Nananeye's Muffled Pup - UPDATED

Today's post is actually a recipe for a meat pie, but it requires a bit of a preamble. It is from back in the days when Steve and I were just starting out. Now for the explanation of the recipe's name:

Nananeye = Nan and I. The recipe was created and named by Stephen, who often calls me Nan as a derivative of Wynn Anne.

Muffled Pup is because Wynn Anne asked Steve what he was serving at the very same moment that he said, “Here’s a muffled pop,” and opened a bottle of sparkling wine. Wynn Anne thought he was serving “Muffled Pup.” I don't think we have made this recipe in recent history, though we do always mention "muffled pup" when we uncork a fizzy bottle.

Steve corrected my version of events thus: “Muffled Pup” is because Wynn Anne asked Steve "What's that?" (meaning the food he had served). He had just opened a bottled of sparkling wine and thought she was asking about the uncorking sound, so answered, “A muffled pop." Wynn Anne thought he was serving “Muffled Pup.”

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Biscuit Dough

In bowl, combine WELL with a pastry cutter:

2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter or shortening

Keep blending until your shoulder aches and the mix looks like dust.

Make a hollow and pour in:

2/3 cup milk 

Stir gently to dampen the flour, and then stir vigorously until a soft dough is formed. Knead lightly. Pat or roll into a rectangle about 1/4" thick.

Line the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with the dough.

Meat Filling

Fry until meat is browned:

1 tbsp olive oil (if using extra-lean)
1 lb ground beef

Drain fat, then add:

1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 tsp garlic

Mix in:

1 can tomato soup
½ cup grated cheese

Spoon the meat mixture into dough-lined pan. Cover with more dough. Dot butter on top of dough (little daubs of about ½ tsp each, placed randomly) or sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake at 350° for ½ hour.

This brown bear is from Steve's and my first summer together, about the same time Steve invented Muffled Pup.

I gave Steve the brown teddy bear named Brian (and after whom our fourth child is named, if you can believe it). I chose that particular bear because, of all the perfect bears in the store, this one with its crooked smile and woebegone eyes looked most like it needed to be loved. The Piglet in the picture represents me and my fear of heffalumps. Piglet and Brian share a place of honour in our home.