Cousin Jack's for Cornish Pasties

Grass Valley, CA
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​While recently visiting this once booming, gold mining town, we found this wonderful pasty shop.

To clarify what a pasty is not... pronounce the first syllable like past not paste.  I happen to know this fact because my husband's mom used to make delicious meat pasties from scratch.

A Café and Shop
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​We arrived just after Cousin Jack's opened at 10:30 and found a woman behind the counter busily rolling out dough. 

The shop and the tiny cafe next door were  beginning to fill with baking smells. The shelves and counters were packed with yummy and usable sale items from imported jams and homemade cookies to aprons and teapots.

​What are Cornish Pasties?
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​Pasties are hearty (empanada style) pies filled traditionally with beef or chicken.  Hardworking tin miners in Cornwall, England (known as Cousin Jacks) often ate these hefty meals in the mines because they were as easy to eat as a sandwich.

In the 1850's many Cornish miners immigrated to gold mines in the States, bringing their hard rock mining and pasty making skills. There were many  Cornish miners working in the the Grass Valley area years ago.  Their wives, called Cousin Jennies, filled their lunch buckets with pasties and tea before they headed hundreds of feet underground for work each day.

So Many Choices
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​Don and I ordered traditional pasties, although they offered some pretty curious options of pot roast, Greek and spinach-mushroom pasties.

As our order was being prepared, the woman's husband arrived in his apron and cap and was more than happy to tell us more of the history.  He was proud to tell us his wife's family had arrived from Cornwall 4 generations ago, with the pasty recipe that is still used. ​

​​And Dessert!
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Next we had to decide on dessert.  We handed over a selection of cookies and pies to add to our order and asked the man how he came to the area.  "I came here from Oklahoma during the depression."

He described the town when it was bustling with mining activity.  He seemed eager to remember those days.  "The town was literally booming from the drilling and blasting below ground!"  He chuckled when we gasped at the thought of living in a town jolted with regular booms!

​​The Team
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The husband and wife team graciously posed for a photo before we left.  I'm sorry I never got their names.  Surely not Jack and Jennie?

Don and I took our bag of piping hot pasties and sweet treats and hit the road.

​Pasty Picnic

​An hour later we stopped at a park in the town of Pleasanton and had our picnic.  I hated to destroy my chicken pasty by biting into it. The crust was a perfect, shiny brown with a raised letter "C" made from dough.  (Don's beef had a B of course)

The still warm pasties were excellent.  The pastry crust was mouthwatering and the filling was like a perfectly seasoned homemade stew.  My "Jenny" sized small was perfect. Don's "Jack" sized large was more than enough!  Now I'm going to hunt one more time in my  mother-in-law's old files and see if I can find her pasty recipe!
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