Pastry

About this time of year we start thinking about our menus for the holidays and most of those menus include a pie of some sort. When I think of “pie” I think of a dessert pie although one of my favorite pies is Chicken Pot Pie.
For years I could cook/bake almost anything, except pie crust. For some reason I just could not get it to work. I knew all the “rules” for working with pastry and tried a number of different recipes, but the crust just did not turn out.
When my youngest son was in preschool the teacher said that she gave all the students some clay and some utensils and told them to make anything they wanted to. She said she watched my son knead and roll the clay over and over and then ended up throwing it across the room!..... she asked him what he was doing and he said, “making pie crust like my mama does!” - I did get really good at hitting a fence post out back of our house. I usually ended up buying Mrs. Smith’s frozen pie crust from the grocery store. The ready-made pie crust in the grocery store has improved since those days and I too have improved in making my own. A couple of my favorite recipes for pie crust follow plus a couple good recipes to fill the crust.

Pie Crust

Source: www.food.com

2 cup all-purpose flour
2 t. sugar
3/4 t. salt
1/2 cup Crisco
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 egg yolk (save white for brushing on the bottom pie crust)
2 t. cider vinegar
3 1/2 - 4 T. cold water
In a food-processor, combine flour with sugar and salt, pulse until combined.
Add shortening and butter and pulse until fat is combined with flour mixture. Pea-sized chunks are fine, but slightly larger chunks will really make a difference.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and vinegar. Add 3 1/2 tbsp of water (more if you live in a dry climate, and less if it is a particularly humid day). You can always add tablespoons of water to the dough later.
Pour the liquids mixture into flour/butter mixture. Pulse together and add a little water if necessary. Mixture should be just moist enough for you to form it into a ball. *Note: I like to have just enough moisture so crumbs in the bowl will stick to the dough if you pat them on.
Cover the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 MINUTES.
Divide into 2 pieces and roll out to fit a 9” pie plate.
Note: You can double this recipe and use what you need, and flatten the rest into 1/4” disks (or 1/8” if you really want to have an easy time thawing the dough) and freeze to be thawed when needed.

Jan’s Flaky Buttermilk Pastry

Source: Jan Mickelson

6 c. all-purpose flour
3 t. salt
2 c. Crisco
1/2 c. butter
2 T. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk
Measure flour and salt in large bowl. Cut in Crisco and butter until mixture is like small peas.
Add oil and buttermilk. Mix until all flour mixture is moistened and dough cleans side of bowl.
Make into 6 patties and wrap each in wax paper, then into freezer bags and freeze (unless using right away, then roll in flour for pie tin).
If frozen, remove one patty for one pie shell. Microwave about 10 seconds per side until ready to roll or thaw at room temperature. Use two patties for a double-crust pie.

Chicken Pot Pie

Source: Carol Klinker

1 can (14.5 oz.) condensed chicken broth
1/2 cup water
4 medium carrots - thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 c.)
3 med. red potatoes - scrubbed and diced (about 1 1/2 c.)
1/2 t. salt
2 T olive oil
2 c. mushrooms - quartered medium
1 med. onion - coarsely chopped
1/2 t. Poultry Seasoning
1/4 t. Tabasco Sauce
1 c. frozen peas
1/3 c. all-purpose flour* - OR 2 T. sweet rice flour if you plan on freezing it
2 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken
1 packet Swanson chicken flavor boost
pie dough for 2-crust 9” pie, divided into 2 pieces
Combine broth, 1/2 cup water, carrots, potatoes and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer over low heat 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and sauté a couple minutes more.
Whisk flour into onion mixture.
Stir in broth mixture, poultry seasoning, Tabasco Sauce, Flavor Boost and peas. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
Stir chicken into vegetable mixture and transfer to the baking dish(s).
Spread each pie-crust on floured surface and roll out to fit 1-inch larger than top of a 2-quart shallow baking dish. (I only use a top crust and so a 2-crust pie dough recipe is enough for 2 (5”) pie pans plus 1 Pampered Chef small oval stoneware pan, which is about 5 1/2” x 8”).
Place crust over filling; trim and flute edge. Cut slits in top of crust to let steam escape.
Bake until filling is bubbly and crust is browned, about 20 minutes.
Note: I use Sweet Rice flour so I can freeze the 2 (5”) pot pies. I place one in the refrigerator the night before so it will be thawed by the next evening and then bake as usual.

Rhubarb Pie

1 egg white
4 c. frozen pink rhubarb
4 c. boiling water
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 T. quick tapioca
1 T. grated orange rind
1 T. butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Place frozen rhubarb in a colander; pour boiling water over rhubarb and allow to drain. Mix in sugar, tapioca & orange rind. Let stand while pastry is being made.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of the pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim. Brush bottom crust with egg white to prevent filling from soaking into the crust.
Add drained rhubarb; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. Pour filling into pastry; dot with butter. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in. thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake 40-50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Print this post