Chicken Pot Pie

Some of you may know that tomorrow is Pi Day.  The date March 14 is usually reserved to celebrate the number Pi (oh, I'm sure you know that Pi is 3.14 blah blah blah).  I believe that March 14 is also Albert Einstein's Birthday.  Last year, I took my son down to the Science Center where they had a big celebration for Pi Day.  I am pretty sure they did that because last year Pi Day was on a Sunday.  This year March 14 falls on a Monday, so no celebrations of any kind have been planned.  That means I have to bake some Pie in celebration of Pi Day.  I was asked to do that by guess who?  I decided to make my first ever Chicken Pot Pie.  I am pretty excited about trying it.  I even went out and bought a brand new deep dish pie plate for this endeavor.  I found a Chicken Pot Pie recipe on Allrecipes.com that got good reviews but it had lots of  "tweaks" in the comments.  There were hundreds of comments all saying the same things so I decided to take heed and use the suggestions.  The first of many of the comments said pie was dry.  That is not something you want in a Chicken Pot Pie.  I am no expert on them but the few I have eaten were anything but dry.  Therefore, I doubled the liquid portion of this pie.  That made a bit too much "juice" so I went back and revised the amounts down by a little bit.  I also punched up the seasonings as suggested and reduced the temperature of the oven while increasing the cooking time.  The great thing about Chicken Pot Pie Recipes is that you can change the vegetables in almost any way you like.  I used two cups of mixed vegetables instead of the suggested ones.  Anyway, here goes my first ever Chicken Pot Pie recipe adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com.  

Chicken Pot Pie

Servings:  6

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast - cubed

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup skim milk

2 (0-inch) unbaked pie crusts

2 tablespoons water or egg white for brushing pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2.   In a saucepan combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery.  Add chicken broth and boil for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain broth but reserve it.  Set aside to cool.

3.  In the saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper and other spices.  Slowly stir in reserved broth and skim milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened.  Set aside.  

4.  Place a pastry crust into the deep dish pie pan.  Pour the chicken mixture into the pie pan.  Pour hot liquid mixture over the chicken mixture.  Cover with the top pie crust.  Cut away excess dough.  Make several small slits into the top of the crust to allow steam to escape.  Brush the top of the pie with water or egg white.

5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.  This pie can also be refrigerated and reheated.

Enjoy your Chicken Pot Pie on Pi Day or any other day.  I am making an Apple Pie for dessert.  

The Creative Cook

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

I promised you some "different" pumpkin pie recipes for Thanksgiving. I found this recipe on the Better Homes & Gardens website (www.bhg.com). It looks very delicious. It could be a great alternative to a traditional pumpkin pie for the holidays.


Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie
Prep: 30 minutes
Chill: 30 minutes
Bake: 64 minutes


Ingredients:

1 recipe Deep Dish Pie Pastry, below
12 oz. cream cheese, softened (1-1/2 8-oz. pkgs.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely chopped semisweet chocolate or miniature chocolate pieces
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
Chopped chocolate (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare and roll out Deep Dish Pie Pastry. Transfer pastry to a 9-1/2- to 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust edge 1/2-inch beyond pie plate. Flute edge high. Line pastry with double thickness of foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 6 minutes more or until golden. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

2. In medium mixing bowl combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg; beat on low speed until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture in cooled pastry shell. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.

3. In bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar, and spice. Stir in 4 eggs. Gradually stir in half-and-half. Slowly pour pumpkin mixture on chocolate layer. To prevent overbrowning, cover pie edge with foil.

4. Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hour. Top with chopped chocolate.

Deep Dish Pie Pastry:In medium bowl, stir together 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using pastry blender or two knives cut in 6 tablespoons shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of flour mixture; gently toss with fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all flour is moistened (5 to 6 tablespoons total). Form into ball. On lightly floured surface, flatten dough. Roll pastry from center to edge into 13-inch circle. Serves 8.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Coconut Custard Pie

Does anyone eat Coconut Custard Pie besides me? I started eating it as a child. My mom used to buy it at a local bakery in Brooklyn, New York called Ebinger's. At least that is how I think it is spelled. I have done a few "copycat" cakes from that bakery. The one I did last year was the Mocha Cake. This time I am going to try replicating the Coconut Custard Pie. I have looked at many recipes but this one looks like the best. Maybe this one will remind me of the pies from Ebinger's. I sure hope so!



Coconut Custard Pie
Kathleen of Tate's Bake Shop

Ingredients:
One 9-inch pie crust
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 egg yolk (save white)
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips* (large white flakes)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Measure coconut into prepared pie shell and place pie onto a sheet pan.
In a small saucepan, combine milk and cream. Heat until just starting to boil.
Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt and vanilla.
Slowly add scalded milk mixture, beating continuously, by adding a small amount, whisk, add more, whisk again, until all the milk is incorporated into the sugar mixture.

Pour egg mixture into prepared pie shell with coconut.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake 35 more minutes.

Pie should be browning on the top and jingly, but not liquid.


The Creative Cook

Unorthodox Shepherd's Pie

I know that I mentioned how much I love to cook but did I mention that I also love to read? My favorite books are murder mysteries. Put those two hobbies together and you will understand my love of Diane Mott Davidson's books. The main character in her books is a Colorado caterer by the name of Goldie Schultz. In each of her books, Diane offers up several interesting recipes. I love reading the recipes but I have never tried making one until my son looked through Diane's latest book (which happened to be on my bookshelf) and found the recipe for Unorthodox Shepherd's Pie. He kept asking me to make it. I finally relented. I am so glad that I did. It is scrumptiously delicious. All of the recipes in Diane's books can be found on her website http://homepage.mac.com/ezzellk/Recipes/davidson/.


Unorthodox Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

· 2 pounds lean ground beef
· 2 cups chopped onions
· 2 cups chopped celery
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· ¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 Tbsp
· 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
· 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
· ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
· 1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt, or to taste
· ¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
· 1 cup frozen baby peas
· 1 cup frozen baby corn
· 4 ½ pounds russet potatoes
· 1 ½ cups half and half
· 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
· ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
· additional sea salt, to taste
· additional freshly ground black pepper, to taste
· ½ stick unsalted butter, cut into bits
· paprika

Directions

In a very large sauté pan, sauté the ground beef, onions, and celery in the oil over medium heat until the beef is browned and the vegetables are limp. Add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture begins to bubble. slowly add the chicken stock. Stir until completely combined, then stir in the thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the mixture is bubbling and thickened. Stir in the peas and corn and set aside.

Bring a large quantity of salted water to boiling. Peel the potatoes and drop them into the water. cook for about 40-45 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat the half-and-half until it is steaming, but not boiling.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch deep-dish pie plates. Grease or line a baking sheet.

Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain, and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Begin to beat the potatoes on low speed, slowly adding the hot half-and-half, the cheese, and the additional salt and pepper.

Place half the beef mixture in each of the prepared pie plates. Place half the potato mixture on top of the beef. Scatter half the butter bits on top of each potato mixture. Sprinkle generously with paprika.

Place the pies on the baking sheet and place them in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are browned and the pies are completely heated through.

I had never made shepherd's pie before because I thought it was made with lamb and I don't like lamb. Boy was I wrong. I put one of the pies in the freezer and pulled it out one night when I had no idea what to make for dinner. It was a hit both times. Enjoy!

The Creative Cook