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Bourbon and Vanilla Infused Sugar

March 29, 2011 by 8 Comments

My friend Pamela is a good person to know.

She knits the most amazing things. She sews like an angel and can sing your pants off*.

*Make that sings like an angel and can sew your pants on. Really. She could probably sing while sewing on your pants and knitting you a sweater. She’s good like that.

Her kids and my kids and her mister and my mister and she and I get along famously.  A few weeks back, as our crew was getting ready to leave their casa, my kids started complaining loudly about how starved they were. STARVED, they said. Clearly this was hooey since they had done nothing but eat all day without cease.  Pamela, though, kind soul that she is, saw in an instant just how much longer that one hour drive home would feel with five griping children. She rifled through her cabinets and handed the kids a goody bag full of chips, crackers and granola bars. Then she handed me a jar full of a concoction from her own private stash; Bourbon and Vanilla Infused Raw Sugar.

Home again, I tucked the kids into bed, cracked open the jar, sniffed and swooned.  Bourbon and vanilla swirled around me.  I dipped my finger into the jar and sampled and swooned again. Holy moly. Oh yummy yum yum. The caramel crunchy raw sugar had soaked up all the bourbon and vanilla flavours. Every little grain was a perfect blend of caramel, bourbon and vanilla.

Life is very good with a jar of this around the house. Happily, Pamela shared her method. And luckily for all of us, it’s as easy to make as a cup of boiled water.

Bourbon and Vanilla Infused Sugar

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe.

Yield: About 2 quarts of infused sugar. Keeps indefinitely.

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 whole vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise
  • 8 cups raw (turbinado or demerara) sugar
  • 6 teaspoons bourbon (Use one that is good enough to sip for best results.)

Fill a wide-mouthed half-gallon jar about halfway with raw sugar, shove the split vanilla beans into the sugar and pour 2 teaspoons of the bourbon into the jar.

Pour more sugar into the jar until it is about 2/3 full. Pour in another 2 teaspoons of bourbon. Tighten the lid on the jar and shake the jar HARD and repeatedly to distribute the ingredients well. Open the lid, fill the sugar to the bottom ring of the jar.  Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of bourbon, tighten the lid again and shake it, shake it, shake it. Shake what your Mama gave you.  Stash the jar in a cool, dark place for at least a week before using. You can top the jar off as it gets lower, just lid it and shake it every time you do.

If the sugar hardens up, place a slice of apple in the jar, tighten the lid and let it sit overnight. Remove the apple and stir before re-lidding.

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Bourbon and Vanilla Infused Sugar
Author: 
Recipe type: Condiment, Ingredient
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

 

Crunchy textured, caramelly, raw sugar infused with real vanilla beans and bourbon. Sprinkle on cookies, cakes, muffins or stir into coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
Ingredients
  • 4-6 whole vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise
  • 8 cups raw (turbinado or demerara) sugar
  • 6 teaspoons bourbon (Use one that is good enough to sip for best results.)

Instructions
  1. Fill a wide-mouthed half-gallon jar about halfway with raw sugar, shove the split vanilla beans into the sugar and pour 2 teaspoons of the bourbon into the jar. Pour more sugar into the jar until it is about ⅔ full. Pour in another 2 teaspoons of bourbon. Tighten the lid on the jar and shake the jar HARD and repeatedly to distribute the ingredients well. Open the lid, fill the sugar to the bottom ring of the jar. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of bourbon, tighten the lid again and shake it, shake it, shake it. Shake what your Mama gave you. Stash the jar in a cool, dark place for at least a week before using. You can top the jar off as it gets lower, just lid it and shake it every time you do.

Notes
If the sugar hardens up, place a slice of apple in the jar, tighten the lid and let it sit overnight. Remove the apple and stir before re-lidding.

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Filed Under: Component Foods, Condiments, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , ,

Shortbread Cookie Spoons (Spookies)

March 28, 2011 by 4 Comments

You know how sometimes everything just comes together at the right time? Those moments where inspiration strikes at the same time that you have all the supplies to make it happen? This is one of those moments.

I had just made some velvety, luscious chocolate custard and one of my friends started talking about the world’s best shortbread cookies that she just made. I wished aloud that I had a couple of her cookies to dunk in my custard and asked for the recipe.

Lightbulb.

I was going to make cookies that were spoons and eat my custard with them. Were they cookies? Were they spoons? Yes, they were both; they were Spookies*.

*Like a spork, but much more delicious.

I imagined them wrapped up in cellophane and a bow as the prettiest cookie at the bake sale, bagged up with a gift tag as a hostess gift, then the dipping and dunking vistas opened up before me;  Spookies dunked in custard (as I served them), Spanish Style Hot Chocolate, coffee, hot cocoa, pudding… What couldn’t Spookies do?

I messed with my friend’s recipe ever so slightly, substituting orange zest for lemon zest out of necessity and  rice flour for half of the all-purpose flour in her recipe. Why? Well, the best shortbread cookie I have ever had in my entire life came from an elderly Scottish woman who told me she the secret to truly wonderful shortbread was to use half all-purpose flour and half rice flour.  She said as long as you used real butter and the flour blend, everything else would fall into place.

Every shortbread I’ve made since has incorporated her trick. To test her (now our) theory, I did a side-by-side comparison on my friend’s recipe. I made a batch using all-purpose flour and one using the blend of all-purpose and rice flour. They were both outstanding, but the one made with rice flour was slightly more delicate in crumb and flavor.  The verdict: Half the crew here was in the rice flour camp and half was in the all all-purpose camp but everyone agreed that they would eat either without hesitation. If you can lay your hands on a bag of rice flour, I encourage you to make it as written below. If you can’t, substitute another cup (4 1/4 ounces, by weight) of all-purpose flour for the rice flour. It’ll still be delicious!

Note: To the best of my knowledge, there aren’t any spoon shaped cookie cutters in the world. I did the next best thing. I used brute force and a pair of pliers to bend an old bell-shaped medium-sized (2″) cookie cutter into a spoon-ish shaped cutter. It was a bit wonky, but effective and efficient. If you’d prefer, you can trace a tablespoon sized measuring spoon on cardboard and cut that out to use as a template.  I found it much simpler to bend the tar out of a cookie cutter and use it than to cut around a cardboard template repeatedly, but do as the whimsy moves you!

Shortbread Cookie Spoons

Gently adapted from Krysta, Evil Chef Mom.

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

  • 2 sticks (8 ounces, by weight) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, cut 1/2-inch pats.
  • 1/2 cup superfine sugar (Can be made by placing granulated sugar in a blender on HIGH for about twenty seconds.)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of 1/2 an orange
  • 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces, by weight) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (5 ounces, by weight) white rice flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup Bourbon and Vanilla Infused Sugar (preferably Bourbon infused) or granulated sugar

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and set aside.

Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment  and beat butter on medium high until butter is totally smooth, about 1 minute. Change mixer speed to low, and with it running, gradually add the superfine sugar, then the vanilla, orange zest and salt, and continue mixing until it lightens in color. Turn mixer off, add about 1/3 of the flour blend. Turn mixer onto low and incorporate all the flour. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides and add another third of the flour blend.  Again, mix on low until incorporated, then turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides and add and blend in the final installment of flour. Continue mixing on low until the dough forms a fairly cohesive mass.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead four times, or until smooth. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Gently roll the dough out to an even thickness between 1/4- and 1/3- of an inch.

Line two cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper and place to the side.

Use your spoon cookie cutter (or trace around the edge of our template with a sharp paring knife) and carefully transfer the shapes to the lined cookie sheets, placing them 1-inch apart.  Collect the scrap dough, gently push it back together and roll out, cutting more cookies. Continue gathering scraps, re-rolling the dough, and cutting until all the dough has been used.

Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. When hot, place one cookie sheet on each rack. Cook,rotating the trays from front to back and top to bottom after 7 minutes, for a total time of 15 minutes or just until they become golden brown around the edges. Remove the trays from the oven and immediately sprinkle the raw sugar over the hot cookies. Cool the cookies completely on the pans.

 

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. These cookies just improve with age.

…Want your own bourbon and vanilla infused sugar? That’s coming your way tomorrow! I guarantee you want this recipe. Think of it stirred into coffee, tea, sprinkled over cookies, etc… I thought so. See you tomorrow!

 

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Shortbread Cookie Spoons (Spookies)
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert, Cookie
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 15
 

These lightly orange-scented, spoon shaped shortbread cookies turn the ultimate cookie into the ultimate dipper. Dunk in hot chocolate, coffee, tea, or milk. Don’t stop there, though. Try them in pudding, custard, and ice cream!
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces, by weight) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, cut ½-inch pats.
  • ½ cup superfine sugar (Can be made by placing granulated sugar in a blender on HIGH for about twenty seconds.)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of ½ an orange
  • 1 cup (4¼ ounces, by weight) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (5 ounces, by weight) white rice flour
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup raw sugar (preferably Bourbon infused) or granulated sugar

Instructions
  1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and set aside. Trace a measuring spoon (tablespoon size) onto cardboard and cut out to use as a template or bend a medium-sized metal cookie cutter into a spoon shape. (Of course, if you happen to have a spoon sized cookie cutter that will work!)
  2. Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat butter on medium high until butter is totally smooth, about 1 minute. Change mixer speed to low, and with it running, gradually add the superfine sugar, then the vanilla, orange zest and salt, and continue mixing until it lightens in color. Turn mixer off, add about ⅓ of the flour blend. Turn mixer onto low and incorporate all the flour. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides and add another third of the flour blend. Again, mix on low until incorporated, then turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides and add and blend in the final installment of flour. Continue mixing on low until the dough forms a fairly cohesive mass.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead four times, or until smooth. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Gently roll the dough out to an even thickness between ¼- and ⅓- of an inch.
  4. Line two cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper and place to the side.
  5. Use your spoon cookie cutter (or trace around the edge of our template with a sharp paring knife) and carefully transfer the shapes to the lined cookie sheets, placing them 1-inch apart. Collect the scrap dough, gently push it back together and roll out, cutting more cookies. Continue gathering scraps, re-rolling the dough, and cutting until all the dough has been used. Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. When hot, place one cookie sheet on each rack. Cook,rotating the trays from front to back and top to bottom after 7 minutes, for a total time of 15 minutes or just until they become golden brown around the edges. Remove the trays from the oven and immediately sprinkle the remaining sugar over the hot cookies. Cool the cookies completely on the pans.
  7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. These cookies just improve with age.

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Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Garlic Butter Soft Pretzel Bites

March 25, 2011 by 6 Comments

I declare soft pretzels in their many forms to be my all-time favorite snack food with ZERO exceptions. Sure, there are many other delicious things with which to satisfy a snack attack, but there is nothing to compare to the pure satisfaction of biting into a chewy, salty, warm, soft pretzel. With mustard. Lots of mustard*.

*I suppose, strictly speaking, that the mustard is optional, but not for me. No way. I need a good schmear of mustard, be it fancy-pants grainy or generic yellow squeeze bottle variety.

I’ve eaten soft pretzels that were hanging for goodness knows how long in glass boxes on metal hangers under heat lamps at hockey and baseball games, from the depths of steam-table street-cart vendors in Germany, microwaved from little boxes and from mall food courts. They were all more or less edible, some more edible than others. I’m looking at you Germany. You make a mean pretzel.

It takes a lot of work to really botch a soft pretzel. It can be done, mind you, but you have to put some serious effort behind the failure. I’ll happily consume even a mediocre soft pretzel over a milkshake any day of the week. (Although a soft pretzel/milkshake repast would be ever so delightful.)

Howevah… Truly wonderful soft pretzels are a thing of joy. And homemade soft pretzels are past wonderful and parked firmly in the “The Best Soft Pretzel You’ll Ever Have” camp.

One marvey thing about homemade soft pretzels is that you can cook them to whatever level of pretzel brown-ness you love best. Most of the time I like them deep, deep brown; I like them to look almost like they’ve put one little pretzel toe into overdone territory. They fool you, those little beauties. When done to that stage, the outside is chewy to the point of making you look like a dog with a rawhide but they’re still soft on the inside. Of course, if your teeth or jaws like a little less fight from the food, you can back off the cooking time and go for a more golden brown. They’re still sublime.

For these little honeys, I like to make quick work of the process and simply roll the dough into ropes then cut into bite sized pieces. If you prefer the traditional braided pretzel, you’re welcome to do it, but the roll-and-cut method yields one-to-two bite pretzels in record speed. Besides, I have a thing for bite sized food. It’s small so it has fewer calories so you can eat more, right? Right?!?

And when you’ve gone to the effort of making your own pretzels, why not top the knob? Garlic butter is everything a soft pretzel ever wanted and more. It leaves your fingers buttery and garlicky and you are forced -nay, compelled!- to lick your fingers your fingers clean of salt and garlic butter after each perfect little pretzel bite.

I have a promise to make to you. If you lay out a platter full of these, a bucket full of iced root beers or fruit spritzers, and a pile of napkins for a party or a picnic or a bunch of your kids’ friends, you will be the most popular person/spouse/parent/loved one in. the. world. This is my boys’ friends’ most often requested snack. I always say yes. Always. It’s part of my master plan to be the go-to house. I’d ask my kids’ friends whether it’s working, but their mouths are currently full of soft pretzel.

