From Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Mini Chicken Pot Pies for deep winter

My poor husband.
He's camping outdoors with students at his school for the next two nights, and we just had our first snow in weeks. And it wasn't even a light snow -- four-plus inches, with temps dropping tonight to 15, more snow expected tonight and tomorrow, and a low tomorrow night of 9. Yep, that's single digits.
All this chilly, we're-not-out-of-winter-yet weather calls for comfort food, and what's more comforting than chicken pot pie? But because it'll be just me for the next few days, I didn't want to make a whole pie. Instead, last night I found a new use for my ramekins.

I started by thawing two Marie Callendar's frozen pie crusts. I know how to make crust, but time was tight and I just wanted to get cracking on the filling. I'd also thawed two chicken breasts (from Costco -- they come in six separately packaged pairs, so you can easily thaw a few at a time), then cut them into about 1-inch cubes. In hindsight, I think I'd probably cut the chicken smaller, but that might be less of an issue if you're making a big pie instead of little ones.

I cut three medium-sized red carrots into smaller pieces, about 3/4-inch square, and put the carrots and chicken in boiling water until they were cooked through, about 15 minutes. These were drained and set aside, then I rinsed out the pot to reuse it for the next step. I lowered the heat to a little less than medium, melted a cube of butter, and added a diced onion, fresh-ground black pepper to taste, about a tablespoon of red pepper flakes (which was noticeable but not overwhelming in the finished product, so adjust to your taste) and about half a tablespoon of celery seed (mine is a little old, so if yours is fresh, use less). I cooked until the onion got soft and transparent. The butter ended up getting a little too bubbly and brown, so I probably should have turned the heat down a little more.

Into the same pot, I added about half a cup of flour, 2 cups of chicken broth, 1/3 cup half-and-half and 2/3 cup milk, a cup or so of frozen peas and a cup or so of canned corn. This mixture will thicken pretty quickly, so stir frequently and keep an eye on. I kept it warm until the peas were almost thawed. Then I tasted, and added a little salt, but you might not need to add any if your broth is saltier than mine.

The crust split as it thawed, so I mushed it back together at the splits, tore off pieces, and lined the ramekins -- it was quite the cut-and-paste job -- leaving whole pieces aside to be the tops of the pies. At the end, I didn't have enough unbroken pieces to top all the pies, so I balled together the bits left over and rolled them out with a rolling pin. Worked beautifully, though be careful not to overwork the dough, because it will lose its awesome flakiness.

A few tablespoons of the filling went into each mini pie, then I pressed the cover crust onto and over the edges, poking a few knife holes into each to vent. I baked these at 425 for about 45 minutes, or until the crust was golden, then let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

I got a pretty good critique, too: My husband gave me two thumbs up, because he didn't want to stop eating long enough to actually comment! I hope the comfort stays with him through the next two cold, snow days...

From Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Mini Chicken Pot Pies for deep winter

Sasha's Kitchen: Blueberry Peach Pie

Another pie. Is that all I do in the summer, make pies? Well maybe. There's nothing better than a delicious fruit pie in the summer, made with fresh farmers' market fruits from the Brooklyn Greenmarket.  I swear, I've been making other things too - its not like we have pie for dinner every night, you know. And I promise I will be posting some of those soon as well. Peaches and blueberries are in high season. I didn't have enough peaches to make a peach pie, but I had some pretty amazing blueberries from the farmers' market so I threw them together. The result was pretty spectacular, and one of my best pies to date. 
To make this pie, I used the exact same crust for apple pie, with my own peach and blueberry filling.

Sasha's Peach Blueberry Pie
2 1/4 cups flour
big pinch of Kosher salt
pinch of sugar
2 sticks of cold butter
1/4 cup of ice water, plus a but more if needed (this time I used about 2 T additional ice water)

21/2 cups of fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
2 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries, squished with your hands
1/2 cup of sugar

1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 T cornstarch
2 egg yolks

To make the pie crust, follow the detailed instructions that I gave in writing about apple pie.  Basically, combine the salt, sugar and flour in a bowl. Cut up the butter into small chunks and gently incorporate with your hands into the flour. Splash the ice water into the mixture, and mold until it *just* forms  a ball of dough, adding more water as needed so it just sticks together (be sure to add the water slowly so not to overdo it). The key to a good pie crust is not to overwork the dough, so it is best to do this by hand. There will still be clumps of butter in the dough - don't worry about that, as it will make the crust more rustic and also crisper. Divide the dough and bring into two balls. Plastic wrap and refrigerate for exactly twenty minutes to allow the dough to firm a bit.

Roll out one of the balls on a well floured surface, rotating after each roll or two so it does not stick to your surface. Roll to 1/4 of an inch thick and place in the pie dish, before trimming the edges with a pastry scissor. Using a pyrex pie dish is best.

