chicken pot pie

I came home from work early yesterday in anticipation of an ice storm.

Though we have had very little of what one might call a winter, eight hours of snow and ice and sleet brings this part of the world to a standstill because we don’t have the equipment to clean it up and no one can drive on ice. Since it was early and it was cold, I decided to cook. I made Uncle Milty’s Guinness and Chocolate Chili and then I decided to make a chicken pot pie. I looked at several recipes, but found most of them only had a top crust and I wanted as much flaky pastry as I could get. A search led me to Sally’s Baking Addiction. Thanks to her and Michael Ruhlman’s expert advice on how to roast a chicken, I was in business.

I first got the chicken in the oven, following Ruhlman pretty much to the letter.

1 three to four-pound chicken
1 lemon and/or 1 medium onion, quartered
Kosher salt



Take the chicken out of the refrigerator about an hour before it goes in the oven and rinse it. Stuff it with the lemon or onion, or both. Salt it and set it on a plate lined with paper towels/absorbent paper. 

Preheat the oven to 450°. Set the oven on convection if that’s an option. Put the chicken in an oven-proof frying pan and slide it into the oven.  After one hour, check the color of the juices. If they run red, return the chicken to the oven and check it again in five to ten minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for fifteen minutes before carving it.

While the bird was in the oven, I made the crust, following Sally’s recipe. The only thing I did differently was I used pork lard instead of vegetable shortening.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
3/4 cup lard (or vegetable shortening), chilled
2/3 cup ice water

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the butter and shortening using a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture resembles coarse meal. You may still see some flecks of butter; that’s okay.

Measure 2/3 cup of water. Add ice. Stir it around. From that, measure 2/3 cup of water (since the ice has melted a bit). Slowly drizzle in the very cold water, stirring with a large spatula after every tablespoon or two of water that you add. Take your time to see how well the dough is coming together and don’t add any more water than you need. Stop adding water when the dough begins to clump.

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Form the dough into a ball and then divide it in half. Flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disc using your hands. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and efrigerate for at least one hour.

While the chicken was cooking and cooling and the pie crust was chilling, I began working on the filling.

1 pound roasted chicken meat, pulled from your earlier endeavor
1 cup sliced carrots (about 2 carrots)
2 cups fresh green beans, cut in one inch segments
2 cups small white potatoes, quartered or sliced.
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 and 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, beaten

In a large saucepan, combine carrots, potatoes, and green beans. Cover them with water and boil for about twelve minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.

Cook the butter, onions, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the onions are translucent and the butter is lightly browning. Whisk in the flour until it makes a bit of a paste and then add the chicken, chicken broth, half-and-half, and salt and pepper. Cook and whisk until no flour lumps remain, then simmer over medium-low heat until the mixture gets pretty thick. This may take eight or ten minutes. You want it to be a very thick gravy. Taste and add more seasonings if you prefer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Roll out one half of the chilled pie dough on a floured surface. Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle twelve inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Place the chicken mixture on top. Roll out the second half of the dough just as you did the first. Cover the pie and trim the extra overhang off the sides. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork or your fingers. Cut a few small slits in the top crust for steam to escape. Brush the crust and edges with  the beaten egg. Bake for 32 - 38 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. I use a pie crust shield to protect the edges from browning too much too soon. Cool for ten minutes before serving.

Peace,
Milton

creamed corn casserole

4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of flour
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 eggs, beaten
8 ears corn, kernels cut off of the cob
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13x9 casserole dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Cook over medium heat until the flour begins to brown. Add the milk and cream and cook until the liquids are warm, but not boiling; they may even begin to thicken up a bit. Add the cheese, corn, and cayenne. When the cheese has almost melted, slowly pour a ladle or two of the hot liquid over the eggs, stirring diligently, to temper the eggs and then add them back to the cream and corn mixture. Remove from heat and pour into casserole dish. Bake for forty minutes or until set.

