March 13th: All-Purpose Baking Mix and Chicken Pot Pie

I have blogged previously about my all-time favourite chicken pot pie recipe, which is to die for. Death bed food, right there. For a weeknight supper though, a bit time consuming. This one is a bit simpler. Still a bit of time involved, but not too bad, and the results are pretty tasty. From March 2014's Chatelaine: All-Purpose Baking Mix and Chicken Pot Pie.

First step is to whip up some all-purpose baking mix, which you can keep on hand for a month after making. I see now I should throw out my supply, as I haven't used it in the last month, although Chatelaine has various suggested ways to use it, including pancakes, biscuits and cookies.

All-Purpose Baking Mix

3 cups all-purpose flour (OR 1 1/2 cups each all-purpose and whole wheat flours)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt

WHISK all ingredients together in medium bowl until combined. Use right away or store in an airtight container in a cool dry place up to 1 month.

Makes 3 cups.

Chicken Pot Pie

HEAT a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high. Add 1 tbsp butter, then 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-in. coins; 1 cup chopped red onion; and a 227-g pkg cremini mushrooms, quartered.

COOK until mushrooms are tender, 3 to 4 min. Stir in 2 tbsp butter, then 2 tbsp all-purpose flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 30 sec. Add 1/2 cup white wine and continue cooking, 2 to 3 min. Stir in 2 cups chicken broth, then 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded. Cook until thickened. Stir in 1 tbsp chopped dill.

MIX 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Baking Mix with 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed, and 1 cup milk in a bowl until mixture comes together. Scrape onto a floured surface and roll out to 11 in. wide and 1/4 in. thick. Use a 3-in. cookie cutter to cut 8 rounds of dough, re-rolling scraps as needed. Place rounds over chicken mixture. Brush tops with 1 beaten egg.

BAKE at 425F until golden, 15 to 20 min.

My cookie cutter must be smaller than 3 inches,
as I cut out 12 rounds, enough to fill the pan,
but I could have kept going.

Life imitating art.

We all liked this recipe. In future, I might try doubling the liquids (wine and chicken broth), as it was a bit dry the first night, and very dry the next day. It was also very meaty, probably not necessary to pick that rotisserie chicken clean.

November 24th: chicken pot pie and chocolate toffee walnut cookies

Two to-die-for recipes!


For supper, from the keeper book: Chicken Pot Pie. I pulled this recipe out of the Ottawa Citizen a few years ago; it is from a local restaurant. Take a cheap cut of chicken, poach it, use that broth to cook the veggies, use the same broth to make a white sauce, mix it all up in a pie pan and top with - my favourite - puff pastry. Bake, relax, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. I think even your picky eaters will like this one. My kid loooooves it. As does my husband. And moi.


Chicken Pot Pie


1 1/2 lbs (675 g) chicken pieces with skin and bones
1 tsp (5 mL) salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter
4 tbsp (65 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 mL) 35% cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1/2 397-g pkg frozen puff pastry, defrosted


Place chicken pieces in a medium saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim and add 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes.


Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Strain chicken, reserving the broth. Measure the broth and add water, if necessary, to equal 1 1/2 cups (375 mL). Place the liquid in the saucepan, add vegetables and simmer, partially covered, until just tender. Strain, reserving the stock.


While vegetables are cooking, debone and skin the chicken. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Combine meat with cooked vegetables in a 9" (23 cm) pie plate or individual oven-proof dishes.


Melt butter gently in saucepan. Gradually stir in flour, blending well. Cook over medium heat 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add cream and cook until mixture is smooth and thick. Add salt, pepper to taste, lemon juice and reserved stock. Blend well and pour sauce over the chicken mixture.


Roll out defrosted puff pastry to 1/4" (6 mm) thickness, then lay pastry over pie(s) and press to the dish(es). Cut a slit in the centre to allow steam to escape. Bake until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes (less for small pies).


Serves 4.

I enjoy this photo because it appears I just piled the food on the glass stovetop.

For my Christmas cookie exchange - finally, a winner! - from epicurious: Chocolate Toffee Walnut Cookies. These are ridiculously awesome. The recipe suggests making 1/4 cup-sized cookies, which I think is over-indulgence (though probably an edible size!) so I made generous tablespoonful-sized cookies, which are plenty big and chewy and decadent enough. I used chocolate chips where it called for chopped chocolate, and Scor bars where it called for Heath. I managed to make 4 dozen cookies with one recipe, and note that the recipe only calls for 1/2 cup of flour. These are chocolate heaven. I will definitely be making these again.