 

Garlic Butter Soft Pretzel Bites

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Yield: A bunch

Ingredients for dough:

  • 4 cups (1 pound 1 ounce, by weight) bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder (preferably) or sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup hot tap water
  • 2 teaspoons SAF or instant yeast

Ingredients for pretzel boil:

  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda

Ingredients for toppings:

  • 1 egg white, whisked until frothy
  • Coarse sea salt, kosher salt or pretzel salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted, mixed with 1/2-1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (or 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic)

To Make the Dough by Hand:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast.  Set the whisk aside and switch to a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the milk and tap water until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a generously floured surface and knead, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep the dough from adhering to the counter. You do not want a firm dough… it should be fairly slack,  a little tacky and soft, yet smooth. Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.

To Make the Dough by Stand Mixer:

In the work-bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Mix on low just to combine dry ingredients. With mixer still on low, carefully pour in the milk and water. Continue mixing on low until you have a smooth, soft, slightly tacky dough. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.

To Make the Dough by Bread Machine:

Add the milk, water, flour, malt powder or sugar, and yeast to the pan of your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the “Dough” or “Dough Only” cycle and hit start. Allow the cycle to complete.

To Form Pretzel Bites:

Line two 11×13-inch baking sheets with silicone or teflon pan liners. Set next to your work area.

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Use a bench knife to cut the dough into four pieces. Keep  three pieces covered with a tea towel while working with the first. Roll the piece like play-dough until you have a snake of dough about the circumference of two thumbs squashed together. Use your bench knife to cut 1-inch pieces from the dough snake. Transfer the dough pieces onto the lined baking sheets, being sure to leave generous amounts of room between pieces and rows. They will expand both as they rise and again as they boil and bake. When you have dealt with all the dough, cover the pans with tea towels and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy looking, about 20 minutes.

To Cook the Pretzels:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (enameled cast-iron, tempered glass, etc…) When water boils, add the baking soda. Gently lift the pretzel dough pieces one at a time into the boiling water. (You can boil more than one at a time, but be sure not to crowd the the pan as they will expand as they boil.  Let simmer for about 45 seconds, flip the pieces and simmer for another 45 seconds-1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to drain and return each piece to its place on the pan. Continue until all pieces have been boiled and returned to the pan.

Brush all pieces of dough with the frothy egg white and sprinkle with coarse salt. Place pans in oven and bake at least until golden brown (at least 15 minutes), but you can bake until they are deep brown. It’s up to you!

Remove the pans from the oven and brush the pretzels with the garlic butter. If you have leftover garlic butter, you can place the pretzels in a large mixing bowl and toss with the remaining butter.

Serve warm or room temperature. I like mine with classic yellow mustard.

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Garlic Butter Soft Pretzel Bites
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack, Appetizer
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 8
 

Perfect, chewy, rich-brown, garlic butter brushed two-bite soft pretzels. Alone or with a cold root beer, these make the perfect after school snack or party food!
Ingredients
  • Ingredients for dough:
  • 4 cups (1 pound 1 ounce, by weight) bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder (preferably) or sugar
  • 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup hot tap water
  • 2 teaspoons SAF or instant yeast
  • Ingredients for pretzel boil:
  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • Ingredients for toppings:
  • 1 egg white, whisked until frothy
  • Coarse sea salt, kosher salt or pretzel salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted, mixed with ½-1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (or ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic)

Instructions
  1. To Make the Dough by Hand:
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Set the whisk aside and switch to a sturdy wooden spoon. Stir in the milk and tap water until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a generously floured surface and knead, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep the dough from adhering to the counter. You do not want a firm dough… it should be fairly slack, a little tacky and soft, yet smooth. Place dough in a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.
  3. To Make the Dough by Stand Mixer:
  4. In the work-bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, salt, malt powder or sugar and yeast. Mix on low just to combine dry ingredients. With mixer still on low, carefully pour in the milk and water. Continue mixing on low until you have a smooth, soft, slightly tacky dough. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.
  5. To Make the Dough by Bread Machine:
  6. Add the milk, water, flour, malt powder or sugar, and yeast to the pan of your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the “Dough” or “Dough Only” cycle and hit start. Allow the cycle to complete.
  7. To Form Pretzel Bites:
  8. Line two 11×13-inch baking sheets with silicone or teflon pan liners. Set next to your work area.
  9. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Use a bench knife to cut the dough into four pieces. Keep three pieces covered with a tea towel while working with the first. Roll the piece like play-dough until you have a snake of dough about the circumference of two thumbs squashed together. Use your bench knife to cut 1-inch pieces from the dough snake. Transfer the dough pieces onto the lined baking sheets, being sure to leave generous amounts of room between pieces and rows. They will expand both as they rise and again as they boil and bake. When you have dealt with all the dough, cover the pans with tea towels and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy looking, about 20 minutes.
  10. To Cook the Pretzels:
  11. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  12. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (enameled cast-iron, tempered glass, etc…) When water boils, add the baking soda. Gently lift the pretzel dough pieces one at a time into the boiling water. (You can boil more than one at a time, but be sure not to crowd the the pan as they will expand as they boil. Let simmer for about 45 seconds, flip the pieces and simmer for another 45 seconds-1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to drain and return each piece to its place on the pan. Continue until all pieces have been boiled and returned to the pan.
  13. Brush all pieces of dough with the frothy egg white and sprinkle with coarse salt. Place pans in oven and bake at least until golden brown (at least 15 minutes), but you can bake until they are deep brown. It’s up to you!
  14. Remove the pans from the oven and brush the pretzels with the garlic butter. If you have leftover garlic butter, you can place the pretzels in a large mixing bowl and toss with the remaining butter.
  15. Serve warm or room temperature. I like mine with classic yellow mustard.

Notes
There is at least an hour or so of inactive prep time while your dough is rising.

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Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hot TexMess

March 23, 2011 by 8 Comments

We had ten inches of snow last night. On the twenty second-slash-twenty third of March. I vacillated between bitter and grateful. Bitter because it’s MARCH TWENTY THIRD and I have ten inches of snow when yesterday there was green and chirping and peeping and warm breezes and sunshine. I opted to park myself on grateful because I had another opportunity to pull out all the stops on comfort food. Since I’m a realistic optimist, I took advantage of the cold day to bake up a storm. By the time the baking was all done, I was done*. And while cookies and cakes and clafoutis make really delightful desserts and snacks, they do not a dinner comprise.

*As in stick a fork in me dun done.

While four hungry children milled around me asking what was for dinner (and one sneaky child snitched at cookies on cooling racks) I searched the dusty rooms of my brain for what I could turn out that would be satisfying, quick, crowd-pleasing and delicious enough to prevent me from resenting the food on tonight’s season finale of Top Chef All-Stars.*

*Have you ever tried watching that show (or another like it) after a dinner of tater tots and boiled hot dogs? I don’t recommend it unless you’re a much more even-keeled, much less sensitive person than I am.

