Spiced Pork Pie

Make the mashed potatoes first, ideally the day before. Fill a large pot with cold water and add the cut up potatoes to it. Salt the water generously. Bring it to a boil and let them cook until completely tender for about 20 minutes. When they are done, drain them and add them to a large bowl. Then combine the butter, garlic, and milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it all for a minute. Pour it into the cooked potatoes and mash it all together thoroughly until you have creamy mashed potatoes. Then set them aside if making them the same day or seal them in a container overnight.

Then start on the pork filling. Get out a large skillet with deep sides and combine the ground pork, chicken stock, white wine, onion, salt, garlic powder, herbs de provence, cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper in it. Bring it to a low boil over medium high heat, stirring often and breaking up the pork. Let it simmer for 30 minutes to completely meld together and evaporate all of the liquid.

While the pork cooks, make the dough for the crust. Combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl and whisk it together to aerate them. Then use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the mixture becomes pebbly and moist. Then stir in the ice water. Start with 1/2 cup and see if it brings it together. This can be affected by temperature and humidity. If it is still too crumbly, add more just until you get a soft dough. Bring it together into a ball, then cut it in half. Roll each half into a ball, then press them down into discs. Wrap them each in plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

When the filling is completely dry, take 1 1/2 cups of the mashed potatoes you made and stir it into the rest of the filling thoroughly. The rest make great leftovers! Take the pan off of the heat and set it aside to cool a bit. At this point, the dough should just about be ready.

Preheat oven to 400ºF and get out a pie dish and spray it with cooking spray. Turn the first disc of dough out onto a well floured, clean surface and roll it out into a thin disc about 10 inches in diameter. Gently roll the disc around the rolling pin, then unroll it into the pie dish. Press it firmly into the dish evenly, making sure there is a slight overhang.

Spoon the filling into the crust in an even layer. Then repeat the process for rolling out the second disc of dough, unrolling it on top of the filling. Crimp the edges from the top and bottom crust together firmly. Use a fork to pierce the top crust all over for ventilation, then use the tines to press the edge really firmly and make a pretty design. Brush the crust generously on top with the milk, then place the assembled pie on a sheet tray before you bake it for 30 minutes. Let it cool for a couple of minutes when it is done, then slice and serve immediately!