Chicken Pot Pie is For Lovers

From Dish Paige!:

Every year my parents get me a present for Valentine’s Day, and depending on their availability, either one or both of them take me out to lunch as well. It’s sweet and I love it, and it doesn’t at all underscore the fact that I’ve never actually had anyone to celebrate the holiday with and that I’m going to grow old and die alone and it’s all Hallmark’s fault anyway because no one really cares about Valentine’s Day except for people who are single because, again, Hallmark designed this thing to sell chocolates to people who never thought they were lonely until a commercial told them so. Or err….

So last year my parents got me a set of 4 heart-shaped Le Creuset ramekins for the occasion, and I figured the best thing to do with them was make some mini Pot Pies.

To make the dough, I used my old stand-by recipe, which you can find here.

For the filling:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 three pound chicken
4 cups chicken broth
4 oz. pearl onions, peeled and sliced in half
5 oz. red potatoes, washed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 small/medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
2 small/medium turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
5 oz. (e.g. half a box) frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup milk
a few sprigs of thyme
salt & pepper
1 large egg

Directions:
Place the chicken and stock in a medium pot and add just enough water to cover the chicken. Bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through – about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, if you’re making your own dough, now would be a good time to do it! Then, peel/chop/slice your veggies. If you’re not making your own dough – well how about writing some haikus in the meantime?

Once the chicken is done, transfer it to a plate and set aside until it’s cool enough to handle. Strain 1 1/2 cups of the stock into a measuring cup and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375. Melt the butter in a large skillet or a medium pot (whatever), and add the potatoes, carrots, onions and turnips and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies begin to brown. While keeping an eye on the veggies, remove the skin and bones from the chicken and shred the meat into bite-size pieces. There will be more chicken then you actually need, but I’m sure you can figure out a use for the leftovers!

Once the veggies have browned, and a few sprigs of thyme to the pan and give it a stir or two. Next, add the flour and cook, stirring for about 1 minute. Add the reserved chicken stock and milk and bring to a simmer. Cook the mixture until it’s thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Stir in about 3/4 of the chicken you shredded (or more or less depending on how much you want in your pot pies), and salt & pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the dough (if you’re making one big one make one big circle, if you’re making individual ones, make four little circles) and transfer to your vessel(s), leaving about 1 inch of dough hanging over the sides. Carefully spoon the filling into the dough. Then, roll out the remaining dough in the appropriate size, place on top of the filling and pinch everything together so it sticks the top to the bottom and it looks pretty. Use a knife to make a few slits into the center of the pie. Beat 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water, and bush the top of the dough with the glaze. Sprinkle with sea-salt and then bake on a baking sheet until the dough is golden brown. If you’re making individual pot pies, they’ll take about 30-40 minutes. A large pot pie will take about 45-60 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

Michael on My Mind: Simple Green Pasta

From Dish Amelia:

Occasionally I am not interested in thinking about food. It happens sometimes, after I have covered my priorities (coffee), and I realize its probably time I should eat something again. Though I could turn to any deli or cookbook, this is the mood that makes me turn to Michael. Michael Pollan is a writer whose most recent works, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and Food Rules, have ordained him a food writer rock star. I recommend you read his books because they are well researched, informative, witty and grounded. I like how whenever I read his work or hear him on the radio, I am struck with his sense of humor, and his knowledgeable plain language. The subtitle of In Defense of Food is: Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not Too Much. He clearly loves food, and has explored and explained why we should eat organically, eat food that is minimally processed, and eat what our ancestors ate. But he also seems very clear about not getting overly serious about things. Whether its food politics or different kinds of world diets or dissecting food myths, he always encourages me to acknowledge what’s important and then approach food in the most honest way I can. And move on.

So here is some food.

Several large handfuls of baby spinach
4 chopped scallions
1 bunch snipped dill
1 bunch chopped basil
1 thinly sliced and quartered cucumber
1 chopped tomato
1 thinly sliced and quartered red onion
a handful of crushed pecans
a couple cups of cooked pasta
a couple large dollops of farmers cheese (tangy pressed cottage cheese)
a brief pour of red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
a brief pour of olive oil
a drizzle of honey
a squeeze of olive paste
S+P

Put everything in a bowl. Cook the pasta (in this case I used organic “rombi”, a ruffled, rhombus shaped pasta). Either mix the dressing-y type things together, or just add them individually. Sometimes I like to add lemon zest and juice, but I had none. Toss everything together. Eat. (This made about two quarts, so um, don’t eat too much, like he said.)

