Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of those recipes that are theoretically planned for "leftovers" but really you end up needing to plan what exactly the leftovers will be and how much will be left over in advance. With that warning out of the way, it's a really tasty recipe. Very hearty and great on cold winter nights....or any other time really!

What you need:

Pie Crust:

2 1/4 c. flour

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. vegetable shortening

5-8 tbsp chilled cream

Filling:

3 tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic

~1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. cream

2 carrots

peas

corn

~1 c. chicken leftovers

Putting it together:

The first step and the reason that this recipe takes so long to make is the pastry crust. Sure you could buy the frozen crusts but trust me, they are just not very good. To prep in advance, chop up the shortening and pop it in the freezer. Place the cream in the freezer for a few minutes as well. The colder all the ingredients are, the better the pie crust will be. It keeps the butter from

melting from the heat of your hands and the pockets of butter make a light and flaky crust! Which brings me to my aside; pie hands! The best days to make pie crusts are those days when your hands are just really cold.

Ok so carrying on... I get a little distracted when I talk about pasty. Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add in the shortening and cut it in until it reaches the consistency of oats. Pastry cutters are available in most grocery stores now but if you don't have one, a fork will do (but take much longer) or a food processor although you have to be careful not to over process the flour and shortening. Then, a few tbsp at a time, add in the cream and mix with a fork until the dough just holds together. Make two balls of the dough and pat them into disks handling them as little as possible. Now pop the dough into the fridge for at least a half hour. Or make it the night before to speed up the whole process!

The tricky part is now over and you can relax! The filling is pretty easy. Melt the butter in a pan and add in the garlic until fragrant (30sec or so). Add the flour to the pan and allow to cook out for a few minutes. Stir in the milk and cream and it should turn into a nice sauce. Just throw in the veggies and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened to your liking. It doesn't take long at all!

Next up is assembly. Roll out one disk of dough and lay it in a pie pan, no buttering required! Pour in the filling. Roll out the second disk and lay it on top. Seal the edges however you want. Last step is to give the top of the pie an egg wash and poke some holes with a fork or knife so the steam can escape. Bake at 350F until golden brown (~30min).

Extra tips:

For handy clean up, bake the pie over a cookie sheet covered with foil. Sometimes the filling bubbles out if the crust isn't sealed completely.

Truthfully, this really can be a dish for leftovers. Vegetables you didn't finish can be thrown in. The best idea is to cook a full chicken earlier in the week and take the leftover meat from that for the pie. Other tasty add ins include onions and celery (best added with the butter in the beginning), pancetta (use the rendered fat for cooking the garlic), mushrooms....it's pretty open to interpretation.

Carrot Vichyssoise

It's been a pretty long time since I've posted. Not really for lack of cooking, but mostly out of laziness and incredible lack of free time. It turns out that a Masters degree require work! Who would have guessed that? But in the spirit of getting back in the game, I have several recipes and pictures on my computer that will be coming out in the next few days.

The first of my recipes needing to come out is a simple, elegant, easy, and above all tasty veggie soup dish that I love. Vichyssoise is just a fancy name for pureed soup with leeks and cream and stock, i.e. a soup. I highly recommend an immersion blender for this recipe because it helps achieve the velvety smooth texture that you just can't get with a blender when you're forced to blend it batches because the batch is too big and the blender is too small. Been there before. Also that way you risk having your soup explode out of the blender much like the Great Tomato Disaster of '05.

What You'll Need:

3-4 tbsp butter
2 leeks
4-6 carrots
chicken stock (or stock concentrate)
water
1c. milk
paprika
lemon juice

Putting It Together:

Let's start with the leeks. These belong in the same family as onions but have a milder flavour. Bigger isn't always better and the thinner leeks tend to be more tender. Take the leeks and cut off the roots and all the green leaving only the white portion. Slice it in half lengthwise and give it a good rinse under cold water. Leeks are grown in sandy soil and the whole sandy texture just doesn't go well with the soup. Once rinsed, cut them into rough chuncks about a half inch thick. While you're at it peel and chop the carrots into similar sized bits and set aside for later.

Now melt the butter in a pot and toss in the leeks. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook the leeks over medium heat until translucent. The idea is to soften the leeks but not caramelize and the salt helps the process along.

When the leeks look good and translucent (about 10min, but keep an eye on them!), add in the carrots and water/chicken stock. Because I'm cheap I but the concentrate so I toss in water and a few tbsp of the concentrate. With everything added, the temperature can be raised to a boil and left to cook.

The cooking time will depend on the size of the carrot pieces. But once tender (maybe 20min?) the soup is almost done. As a warning learnt over time, it can be great to cut big pieces if you want a late dinner but keep an eye on the pot! I've burnt a few soups by not checking the water level every so often.

Ok, the soup is now cooked and bot burnt and we're ready for the finishing touches. Remove the soup from the heat and while still hot, blend the whole mix with the milk added. The hotter the soup when you blend it, the smoother it will come. The last step is to add paprika and lemon juice to taste. Once it tastes the way you want it, you're ready to eat!

Some extra notes on the subject:

The soup goes great with some sliced baguette! Or other tasty dipping bread.

The same idea for the soup is pretty universal and can be used for any type of veggie soup you want. You can add tomatoes, celery, onions, etc. to the pot and call it veggie soup. Another good one is to start by fring bacon bits in the pot and use that oil to start the leeks (bacon bits removed), then add a few veggies and a lot of peas for a tasty pea soup topped with bacon. The possibilities are pretty much endless!