September 18th: steak and mushroom pot pie

My favourite meal of all time - the one I would request on my deathbed - is my mom's steak and mushroom pie, with puff pastry crust. Only, on my deathbed, I would have it all to myself, because there is never enough to go around. I didn't quite recreate this tonight, but I made a variation on it, and it turned out pretty well. We three were impressed. In my case, rather than using a good quality steak, quickly cooked, I had pulled some stewing beef out of the freezer, so I got that simmering and left it for an hour while I napped, then went back to the kitchen and proceeded to make the rest of the recipe. I had intended to put both carrots and potatoes in the pie too, but I was tired after spending the night before with friends from out of town, then getting up to teach a class in the morning and finally heading out of town for a baby shower, so I ended up going simple and the pie was filled with just beef and mushrooms, with a touch of onion and garlic. I could eat mushrooms till the cows come home and it tasted great ... though more veggies would have upped the filling-ness of it, as well as the health quotient. Ah well, here is what I came up with:


Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie - long-cooking variation


canola oil
1 lb stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf


[options to add potatoes and carrots here! - 1-2 of each]


1 cup diced onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mushrooms, any variety, chopped


1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp all-purpose flour


1/2 397 g package frozen puff pastry, thawed


1 egg, beaten (optional)


Heat the canola oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add beef and season to taste with pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates, 10-15 minutes. When pan is starting to dry out, pour in stock and add bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for at least one hour. Nap if necessary.

[If using potatoes and carrots, chop them and add them to the pot at the end of the hour, simmering until just cooked, 10-15 minutes.]

Using a slotted spoon, remove meat [and any veggies] to a bowl and set aside. Pour liquid into a 2-cup measuring cup and set aside. Return Dutch oven to stovetop, increase heat to medium, and add canola oil.

When hot, add diced onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions soften, 4-5 minutes. If onions start to burn, reduce heat. Add minced garlic and stir for 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, another 5 minutes. Then stir in Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir frequently for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, add enough water to the measuring cup to bring the liquid amount back to 2 cups. Add all of liquid to pot, stirring to deglaze pot. Return meat and vegetables to pot and simmer gently.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out puff pastry to 1/4-inch thickness. When oven is hot, remove bay leaf from pot and pour pie filling into an 8-inch square baking dish. Place puff pastry overtop, covering to sides, and folding or crimping sides in as necessary. Slice vent(s) in centre of crust to allow steam to escape. If desired, brush pastry with egg.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until top is golden and puffed and filling is bubbling. Remove from oven, let stand several minutes, then slice and serve.

Makes 4 servings, unless you are on your deathbed, in which case, enjoy the whole dish yourself!

September 29th: chicken pot pie

Verdict:
Try Again: chicken pot pie

A few years ago, there was a chicken pot pie recipe in the Ottawa Citizen which came from a local restaurant. I tried it once, we all fell in love with it, and now I make it a few times a year. The filling is made by poaching bone-in chicken in water, then using the same water to cook vegetables, then the same water again (by now, a lovely broth) to make the roux. The crowning touch is the puff pastry crust. It is rich, filling, delicious.


Thus, when the February 2010 Chatelaine had a recipe for a puff pastry-topped chicken pot pie, my first thought was to pass it over entirely. We already have an amazing keeper recipe; why try something new? But something new is what I do. Eventually, the recipe (which I pulled out of the magazine even though I didn't think I would make it) wore me down, and tonight I committed and finally made it: Tuscan-style chicken pot pie. (There is also a video you can watch.)


(Side note here and now: unless you are crazy like me, do not attempt to make any pot pie on a weeknight. This is a time-consuming project, even with a cheater crust.)


I had a few doubts about some of the ingredients the recipe called for (namely, fennel bulb and artichoke hearts). Sure enough, those are not for me. The rest of the filling was good though, with a tasty roux. Oh, and huge: this pot pie yields 6 hearty servings. Yay for lunch tomorrow--for all of us! I was most intrigued by the crust, which calls for cutting half a frozen puff pastry in half, rolling out both halves, and then sandwiching them with a Parmesan-rosemary layer. With rosemary still thriving in my garden, how could I pass this by? I'm undecided on the crust so far--much denser than a normal puff pastry. Olivia loved it, requesting, "more pancake."


Greg gave it the thumbs down (in comparison to our already keeper recipe). I, however, plan to keep it, tweak it, and see if I can improve it. For starters, I'll likely use chicken thighs next time rather than breasts, as I find darker meat tastier in this sort of a dish, and it holds up better to extended cooking. I'll sub in a few other veggies for the above-mentioned rejections, and we'll see how version two turns out!

(For those who don't know how I operate, version two may not take place for months or years to come. It most likely will happen eventually though, as I am a sucker for puff pastry. No more than once a month! It's dreadfully unhealthy stuff. So good.)