You're very welcome John. I have a couple of recipes for pies if you are interested? The full pork pie has a line of hard boiled eggs running along it (it's rectangular, made for slicing), the other combines slice of country ham between layers of minced pork. I started making my own because shop pies were becoming increasingly bland (the lowest common denominator syndrome, beloved of supermarkets)and authentic local butchers are an endangered species nowadays.I love pork in all it's for,s but pork pies are high up the list. I make many variants - one that went down well was spiced up with diced cornichons and finely chopped Thai red peppers

Here's the recipe. Sing out if confused! It is delicious. Cheers Ingredients 6 eggs 400g minced pork 200g good-quality pork sausage meat (force meat In US I think. ) 140g cooked ham meat chopped into small chunks. (you could use your pork shoulder. This is for texture and isn't critical) Small handful sage leaves 1 small onion , finely chopped Few shakes Tabasco sauce 2 leaves gelatine (or thickened, I.e. boiled down stock) For the pastry 100g lard , plus extra for greasing Our lard is usually refined pork fat. 450g plain flour , plus extra for dusting 4 tbsp milk 1 egg , beaten Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then boil the eggs for Exactly 7½ mins. Cool in cold water, peel and set aside. Tip the pork, sausage meat, ham, sage and onion into a large bowl. Season generously and add a few shakes of Tabasco. Mix well with your hands until completely combined. Take about 1 tbsp of the mix, shape into a small burger and fry in A pan. Taste for seasoning. Slightly over-seasoned is perfect. Melt a few tbsps lard, brush a 1-litre terrine dish with an even layer of the melted fat, then dust with flour. To make the pastry, tip the flour into a bowl with 2 tsp salt. Put the lard and milk into a pan with 150ml water, then heat until the lard has completely melted. Pour into the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Tip onto the surface and knead until it all comes together. Cut a piece of baking parchment to fit the bottom and long sides of the terrine dish with some hanging over the edge. Take about two-thirds of the pastry dough and shape it into a rectangle roughly the width and length of the dish. Lay the dough into the terrine and, using your fingers, press it Into the bottom, the corners and up the sides of the dish until it comes to the top and hangs over the rim a little. Take half the meat mixture and pat it into a shape that will fit the terrine Dish, then lay it in. Use your fingers to make a trench down the middle of The meat. Trim the tops and bottoms off the eggs, lay them, in a row, along the trench, then season. Trimming the eggs like this ensures that each slice of pie will contain both egg white and yolk. Take the rest of the meat mixture, pat it out to a rectangle that will fit over the eggs, and press it over the top. Brush the overhang of the pastry with the beaten egg, then roll out the rest of the pastry to fit over the pie. Pinch edges together to fix the top. Brush top generously with egg and Pierce three holes along the top. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake for 30 mins. Lower the heat to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, then continue to cook for another hour. Leave to cool. Carefully turn dish upside-down onto a board and use the sides of the paper to pull the pie out of the dish. If sides aren't brown enough, return it to the oven On a baking tray at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 until coloured. Cool, then chill in the fridge. If you want to fill the pie with jelly, soak the gelatine in cold water and warm the stock until hot, but not simmering. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze to remove excess liquid, then stir into the stock to dissolve. Leave to cool to room temperature, then transfer to a squeezy bottle. Pour the jelly into one of the holes until it comes to the top. Place the pie on a dish in the fridge until the jelly has set, then repeat twice more, so the jelly has filled each hole. Leave to set in the fridge Overnight. Adding cooked meat These pies are a great way to use up Christmas ham. You could also include leftover strips/cubes of turkey, chicken or game bird, as well as a handful of shelled pistachios, some chopped prunes or chopped, dried apricots. Gelatine You don't need to use gelatine but if you want to this is a good tip to improve the taste of the jelly. If you have your own ham stock, boil it down By two-thirds to concentrate the flavour. You can also use homemade chicken stock that has been boiled down by half. Seasoning cold dishes Whenever you make a dish that is to be served cold, you need to season it more than usual as chilling will dull the flavour. Make a small burger out of the mix, fry it and taste for seasoning. Slightly over-seasoned is perfect Notes 1)This a Gordon Ramsey recipe. 2) I use a rectangular pan with a removable bottom and no lid recess as in terrines. It makes sealing the top easier 3) I quite often make this without the eggs and up the meat quantities by 25%. More often than not I make double and freeze the excess for next time 4) I only add things like cornichons and Chiles in the egg-less version. In season, when I can get them, I love adding fresh walnuts to this pie. Next year I am hoping my own walnut tree will fruit! Pistachios work well too.