What's Cooking Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie a la Nigella

This is something I participate in each week via my main blog: a2eatwrite. I'll post these entries here, as well.



Please go to Shan's place for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

It's been pretty snowy and blowy here in Michigan, and when I snapped on a Nigella Lawson program during a workout the other day, I was intrigued by what seemed to be an exceedingly easy and delicious-looking recipe for Chicken Pot Pie.

When I actually looked at the recipe, I found it was for "Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Pie", and while I love all of those ingredients, I really wanted something that was heavier on vegetables and didn't use bacon (much as I love it). I felt the use of puff pastry was probably enough in the "over the top" category.

There were two things I particularly loved about the recipe, though - she has a trick to make an easy-peasy roux, and she had a trick to make the puff pastry actually seal to the rim of the bowls.

And I did have dinner on the table, start to finish, in about 40 minutes and this got six thumbs up from three people, so I think that was probably pretty good odds. So... my version of Chicken Pot Pie a la Nigella:

Chicken Pot Pie a la Nigella



Ingredients:


1 TBS garlic infused oil (I cooked a large, smashed garlic clove in olive oil for 30 or so seconds)
10 - 15 crimini mushrooms, quartered
1 large stalk celery, sliced
2 medium - large carrots, sliced
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/4 cups hot chicken stock
1 tablespoon Marsala (I used Sherry)
1 (13-ounce) 9 by 16-inch sheet all-butter ready-rolled puff pastry - I used Trader Joe's sheets, which are smaller, and I probably used 1 and 1/2 sheets for three people. I think next time, one sheet will probably do it.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Prepare the oil and saute celery and carrots until they begin to soften. Add in the mushrooms and cook for 1 - 2 minutes more.

2. Toss the chicken strips in the flour, and then melt the butter in the pan before adding the floury chicken and all the flour left in the bag. Stir around with the vegetables until the chicken begins to color.

3. Pour in the hot stock, thyme and Sherry, stirring to form a sauce and let this bubble away for about 5 minutes.



4. Make a pastry rim for each of your pots for the pies, by this I mean an approximately 1/2-inch strip curled around the top of the pots.



5. Cut a circle bigger than the top of each pie-pot for the lid, and then divide the chicken filling between the three.

6. Pop on the top of each pie, sealing the edges with your fingers and making fork impressions around the edges.

7. Cook the pies for about 20 minutes turning them around half-way through cooking. Enjoy! (Serves three)

Love those podcasts: A new radio show - 101 Foods to Save Your Life!

Here's your chance to tune in to a new radio show called "101 Foods That Could Save Your Life", on Saturday mornings for the live broadcast or whenever you wish by downloading the podcast! This new weekly show is hosted by Dave Grotto, RD, author of the book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, in Chicago.

No matter when you're reading this blog entry, you've missed both the debut and the second live show on Saturday morning, December 27, when Dave interviewed special guests Ginny Erwin, RD and Chicago's Chef "J" about eating and preparing fish that is both healthy and delicious. However you always will have three great ways to listen to Dave's guests, including hearing the recipes discussed:

• Hear it live at 8:30am CST on AM 1160, WYLL (Chicago)
• Hear it streaming live at 8:30am CST at WYLL
• Catch the podcast after the 'airing' date at Radio Show Website

Dave's special guest on January 3rd will be Montel Williams, author of the new book Living Well, Emotionally. Montel will tell his story of how he battles Multiple Sclerosis and Depression daily and shares his special tips on how you can be Living Well, Emotionally.

I have known Dave Grotto for years. He is an experienced and popular Chicago-area radio host, Registered Dietitian (RD), author, and friend. In addition, he is one of just a handful of people I know who can always provoke a feel-good belly laugh from me, so expect a great radio show that will be packed with both helpful and healthful information in an entertaining way!

Check it out!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Ginger thins

The Joy of Cooking (1985 printing) is my go-to book for cookie recipes. These have intrigued me since I was 12, when I got my own copy. They were a pain in the butt to make, because I hate doing anything that requires repetition and fine muscle control. Knitters should have no problems with these, though. :) And they were so good...I hope I forget the annoyance before next cookie season!

This recipe says it makes "about 300 quarter-sized cookies". I didn't count; I filled three cookie sheets three or four times. The finished cookies filled two quart-sized containers, and then some.