Combine the ingredients for the fruit mixture. You should peel the peaches before slicing, and squish the blueberries a bit with your hands. Add most of this to the pie - about four and a half cups total. 

Roll out the second ball of dough the same way and cut to form a lattice. I glazed the top of the pie using two egg yolks and sprinkled some granulated sugar on top. Bake the pie at 425 covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350 and remove the foil baking for another 30-45 minutes (my oven required about 35). The pie is done when it is tender when poked with a knife.

Sasha's Kitchen: Blueberry Peach Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Balsamic Pie

I was inspired to make a strawberry balsamic pie after tasting the delicious one at Four and Twenty Blackbirds, New York's best spot for delicious pies. I couldn't find their recipe, but I think I created a pretty good one myself, and am happy to share the recipe here. I love fresh, local strawberries this time of year, and this is certainly a good use for them.  You really don't need a lot of sugar for this one due to the natural sweetness of the fruit, but a half a cup seems to do the trick.

Sasha's Strawberry Balsamic Pie
Pie Crust (works for any fruit pie)
2 1/4 cups flour
hefty pinch of granulated kosher salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup (two sticks) of cold butter
1/4 cup ice water (can adjust slightly as needed - I added another 2T)

Strawberry balsamic filling
4 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 T cornstarch
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice

To make the crust, you can follow my instructions here for my apple pie or here for my strawberry rhubarb pie, because they are identical. Once you prepare the crust bottom, mix the ingredients for the filling, and fill the pie. Prepare a lattice top using the second ball of dough and glaze with an egg yolk. Bake at 425 for thirty minutes. Then reduce to 350 for 35-40 minutes. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Balsamic Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberries and rhubarb mark the beginning of fruit-pie making season. They are the first fruits that come to season into the spring, an absolutely my favorite type of pie to prepare. The sweetness of fresh spring strawberries is just so perfect with the tangy, tart rhubarb. Rhubarb is a strange fruit, which kind of looks like pink celery. If you have never worked with it before, you might wonder, wait, do I really want to put this in my pie? But when it cooks in the oven with the strawberries, it assumes a lovely tart flavor that pairs perfectly. I do not recommend making an all strawberry pie - too sweet. But the strawberry-rhubarb combo is my favorite, and for my kitchen, it makes the beginning of the spring fruit season.

To make this pie, I used the exact same crust for apple pie, with my own strawberry-rhubarb filling.

Sasha's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
2 1/4 cups flour
big pinch of Kosher salt (not, this is the grainy salt; never bake with iodized salt!)
pinch of sugar
2 sticks of cold butter
1/4 cup of ice water, plus a but more if needed (this time I used about 2 T additional ice water)

21/2 cups of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 1/2 cups of rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cups of sugar (you could probably even get away with 1/2 a cup if you are concerned about sugar intake)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 T cornstarch
2 egg yolks

To make the pie crust, follow the detailed instructions that I gave in writing about apple pie.  Basically, combine the salt, sugar and flour in a bowl. Cut up the butter into small chunks and gently incorporate with your hands into the flour. Splash the ice water into the mixture, and mold until it *just* forms  a ball of dough, adding more water as needed so it just sticks together (be sure to add the water slowly so not to overdo it). The key to a good pie crust is not to overwork the dough, so it is best to do this by hand. There will still be clumps of butter in the dough - don't worry about that, as it will make the crust more rustic and also crisper. Divide the dough and bring into tow balls. Plastic wrap and refrigerate for exactly twenty minutes to allow the dough to firm a bit.

Roll out one of the balls on a well floured surface, rotating after each roll or two so it does not stick to your surface. Roll to 1/4 of an inch thick and place in the pie dish, before trimming the edges with a pastry scissor. Using a pyrex pie dish is best.

Combine the ingredients for the strawberry rhubarb mixture. Add most of this to the pie - about four and a half cups total. Be sure not to heap the fruit, as tempting as it may be to use every last drop of the fruit mixture. I recommend using the freshest, local organic/farmer's market strawberries and rhubarb you can get your hands on as it will make your pie that much better. I also use organic butter in the crust.

Roll out the second ball of dough the same way and cut to form a lattice. I glazed the top of the pie using two egg yolks and sprinkled some granulated sugar on top. Bake the pie at 425 covered with foil for 30 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350 and remove the foil baking for another 30-45 minutes (my oven required about 35). The pie is done when it is tender when poked with a knife.

This pie was a winner! Maybe even better than the last apple pie I made. I have heard that the strawberry rhubarb pie at Four and Twenty Blackbirds is the best in the city. I love their pies so I will have to try it and compare. I've recently come across some of their recipes online, which I hope to try out and blog on in the future.

