My father, when he baked mincemeat pie, enlivened it with whatever he found that looked good. Apples, raisins, wine, black walnuts, prunes, whatever. His pies were always spectacular.
I used to can mincemeat with meat from my mother's recipe, which I cannot find. So for a few years, I pretty much followed recipes for mince pie found on jars and boxes, and didn't experiment much. They tasted good, but were no challenge.
Last year I got out my deep dish pie pan, lined it with pastry, rolled up my sleeves, and prepared to plump up the volume and taste of canned mincemeat. It turned out so good, I made another pie for my sister. (She and I are the only mince-pie eaters in the present family.) To a one-pie size jar of Crosse & Blackwell's Mincemeat I added: a half cup of orange-flavored Craisins that had soaked in brandy and rum until soft (also add the liquors the berries are in), a half-cup of sugarless orange marmalade with lots of peel in it, half of a tart apple, chopped, and a third of a cup of chopped walnuts. Yummy!
Now it's April, and I'm making mince pie again. This time I added a whole large apple, sliced, lemon zest chopped fine, a splash of hearty red wine, burgundy to be exact, and lots of pecans. I layered the filling. A layer of sliced apples, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and lemon zest, a layer of mincemeat mixed with pecans and wine.
My sister says this is the best one yet. However, I've only begun to create!
Mincemeat Pie
Enough crust prepared for a two-crust pie
1 jar of Crosse and Blackwell's Mincemeat
any other additions that appeal to you
If you wish to make your pie a traditional "meat" pie, shred some cooked beef or pork as for a barbecue, and add that to your prepared mincemeat.
Fill pie shell, and cover with top crust. Cut in slashes for the steam to vent.
Bake at 400° for ten minutes. Turn oven down to 350°, and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Cover edges of crust if they get too brown.