Cream:
3/4 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses

Sift together:
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp each cloves, cinnamon, and ginger (or add more ginger and some black and red pepper for more kick)

Combine all ingredients to make a sticky dough. Put into a pastry tube (or improvise one out of a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) and put tiny dots onto a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper). The dots should be about 1/4" in diameter; the cookies will spread a lot when baked. You're aiming for something between the size of a nickel and a quarter when they're done. Bake at 325 for 5-6 minutes. Let cool and crisp up, and don't store them with any other kind of cookies or they'll go soft.

Kate's half-assed recipes

I've had a couple of requests for the recipes for the chocolate chocolate-chip and cranberry-orange shortbread cookies I brought to the cookie swap. The chocolate chocolate-chip ones are called Korova cookies and came from the Dessert First blog who adapted the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Paris Sweets. Unfortunately I can't remember what recipe I used for the cranberry-orange, which is too bad because I'd like to make them again....I took some standard shortbread recipe (it didn't use cornstarch or powdered sugar, just the basic flour and granulated sugar--I remember that much!) and added the zest of one orange and about 1/2 C of chopped up dried cranberries.

I have a bad habit of forgetting what recipe I used. Earlier this year I made some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that we all agreed were the best I've ever made. Unfortunately I remember eating them better than where I found the recipe because since then I've made 3 inferior batches from 3 different peanut butter cookie recipes. Sigh. I live in hope of someday finding it again (and writing it down!)

My Christmas Cookie post: A Jew does the Cookie Thing

I'm "double-dipping" here, because this post can also be found on a2eatwrite

Like so many Americans, I'm proud to proclaim myself a "mutt". Maybe not racially, but in terms of my heritage. On one side I'm Irish/German Protestant and on the other side I'm Polish/Belarus Jewish. Add in a little bit of Welsh and maybe a Brit or two, and stir well.

Spiritually? Who knows... I'm still trying to figure that out. Culturally? I feel like what I am - a blend of things.

It's taken me a long, long time to feel comfortable with this. That's all I'm going to say right now.

Anyway, Christmas cookies were never a part of my experience growing up. I think that had more to do with my mother's lack of interest in baking than anything else. Also, too, we both lit the candles for Hanukkah and had Mom's family over for Christmas, and I think there was just too much to do.

Lovely early food memories were receiving a huge, heavy tin of Mrs. Brown's shortbread that we'd receive each Christmas time. That was the sum total of my understanding of Christmas cookies.

My first year as an elementary teacher I was presented with the best plate of Christmas cookies I've ever tasted. Maybe they were that much better because I'd made it through my first semester, but no Christmas cookies have touched these since, and those cookies first intrigued me with the whole Christmas cookie idea.

So our Christmas plans changed this year, and all of a sudden more presents were needed and also all of a sudden we were plunged into grief and chaos. Shopping completely stresses me out and I really felt a strong need to stay close to home. Finally, Christmas cookies seemed to be the answer. Making things would be relaxing.

Hah.

Well, it was interesting, although after my first morning of baking I had herring and pickles for lunch - I think my Jewish side was rebelling against all this sugar and excess.

I planned my cookies carefully. I planned a swap. I searched recipes. I read tons of blogs. I haunted the Food Network and Epicurious.

Finally, this is what I came up with:


The bottom layer - traditional Christmas cookies, apricot-chocolate biscotti, espresso crinkles, candied walnuts with orange rind and chocolate

And this is what I came up with:


The top layer - pistachio-raspberry ribbon cookies, mincemeat swirls, cherry shortbread and peppermint bark.

For a first year, these were not bad. Did I make my own recipes? Heck no, I'm definitely not ready for that, yet.

Here's what I did make:

Traditional Christmas Cookies using a sugar cookie dough by Alton Brown. The reviews said that the cookies were bland, so I added 1 TBS rum and 1 tsp vanilla to the dough. I still found them bland, but C and his friend K loved them. And they are Christmas cookie fans, so who am I to judge? For the coatings I mixed a glaze of powdered sugar, water and rum. It was fine - the cookies were decorated by D and C, with some being decorated by me. The dough was PERFECT to work with. The recipe worked exactly as stated and rolling out and cutting out the cookies was easy (and I STINK at rolling and cutting). My new silpat pastry mat may have helped, too.