Sasha's Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Best Apple Pie - A Stepwise Primer

I've been making pies, from apple to blueberry for some time, and really good pies at that. But I knew they could be better and crispier, so I took a pie tutorial class to work on my pie crust technique last weekend at The Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg. The class was really helpful. Although my pies had always been good, the crusts were too thick and oftentimes not as crispy as the perfect pie would be. This didn't actually require changing the ingredients but changing the way that I work and prepare the crust. I had been making the dough in my mixer, which is fine, I suppose. But a pie crust, as I learned, is much better when worked by hand. The better crust, the more rustic crust, should be worked as little as possible. Thus, it is not necessary to beat in every chunk of butter using an artisan mixer. The crust will be better, and crisper, if there are chunks of the butter in the dough, as the dough needs to be combined just enough so that it will hold together when you roll it out. I was really pleased with the apple pie that I made using the refined techniques in the class. I plan to make another one very soon with the first fruits of spring in a couple weeks - for a strawberry rhubarb pie!

Pie Crust Formula (works for any fruit pie)
2 1/4 cups AP flour
hefty pinch of granulated kosher salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup (two sticks) of cold butter
1/4 cup ice water (can adjust slightly as needed)

It is very important that the butter be cold. You can use any cold fat source (butter, shortening or lard) but it must be cold. I've always used butter and when worked properly, it makes for a fabulous crispy crust in my opinion, so read on.

Cut the cold butter into cubes and scatter in the dry mixture. Gently incorporate the butter partially into the flour using your hands, snapping the butter cubes between the thumb and middle finger. Splash the ice water into the mixture. Do not put the water all in one place, but scattered throughout. Add more water if needed (a tablespoon or two) until the dough can just hold together when you squeeze it. Lumps of butter are not a problem here, but a blessing. Remember, you want to work the dough with your hands as little as possible, or so I learned. In the past, I had been overworking the dough.

Form two balls (one for the top lattice and one for the bottom). Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for exactly 20 minutes for the fat (the butter) to firm up.

To roll out the dough, you will need a well floured surface. Roll with a rolling pin to 1/8 of an inch thick. I had not been rolling thin enough. Another important trick: if you have had problems with the dough sticking even with plenty of flour, be sure to rotate the dough. You should do one or two rolls only, then turn a quarter of a turn with each roll or two.  If you are constantly turning as you roll, this will ensure that you can roll it to the desired 1/4 inch thickness. You will want to have a large circle (or as close to a circle as possible) that extends well beyond the borders of the pie dish. Use the pie dish to eyeball the size.

Use a pyrex glass pie plate. The Brooklyn Kitchen supplied those and I recommend this over ceramic ones like I previously used. It distributes the heat more evenly and doesn't require any Pam. Gently fold the dough circle in half and lift into the pie plate, then unfolding. Press into the glass pie dish, and trim the edges with a pair of pastry scissors. I had not been trimming before, which is fine (it's all about aesthetics), but this made the pie look so much more professional. Leave about an inch at the edges, and pinch upwards to form the rim of the pie (another trick I leaned how to do that the class).

For the fruit portion - you can use this to make any fruit pie, depending on what is in season. The key is that you always want to have about four cups of fruit, and resist the tendency to heap the fruit. The fruit should be about 1/4 inch lower than the pie pan. This is another thing I may have been over-doing in the past. This will ensure the fruit and pie crust cook at the same rates.

A basic fruit filling works best for me. It should basically consist of the fruit, some lemon, any spices you plan to use, and some sugar, being sure not to overdo the sugar. You want to showcase the fruit, remember, you are not making candy. That's my criticism of the Bill Yosses (White House pastry chef) apple pie (and the rare harsh criticism you will hear from me of the Obama administration). It just uses way, way too much sugar in the crust and in the filling. You just don't need it. Trust me.

Apple Filling (from Joy of Cooking)
2 1/2 lbs of apples (5-6 total) - I prefer macintosh or gala
3/4 cups of sugar
2-3 T AP flour
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I may prefer closer to 1 tsp, to be honest and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt

Prepare the filling and fill the pie with about 4 cups of the filling. You may have a bit leftover and as I leaned in the class, resist the temptation to put in ever last drop heaved over the top of the pie.

For the top of the pie, roll out the second ball of dough the same way as the first, expect into more of a rectangle. To create the lattice cut into 8 or nine long strips. Place four or five strips along the top of the pie, and weave in (lifting up either evens or odds accordingly to do so) the other strips going the other way. I like to do a 4 X 5, personally, but its up to you.

