The $1,000 Salmon-Cheese Pie; that sheen on top is a little melted butter because, oh, why not…

HAPPY PI DAY! Who says you have to celebrate with a sweet treat? I prefer a savory pie.

When the snow and cold call for a comfort food supper, I sometimes turn to this trusty standby, the $1,000 Salmon-Cheese Pie. (Full disclosure: I make this in warm months, too.)

The delish dish came from the remains of one of Mom’s tattered cook booklets. It was a collection of prize winners for a recipe contest—perhaps Pillsbury, since that flour is specified—some 60 years ago. I have a photo copy of the worn, taped-together pages 50-51 featuring the 3rd place choice in the Junior Contest.

It was won by a Great Laker, Miss Lynn Fernald of St. Cloud, Minnesota, who is pictured “admiring the electric range which was one of the prizes she won with her remarkable main dish pie.”

Keep a can of salmon on hand for this occasional (oh that crust! that sauce! that cheese!) meal which, in today’s dollars, would be
an $11,000 +/- pie.

$1,000 Salmon-Cheese Pie

Salmon and onion filling and cheese slices are baked between two tender biscuit crusts, then served with creamy vegetable sauce.

Serves 4 – 6

(Note: I share my tweaks and I include the brand names from the original recipe, but feel free to substitute, of course…)

Sift together…
2-1/4 C sifted Pillsbury’s Best Enriched Flour
3 tsp Calumet Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cut in…
1/3 C Homogenized Spry (I use butter) until mixture resembles coarse meal
Combine…
2 eggs
1/2 C milk
Beat well. Add to dry ingredients and mix with a fork only until all flour is moistened.
Roll out…
two-thirds of dough on well-floured pastry cloth or board to 11-inch circle. (Dough is sticky so I put it between two pieces of wax paper). Fit dough into a 9-inch pie pan or 8-inch deep dish pan.
Drain…
1 large can salmon, saving 2 T salmon juice. Flake salmon into bowl, remove skin and bones (although now the thinking is to leave these in for the nutrients, so I leave most of the skin and small bones), add 1 T grated onion. (I sprinkle with a little lemon juice.)
Turn…
into biscuit-lined pan.
Slice…
1/3 pound thinly sliced cheese (I use cheddar or a combo of cheddar and Monterey Jack) and cover the salmon in the pan. (If extra comfort is in order, I first place additional cheese on the crust before adding the salmon, topped with more cheese.)
Roll out…
remaining dough into a 7-inch circle. Center and place it on top of cheese/salmon (it will not touch the biscuit already in the pan).
Bake…
at 375 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

While the pie is baking, make the
Vegetable Sauce
Melt 1/4 C butter in saucepan. Blend in 1/4 C flour and 1 tsp. French’s Prepared Mustard (I prefer mustard with a kick, whatever we have on hand). Mix well. Slowly add 2 C milk. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until thick. Add 2 C any desired cooked green vegetable (I always use frozen peas). Salt and pepper to taste.

RECIPES ARE CREDITED AS POSSIBLE. PHOTOS AND STORIES ARE © KATH USITALO AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT HER EXPRESSED PERMISSION AND COMPENSATION.