Ah fall. As much as I love the overwhelming bounty of summer produce, I’m never sad to say goodbye. The change means my life will instead be filled with such delectable things as pumpkins, root vegetables, butternut squash, and apples. It currently feels like the fall season is stretched before me with endless possibilities of braises, hearty pasta sauces, and soups. Fall is an especially exciting time for me this year because I’ve recently become a Seahawks fan. My new dedication to the hawks provides me with weekly platforms for cozy football meals. In fact, this was the menu for a Thursday night football dinner with Mom and Grandpa- which I watched even though the Seahawks weren’t playing! I’m just that committed to football.
I initially planned to only post about the apple cake but the pot pie turned out to be far too delicious to keep to myself. Plus I definitely want to make it again and this ensures that I don’t lose track of the recipe. Don’t be deterred by the long list of ingredients- the soup is not as daunting as it looks. You can also cut the list of steps and ingredients in half by using store-bought chicken stock and a cooked rotisserie chicken. I usually buy chicken stock instead of making it...but I was still unemployed when I made this meal, so I had nothing but time. The experience actually reminded me how much better homemade really is. And I have now recommitted to my goal of making big batches of stock to keep in the freezer.
CHICKEN POT PIE
from Tyler Florence
Click here to print
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
Pastry:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
3/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed
Chicken Broth:
1 (4 to 5 pound) free range whole chicken
3 carrots, cut in 2-inch pieces
3 celery stalks, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 onion, halved
1 head garlic, halved horizontally
2 turnips, halved
Bouquet garni: 4 fresh thyme sprigs, 2 fresh rosemary sprigs, 1 bay leaf - all tied together with
kitchen string
**For easier version: ignore this ingredient list and instead buy a cooked rotisserie chicken and use 2 quarts of chicken stock
Pot Pie:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 carrots, cut in 1/2-inch circles
1 cup pearl onions, peeled, about 3/4 pound
1 cup fresh sweet peas, about 1 pound
1 garlic clove, chopped
Leaves from 8 fresh thyme sprigs
Needles from 1 fresh rosemary sprig, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 egg mixed with 3 tablespoons of water, for egg wash
Coarse salt
Special Equipment: Oven safe bowls
Directions
To make the pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a very large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Wrap the large ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the rest of the recipe (feel free to make the dough the night before if you prefer.)
To make the chicken broth: Put the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with 3 quarts of cool water. Add the vegetables and herbs and bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour; skimming frequently as the oil rises to the surface. This cooks the chicken while also creating the base sauce for the pot pie. Remove the chicken to a platter to cool. When it's cool enough to handle shred the chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones, and set aside. Using a colander, strain the chicken broth into another pot and discard the solids; you should have about 2 quarts when you're done.
To make the pot pie filling: Wipe out the stockpot and put it back on the stove over medium-low heat. Melt the butter and just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. This is a roux, which will act as a thickener. Cook and stir the roux until it's the color of a California blonde. Now, gradually pour in the reserved chicken broth, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps. Whisk and simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the starchy taste of the flour and thicken the broth; it should look like cream of chicken soup. Fold in the carrots, pearl onions, peas, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and lemon juice; stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables a bit; season the mixture with salt and pepper. Stir in the shredded chicken until incorporated, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature; it will get quite thick as it cools down.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and set it out on the counter for 5 minutes to warm up a bit, making it easier to roll out.
Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough out into a big 14 by 20-inch rectangle. Cut pieces of dough into circles that are large enough to hang over the oven-safe bowls that you use. Distribute soup between bowls. Lightly beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash and brush onto the edges of the bowls. Transfer the circular dough pieces onto the bowls, pressing gently on the edges. Brush the top of the pies with the remaining egg wash, sprinkle with the coarse salt, and cut tiny slashes in the tops so steam can escape. Place the chicken pies in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until puffed and golden. Let the chicken pies rest for 10 minutes before eating.
APPLE CINNAMON BUTTERMILK CAKE
Adapted from Gourmet
Click here to print
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup peeled and chopped baking apple (I used fuji)
Extra cinnamon for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Add vanilla and egg and beat well. With the mixer set to low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add half the buttermilk and continue beating on low speed until incorporated. Scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, beat in another 1/3 of flour mixture then remaining buttermilk. Finally, beat in the last 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined.
Scrape batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Scatter apple pieces evenly over the top of the cake batter then sprinkle evenly with raw sugar. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.
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| This was quite yummy |
Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool until warm. Serve plain, or with whipped cream and salted caramel sauce.
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