This dish was inspired when I stumbled onto one recipe for chilaquiles (tortillas simmered in a spicy tomato sauce) and then onto one for huevos rancheros. Hot dang and pass the plate! Where had these two dishes been all my life? The short answer is that they were, with a few exceptions, in Texas, New Mexico, Southern California. Since I’ve spent my life in Michigan, Kentucky, New York and France, it was no wonder my experience with them was limited. Yes, I’d had the huevos rancheros before, but chilaquiles were new to me. And since I didn’t know any better, I combined the two recipes and performed my own ignorant alchemy on them.

Because what I did resulted in gold. Ugly gold, but certifiable 24-karat food gold. I was struggling for what to call the dish because I think we’ll all agree that “Chilaquiles Plus Huevos Rancheros and a Few Extra Things that Don’t Really Belong” is somewhat unwieldy. I consulted a friend with much more experience in this than me. She said, “Call it whatever you want. It’s really not either dish.” Or something to that effect, but very loving. Also interesting? She told me that both of those dishes are considered hangover food. This brings me to another point…

The plate just looked like a big hot mess to me. Let’s be frank. It’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever turned out of my kitchen, but whooooeee.  Just like Nick Tahoe’s Garbage Plates, it was worth forgetting its lack of the pretty. And if you’ve ever stumbled across the Nick Tahoe’s threshold on a late night college tour of Rochester, you know how satisfying an ugly, ugly dish can be.

Because I was feeling silly and full of myself and I have a serious penchant for word play, I decided to call it a big Hot TexMess. It is what it is. And what it is is delicious. This is my hideous and wonderful creation. I think Nick Tahoe probably felt the same way. Look past the ugly duckling exterior and whip up a big old batch of this for yourself tonight. I promise you will be happy you did.

Hot TexMess

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Yield: Serves four very generously or six with bird-like appetites

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups smoky chipotle and tomatillo salsa (I used homemade salsa, use whatever is your favorite type.)
  • 2-3 cups leftover pulled pork or chicken
  • 12 corn tortillas, stacked and cut into 1-1/2 inch squares
  • Neutral Oil (such as canola, vegetable) or peanut for frying
  • 2 cups refried beans, heated
  • 4 eggs (or six if you’re serving small portions), fried in butter
  • 1 cup crumbled cojita or feta cheese (You can substitute grated Monterey Jack if desired or necessary.)
  • 1 ripe avocado, halved, scooped from the shell and sliced
  • 1/2 of a sweet onion, peeled and finely diced
  • sour cream or Greek yogurt (How about you make your own?)
  • candied jalapenos, preferably (If you haven’t made them yet, this is the time!) or jarred jalapenos
  • chopped fresh cilantro
  • lime wedges
  • Optional: hot white rice

Heat 2-inches of oil to 350°F in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. If you don’t have a deep-frying thermometer, you can tell the oil has reached the proper temperature when it looks streaky in the pan and a piece of tortilla dropped into it forms many bubbles around the edges immediately. Fry the corn tortillas in batches, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crisp. This should take between 3 and 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chips to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, stir together the pulled pork (or chicken) and the salsa and bring to a simmer. When it reaches a simmer, gently toss in the fried tortillas. Allow to simmer for about 2-3 minutes, or just until the tortillas begin to soften a little. Remove from the heat.

Lay out four (or six) serving plates. If you’re using the rice, mound a scoop of rice into the center and press down in the middle to make a well.  Divide the refried beans between the plates and then divide the simmered tortillas and meat between the plates. Top each serving with a fried egg, cheese, onion, chopped cilantro, sour cream, and finally the avocado slices. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the top. Dig. In.

4.0 from 1 reviews

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Hot TexMess
Author: 
Recipe type: Main, Breakfast, Dinner
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Huevos Rancheros crossed with Chilaquiles (salsa simmered corn tortillas) topped with avocados, sour cream, candied jalapenos, cheese and more! Gluten free to boot!
Ingredients
  • 4 cups smoky chipotle and tomatillo salsa (I used homemade salsa, use whatever is your favorite type.)
  • 2-3 cups leftover pulled pork or chicken
  • 12 corn tortillas, stacked and cut into 1-1/2 inch squares
  • Neutral Oil (such as canola, vegetable) or peanut for frying
  • 2 cups refried beans, heated
  • 4 eggs (or six if you’re serving small portions), fried in butter
  • 1 cup crumbled cojita or feta cheese (You can substitute grated Monterey Jack if desired or necessary.)
  • 1 ripe avocado, halved, scooped from the shell and sliced
  • ½ of a sweet onion, peeled and finely diced
  • sour cream or Greek yogurt (How about you make your own?)
  • candied jalapenos, preferably (If you haven’t made them yet, this is the time!) or jarred jalapenos
  • chopped fresh cilantro
  • lime wedges
  • Optional: hot white rice

Instructions
  1. Heat 2-inches of oil to 350°F in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. If you don’t have a deep-frying thermometer, you can tell the oil has reached the proper temperature when it looks streaky in the pan and a piece of tortilla dropped into it forms many bubbles around the edges immediately. Fry the corn tortillas in batches, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crisp. This should take between 3 and 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chips to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside.
  2. In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, stir together the pulled pork (or chicken) and the salsa and bring to a simmer. When it reaches a simmer, gently toss in the fried tortillas. Allow to simmer for about 2-3 minutes, or just until the tortillas begin to soften a little. Remove from the heat.
  3. Lay out four (or six) serving plates. If you’re using the rice, mound a scoop of rice into the center and press down in the middle to make a well. Divide the refried beans between the plates and then divide the simmered tortillas and meat between the plates. Top each serving with a fried egg, cheese, onion, chopped cilantro, sour cream, and finally the avocado slices. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the top. Dig. In.

Notes
If you have bird-like appetites, this serves six.

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Filed Under: Eggs, Getting Creative With Leftovers, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Spicy Sweet and Sour Tofu

March 21, 2011 by 4 Comments

From a smarty-pants, web-savvy point of view, I ‘m doing this strangely. I should be posting this later this week so you can think of it for Friday (say for instance, if you’re observing Lent) and I should not mention that I know that… But I was lucky enough to see some pretty spectacular thunderstorms -mighty unusual for this area at this time of year- at about 5 a.m. For those of you to whom I am not married and of whom I did not give birth, that is roughly WAY TOO EARLY for me. Thus, I cannot be held responsible for messing up the order of what I’m posting.  Rest assured, I have some seriously meaty, luxurious, not-at-all-Lent friendly dishes that will be posted later this week.

Tofu.

Right.

Tofu and I made a little peace many moons ago when I spent a few teen and young adult years as a vegetarian. A little peace, I say, because while I liked it alright, I never craved it. It was just kind of boring.

