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Game and Macaroni Pie

A baked pie of macaroni, game, ham, mushrooms, and cheese, topped with butter and gravy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Mushroom and parmesan cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,199 recipes. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells apple, fatty. The science ↓

Game and Macaroni Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Cook the macaroni in boiling stock until tender but unbroken, then drain it.

Assemble the pie

  1. Layer the macaroni in a deep dish.

  2. Add the game and ham.

  3. Add chopped mushrooms.

  4. Season with pepper and coarse sea salt.

  5. Top with another layer of macaroni.

  6. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

  7. Dot with butter.

  8. Pour gravy mixed with cream or milk over the dish.

  9. Cover with a crust.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about one hour.

  2. Add more boiling gravy and milk if needed before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Mushroom + parmesan cheesetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,199 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  2. Mushroom + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,525 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  3. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Pipe macaroni
Forms the starchy layers that hold the pie together and soak up gravy.
Game
Provides the main meat flavor and firm, savoury texture of the filling.
Raw lean ham
Adds salty, savoury flavor that complements the game.
Gravy
Supplies moisture and savoury flavor that keeps the layers from drying out as they bake.
Cream or new milk
Adds richness and moisture to the gravy, softening the texture as it bakes.
Parmesan cheese
Adds salty, nutty flavor and browns on the surface in the oven.

The step that matters

Cook the macaroni until tender but unbroken. Pasta cooked too long will turn soft and break apart during baking, while undercooked pasta stays firm and may not soften in the oven. Tender but intact pieces hold their shape in the layers and absorb the gravy evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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