Peace,
Milton

veggie egg casserole

I made this recipe for a house blessing party today, along with the brownies below, and thought it was worth passing along.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with non-stick spray or butter (your choice) and then layer with

4 slices of cubed bread

I used some leftover wheat hamburger rolls. You want a consistent single layer of bread across the bottom of the dish. Then sauté

2 cups of mushrooms
1 onion, cut in half and then sliced thin
2 zucchini, halved and sliced thin
olive oil
salt and pepper

I let the mixture cook for a good while. I used the veggies I had on hand. You could also add meat – sausage or bacon or chicken – if you wanted. When the veggies were done, I mixed in

1 cup of sundried tomatoes

and spread them evenly across the top of the bread layer. I then added a layer of

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

Again, use whatever cheese you like. In a bowl mix together

8 eggs, beaten
1 pint half and half
1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
salt and pepper

Pour over the stuff in the baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Take it out an hour or so before you want to cook it to let it warm up a bit and then cook it at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, until the cheese is browned a bit, the eggs have puffed up, and the casserole is set in the middle.

Let it sit about twenty minutes before serving.

Peace,
Milton

chicken and rice

I made this dish for a church meal. It's quick and easy and tastes good, too.

Start by making a spice mix of the following:

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper

Put the spice mix in a large bowl and add

8-10 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Toss them until they are well covered with the spices. Put a large sauté pan on the stove and get it hot on high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and let the oil heat up as well. Lay the chicken thighs in the pan and brown, cooking about two minutes on each side. (You may have to do more than one pan full.) Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Sauté

1 medium onion, diced (optional)

until it is translucent. Set aside in a small bowl and turn off the heat. Add

3 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced

to the sauté pan and stir to pick up the oil and the flavors. Stir in the onions, if you're using them, and spread the rice mixture in a large baking dish (it needs to be large to hold all the chicken broth). Slowly pour

6 cups chicken stock

over the rice and stir gently to mix. Lay the chicken thighs on top so that they cover the rice completely. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375°F for 40-45 minutes. (If you don’t want as much rice, reduce the rice by a cup and the broth by two cups.)

Peace,
Milton

cauliflower gratin

I went to the Durham Farmer's Market yesterday afternoon and found this awesome purple cauliflower, among other cool things. I decided to come home and make dinner out of it. Here's what I came up with:

Fill a saucepan full of salted water and bring to a boil. Add

1 head cauliflower (purple or otherwise), cut into florets

and cook for five minutes. Drain and set aside.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
salt, to taste

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a whisk for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and whisk until it comes to a soft boil. Add the pepper, nutmeg, mustard, and salt and keep whisking until it gets thick. Turn the burner to low and add

3/4 cup grated cheddar
3.4 cup grated swiss cheese

Pour a third of the sauce on the bottom of a rectangular baking dish. Put the cauliflower on top of the sauce and then add the rest of the sauce to cover the cauliflower. Put

1 1/2 cups Ritz crackers

in a food processor and until they are fine crumbs. Spread on top of the cheese sauce and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 300 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Peace,
Milton

pineapple au gratin

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cheddar cheese

Mix flour, sugar, and pineapple juice. Add pineapple chunks and cheddar cheese and pour into a 9x9 casserole dish. Cover and bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes.

1/2 stick of butter, melted
1 tube Ritz crackers
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix butter, crackers, and sugar. Remove casserole from oven and spread mixture over the top. Return to oven and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Peace,
Milton

king ranch chicken

3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 dried ancho chili, chopped fine
(or 1/2 teaspoon chili powder)
1/2 onion, diced small
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 cup buttermilk
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and ancho chili and saute until the onion is translucent -- a minute or two. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to mix, making a roux. It should look like a thick paste. Add about 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, stirring quickly to remove the lumps and then gradually add the rest of the broth and the buttermilk. Puree the mixture in a food processor and return to the stove. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of gravy. Don't bring the liquid to a boil; keep it simmering. Add salt and pepper to taste. When it reaches the consistency you want, remove from heat and set aside.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced small (the other half)
1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
(or 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with green chilis)
1 small jar chopped green olives and pimentos
4 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and tomatoes until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken, olives, and scallions. When they are heated through, pour the sauce into the skillet and mix well. Remove from heat.

8-10 corn tortillas
2 cups chicken broth
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese

Slice the tortillas into 1/2 inch wide strips and soak in broth for a couple of minutes to soften. Grease a 9x13 baking dish or a 3 quart casserole and ladle just enough broth to cover the bottom. Take half the tortilla strips and cover the bottom of the dish. Pour half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas and then top with half the cheese. Repeat the procedure to make a second layer. Cook in a 350 oven for about thirty minutes, until the cheese is nicely browned and the casserole is bubbly.

Serves six to eight -- allegedly.

Peace,
Milton