In retrospect, I understand this means it wasn’t cooked the way I liked it, which was nobody’s fault but my own since I was the one cooking it. Live and learn, right? In the past couple years, I’ve tried adding tofu to our family’s diet on a very occasional basis. Very occasional because while my eldest three kids, as a rule, do not complain about food, two of them complain vociferously about tofu. One of them loves it. Add the two youngest finicky eaters to the mix and the perpetual balancing act of motherhood falls flat and gives short shrift to my poor, long-suffering, tofu-loving eleven-year-old. He wasn’t the only one mourning the lack of the bean curd, though. The Evil Genius loves tofu.

I still serve it though, because they may be stubborn, but I invented stubborn. You can’t write off a food as hopeless until you have tried it at least twenty times or more. And I keep trying, because tofu is a wonderfully efficient and economical source of protein for meatless meals. It is simple to prepare and it can be adapted to just about any regional cuisine or style. I feel victory on the horizon! Mainly because I made this dish two weeks ago.

The ones who don’t usually like tofu liked this! The two youngest liked it enough to take three bites each. The rest of them? Ate it! In abundance! They ate it! And they loved it! And I loved it! And the Evil Genius loved it! And I need to step away from the exclamation marks! Now!

The point is this. I never craved a tofu dish before having this one. I liked this so much that the day after making it I announced that I wanted to make it again that night.  That might’ve been pushing it a bit. My eldest said, “Let’s not get carried away, Mom. How about we wait ’til next Friday?” From him, that was a ringing endorsement.

What makes this tofu dish different? The triangles are lightly fried in oil until golden brown, that gives a little crisp outer crust to the fluffy inner tofu. The Thai inspired sauce is spectacularly simple and bold; lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, a little heat and a little sweet and a little umami courtesy of fish sauce.

If you have dietary restrictions that contraindicate using fish sauce, you can simply replace it with an equal amount of soy sauce. But if you can, make it with the fish sauce. It gives it that little extra level of flavor that tofu often needs since it is, on its own, quite bland.

While you can substitute white sugar for the raw sugar, I encourage you to try it with the raw sugar first. It adds a rounder flavor and more body to the sauce. Do a little taste test with some raw sugar and white sugar. Do you taste the hint of caramel in the raw sugar? Once you start using this, you’ll be hooked!

P.S. As of Wednesday, one of the two youngest boys asked me how long until they got to try the tofu again. SCORE! (One last exclamation mark. I think you’ll agree it was warranted.)

Spicy Sweet and Sour Tofu

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 14 ounces Extra Firm Tofu
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons raw sugar (Turbinado or Demerara preferably, white sugar can be used in a pinch.)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated on a microplane
  • zest from one lime
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or peanut)
  • Optional for garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro

Lay the tofu block on its widest side on a cutting board over a towel. Lay two dinner plates on top of the tofu as a weight and let it drain for 10 minutes. Lift the plates, flip the tofu block, replace the plate and let drain for another 10 minutes. Repeat the process once more for each side.  Your total draining time should be at or over 40 minutes. This draining makes the tofu hold together better and pop less in the hot oil.

Set the tofu block on the long, narrow side and slice into four thin cards.

Stack the cards and cut lengthwise, then crosswise into four rectangles.

Cut the rectangles diagonally into triangles.

Then make a tofu sculpture. Because you can. Tofu. More fun that you ever knew before…

This should give you 8 triangles per card, for a total of 32 triangles.

Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, lime juice and zest, fish sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Pour the oil into a 12-inch non-stick skillet (or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet) over medium heat. Carefully and quickly arrange the tofu triangles in the hot oil.

The combination of oil and tofu has a tendency to spit, so you need to be cautious. Work quickly, but don’t throw the tofu or it will splash you with hot oil and fall apart despite your best efforts.  Fry the tofu, without moving it, for 4-5 minutes, or until it is golden brown on the underside. Use tongs or a spatula to flip all the tofu triangles.

Turn the heat under the pan to high. Whisk the sauce one more time and pour over the hot tofu and pan. The sauce should bubble up and boil almost immediately.  Gently toss the tofu to coat well. Continue cooking and tossing until the sauce is syrupy. This will take  from 2-4 minutes.

Serve tofu triangles immediately in the syrup. I prefer this over sweet brown rice, but it is also good over Calrose or sushi-type rice. I like it accompanied by stir-fried green vegetables of some sort, but use whatever you enjoy most.

Print
Spicy Sweet and Sour Tofu
Author: 
Recipe type: Main, Vegetarian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

The Thai and Vietnamese inspired sauce for these crispy, golden brown triangles of tofu is spectacularly simple and bold; lime juice, ginger, garlic, soy sauce. Sweet, heat, umami goodness.
Ingredients
  • 14 ounces Extra Firm Tofu
  • 2½ tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons raw sugar (Turbinado or Demerara preferably, white sugar can be used in a pinch.)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1½ teaspoons fish sauce
  • ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated on a microplane
  • zest from one lime
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or peanut)
  • Optional: chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions
  1. Lay the tofu block on its widest side on a cutting board over a towel. Lay two dinner plates on top of the tofu as a weight and let it drain for 10 minutes. Lift the plates, flip the tofu block, replace the plate and let drain for another 10 minutes. Repeat the process once more for each side. Your total draining time should be at or over 40 minutes. This draining makes the tofu hold together better and pop less in the hot oil.
  2. Set the tofu block on the long, narrow side and slice into four narrow cards. Stack the cards and cut lengthwise, then crosswise into four rectangles. Cut the rectangles diagonally into triangles. This should give you 8 triangles per card, for a total of 32 triangles.
  3. Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, lime juice and zest, fish sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
  4. Pour the oil into a 12-inch non-stick skillet (or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet) over medium heat. Carefully and quickly arrange the tofu triangles in the hot oil. The combination of oil and tofu has a tendency to spit, so you need to be cautious. Work quickly, but don’t throw the tofu or it will fall apart despite your best efforts. Fry the tofu, without moving it, for 4-5 minutes, or until it is golden brown on the underside. Use tongs or a spatula to flip all the tofu triangles.
  5. Turn the heat under the pan to high. Whisk the sauce one more time and pour over the hot tofu and pan. The sauce should bubble up and boil almost immediately. Gently toss the tofu to coat well. Continue cooking and tossing until the sauce is syrupy. This will take from 2-4 minutes.
  6. Serve tofu triangles immediately in the syrup. I prefer this over sweet brown rice, but it is also good over Calrose or sushi-type rice. I like it accompanied by stir-fried green vegetables of some sort, but use whatever you enjoy most.

