Cooking 101 - Chicken Pot Pie

We had the most SCRUMPTIOUS dinner yesterday and I have to share this recipe with all of you. I got it from (I know, I know, roll your eyes) Martha Stewart's Comfort Foods cookbook - a must-have for every kitchen shelf. What can I say?! Martha does know how to make an awesome chicken pot pie. It's a MAJOR effort, but worth every drop of sweat!!!!

(Oh, and I didn't have any fresh thyme like the recipe calls for, so I just use dried thyme - but half of what it calls for fresh.)

I've simplified it here by giving you the three major steps:

Prep time: 1 hour & 20 minutes Total time: approx. 2 hours

1.) Start cooking the chicken (1 hour cook time)
2.) Mix dough, get it in the fridge (1 hour chill time)
3.) About 20 minutes before chicken is done, cut veggies, chop parsley, measure milk, chicken stock, & flour, get casserole pan ready


STEP 1: Cook Chicken:

3-4 lbs. Chicken
4 c. Chicken Stock (or 4 c. water + 4 bullion cubes)
1 Yellow onion, split in half
2 dry bay leaves
1/2 t. whole black peppercorns (or ground pepper, whatever)
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1 rib celery, cut in 3 pieces

Combine all ingredients above in a large stockpot, add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered 1 hour. When chicken is cooked, remove the chicken and reserve the stock. Remove the skin & bones, shred into bite-size strips, set aside. Strain stock and save for later.

STEP 2: Crust:

1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 T. fresh thyme leaves
10 T. chilled butter, cut into small pieces (1 cube + 2 T. of another cube – save the other 5 T.)
3 T. ice water
1 egg yolk

Pick enough thyme leaves to make 3 Tablespoons. Set 2 Tablespoons aside. Combine flour, salt, thyme either in a food processor or in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and egg yolk, mix until dough holds together. Try not to over mix. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, flatten into a circle, wrap well, refrigerate at least 1 hour.

STEP 3: Filling:

Remaining 5 T. Butter
9 oz. red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/2” pieces
1 large onion, diced (or 12 pearl onions, peeled & cut in half)
1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, sliced into 1/4” thick rounds
2 carrots, peeled & cut into rounds
6 oz. mushrooms, sliced or cut into chunks

THEN LATER:

5 T. flour
2 c. reserved chicken stock (save the rest for another use.)
1 c. milk
2 T. fresh thyme
2 T. chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
2 t. salt
Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Heat oven to 375º. Melt 5 T. butter in large sauté pan or stockpot over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes, until potatoes begin to turn golden. Add leeks, carrots, and mushrooms, cooking 4-5 minutes more. Add 5 T. flour, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in reserved chicken stock and milk, bring to a simmer. Cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes. Add reserved chicken pieces, chopped parsley, and remaining thyme, lemon zest, 2 t. salt, and ground pepper. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Set aside.

Working quickly so you keep the dough cold, roll out the dough until it is 1/4” thick, transfer to a baking sheet and chill if necessary. Otherwise, place dough over the top of the chicken mixture, tuck extra dough around the edges. Cut slits on top to allow steam to escape.

Optional: Brush top of dough with egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 T. heavy cream. Bake 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden. Serve hot.

Cooking 101 - Old World Chicken Cacciatore

Knock-your-breath-out-good.  

{prob'ly gives you bad breath, too, what with all the onion and garlic in it...so maybe you should hold your breath in.}

I have this old, rustic Italian cookbook that I got on a clearance rack somewhere and it inspired me.  There's something so grounding and wholesome about good, rustic Italian food.  This dish, however, is pretty universal - it's a chicken stew simmered in vegetables, which most countries have their own version of.  This version, though, it's my twist on the dish and it's now one of my family's ultimate favorite comfort food dishes!  The flavors were deep and rich, and the chicken just fell off the bone.  

OLD WORLD CHICKEN CACCIATORE

{cacciatore means 'hunter' in Italian, so this is often referred to as a 'hunter's stew'}

You'll need:

olive oil

5-6 chicken thighs, bone in, skin off

5-6 chicken drumsticks, bone in, skin off (I didn't take the skin off of the drums...too much work)

1 c. flour, seasoned with salt & pepper, spread onto a pie plate

1 1/2 c. chopped, thick pancetta (I used a lean, smoked turkey bacon - about 6-7 slices, but regular bacon would work fine, too.  Just drain off the fat after you cook it)

3 x 14 oz. cans diced tomato

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, fine minced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. dry white wine (it cooks off...don't get fussy with me now)

1 T. chicken base (or 3 chicken bullion cubes--but chicken base is better)

1/2 tsp. brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp. dried oregano - or one sprig fresh

1 tsp. ground rosemary - or one sprig fresh

In a large dutch oven pot or stock pot, heat about 2 T. olive oil and sautee onion, garlic, and celery until the onion turns golden brown and a little translucent.  Add the chopped pancetta or bacon and cook for about 6 minutes or until the pancetta/bacon starts turning a golden brown color.  Spoon out onto a plate and set aside.