Apricot-Chocolate Biscotti: I used this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, but I obviously changed the add-ins and I switched from lemon rind to orange rind. I used a TBS of Grand Marnier and 3 TBS of orange juice as flavoring, and added in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, chopped fine, and 2/3 cup chopped apricots. Again, the dough and the recipe was perfect. If I had these to do over again, I'd use more oj and skip the Grand Marnier. There was a slightly bitter taste, and I think this would resolve it.

Espresso Crinkles. These were from Cooking Light. Don't. Bother. For chocolate lovers and children only. They're *okay* and C likes them fairly well, but they're not all that pretty and don't taste good enough and they were a pain to make. 'Nuff said.

Candied Walnuts with Orange Rind and Chocolate - I got these off an e-mail list, and I don't want to print the recipe without permission, but these ROCKED. I will find the author and get this to you. Promise. They were a tiny bit bitter, but cutting back on the orange rind would take care of it, I think.

Pistachio-Raspberry Ribbon Bars and Mince Pinwheel Cookies. Both of these recipes are by Marye Audet, and these were my two favorite cookies. Hands down. My only additions were that I used more jam and more Mince than Marye called for. The Mince Pinwheel Cookies may be my all-time favorite cookie, after Tollhouse Chocolate Chips. If you're a mince fan, you will LOVE these. The Ribbon Bars can be found here and the Mincemeat Swirls here.

Cherry Shortbread... hmmm... this did not work as well as I would have liked, although D thinks it's great. I used this shortbread recipe from the Hearty Boys, omitting the espresso aspects and stirred in one cup of chopped, dried cherries. The cherry flavor came through beautifully, but the shortbread really refused to set. I think I'd add 1/4 cup of flour the next time, due to the moistness of the cherries.

Peppermint Bark - easy-peasy and delicious! Just melt a cup and a half of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave, pour it on a parchment-lined, large cookie sheet with a lip, and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top. Let set. Break. Yum.

Phew. I'm exhausted.

I leave tomorrow morning for family and love and good fortune and I can't wait. See you in a few days. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa for anyone celebrating those holidays!

A Christmas Cookie Story

Today's New York Times Sunday magazine has a Christmas cookie story that is so perfect for this group that I just had to share it. Aside from the recipes (that Yugoslavian Christmas Cookie recipe is quite intriguing) and the example (woman bakes 500 dozen cookies with only one oven), there are so many details that I lingered over. The kitchen that is a "museum of appliances" (wonder what she would say about my 40-year-old Osterizer) and the friends who save See's Candies boxes so she can package the cookies.

The article has links to all the past NYT cookie recipes, too. Happy baking.

Just like Snackin' Cake

Please forgive this slightly off-topic post, but I'm so thrilled with this recipe that I had to share.

When I was little, my mom would make me snacks for when I came home from school. It was the 70s, so no one cooked from scratch (God forbid! That was too old-fashioned!!), but they were still good treats. My favorite was something called Snackin' Cake. It had this particular taste to it...I can't describe it, but I've been searching for it since I was a kid. And like the Supreme Court would know porn when it saw it, well, I'd know this taste when I tasted it.

Thanks to the following recipe from the Ann Arbor News, I think I found it. The important thing is to let it sit over night. The entire taste changes from great to Snackin' Cake great.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

1 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 c sugar
4 large eggs
2 c pumpkin puree (I had frozen some from local pumpkins and used this)
2/3 c water
3 1/3 c of all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 t nutmeg
1 t vanilla extract (I always put a little extra vanilla!)
1 1/2 c chocolate chips
(The recipe also calls for 1 c chopped walnuts or pecans, but Jeff had eaten the rest of the pecans so I couldn't add this).

Cook for an hour at 350 (took mine a little longer)
Cream together the oil, sugar, pumpkin, eggs and water. The batter will be very runny--don't worry about this.
In a smaller bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Stir into the wet ingredients. Add vanilla, nuts (if using) and chips.
Spoon batter into two loaf pans, lightly greased. Bake for an hour or so.
Let it sit overnight!!
Enjoy! And thanks, Mom, for all of the great snacks when I was younger!