13 Comments

Hi Hetty! I struggle the with immigrant thing too... I am an American living in Argentina with my husband ... we met in the States and he was considered an "immigrant". But now, 15 years later, I have been living in Argentina for quite a while and people generally think of me as an "expat". I often wonder why the difference? Why was he an immigrant but I am not? If you google it you will see that expat is supposed to be a temporary move, while immigrant is supposed to be permanent move. But I don't really buy that as I know a lot of permanent "expats". I think that how we interpret it culturally is very much related to projected socio-economic profiling... which is why you understandably have an uncomfortable relationship to the word. I do too.

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Hi Erinn, I do think you hit the nail on the head; "projected socio-economic profiling" is one of the factors in whether people are seen as immigrants or ex-pats. I get disappointed when I see the way the word "immigrant" is often used nowadays, which play into the stereotype of immigrant food being "scrappy" or somehow "economical". I think it is important to present our experiences truthfully and this means there is not one type of "immigrant" but many diverse, rich and often hard experiences of this life.

For me, ex-pats, rightly or wrongly, has felt like a more "temporary" arrangement, one that is associated with work, without really adopting the host country as a place of any permanence. This is probably an incorrect 'asssumption' but that is generally how I have seen the difference. I never really saw myself as an expat in NYC though, even in the beginning. Though to be truthful, not sure how I would have described myself in my early years. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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This pie looks so scrumptious! Will also be investing in a new cookbook too — 50 Pies 50 States sounds wonderful. I appreciate cookbooks that offer more depth in terms of an authors connection + how they relate to the world around them. Thanks for sharing your own immigrant story + insights too.

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Thanks Kris! Yes I love a cookbook that delves deep and looks beyond the stereotypes. You'll find that for sure in 50 Pies, 50 States. I hope you enjoy the pie too!

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Beautiful

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Thanks Hetty! I appreciate your reflections on being an immigrant and I look forward to trying this savoury pie recipe. You always have the most interesting flavour combos. Love the weekly menu, too!

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Thanks for reading Monica. I appreciate your kind words

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Ooh I'm excited to try this pie! Never made anything like it before.

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Hope you like it! It’s hard not to like actually 😍

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This sounds great. The instructions say ½ the cheese 3x - underneath the filling, on top of the filling, and on top of the top crust. Which should be omitted?

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So 1/2 on the base, then you halve the REMAINING cheese to use on top of the filling and then the rest for top of crust. So it’s used 3 times. It’s doesn’t matter if you just eyeball it. Doesn’t need to be exact. Hope that makes sense!

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Ah, fried rice redemption! Can’t wait to see if my oven does it better.

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Thank you and Stacey for the pie recipe, and indeed for bringing Stacey's book to my attention. I have really enjoyed finding recipes that I want to try.

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