Pot Pie, said Simple Simon

Damn that looks good. I think you're right; it's probably something that can be assembled with whatever's on hand. Prolly the main thing is making sure it's not too wet (e. g. mushrooms, for example, will do that).

For those who like a bit of Guinness Stout, here's a

Beef and Guinness pot pie recipe from Epicurious.com

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/230754




beef and guinness pie

Gourmet | October 2004


Irish stouts produce a thick head when poured, so chill the can or bottle well before measuring to reduce the foam.

Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 6 1/2 hr (includes making dough)

Servings: Makes 4 main-course servings.


Ingredients

2 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs

Rough puff pastry dough
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Special equipment: 4 (14-oz) deep bowls or ramekins (4 to 5 inches wide; see Shopping List, page 301) or similar-capacity ovenproof dishes

Preparation

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Pat beef dry. Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add beef, turning to coat, then shake off excess and transfer to a plate. Heat oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown meat in 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring to a bowl.

Add onion, garlic, and water to pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef with any juices accumulated in bowl, broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns, and thyme and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard thyme and cool stew completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (If stew is warm while assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.)

Put a shallow baking pan on middle rack of oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F.

Divide cooled stew among bowls (they won't be completely full). Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. Stir together egg and water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square. Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape, pressing sides lightly to help adhere. Brush pastry tops with some of remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to thoroughly chill dough.

Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook dough.

Cooks' note:
Stew (without pastry) can be made 2 days ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before using.

Great. Now my stomach's growling.

I love pot pies! They are serious comfort food.

I want big chunks of meat, with diced potatoes and don't-even-tell-me-
what's-in-it gravy. Yeah, and thick flaky crust that you can moush down
into it or break off a piece at the edge. I love that cloud of heavenly
aroma when you first break into it. I love having to suck in air to cool it
because you couldn't wait to get that first forkful into your mouth.


Mmmmmmmmmmm...

Me too, so I can see having the crust totally cover the clay pot or casserole dish.


I just looked up tamale pie, and this is the best I've found so far (though I'd make cornbread from scratch and use fresh anaheim chiles and fresh corn if it was in season) -

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/004396tamale_pie.php

Well, this is one of those recipes that it's better to just look at the website than tried to clip stuff to quote. It shows the whole process...

Oooh, another good one, which can be made with ground meat or meat substitute - Spicy Empanada Pot Pie, with cream cheese crust.




website --
http://www.bakingandbooks.com/2007/03/23/spicy-empanada-potpie-with-cream-cheese-crust/

not sure if the photo is from the website or the book - but the recipe is from the book -

Potpies, Yumminess in a Dish by Elinor Klivans


Empanada Potpie with Cream Cheese Crust
Reproduced at the website with permission from Pot Pies: Yumminess in a Dish by Elinor Klivans.

Step 1: Make the crust
Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 3 pieces
Sift the flour and salt together into a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter and cream cheese until smoothly blended, about 45 seconds. Mix in the flour mixture until the dough holds together and forms large clumps that come away from the sides of the bowl, about 30 seconds.

Or, use a large spoon to stir the butter and cream cheese together until smoothly blended, then add the flour and salt and continue stirring until clumps of smooth dough form.

Spread a large piece of saran wrap on the counter and empty the contents of your bowl onto it. Using the plastic to shield your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball, flatten it into a 6-inch disk, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or as long as overnight.

The dough is now ready to roll and use.

Notes: The dough can be refrigerated overnight, but it will have to sit at room temperature until it is soft enough to roll easily. This can take as long as 1 hour in a cool kitchen.



Step 2: Make the filling & Assemble
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup low sodium vegetable or beef broth
2 cup finely chopped onions
1 pound lean ground beef (or "Smart Ground" fake meat)
1 jalapeño chili, diced (You can also use 1 tsp red pepper flakes)
1/2 tablespoon paprika (The recipe calls for 1 tbs, but I halved the amount.)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground if possible
1/4 cup pitted olives, finely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon of milk
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put 4 ovenproof baking dishes or ovenproof bowls with a 2-cup capacity on a baking sheet. The baking sheet makes it easier to move the dishes in and out of the oven.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil and broth over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, uncovered, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat to keep the liquid gently bubbling. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break up any clumps, until it is no longer pink and any meat juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. (If you are using fake meat just cook until it is hot, then proceed, about 4 minutes.) Stir in the jalapeño or red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper and cook for about 3 more minutes to blend the flavors, stirring often. Divide evenly among the 4 baking dishes. Sprinkle the olives, if using, and cilantro over the top of each. Set aside to cool slightly while you roll the crust.

