despite its insistence on trying to fall apart when I was putting it together, but I could have just done something easy... like a chocolate cake. I just get these ideas, and I want to see them through.
This recipe came about when I was thinking of making a pot pie, but then remembered how good Natchitoches meat pies are. I hadn't had one in a long time, and I didn't have a good setup for deep frying. I also figured doing it this way would be healthier. Well, healthier in the "slightly better than the alternative" sense.
Traditional Natchitoches meat pies are usually made as individual pies (think empanada) and fried. This version is made in a regular pie shell and baked. While less portable (and a touch less fun), this does make them ever so slightly healthier. At least I'd like to pretend it does. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchitoches_meat_pie
This recipe is adapted from Emeril's recipe (which is just odd, I would never think him to have a recipe, much less a decent one) which is on FoodNetwork.com.
Ingredients
For the filling:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork sausage (I prefer the hot sausage)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (such as Tony's or Slap Ya Mamma)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

For the pastry:

• Two 9" pie shells. Thaw the one that will be filled, and keep the one that will be the top portion chilled.

Alternatively...

• One 9" pie shell thawed, and one rolled out pie dough (you can find these in the section with the canned biscuits in the store).

Why the different methods? Because fitting the rolled dough over top the filled pie shell might be easier than ripping out the dough of another pie shell and trying to not completely tear it up in the process (I tried and failed). Buying a two pack of pie shells is cheaper than buying a pie shell & rolled dough. Keeping the other crust chilled SHOULD help.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large skillet heat oil and cook beef and pork sausage, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, salt, cajun seasoning, cayenne, and black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the meat mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the green onions. Mix well and let cool for a few minutes.
Scoop mixture into thawed pie shell making sure to spread it evenly in the pie shell. Once full cover with the other pie crust (removed from the pie plate of course) or the rolled dough. Cut a few holes in the crust to vent. Place the filled pie on a cookie sheet, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pie crust is lightly browned.
Remove pie from oven and allow to cool before slicing.
Serves 4.