Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Classic Turkey Pot Pie



I am craving, a turkey pot pie this Thanksgiving, and plan on making it this year. Here is a recipe I am dreaming about, you can tweak it for whatever you prepared for thanksgiving using leftover . Alpha
Crust refrigerated pie crusts are my shortcut but you can buy this rolled, a box, or from scratch.
filling ingredients
1/3  cup butter or margarine
1/3  cup chopped onion
1/3  cup all-purpose flour
½     teaspoon salt
¼      teaspoon pepper 
1       can (14 oz) chicken broth
½     cup milk
2 ½  cups shredded cooked turkey
2       cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
Steps
Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on the box for Two-Crust Pie, using a 9-inch glass pie plate.
In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.
Stir in turkey and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon into crust-lined pie plate. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in the top crust.
Bake 20 minutes; cover the edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
THE BACKSTORY
It’s hard to find a more comforting dish than a classic pot pie. Sometimes referred to as meat pot pie, the traditional recipe is typically filled with some type of protein, mixed vegetables, potatoes, chicken broth, and flour inside a flaky pastry crust. Surprisingly, the humble pot pie has a colorful history dating all the way back to the Roman Empire when it was a common dish served at royal banquets. Instead of tender chicken, beef, or turkey baked inside, these historical pot pies were often filled with live birds!
The pot pie became a standard dinner in Europe around the 16th century and was later introduced to America by the English settlers. Now, the pot pie has become commonplace and has found a longstanding spot in weekly dinner rotations.
The savory pie has certainly come a long way since its origin and today, there are plenty of different methods to bake the savory meat pie and endless twists on the classic recipe. You can make pot pie using biscuits instead of pie crust, you can make the filling on the stove or in the slow cooker, you can bake the pie in a casserole dish or a pie plate, and you can even bake it in a skillet or a muffin tin!
This dish can be adapted and tweaked easily by simply changing out the filling. The flavor options are endless with twists like buffalo chicken pot pie, chili pot pie or even pizza pot pie. Whatever you’re craving, we have every pot pie and casserole recipe you could ever dream.
Expert Tips
Beat an egg with a spoonful of water and brush it over the surface of the top dough before baking for a glossy, golden crust.
Use a small cookie cutter to cut out vent holes in the top crust before placing overfilling. Attach the dough cut-outs around the edge of the pie by using a little bit of beaten egg to adhere.
A ¼ to ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning, which is heavy in dried sage, stirred into the filling is the natural complement to a turkey pot pie.
Use leftover holiday turkey or a rotisserie chicken for the filling—and if you have leftover roasted or sautéed vegetables (like peas, broccoli, or green beans), coarsely chop them up and stir into the sauce in place of the frozen veggies.



Friday, November 22, 2019

Experimental Station is Making Traditions with Sit Down Meals and Conversation

Experimental Station is making traditions this month over sit-down meals and conversations.
Experimental Station Big Room


Veronica DeFillo in the green shirt and at the head of the table.

I got this email invitation from Matthew Searle (he/him), Assistant Director, Experimental Station.

"Hi Alpha, it happens to be a magnificent week for eating here at the building. Please look at these special opportunities to connect over food and let me know what you can join. Note that these are all sit-down meals rather than chances to take food on the go." Matthew Searle

So, after reading the list, I RSVP for Thursday's lunch with Veronica DeLillo.  
Thursday at 12PM (11/21) - meet a wonderful neighbor, Veronica Defillo, who lives across the street on Dorchester. 

Veronica came to our soup dinner a few weeks ago, and I found out she makes incredible Gumbo in our ensuing conversations. She is making a giant pot of this Gumbo and has invited more neighbors and community stakeholders to come and share this meal in the Big Room.



Veronica is originally from Arkansas. Before migrating to Chicago, her formal education, courtship, and married life were in NOLA. There she learned the culture of cooking Gumbo. It was a family affair where all her in-laws, aunties, cousins came together to make the stew.

The Gumbo was the star of the table.

She recalled it as a festive time, cleaning the seafood, cutting and dicing the vegetables: onions, garlic, celery, bell pepper, parsley, and okra. Each family contributed meats like ham hocks, pork shank, hotlinks, cracked chicken wings, shrimp, and crabs. She didn't share her secret to the Roux with me, but she said she put the okra in last so it would be firm.  Roux (pronounced "roo") is the foundation for many Cajun and Creole recipes, from gravies to sauces and soups to gumbos. Though simple in nature, Roux brings incredible flavor to so many recipes. Roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat (oil, butter, or lard) used as a thickening agent.

Veronica says she loves to play cards, so making Gumbo was filled with trash-talking, "Bid Whist," "Spades," and lots of whooping and hollering, and some good old family partying and toasting, waiting on the Gumbo to be ready.

Assistant Director, Experimental Station
6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 USA
office: 773.241.6044; alt: 773.270.2502
experimentalstation.org | FB | Twitter | Instagram

I like a medium to dark brown Roux; I avoid putting tomatoes in my gumbo or anything that looks like a paste. The trick is the timing.
Medium Brown Roux: If you cook the roux for 20 minutes, you will get a medium brown roux that should be the color of a copper pot.
Dark Brown (Chocolate) Roux: When you cook the roux for 25+ minutes, you will end up with a dark brown roux the color of dark chocolate. Alpha Bruton

How to Make a Louisiana Roux: This is the traditional method for making a roux using equal parts of oil and flour.

  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 cup flour
Method of Preparation:
  1. Heat oil over medium heat until hot in a heavy skillet (Cast-Iron Skillet).
  2. Add flour gradually, stirring or whisking, to combine with the oil.

  3. After adding all the flour, reduce the heat to low and cook, frequently stirring. About 45 to 60 minutes or until Roux ranges from a peanut butter color to a dark brown (red-brown or the color of milk chocolate, and has a nut-like odor (it will be very thick and pasty).

  4. This process takes some time, depending on how high the heat on your stove is. The slower, the better, but be ready to remove the skillet from the heat and stir more rapidly if the Roux is too hot.
    If you stop stirring – the flour will burn. So never walk away from the Roux. The secret to getting a perfect roux is to take your time and go constantly.

  5. When done to your liking, immediately remove from heat and set aside.
  6. Carefully transfer it into your stockpot and start making Gumbo or other recipes.