Cut the crust dough into 4 equal pieces, one for each potpie. Lightly flour the rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll one piece of dough to a shape that is 3/4 inch larger than the top of the baking dish. Roll the crust onto the rolling pin and gently unroll it over the filling. Use the tines of a fork to press the dough firmly onto the edge of the dish. Repeat for the remaining 3 baking dishes. Sprinkle some paprika on top, if desired. Then use a pastry brush to brush the top of each crust lightly with milk. Cut two 2-inch-long slits on the top of the crust to release steam while the potpies bake.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the filling is beginning to bubble gently. Protecting your hands with pot holders, put the hot baking dishes on individual plates and serve. Be careful, the insides are hot!

Tip: The potpies can be assembled and frozen before they are baked. Use baking dishes that can safely go from the refrigerator to a hot oven. To freeze, wrap the potpies tightly in plastic wrap and heavy aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, so that they are cold when they go into the freezer. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost the wrapped potpies in the fridge, overnight is fine. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the filling is gently bubbling.




That book sounds good, I think I'll order it. That's an A2k Amazon link above.

For a pot pie without meat -
This is from Emeria Health, a holistic nutrition website - http://www.emeriahealth.com/recipes.htm




Curried Veggie Pot Pie

Whole Grain Pastry

3 cups whole spelt flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup hard butter cut into bits

Use a food processor or pastry knife to blend butter into flour. Blend until butter is into small pea size chunks.
Slowly mix in 10 tbsp cold water. Don't over mix.
Flour counter or board and roll out dough. Cut dough to size of pie plate.

Filling

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp garam masala
(If you don't have all these spices just use 2 tsp of mild curry powder)

1 small cauliflower, chopped
2-3 carrots, sliced
2 medium yams, chopped small
1 bag/1 bunch fresh spinach
3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
Pepper and salt to taste
3 tbsp whole spelt flour
½ cup hot water
¾ cup cashews
3 organic/free run eggs
½ cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Add together hot water and cashews.
Heat oil in pan. Add onion, leek, and spices, and sauté until onions are soft, 10-15 minutes.
Add cauliflower, carrots and yams, and sauté for 8-10 minutes.
Stir in salt, pepper, garlic and flour, and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat.
Blend cashews and hot water. Separate 1 egg and set aside egg white for later. Beat egg yolk and eggs and add both along with cashew mixture and sunflower seeds to veggie mix, stir well.
Fill pie crust with filling and put pie crust on top. Pinch sides of crusts together and trim of excess pastry. Cut a few openings on top pie crust. Bush with egg white and sprinkle with paprika.
Bake for 40 minutes or until set. Serve alone or with mango chutney.

Mango Chutney

1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup onion, finely chopped
1 ripe mango
2 apples
1 tbsp grated ginger
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Heat oil in a small pot and add onions and ginger. Sauté for 10 minutes or until soft. Wash and peel mangoes then slice and chop finely. Finely chop apples. Put both in pot with onions.Take off heat, stir in remaining ingredients and add salt to taste.Use as a sauce for veggie pie or on plain brown rice for a sweet and tangy twist on the ordinary.

OK, two more links and I'll quit for a bit -

Seafood Pot Pie (scallops and shrimp)

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/seafood/seafood-potpie.html


Lobster Pie

http://southernfood.about.com/od/lobsterrecipes/r/bl51026d.htm

osso, I love you. Now my entire office is turned onto www.cookingforengineers.com

Haaaaaaaaa!


I've noticed it before this, but I swear, I need to go through all the musings and mullings on there. So very, uh, definitive!! It's hilarious, it's so engineery - but also good.

I saved the Osso Buco recipe...

Pot pie. Is that like hash brownies?

I knew that subject would come up.

I don't know how that could be worked out - perhaps fresh greenery, instead of cilantro.

