Beef and Kidney Pie

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 425°.

   Step 2

   Put the sauce from the kidneys and from the beef into a small saucepan and heat. If it seems too thin, thicken it with a small amount of instant flour (about 1/2 teaspoon in a 1/2 cup of liquid), or, better still, massage about 1/2 teaspoon of flour into a teaspoon of butter, and drop a little bit at a time into the sauce, whisking, until it is lightly thickened. This may not be necessary if your cooking liquid is thick enough—about the consistency of a good gravy.

   Step 3

   Arrange the meats in a small casserole or baking dish, 2 inches deep and 5 inches in diameter. Pour the sauce over, taste, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Roll out the dough to a circle 6 inches in diameter or a little more, then roll it up on the rolling pin and drape it over the baking dish. Curl the dough that hangs over, and pinch it firmly all around the edge. Make two or three slashes on top, and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 375° and cook 10–15 minutes more, until lightly golden on top, with the juices bubbling through the slashes.