Pot Pie: It's What's For Dinner

Okay, I realize I'm a little late with this post. I should've posted it on Friday, but alas, I ended up going shopping, against all original plans, and have been in a holiday prepping frenzy ever since. It's a good frenzy, but hectic, nonetheless.

Anyway, we were lucky enough to walk out of my brother's house on Thanksgiving evening with tons of leftovers, including a giant turkey leg. Awesome! So..on Friday evening, I set out to whip up a delicious dinner with said leg. I flipped through my trusty Cook's Illustrated recipes and found one for "Simple Chicken Pot Pie" - in this case, turkey pot pie.

Now, first things first, the recipe calls for homemade crust. I admire a lot of people - single parents, military families, teachers, homemade pie crust-makers. Seriously, mad props if you fall into any of the above categories. I'm not that ambitious in the kitch, so I used the remaining pie crust from the box of two that I bought for my pecan pie.

Here are the remaining ingredients and instructions, adapted for my situation and what I had on-hand -

1 roll of pie dough (I use Pillsbury and have always been pleased with the outcome)

1.5 lbs, roughly, of leftover turkey, shredded

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 medium/large onion, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4" inch thick (I used two handfuls of leftover baby carrots)

2 celery ribs, cut crosswise 1/4" thick

Salt/ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1.5 cups of milk

1 tablespoon of fresh sage, minced

3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat to 400 degrees.

Take the chill off the pie dough per package instructions.

Heat oil in dutch oven or large pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Season w/ salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer cooked veggies to bowl, add your turkey to the bowl; set aside.

Make a roux!! Don't be scared. It's easy, just have everything on-hand and ready to go before you start:

Heat butter over medium heat in the now-empty dutch oven/pan. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook for about 1 minute. (I whisked the flour into the butter until it was a nice, medium khaki color).

Whisk in the broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens (dip a wooden spoon in, create a line on the back of your spoon w/ your finger. If the line stays in place, the sauce is fully thickened). Season w/ salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over veggies and turkey, stir in peas and sage, and continue to stir until combined.

Adjust seasonings as needed.

To assemble:

Butter a casserole dish, or 13x9" pan.

Pour the sauce/veggie/turkey into the dish/pan.

Lay dough over the filling, flute and trim edges of the dough as needed.

Very important! Vent the pie - cut 3 or 4 1" vent holes in the crust.

Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbling away - about 25-30 minutes.

Serve hot.

It looks like a lot of work, but really, the bulk of it is just chopping the veggies.

It's a tasty dish that is perfect for a cool fall/winter evening. Great for leftovers, or non-leftovers.

Enjoy, and GO SAINTS!!!

Lynne

P.S. - Sorry for the lack of pictures. I forgot to get the camera out. Chalking it up to holiday brain.

Music Friday

"Music is an essential part of everything we do...music has an abstract quality which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul." - Jim Henson

I've tried to be very careful with the music and TV shows we listen to/watch while Sam is around, but I rarely gave the radio a second thought. Until that day when Sam started singing "Superbass". Unprompted. The radio wasn't even on. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Nikki Minaj and those girls that were on Ellen are presh, but it startled me that Sam could pick up on lyrics so easily, and was so willing to repeat them. Game changer!

With that, I've started being more selective about the music we listen to on the go, and in the home. Here are my top picks for kid-friendly songs and CD's that are especially effective at getting Sam's tiny toes tapping:

1. Harry Connick Jr.'s "Songs I Heard" - This gem came out 10 years ago, but I feel like it's often overlooked. It's a collection of kid-friendly songs, including a really fun rendition of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (sp?!) and a big band version of "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile". I love Harry, and I love this CD.

2. New Orleans music, such as The Meters' "They All Ask'd for You", "Carnival Time" by Al Johnson, and Professor Longhair's "Big Chief". These songs are part of the fabric of the city and my childhood, and they'll be prevalent in Sam's, as well. He especially loves The Meters. What can I say? The boy can appreciate funk.

3. Caspar Babypants is a favorite among northwest parents. My brother gave me a CD of their music and it's been through the rotation a few times. "Dog Gone Gone Dog Gone" is a car ride favorite.

Music that both kids and parents can agree on? That's reason enough to celebrate.

Happy weekend, y'all!

Lynne

Cook This - Tomato Sauce

“There are many miracles in the world to be celebrated and, for me, garlic is the most deserving.”

- Leo Buscaglia

I completely agree with Mr. Buscaglia. Honestly, the smell alone of garlic and onions sauteing happily in butter makes life worth living. With that said, I give you my recipe for a delicious and easy tomato sauce.

Full disclosure, I based this recipe on trial and error with similar recipes from Bon Appetit and SmittenKitchen.com. The Bon Appetit recipe called for onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and olive oil. It was good, but I felt like it was missing a certain roundness, if that makes sense.

So I moved on to Deb's recipe on Smitten Kitchen. Deb is a genius - if you haven't checked out her blog, please do. Her recipe called for onion halves, whole canned tomatoes, and 5 tablespoons of butter. You are to simmer the tomatoes with the butter and halved onion. Let simmer, take the onions out, add salt, and viola, sauce. I found the butter to be a miracle worker, but didn't get as much onion flavor in the sauce as I would have liked.

So..I adapted, experimented, and decided that I absolutely need to keep the butter, as well as the diced onions. Here goes it:

Ingredients (you can't even call this a list, it's so laughably short):

Medium Yellow Onion, Finely Diced

5-6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1 Stick/8 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter (if you use salted, just adjust the amount of salt added at the end)

28 oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes (I use Whole Foods Organic w/ Basil. I can't vouch for any other type of canned tomato.)

Salt and Fresh-Cracked Black Pepper, to Taste

Glass of Wine, for the Chef (entirely not optional)

Directions:

Melt that glorious butter, add the onions, saute for 10 minutes or so, until the onions are soft and translucent, but not browned.

Add garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. During those few minutes, be sure to inhale the smell of these three ingredients partying together. It's the best.

Add tomatoes and bring to a light simmer. Simma' for 20 minutes or so, until flavors are combined.

Add salt/pepper to taste.

Serve over pasta, use as a pizza sauce, eat it with french bread, eat it plain, with a spoon, out of the pot, while no one is looking. What? Anyway, it is really REALLY good. And guess what? It gets better as the days go by, assuming you don't eat it all on the first night.

Go forth and cook. And eat. And smile.

Lynne

The Look for Less

"Three things have helped me through the ordeals of life; an understanding husband, a good analyst, and millions of dollars." - Mary Tyler Moore

Oh, Mary, I love you. And I'd love to have millions of dollars like you do, but alas, I don't. Yet. ;)
In the mean time, I like to think of myself as a recessionista, due in part to necessity, and in part to just being kind of cheap. Keeping it real. Anyway, I am always on the look out for a good bargain, so I plan on featuring looks for less posts whenever I stumble upon a potential score. Here's my first submission to the file -

I was perusing Emily Henderson's fabulous Holiday Guide e-magazine and came across this funky little number in her gift guide:

$295 from A+R Store - found here.

It's a cool table lamp, but I'm not sure I'm sold at that price. BUT...it immediately brought to mind a long lost brother lamp that I noticed at World Market just this past weekend. Check it out:

$50 at World Market - found here.

For that price, I wouldn't mind buying it for my husband's office, a.k.a, the room where all paperwork goes to die. But more on that organization challenge later...In the mean time, I'll keep my eyes peeled for more good deals.

Happy deal-finding!
Lynne