That is the classic ossobuco recipe, very well described and shown. I varied it once by using red swiss chard stems instead of celery in the battuto, since I didn't have any celery, and liked that better than celery, but I think I'm then only human that does that. Last time I made ossobuco was here in ABQ and I killed it dead as a doornail. I've been successful several times before, but I'm going to have to try it again, to get over that. It turned out to be a dish of nice gravy.

I'm ordinarily imprecise. Thus, my cobblers vary, usually fine anyway. I guess same with this, as I'd use the same crust, Joy of Cooking's rolled bisquit dough (maybeI add a bit of sugar for the cobbler), in a Great Swath across the top. Done well, it flakes some, and gets puffy-ish. I guess if I were hueing to the line, I'd cook mushrooms down first, separate from the liquid, and count the liquid as part of the liquid volume. But I'm not so good a line hue-er.

Meant to put a wink with that, username. Not that I use smilies often, but looking back, that sounded sharp, and I meant it as dry.

I was amused at how the recipe was displayed in sort of time line format.
So engineery, indeed.
One of my cookbooks is from 1978. The Family Circle (which was/is a magazine?) Low Cost Main Dishes. The recipe there isn't all that different. It does, however, pay more attention to the crust. It uses 1 1/2 cups of biscuit mix and 1/2 cup sour cream which get mixed to form a stiff dough and then rolled out to make an 8" square 1/4" thick. These get cut into 1" strips and are laid on top of the other ingredients in a lattice work pattern, with the last strips going around the perimeter of the dish, pinching and fluting them. The entire crust mixture gets brushed with a beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water and then topped with sesame seeds. The crust deserves to be more than just an after-thought.

I agree - most of the recipes seem to skip it, as, in you should know this, or go look it up.

There are classic rolled bisquit doughs, though, and some do indicate that's what they call for - and fail to add it, which seems simple enough to do. Maybe there's a whole potpie recipe posting culture we don't know about.

George brought up a point, the sheer joy of poking the crust and having steam waft out and biting the too hot bit and having to breathe fast to cool it.. (which brings up that I don't remember if you should poke the crust in the first place....)

So, lattice or squares, as in the first photo, don't seem to let that happen.

I suppose we'll have to test this.

I admit to slowness on getting why mixes were much easier than just making a cake or biscuits from scratch, as in what's the big deal, with the exception of pancakes. My from scratch pancakes have always been... not good. Eh, where's the Bisquick...

But yes, biscuit mix and sour cream, a dough, and so on. Pinching and fluting, oooh...

Maybe that's why they don't elaborate on the recipes - they want us to have a choice of mix or scratch and don't want to get into that.

The time from which the recipe comes is also relevant. The crust thing is from 1978, when there were perhaps not as many choices. I collect cook books. (And, bet you would never expect this) I am a pretty good cook. In fact I am better than my mom was in some areas, but, jesus, could she cook pies. Entirely from scratch.
I have one of the early editions of the Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, (1931 was the 1st edition) which contains some amazing writing:
"When our scarcity of domestic service was first making itself felt, I was approached by a woman of seventy who asked for help in the ambition of her lifetime -to know how to separate an egg. She died happy."

Too funny.

I agree that the crust can be an afterthought. But some of that might be the cooking/baking dichotomy. Y'know, if you're more imprecise/spontaneous, you're probably more of a cook, but if you hew to directions and/or are more scientific, you're probably more of a baker. Pot pie kind of straddles that line.

The convenience food versus made from scratch thing absolutely has to do with history. 50s or so and it would have been that you used a mix as that was just what good ole sophisticated Americans did (as they watched their tiny screen B/W TVs with TV dinners in compartmentalized foil trays). If you made stuff from scratch, you were either hopelessly oldfashioned or from the sticks (or both).

Currently the fashion is to go from scratch but a lot are busy so there's even more convenience foods out there than ever, so there's a lot of doctoring. Hell, Sandra Lee has a whole cooking show on the Food Network on just that, called Semi-Homemade.

Personally, I'm not much of a baker, except for extremely forgiving and versatile focaccia bread. I'd probably use a shortcut unless it was a weekend and I was well-rested and feeling really ambitious.

PS Yes that site is very engineer-y. I loved how they explained what happens if you make clam chowder from milk versus cream versus half and half.