Cracked Cauldron Spillings

We made Koulibiaca and Scottish Eggs for The Cauldron Crack'd, along with photos, and will be making a King Cake tonight, along with Banbury Tarts, a stew of some sort, and possibly another meat pie.

I managed to snap photos of the Egg and Koulibiaca, and will post them later, when I'm at the computer that has the right software on it.

If you haven't heard of Koulibiaca, it's a lovely hand-shaped rice and salmon Russian pie.

We made small ones with a deep well on top for the sauce. The filling distributed itself so only a portion was visible in the cut to show the interior. It looks remarkably white, with only a strip of carrot showing.

The pie itself is remarkably yummy - a medium grain rice, layers of boiled egg, carrots, celery, and other vegetables at hand, and rich seasonings all encased in a thick crust of chewy, flaky pastry.

When I make this family sized, I usually shape it like a salmon or a braid. For the small, individual sized pies, we made them with too much rice and not enough other filling, so we'll adjust the recipe, and make them again.

I adore Koulibiaca with a rich butter sauce, but any sort of complemetary sauce will go well with it. A Bernaise or even a country cream gravy would hold up well against this pie.

The eggs inside the Scottish Eggs are usually overcooked, but we'll share our technique for making tender delicious Scottish Eggs, and our favorite variation - the Cheesy Scottish Egg!

I like to make our own "forcemeat", but for The Cauldron Crack'd, I recommend using prepared pork sausage and a few easy to get herbs and spices to make it special.