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Filed Under: Getting Creative With Leftovers, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Main Dish, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Foodie With Family 2.0

March 19, 2011 by 2 Comments
Today, Foodie With Family got a little bit more streamlined when we dropped the “/blog” at the end of our web address. The truth is, I was probably the only person bothered by it. I was certain that it stuck out… much like thinking everyone is staring at a pimple on the end of your nose that’s really visible to no one but you. Such is life. It bugged me and it is now gone. 

Since I’m acting as my own webmaster*, there may be a few blips here and there over the next few days. If you spot a link I’ve failed to fix, please drop me a line and let me know. I’ll get right on it.
*And a roar of laughter came from the real web-techs and webmasters and designers of the world.

One unavoidable difficulty is that I had to change my feed. If you would be so kind to resubscribe in your various readers and emails, I would be ever so grateful. I’d hate to lose even one of you; You’re all dear to me!

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Banana Nutmeg Smoothies

March 14, 2011 by 7 Comments

Warning: This post is going to discuss bodily functions. Sorry, butt there’s no getting around it, and everybody does it. This has been a Foodie With Family P.S.A.

When you have little kids, life seems to develop a tendency to revolve around… Hmm. How to say this nicely and in a not-unappetizing way on a food blog? Let’s put it this way. When you have a room full of moms of young children or doting pet owners, what does the conversation turn to eventually? Unexpected Anterior and Posterior gastro-intenstinal functions*.  Without fail. And I mean it. All you moms of human and animal babies out there are nodding your heads.

*Brilliant! Now I don’t actually have to say poop. Oh crap. I mean crud. Oh geez… I’m going back to bed now.

When my first baby (Help me. He’s a teenager now!) was young, his tiny gut had quite  the time adjusting.  At two months old, he had stopped gaining weight and needed surgery to correct Pyloric Stenosis. I was a first time mother with a very overactive morbid imagination and a baby who was not growing courtesy of an unseen and heretofore unheard-of disorder. Cue hardcore panic. Thankfully, the hospital and neo-natal intensive care unit proved to be staffed entirely by saints and angels who were also preternaturally patient*.

*I know they were angels because they saved my baby (Mah Bay-bay!). While he was in recovery and before I could see him, my lips were (courtesy of crying and nervous lip-chewing) raw, red, cracked, chapped and ready to fall off of my face. The nurses tried rousing out every lubricant handy on the unit to help me. That’s saying something. Hospitals are well stocked in that department. Nothing helped until relief came in the form of my Dad arriving with his ever present tube of Chapstick. The moral of the story is never have a family health crisis without a tube of Chapstick.

In the grand tradition of my family, I have not yet gotten over this trauma and am still obsessed with maintaining the proper order of digestion (in one direction and out the other with no untoward activity. You understand me? I’m looking your way intestines…) Mercifully, our now former pediatrician* was also wonderfully patient and forbearing and put up with many a panicked conversation about the state of, er, internal affairs in my children.

*Former only because she retired from practice. Something about being almost seventy and blah, blah, blah. I’m about sick of people I count on retiring. First Uncle Wong, then the woman who grew my storage potatoes and now the pediatrician. Who’s next? My UPS guy? This is getting old.What?!? Is that selfish?

Early in the kids-eating-solids-portion of parenthood, Dr. Ang advised me and equipped me with the two best pieces of advise for restoring normal business when things were out of whack.

  1. The B.R.A.T.T. Diet: If you have kids and you have encountered any of the numerous ways children have digestive distress you’ve heard of this. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea and Toast. When things go wrong, eating a diet composed of these four items will restore balance in the Force, young padawans.
  2. Sweetened Rice Water: Every so often, when the stomach bug struck, and the kids felt too ill to consume anything else, Dr. Ang’s go-to solution was a brew made from boiling plain long grain rice (she recommended Jasmine) in three to four times the normal amount of water until very soft. The rice was strained and set aside for later or fed to the chickens and the liquid was sweetened to taste and spoon fed to the kids. This was the easy-to-digest calorie boost the kids needed and fit into the aforementioned diet. With all due-respect to the rest of the field, this pediatrician was a find the likes of which I don’t expect to see again. Sigh.

There are all sorts of things other than the flu that can cause stomach upset or distress, not just for kids, but for adults, too. Antibiotics, medical treatments, other prescriptions, stress, and exhaustion are among the myriad nasty little devils that can play Old Harry with your insides. Honestly, it’s a wonder we don’t all walk around doubled over most of the time.

Made with only four ingredients (frozen bananas, yogurt, ice and nutmeg), Banana Nutmeg Smoothies are exactly the thing when you’re feeling out of sorts. Gently sweet, cool and smooth, they are a delicious way to sooth and satiate. When the inevitable happens this is the first thing I turn to for relief.

After all this talk of intestines and being green around the gills, I wouldn’t wonder if I’ve made a few of you queasy. I’m sorry. I am. Hey! At least you can fix it with a batch of Banana Nutmeg Smoothies.  Do I know how to solve a problem or what?

Really, though, all talk of that other nasty stuff aside, this is a smoothie-second-to-none in its simplicity is its charm. It doesn’t scream banana, but the sweetness of the banana comes through. The slightly-tangy yogurt makes it as creamy as can be. The ice (and pre-frozen bananas) make it thick like a milkshake. The nutmeg? That’s the crowning glory here, so use freshly grated nutmeg if you can. The heady scent and delicate flavor of fresh nutmeg is unlike any pre-ground nutmeg you’ll ever find. It is worth whatever effort it takes to find. If you cannot find nutmeg, you can substitute ground cinnamon.

Honestly, they’re so good that I don’t wait until we’re feeling poorly to make these. They’re part of the regular rotation. But remember that they’re more than just a tasty and healthy snack, they’re a weapon in the arsenal of comfortable life. Who couldn’t use that?

Banana Nutmeg Smoothies

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Yield: 4 small or 2 large smoothies

Ingredients:

  • 4 very ripe (but not over ripe) bananas, peeled and frozen
  • 2 cups vanilla or plain yogurt (If using plain, add 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract and up to 2 tablespoons sugar or honey.)
  • 1/4-1 cup ice (preferably crushed) depending on the thickness you prefer.
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Optional: A splash or more of milk to help move things along in the blender

Add the yogurt to the carafe of a blender. Break the frozen bananas into chunks and add to the blender. Put the lid on the blender and process on “HIGH” or “LIQUIFY” until the mixture is smooth.  If you need to, turn the power off, remove the lid and stir with a long handled wooden spoon to re-distribute.  Add desired amount of ice and milk along with the grated nutmeg, replace the lid, and blend on HIGH just until smooth.  Pour into serving glasses, garnish with a tiny scraping of freshly grated nutmeg and serve immediately.