Glaze the top of the pie. You can use various combinations of eggs, egg yolks, cream and milk to achieve the desired color. I usually do a plain egg gloss. Brush on gently with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Before this point you should have the oven preheated (sorry I forgot to mention earlier) to 425. Cover the pie with a piece of foil (loosely) which will keep the top from burning. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and cook for another 30-45 minutes. The amount of time will depend on how hot your oven runs. Mine runs reasonably hot, so it took me 35 minutes. The pie is done when the apple is tender when poked through with a knife. Don't overdo it, as you are not trying to make applesauce. I removed the foil about 15 minutes before the pie was done to get the color on top of the pie that I desired. Allow to cool, and serve.

Needless to say, this tasted amazing and might just be my best apple pie yet!

Sasha's Kitchen: Best Apple Pie - A Stepwise Primer

Sasha's Kitchen: Apple Pie With Seasonal New York Apples

Apple pie. What's more American than apple pie? I've been making a lot of apple pies the last few months since autumn apples are in season. I went to middle school and high school in Rochester, NY and have always loved going apple picking (and picking various other types of fresh fruit) at a local family owned fruit farm called Hurd Orchards, in Holley New York. I went back to Hurd Orchards (which also makes the best jellies and apple butters ever) with my mom and husband over Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) in September when I was home visiting my family for the holiday so we could pick apples to go with the honey for a sweet new year, and have fresh New York State Apples for apple pie. (We picked two varieties - Macintosh and a Cornell-pesticide free variety).

Over the past year, I've studied many apple pie recipes (Brad's grandmother's, Martha Stewart and President Obama's baker, Bill Yosses [known by the President simply and affectionately as "the crustmaker."). Based on these recipes, and some trial and error, I think I have developed the perfect apple pie.

The first step, when thinking about apple pie is determining what kinds of apples to use in the pie. I believe that you should use the same types of apples, but there's quite a few varieties that will taste good. Personally, my favorite varieties to use in an apple pie are either Honeycrisp, Gala or Macintosh, but other varieties such as Empire, Cortland or Macoun will work just fine as well. Obviously apple pie is the best when you can get fresh farmer's market apples. Other than that trip to western NY, I am fortunate to have a great Sunday farmer's market across the street in Brooklyn that has provided with great local apples.

The first step in making a killer apple pie is making a killer crust. I have experimented with making crusts with butter and canola oil. Personally, I prefer an apple pie crust made with butter, even though obviously canola oil would be healthier. Bill Yosses, renowned New York City pastry chef, who is presently Obama's personal White House Pastry chef makes his crust out of a combination of butter and lard (which I believe is pig fat). I have not tried that, however, because I do not cook with pig products. However, upon doing a bit of research, lard is typically added by some pastry chefs to increase the degree of flakiness in the texture of the pastry. It is absolutely imperative to make the crust in an artisan stand mixer, so if you don't have one yet, now is the time to get one in the color of your choice (mine is mint green). You cannot make a good pie crust without one.

One further note with respect to sugar: Yosses uses 1/4 cup sugar; Martha Stewart uses none. I prefer just a tad of sugar, so I split the difference. However, if you don't want the sugar, you can leave it out and it still tastes great. Here is my recipe for the perfect apple pie crust (which is great for blueberry and cherry pies as well).

Sasha's Apple Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup very cold water or ice water (more if needed)
2 sticks unsalted butter broken into small pieces (it is very important that the butter be COLD and not room temperature)
1/8 cup sugar

Put the above ingredients in the mixer and add the cold water slowly while the mixer is running. Mix until forms an even dough, no more than 30 seconds. Separate the dough for two balls (one for the crust and one for the top) and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Next, roll out one of the balls on a floured surface to make fit a 9 inch pie pan and mold to fit the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Before doing this, you should grease the pie pan with PAM.

While it is baking, make your filling. This is how I make my apple pie filling:

Sasha's Apple Pie Filling

2 1/2 pounds of apples (or slightly more or less, as you prefer), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar [just a note - Yosses uses WAY too much sugar for me - he uses 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup honey which is just uber-sweet; maybe the President has a sweet tooth?]
1/8 tsp salt
2 T cornstarch

Yosses actually cooks the fruit at this point. I do not. I prefer to let the mixture cook in the oven. So, if you are following my recipe, mix the filling well and add to the pie crust, raw, without doing anything funky with it on your stove top.

The roll out the top and make the circular cover for the apple pie. Pinch the edges with your fingers, or crimp with a crimper if you have one (I don't have one yet).

Glaze - use a pastry brush to brush on the following glaze
1 large egg yolk
1 T heavy cream
sugar for sprinkling

The bake 20 minutes at 400 and reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes more.

An alternate variation, which I am going to try this weekend based on the Yosses recipe is to cook the bottom of the pie separately at 400 for 20 minutes (until it begins to turn golden) WITHOUT the filling. Then add the filling and the top and the glaze and cook at 350 for 40-50 minutes until done. This should increase the flakiness/crispness of the pie crust.

And this is my signature apple pie.

Sasha's Kitchen: Apple Pie With Seasonal New York Apples