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Would You Rather Eat Pot Pie or Shepherd's Pie?

partysugar — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:30:37 -0700

Source: Flickr Users gtrwndr87 and randomduck

7 Satisfying Comfort Foods

YumSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:30:59 -0800

On Winter evenings when I come home hungry, fatigued, and cold from the rain, there's nothing I crave more than nostalgic childhood favorites like pot pie, macaroni and cheese, and meatballs. I've compiled my favorite recipes, so you know where to turn if you're craving comfort at your next meal. To make these palate pleasers, read on.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Chicken Potpie Empanadas

partysugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:45:08 -0700

The classic chicken potpie gets a portable makeover in this delicious recipe. Although a traditional potpie, with its homemade dough and slow-cooked chicken, takes time to make, this shortcut version uses refrigerated pie crusts and rotisserie chicken to cut the cook time. Kids will especially enjoy these empanadas because they require no eating utensils. For the recipe please, read more.

Chicken Potpie Empanadas
From Real Simple

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-ounce box frozen peas and carrots
1 3- to 4-pound store-bought rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 refrigerated 9-inch piecrusts (from a 15-ounce package, such as Pillsbury)

Directions

Heat oven to 400° F.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Still stirring, slowly add the broth. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and carrots, chicken, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.
Cut each piecrust in half to form 4 half-circles. Spoon the chicken mixture over the bottom half of each half-circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Using your fingers, wet the border with water. Fold the top of each crust over the chicken to form a quarter-circle. Press to seal. Make three 1-inch slits in each top crust.
Transfer to a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.

Serves 4.

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 696.66(46% from fat); FAT 35.48g (sat 8.14g); CHOLESTEROL 142.95mg; CALCIUM 61.27mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.72g; SODIUM 680.21mg; PROTEIN 50.47mg; FIBER 3.33g; IRON 4.29mg

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52 Weeks of Baking: Two Turkey Pies

YumSugar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:27:19 -0800

I don't know about you guys, but after a week of cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving, I am looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. That said, I've decided to cheat a little bit on this week's baking project. I wanted to figure out a way to use all the turkey leftovers, without causing a lot of work. So, instead of making my own pastry crust, I decided to pick up two premade crusts and turn them into two different turkey pot pies.

I only have one pie dish, so I put half of the mixture in it and inverted one of the pie crusts as a top crust. For the other pie, I put in half the mixture and topped with leftover mashed potatoes, creating a shepherd's pie.

Plan now for Friday's leftovers, pick up two extra pie crusts and call it a day. To get the easy recipe, read more

Turkey Pot Pie or Turkey Shepherd's Pie
From The Culinary Institute of America adapted by Boston Globe with additions by YumSugar

3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups turkey or chicken broth, heated to boiling
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potato, diced
4 cups diced cooked turkey
1 cup green peas (thawed if frozen - try not to use canned, they will be too mushy)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 nine-inch prepared pie crusts, frozen puff pastry sheets (thawed), or other topping such as leftover mashed potatoes

Note: This recipe is for four individual pot pies, however I used the filling to make two larger sized pies: one shepherd and one regular.

In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until tender.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the broth little by little, whisking well to prevent lumps. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until thickened. Add salt and pepper.
Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand 4 individual baking dishes (about 2 cup capacity each).
Add the carrot, celery, and potato to the broth mixture. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Add the turkey and peas and remove from the heat. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Stir in the parsley.
Spoon the filling into the dishes. Cut pie crust or puff pastry dough to the appropriate size and shape of the dishes to cover the filling. Cuts vents in the crust and press the edges of the dough onto the dishes to seal them.
Or alternatively, spoon filling into prepared pie crusts and spread leftover mashed potatoes on top.
Set the pies on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake them for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

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Monday's Leftovers: Lamb Pot Pie

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:58:58 -0700

When I was putting together my English pie the other week, it seemed pretty clear that I should use the technique on other meats/stews. So when I found the recipe for yesterday's Sunday dinner, I immediately ended up thinking of turning the leftovers in to a lovely pot pie.

I didn't actually have time to make yesterday's delicious looking lamb shank, but if you did, i have a simple suggestion to turn yesterday's dish into today's treat. All you need to do is turn on the oven, place the lamb mixture into a pie plate (or smaller ramekins, depending on how much you have leftover) and cover with puff pastry. Bake and voila! Easy lamb pot pie! Just be sure to remove all the bones from the mixture before you create your pie. To learn more about the puff pastry technique, see my step by step instructions for a steak & ale pie.

Monday's Leftovers: Lamb Pot Pie

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:37:05 -0700

English Food is Not a Joke - Steak & Ale Pie

YumSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:51:32 -0700

English food is not a joke because...
Any cuisine that combines meat with ale gets gold stars in my book.

That's the answer I'm giving for Sam's Fish & Quips challenge. She's asked food lovers everywhere to help her prove that English food does not have to be a joke. After reading about it, I immediately wanted to participate. I lived there for almost a year and had plenty of amazing food (I have crazy fond memories of the cheese guy in my local outdoor market), however I couldn't come up with one dish that I wanted to make. So I called in the brigades - actually I just IM'd my friend Johnny and asked what he thought I should make:

me: What is your favorite British meal - like quintessential British?