4.0 from 1 reviews

Print
Banana Nutmeg Smoothies
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert, Breakfast, Snack
Prep time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 2
 

Made with only four ingredients (bananas, nutmeg, yogurt, ice) these smoothies are a gently sweet, cool, smooth way to soothe and satisfy.
Ingredients
  • 4 very ripe (but not over ripe) bananas, peeled and frozen
  • 2 cups vanilla or plain yogurt (If using plain, add ½ teaspoon real vanilla extract and up to 2 tablespoons of honey or sugar.)
  • ¼-1 cup ice (preferably crushed) depending on the thickness you prefer.
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Optional: A splash or more of milk to help move things along in the blender

Instructions
  1. Add the yogurt to the carafe of a blender. Break the frozen bananas into chunks and add to the blender. Put the lid on the blender and process on “HIGH” or “LIQUIFY” until the mixture is smooth. If you need to, turn the power off, remove the lid and stir with a long handled wooden spoon to re-distribute. Add desired amount of ice and milk along with the grated nutmeg, replace the lid, and blend on HIGH just until smooth. Pour into serving glasses, garnish with a tiny scraping of freshly grated nutmeg and serve immediately.

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Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Desserts, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Creamy Garlic Lemon and Dill Chicken Pot Pies

March 14, 2011 by 11 Comments

This Creamy Garlic Lemon and Dill Chicken Pot Pie is here to wish you all a very Happy Pi Day*.

*In case you don’t also occupy the Nerdosphere, I’ll explain. Today is March 14th. In other words, it’s 3.14… In other other words, it is a calendar representation of the whole number and first two decimal places of the mathematical constant whose value is the ratio of any Euclidean plane circle’s circumference to its diameter. Woot! Geometry in the hizzouse. Eat your pie at 1:59 if you really want to get your math nerd on.

All math aside, I love pie. It’s a happy food. It’s the kind of food that makes you feel like God’s in his heaven and all’s right with the world. While I dig a sweet pie as much as Georgie Porgie*, I do believe savoury pies get short-shrift. Today, on International Pi Day, I’m representing for Team Savoury Pie!

*My mother bent over backwards to give me all the food my little pea-pickin’ heart desired on my birthday every year. And most years, when she asked what kind of cake I wanted I replied, “Blueberry Pie”. My poor mother. The one thing she had a mortal dread of preparing; pie crust. And every year I requested it. I was a horrid child.

My love of savoury pies has been pretty well documented (ahem). Honestly. How could you possibly go wrong with a tender crust, a luxurious sauce of some sort and loads of tasty fillings? The answer is YOU CAN’T! It’s not possible.

As for as the crust on pot pies, I like a different crust than I do for my fruit pies.  For fruit pies, I go for flaky and tender. For meat pies and other savouries, I like a crust that’s easier to work with -more forgiving, if you will- and still tender. For as long as she’s been making them -lo, these decades- my Grandma has used a hot water stirred dough for her Yooper pasties and pasty pies. And you’d better believe me, all the food that’s ever come out of my Grandma’s kitchen is all the convincing I need.

The basic procedure is vastly different than standard pie crust. Whereas with the standard you use cold fat and cut it in, working the dough as little as possible, with the stirred dough, you melt boiling water and fat together then beat in the remaining ingredients. The resulting dough is incredibly easy to roll out and re-rollable (unlike standard dough.) When baked, it manages to be sturdy enough to hold meat, gravy, vegetables and whatnot while still being tender as a standard pie crust. If you were to compared a baked standard crust to a stirred crust, you’d find the standard crust to be more flaky but about equal in tenderness. If you’re a pie-crust novice, or pie-crust-o-phobe, this is the one to make as your starter crust. It’s a kinder, gentler dough for beginners.

For the fillings in this little beauty, I went in a Greek inspired direction with a classic combination of lemon and garlic and dill, oh my!  Just for a moment think about plunging a spoon down through a tender pastry crust into a creamy sauce full of chicken, and potatoes and peas. Bright, springy lemon with fresh-tasting dill keeps the creamy garlic sauce from tasting heavy or overbearing.

While I used peas as the green vegetable  for taste, texture and geometry (SPHERES!)  in this marvelous little pot pie, you can substitute cooked green beans, asparagus or even carrots if you so desire. You’re not bound by cosine laws to keep the peas. I release you from any guilt or angst or math agita regarding peas. You are absolved.

Creamy Garlic Lemon and Dill Chicken Pot Pies

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Yield: One large pot pie or 12 individual pot pies. There will be extra filling, but you can most definitely use the leftovers in a multitude of ways. Spoon over hot buttermilk biscuits or hearty toast for a serious brunch. Fill savoury crepes and top with minced parsley. Oh sure, you can halve or even quarter it, but where’s the fun in that?

Ingredients for crust (from the King Arthur Flour Tourtiere recipe):

  • 1-1/2 cups (9-3/4 ounces) vegetable shortening or (6 ounces) lard
  • 2/3 cup (4-3/4 ounces) boiling water
  • 4-1/2 cups (1 pound, 3 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1  teaspoon salt

Ingredients for filling:

  • 3/4 cup (12 ounces by weight) butter
  • 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 9 cups whole milk
  • 8 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken (I prefer a mix of white and dark meat for best flavor and texture.)
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 4 leftover large baked potatoes (or the equivalent thereof of cooked potatoes. For these pies I used leftover Hasselback potatoes.) You can opt to use the peels or not, but either way, cut the potatoes into small cubes.
  • 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or good quality bottled lemon juice)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons dried dill weed (or 3 Tablespoons fresh, minced dill)
  • 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Begin by making the pastry dough. Stir together the shortening and boiling water in a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) until the shortening is fully melted and combined with the water.  It will probably be a thick, milky white liquid at that point.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix together on low (either with a stand mixer or by hand) until a smooth dough forms.  Divide in two and pat each half into a smooth disc on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

To prepare the filling, melt the butter over medium heat in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot.  Whisk the flour in, little by little, until smooth and bubbly. After it becomes bubbly, cook and whisk constantly for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk until completely smooth. Heat gently until the sauce is bubbling and thickened. Stir in the chicken, peas, and potatoes.  Continue cooking and stirring until heated through. Stir in remaining ingredients and remove the stockpot from the heat.

Cover and return to the pastry.

To make one large pie:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Take one disc and cut it in half with a bench knife. Scatter flour over a clean counter and roll one half of the disc into an approximately 12-inch circle. Use the bench knife to fold it gently in half and then in half again. Place the pointy edge of the folded dough in the center of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.  Unfold the pie dough so it covers the pie plate. If needed, stretch or squash the dough so that it covers the whole plate and extends up a bit over the edges.  Spoon the filling into the prepared dough in the pie plate so that it is slightly mounded.

