Tag: pot+pie

When the temperature drops and the sun calls it a day at around four o’clock, who wouldn’t want to weather the evening with a pot pie that isn’t just hearty and nourishing, but also has enough spice to feed the imagination. Pate Brise for a double crust pie. Par-bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes

The Filling

1. 2 tbs olive oil
2. ⅓ yellow onion
3. 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4. 1 lb cubed lamb for stewing (this will be more than you need for one pie, buteither pile it up or make another small pie)
5. ¼ cup all purpose flour
6. salt and freshly ground pepper
7. garlic, to taste
8. ⅛ tsp ground cumin
9. 1 saffron thread
10. ⅓ tbs peeled and minced fresh ginger
11. ¾ cup beef stock or prepared broth
12. ⅓ canned crushed tomatoes
13. ⅓ cup chopped dried dates
14. ⅓ grated zest and juice of a large orange
15. ⅔ tbs finely chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the onion; saute until slightly softened

Transfer to a bowl and set aside

Pat the lamb dry with paper towels

Place the flour in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper

Add the lamb in batches and stir to coat with the seasoned flour

Add the remaining tbs of oil to the pot and heat over medium-high heat

Working in batches to avoid crowding, add the lamb and brown on all sides

Transfer to a bowl and set aside

Return the onion mixture and browned lamb along with any accumulated juices to the pot

Add the garlic, cumin, saffron and ginger, and stir to coat the meat and vegetables

Add the stock and bring to a boil

Add the tomatoes, dates, orange zest and orange juice, and bring to a boil over high heat

Cover and bake in the oven until the meat is tender, about 1 hour

Taste and adjust the seasonings

Remove from the oven

Pile the lamb mixture into the par-baked bottom pie crust

Cover with the top crust

Make some steam vents

Preheat the oven to 400°

Bake for 20 minutes, until the top crust turns golden brown

Reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking, for another 45-55 minutes

Penelope got this recipe from an interesting man at a dinner party, who noticed her because she was the one who had brought the Dark Chocolate Tart with Candied Grapefruit Peel. Was she ever glad she’d gone to the cooking night with her friend, Steve. Frenchified though the tart was, it was also what down home Paula Dean would call, “a real man catcher.” So this person who lived alone (so far so good), liked to cook (better and better) and had traveled the world enough to know how to get from one end of a week to the other (jackpot!) told her that one of the best ways to make a delicious pot pie was with ingredients and seasonings that had been cooked or baked for another meal, and so had already become more complex. Wow, someone who wasn’t afraid of complications. In planning a big holiday dinner, he would choose all the ingredients he’d like for a pot pie: turkey, vegetables, potatoes, even stuffing, rich, dark gravy, and biscuits. Then he’d make enough extra, so instead of just having leftovers, he had all the ingredients for a great new meal. Over his second helping of pie, he asked Penelope what she thought of the idea? “Sounds great,” she said but was really thinking, “Anyone who can plan that far ahead can’t possibly have a commitment problem.”

Chicken Pot Pie

If you have lots of leftovers, combine the turkey (or chicken) with all the vegetables, potatoes, (even the stuffing, but not too much, it’s just for flavor) and gravy. Cut the biscuits in half and place the bottom rounds in a baking dish. Cover with the turkey or chicken mixture. Then put the top biscuits in rows to form a top pie crust. You might want to cover the top with a foil tent so it doesn’t burn. Bake in a 350° oven for about an hour. But if you’re starting from scratch…

Biscuit Pie Crust

1. 2 cups flour
2. 1½ tsp baking powder
3. ½ tsp baking soda
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 5 tbs butter
6. 2 tsp minced fresh sage
7. 1 egg
8. ½ cup plus 2 tbs buttermilk
9. egg wash (1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tbs milk)

Sift the flour and combine with baking powder, baking soda and salt

Work in the butter and sage

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stirring gently until a shaggy dough forms

Roll it out to ¼ inch thickness, then use a 2½ inch biscuit cutter to cut into rounds

Brush the top with the egg wash

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden

The Filling

1. 2½ cups chicken (or turkey, white or dark meat, or whatever was left over)
2. 2½ cups chicken stock
3. 3 carrots
4. 2 medium potatoes
5. 1 cup herbed stuffing (optional)
6. 1 stalk celery
7. 4 tbs salted butter
8. 12 small cremini mushrooms
9. 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
10. 5 tbs flour
11. 1 cup milk
12. ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
13. 2 tsp salt
14. fresh black pepper
15. 2 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
16. ¼ cup sweet peas

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil

Add the carrots, potatoes and celery

Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes

Drain the vegetables and reserve the stock

Set both aside separately

In a large saucepan, melt the salted butter and add the onion and cook 6-8 minutes

Add the mushroom and cook 5 minutes more

Add fresh thyme and 5 tbs flour and cook 2 minutes

Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly until combined

Add the stock and cook 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens; keep stirring

Add nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, pepper, parsley, chicken, vegetables and peas

Ellen Dunn from Highland Park, Illinois just outside Chicago told Penelope that after more than 10 years (if you counted summer stock) trying to make it as an actor (actually, in her un-p.c. day they were called actresses), “I finally realized it was time to try something else. But what?” To answer the question, I went to an all day seminar at Northwestern University given by a career coach who had helped a friend of mine. After the seminar I introduced myself and told her I couldn’t decide what to do with my life — law school? journalism? business?” Let’s flip a coin,” she said and dug a quarter from her bag. “What’s heads?” “Law school,” I said.”That’s it!” she said. “People always identify heads with what they really want.” So Ellen went to law school. She loved it. She graduated with honors, and a few years later became General Counsel of a big entertainment company. Sometimes you just need a little coaching. Or a good coin toss. And yay for Ellen because making your own luck is not pie in the sky. If things in your cubicle aren’t going so well, have a try at Penelope’s Pot Luck Pot Pie. It’s a little work intensive, but will keep you out of the stores. Plus, there’ll be a nice supper waiting for you for when you get home. For a couple of nights, anyway. You can use chicken, beef or vegetables.

Pot Luck Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe on epicurious.com from Bon Appetit 1995 got universally good reviews, but with everyone agreeing it was better to use cream of chicken soup instead of the broth, or to add some heavy cream if you did use broth. One person suggested using left over roast chicken. Another good idea was to use rosemary instead of sage. The best suggestion was to get your boyfriend to cut up the potatotes. Penelope’s Ultimate Pie Crust for a double crust pie. Or a double Bisquick crust.

1. 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2. 1½ teaspoons dried rubbed sage
3. 8 ounces skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
4. 1½ tablespoons butter
5. 1⅓ cups canned chicken broth
6. 1½ cups frozen mixed vegetables

Preheat oven to 425°

Make the pie crust dough

Prebake the bottom crust, about 15 minutes

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and ½ teaspoon sage

Season the chicken with salt and pepper

Add the chicken to the flour; toss to coat

Melt butter in heavy large skillet oven medium-high heat

Add the chicken and any remaining flour to skillet and stir until chicken is brown, about 5 minutes

Mix in the broth, vegetables and 1 teaspoon sage

Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits

Reduce the heat, cover the skillet and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes

Season with salt and pepper

Pour the chicken filling into the pie crust

Cover with the top crust and bake for about 20 minutes, until the chicken mixture is bubbling and the top crust is golden.