Johnny: Meat pie! Like steak and onion pie!!!
I think this is a nice idea, a nice project - British food has a huge inferiority complex for a few reasons.

me: So what should i make?

Johnny: You should try steak and ale pie if you can manage it. I think it is pretty easy really and tastesome.

me: Why'd you choose that dish?

Johnny: It is the thing I like best that is "English"
Make a nice round pie - with leaves on the top of course.

me: Of course

Hrmm... a steak and ale pie. Funny, I never actually had one of those while I was out there - but I figured it was the time to start. So I hunted down a few recipes and cobbled together a pretty decent pie. I cheated and used puff pastry, but I didn't forget the leaves on top.The end result was pretty tasty, like a stew with an added pastry crust - and it was definitely not a joke. To see what recipe I used, and to see a bunch of step by step pictures, read more

Steak & Ale Pie
Inspired by BootsnAll

Sorry for the non-accurate measurements, I eyeballed a lot of it. Also, you may want to add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce to your marinade. I was planning on it, but didn't realize we didn't have any until it was too late.

1 1/4 pounds of steak - cut into large cubes
2 short sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 sprigs of fresh marjoram
1/3 - 1/2 pint of Newcastle (or other dark ale)
olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
flour (approx 4 tbsp)
2 carrots - chopped (Jimmy hates carrots, so I only used a few, you may want to up the carrot ante)
1 leek - chopped
1 medium sized onion - diced
1-2 cup beef broth
Puff Pastry (1 sheet) - thawed

Step One - Night Before

Put steak into medium sized bowl with lid (I actually used a tupperware dish). Add rosemary and marjoram (I ripped them with my hands) and mix with meat.
Add Newcastle, a splash (I eyeballed it) of oil, and some fresh black pepper. Mix well. Cover and marinate in fridge overnight.

Step Two - Make the Pie

Preheat oven to 375F
Strain beef from marinade (do not throw out the marinade, set it aside for now). Roll beef in flour until beef is covered. Set aside.
In a large pan, saute onion, leek and carrots in a little bit of olive oil. Cook until onions are soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
Place beef in pan and brown on all sides.
When beef is browned, put the vegetables back in, and add beer marinade, and beef stock.
Simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes.
Transfer mixture to pie pan/baking dish. Top with puff pastry and trim sides.
Pierce pastry a few times for ventilation, add decorative pastry leaves if desired (I used my kitchen shears to shape them).
Bake for 40-45 minutes.

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Today's Special: Salmon Potpies

partysugar — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:51:31 -0700

I recently watched an episode of Giada's Weekend Getaways on Food Network because she was visiting my barrio, San Francisco. One of the dishes that was featured on the show was a lobster pot pie and it got me thinking about pot pies and substituting them with seafood. At first I thought of recreating the lobster one until I realized lobster doesn't exactly fit into my everyday dinner budget. Then I stumbled across this recipe that is for a pot pie using the rosy colored fish, salmon. The pot pie is made on the stove and topped with packaged puff pastry dough, so I can make a quick stop at the market on the way home (if you're feeling super lazy purchase cooked salmon fillets) and whip it up for an exceptional Friday night dinner. To do the same, read more

Salmon Potpies
From Food & Wine magazine

14 ounces chilled all-butter puff pastry
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Two 8-ounce bottles of clam juice
2 cups water
1/2 pound tiny new potatoes, scrubbed
1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch dice
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 pound thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound celery root, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 13-by-16-inch rectangle.
Using a 5-inch plate, cut out 6 rounds. Transfer to the baking sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons of the cream. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, boil the clam juice and water. Add the potatoes and cook until tender; transfer to a plate.
Add the salmon and simmer gently for 4 minutes; transfer to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes.
While the cream reduces, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over low heat until crisp; transfer to a plate.
Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the celery root, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
Blend the flour and butter; gradually whisk into the simmering cream sauce until smooth. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Stir the celery root, potatoes, bacon, dill, parsley, lemon juice and zest into the sauce; season with salt and pepper.
Fold in the salmon and heat through.
Spoon the stew into 1 1/4-cup bowls, top with the pastry puffs and serve.

Serves 6.

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Today's Special: Easy Chicken Potpies

YumSugar — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 09:02:31 -0800

Comfort Foods have made a real comeback in the past few years at some of the nation's top restaurants. Never one to overlook a trend, I like to make my own variations at home, adapting my grandma's recipes to suit today's palate. Tonight I'm making an easy chicken potpie that uses frozen vegetables and puff pastry instead of pie crust. I ripped this recipe out of an Instyle magazine way back in January of 2002. To make this for your family read more

Easy Chicken Potpie

1 box (17.3 oz) frozen puff pastry sheets
1 can (48 oz) chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
4 carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
2 ribs celery, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 box (10 oz) frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 box (10 oz) frozen peas, thawed
5 tbsp butter
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. Place broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, cut pastry into 8 squares; bake on baking sheet 10-13 minutes until golden.

Add chicken to broth mixture; simmer 12 minutes.

Stir in onions and peas; simmer until heated through.

Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan; stir in flour. Cook until golden; add cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Mix in remaining ingredients and stir into the chicken mixture.

To serve, ladle into bowls; top with puff pastry square.

Serves 8.

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