Roll the other half of the disc into a 9-inch circle and cut vents in the circle. Again, use a bench knife to fold the circle in half and in half again, place the pointy end of the dough at the very center of the filled pie plate and unfold the dough to cover the filling. Crimp the lower and upper crusts together.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the upper crust is deep golden  brown at the edges, light golden brown in the center, and the filling can be seen to be bubbling through the vent holes. Transfer pie plate to a cooling rack and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.  To serve, use a deep spoon to scoop the pot pie into bowls.

To Make 12 (or 24) Individual Pies:

To make these, you need 12 wide-mouth 1/2-pint (8 ounce capacity) or 24 jelly (4 ounce) canning jars. Do not use jars that are not heat-proof.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Take one disc of dough and cut in half.  Roll out one half of the dough to a thickness of about 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch and use the screw-top ring from a wide-mouth jar to cut 12 rounds (or 24, depending on the size you’re making.)

Pull away the excess dough and break off pieces to begin lining the jars. First, cover the inside bottom of the jar, using your fingers to squish seams together.

Continue grabbing pieces of dough to line up the insides of the jars to within about a 1/4-inch from the upper rim. When you run out of rolled pieces, pinch off pieces from the remaining dough disc and line the remaining jars.

Spoon filling into the dough lined jars to within 1/4-inch of the top of the dough (not the top of the jars!).  Cut vent holes into the pre-cut discs and lay gently on the filling in the jars. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp the lower dough to the upper disc.  If you plan to freeze the pies before cooking, be certain to keep the dough and filling fully below the rim of the jar. The three pot pies in the forefront of the picture below are freezer-friendly, but the back two are definitely not.

Place jars on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the upper crust are deep golden brown and the top is lightly browned. The crust inside the jars should look a very pale gold and the filling should be visibly bubbling when you look into the vent holes.

Transfer the jars from the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving. To keep the jars from sliding on the serving plates, you may want to put a damp hand towel or piece of moistened paper towel between the jars the the plates.

 

To Freeze Individual Pies:

Refrigerate the filled jars, unbaked and uncovered, until chilled through.  Fix two-piece canning lids onto the jars, label and freeze.

To bake from frozen, remove the two piece lids and place on a rimmed baking sheet and into a cold oven.  Set the oven for 375°F and let it come up to temperature. Bake for 30 minutes after the oven reaches temperature or or until the edges of the upper crust are deep golden brown and the top is lightly browned. The crust inside the jars should look a very pale gold and the filling should be visibly bubbling when you look into the vent holes. Transfer the jars from the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving. To keep the jars from sliding on the serving plates, you may want to put a damp hand towel or piece of moistened paper towel between the jars the the plates.

Dig in!

Look inside that little pot pie. Creamy, hearty, bright and garlicky; Go Team Savoury Pie!

3.0 from 1 reviews

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Creamy Garlic Lemon and Dill Chicken Pot Pies
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 8
 

These luscious, Greek-inspired pot pies are brimming with chicken, peas, potatoes, and a creamy garlic lemon dill sauce that is hearty without being heavy.
Ingredients
  • Ingredients for crust (from the King Arthur Flour Tourtiere recipe):
  • 1-1/2 cups (9-3/4 ounces) vegetable shortening or (6 ounces) lard
  • ⅔ cup (4-3/4 ounces) boiling water
  • 4-1/2 cups (1 pound, 3 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Ingredients for filling:
  • ¾ cup (12 ounces by weight) butter
  • 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 9 cups whole milk
  • 8 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken (I prefer a mix of white and dark meat for best flavor and texture.)
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 4 leftover large baked potatoes (or the equivalent thereof of cooked potatoes. For these pies I used leftover Hasselback potatoes.) You can opt to use the peels or not, but either way, cut the potatoes into small cubes.
  • 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or good quality bottled lemon juice)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons dried dill weed (or 3 Tablespoons fresh, minced dill)
  • ⅛ teaspoon celery seed
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
  1. To make one large pie:
  2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  3. Take one disc and cut it in half with a bench knife. Scatter flour over a clean counter and roll one half of the disc into an approximately 12-inch circle. Use the bench knife to fold it gently in half and then in half again. Place the pointy edge of the folded dough in the center of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Unfold the pie dough so it covers the pie plate. If needed, stretch or squash the dough so that it covers the whole plate and extends up a bit over the edges. Spoon the filling into the prepared dough in the pie plate so that it is slightly mounded.
  4. Roll the other half of the disc into a 9-inch circle and cut vents in the circle. Again, use a bench knife to fold the circle in half and in half again, place the pointy end of the dough at the very center of the filled pie plate and unfold the dough to cover the filling. Crimp the lower and upper crusts together.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the upper crust is deep golden brown at the edges, light golden brown in the center, and the filling can be seen to be bubbling through the vent holes. Transfer pie plate to a cooling rack and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. To serve, use a deep spoon to scoop the pot pie into bowls.
  6. To Make 12 Individual Pies:
  7. To make these, you need 12 wide-mouth ½-pint (8 ounce capacity) canning jars. Do not use jars that are not heat-proof.
  8. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  9. Take one disc of dough and cut in half. Roll out one half of the dough to a thickness of about ⅛-inch to ¼-inch and use the screw-top ring from a wide-mouth jar to cut 12 rounds. Pull away the excess dough and break off pieces to begin lining the jars. First, cover the inside bottom of the jar, using your fingers to squish seams together. Continue grabbing pieces of dough to line up the insides of the jars to within about a ¼-inch from the upper rim. When you run out of rolled pieces, pinch off pieces from the remaining dough disc and line the remaining jars.
  10. Spoon filling into the dough lined jars to within ¼-inch of the top of the dough (not the top of the jars!). Cut vent holes into the pre-cut discs and lay gently on the filling in the jars. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp the lower dough to the upper disc. If you plan to freeze the pies before cooking, be certain to keep the dough and filling fully below the rim of the jar.
  11. Place jars on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the upper crust are deep golden brown and the top is lightly browned. The crust inside the jars should look a very pale gold and the filling should be visibly bubbling when you look into the vent holes. Transfer the jars from the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving. To keep the jars from sliding on the serving plates, you may want to put a damp hand towel or piece of moistened paper towel between the jars the the plates.
  12. To Freeze Individual Pies:
  13. Refrigerate the filled jars, unbaked and uncovered, until chilled through. Fix two-piece canning lids onto the jars, label and freeze.
  14. To bake from frozen, remove the two piece lids and place on a rimmed baking sheet and into a cold oven. Set the oven for 375°F and let it come up to temperature. Bake for 30 minutes after the oven reaches temperature or or until the edges of the upper crust are deep golden brown and the top is lightly browned. The crust inside the jars should look a very pale gold and the filling should be visibly bubbling when you look into the vent holes. Transfer the jars from the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving. To keep the jars from sliding on the serving plates, you may want to put a damp hand towel or piece of moistened paper towel between the jars the the plates.

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