Conference Championship Chili

2010 brings a new feature to Saucy Little Dish: BOYS! Say hello to our first guest Spicy Side of Meatball Andrew – Professor of Computer Science, frequent supper club cook, and – heart – SLD boyfriend. He dudes up the place appropriately with some sports talk.

2009 was the year I would start following football.

Over the summer, during a weekend in Point Pleasant, NJ (before The Jersey Shore) my friend Dave and I tried to find me a team to follow:

The Giants won the Superbowl a few years ago and the last time I paid attention to football was with my mom’s boyfriend in 1990 during their last championship season – they’re in.

The Lady’s dad has had Jets tickets for a lifetime. He took me to my first game this fall when the Jets beat the Patriots – they can stay.

We lived in New Orleans for a few months in 2008 – Geaux Saints!

And the Vikings have a rad helmet. (Seriously, that’s all it took.)

So having narrowed my teams to 4, I followed the first few weeks of the season closely. I watched games. I checked box scores. I was a fan. Then I got distracted until the playoffs.

Reemerging two weekends ago to watch the conference championships with Dave, Dish Erin and Dish Rachelle, I found three of my beloved four teams still making a Superbowl run. In the AFC, the Jets were looking strong, and the Vikings and the Saints were competing for the NFC Championship. Wait — either way, one of my NFC teams was going to the big game!!! We did it!!! We’re going to the Superbowl!!! I’m number one!!! But first I had to see which of my teams were going with me. And that was going to take a serious commitment, the likes not seen since early September. And what better sustenance for seven hours of football than a pot of chili.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6):

2 tbsp olive oil (or so)
4 spare ribs (a little over a pound)
1 lb ground chuck
2 jalapeno peppers, charred and diced.
2 cloves garlic, whole
1 onion, diced
6oz Miller Genuine Draft
2 cans (28oz) san marzano diced tomatoes
1 can (28oz) water
1 can (15.5oz )kidney beans
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp ginger
1 bay leaf
salt

Garnish
1 jalapeno pepper
2 scallions
A pile of your favorite grated cheese — I like Colby or Queso de Papa
Cornbread — you’re going to have to ask Dish Erin how this was done…specifically how to make milk from half-and-half.

Spice Rub
1tsp cayenne
1tsp cumin
1tsp ginger
1tsp oregano
1tsp paprika
1tsp tumeric
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil on high in a heavy bottom stock pot.
Meanwhile, dredge ribs in the spice rub mix.
When the oil is hot, add the ribs. Sear on all sides.
Remove the ribs.
Season the ground beef with a little salt and pepper.
Add the ground beef and cook until there are the first bits of char on it – past grey is what I’m trying to say. You want to get some beef flavor on the bottom of the pan.
Remove the ground beef from the pot.

Over an open flame — I like a stove flame — roast two jalapeno peppers. (This can be done while searing the meat.) The skin should be completely blackened. Then dice.

If necessary, adjust the oil in the pot. The bottom of the pot should still have a thin coating of fat. If not, I’m going to guess you used ground sirloin instead of ground chuck…thinking its healthier because it’s leaner. Well, now your pan is dry. I hope you learned your lesson. Add a little more olive oil and carry on.

Add the diced onion and whole garlic cloves to the pot. Add a pinch or two of salt. This will keep the onions from browning.
When the onions are looking glossy, add the diced jalapeno.
When the onions are translucent, deglaze with beer. (Deglaze french for “scrape up all the delicious bits of meat from the bottom of the pan”.)

Add tomatoes and water.
Bring to a simmer.
(Everybody in the pool.)
Return the meat to the pot.
Add the beans.
Add remaining spices — cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder, bay. There should be enough heat from the cayenne rub and the jalapenos for it to be pretty spicy, but if you like more, go ahead and add some more cayenne or an ancho chili, or some sriracha, or whatever you want, big strong man.

Reduce heat to low/medium low and let simmer for at least 40 minutes. We let it go for about 3 hours, which was pretty perfect. It’s not going to overcook, so don’t stress it. If it starts to get dry, add some beer (if you’ve got any left, you lush) or water.

While you’re waiting, slice some scallion and raw jalapeno. Grate some cheese. Ask a friend to make cornbread.

Geaux Saints!