In the same pot, heat another 2 T olive oil.  Coat the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, brown on all sides, working in batches, using more olive oil as you need it.  Set the chicken aside on a large plate.  Then add the white wine and deglaze the pan. {those browned bits add a great flavor to the dish}  When all of the liquid is mostly evaporated, add the tomatoes, water, chicken base, brown sugar, oregano, and rosemary - stir to combine and bring to a simmer.  Add everything else back into the pot - the chicken, as well as the onion mixture.  Simmer on low heat for about 30-45 minutes, until the chicken is tender - almost falling off the bone.  (I cooked mine for an hour on a low simmer)

When you're ready to serve, add the heavy cream and stir to incorporate.  Season with salt or chicken base - sometimes if I'm missing some flavor, I'll add a little scoop of chicken base, which seems to be just the trick. 

Serve this with some pasta or a crusty loaf of bread.  

Cooking 101 - Hand Pie for Dinner

Okay, so to sidetrack for a sec - I know I've been A.W.O.L. lately but who can blame me?! We've had gorgeous weather and all I've wanted to do is go outside......and play TRACK BALL. Kadie and I are going to start up a "Hot-Moms-Track-Ball-League" and so far there's only two - it's just us - um, so we're looking for more.

Anyway...back to dinner. Gimme a hand...a hand pie. {haha!} You know, sometimes I don't know how I come up with this stuff.... These are also called Empanadas by our Latin friends, but I call them hand pies because people hear me say "Empanada" and go, "what?", so - it's pretty much a language barrier thing.

{Anyway...} So these are FAST, easy, and everybody loves them - even the little picky eaters. If you've got leftovers of anything, make a filling with it and bake it in a hand pie. You just can't go wrong with melted cheese and sour cream, ladies. Got some leftover turkey dinner? Throw it all in a hand pie! Stroganoff? Tuna Noodle Casserole? You got it...hand pie. (um...I hope by now that you know I'm totally kidding about the tuna noodle stuff - that's just gross.)

Now I'm mostly doing this for my sake because you know how you'll make something really yummy and and then go, "how did I make that???" later? So here's my filling that I used the other night, as well as a recipe for a Mexian style filling, because I'm going to have to come back to this site again when I can't remember what I did last time. OH - and you can freeze these and whip out a quick dinner when you're not in the mood to feed people.

DOUGH:
4 1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix
1 c. boiling water

Stir with a fork to incorporate, then use hands for the rest and knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll into 8-10 balls, cover and set aside.

Abby's Random Chicken Filling:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 Tbsp. chopped onion
2-3 Tbsp. chopped green chili
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. Salsa
1 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Red curry powder (I know, weird, but it was SO good)
3 c. chopped, grilled chicken
Mexican rice - 1 box of Mexican rice and only use about half of it. (I only added this because I had some left over from a previous dinner - and it made the filling taste great)
Shredded Cheese

In a large skillet or pot, heat the olive oil and toss in the garlic, onion, green chili, salsa, and cumin. Brown until onion and garlic are soft. Add everything else and saute for a few minutes until everything is heated through and well incorporated.

TO MAKE THE PIES:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees; spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Roll out a little dough ball until it is about 6-8 inches round. You don't want your dough to be too thin so try to keep it just a little thicker than a pie crust.

Spoon about 1/4 c. of the mixture onto half of your dough, add some shredded cheese on top, fold over dough and pinch edges closed while pushing the edges towards the middle to create some thickness. Crimp the dough shut with a fork, poke a few slits in the top for vent, and transfer to the cookie sheet. Repeat until dough and/or mixture is gone. Freeze any leftover filling to use later.

Bake hand pies for about 10-12 minutes or until they're golden brown. Serve warm with your fave garnishes like shredded lettuce, tomatoes, guac, sour cream, salsa, etc.


Abby's Random Mexican Filling:

Looking at my recipe, it became obvious to me that I don't measure anything, so just add reasonable amounts of whatever is listed. When in doubt just use about 1/2 tsp each.

2 lbs. Ground beef or ground turkey
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, finely diced
Chili powder
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Nutmeg (just a dash)
Cilantro - chopped fresh or 1/2 t. dried
1 Tbsp. Tomato paste
2 small cans chopped green chilies
Diced tomatoes (optional)

Brown ground beef, drain; add seasonings and simmer about 5-10 minutes until cooked through.