i <3 alton: Moms Birthday Linner!

For Moms birthday she wanted me to make my famous pot pie and a chopped salad and then I made a little surprise dessert for her!

Christines Finger Lick'n Chick'n Pot Pie!

It's not really MY recipe, but it's my creation! I've taken three DELICIOUS recipes and brought them into one! For the filling I used ideas from the Joy of Cooking, and the mushroom gravy from the green bean casserole by Alton.

Cook 4-6 Boneless Chicken breasts (or equivalent) However you like! I like to simmer them in some chicken broth with celery, carrots, bay leaf, rosemary, whatever other broth-like add-ins I have laying around! They need to be completely cooked! Once finished, Reserve 1 cup of the broth (for later) and save the rest in your fridge for other delicious creations! Cut the chicken into thumb-tip sized cubes (yes, that's a measurement).

For the gravy/sauce:

(taken from Alton Browns Best Ever Green Bean Casserole)

Hardware:

12" Cast Iron Skillet (preferred, but any 12" or larger skillet will do)

Software:

2 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
12 Oz. Mushrooms
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
2 Cloves of Garlic - Minced
1/4 tsp. Freshly Ground Nutmeg (omg, fresh makes ALL the difference)
2 Tbsp. All-Purpose flour
1 Cup Chicken broth
1 Cup Half & Half

Melt the butter over medium-high heat.

Add the mushrooms, salt, and the pepper. Cook - stirring occasionally for about 4-5 minutes or until you notice the shrooms giving up some of their delicious juices.

Add the garlic and nutmeg - cook for an additional 1-2mins.

Sprinkle the flour on top - Stir and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the broth and allow it to simmer for 1 minute.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the half&half

Cook until thickened - stirring occasionally... this takes about 6-8 minutes.

Veggies!!

(Suggestively suggested by Joy of Cooking)

Software:

2 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
1 Medium Onion - Chopped
3 Medium Carrots - Peeled & Sliced 1/4" Thick
2 Small Celery Stalks - Sliced 1/4" thick
3/4 Cup Peas
3 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley - Minced

Heat the butter in a large pot (big enough to fit everything else in!) on medium-high until the foam subsides.

Add and cook the onion, carrots, and celery - stirring often for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and mix together all the veggies, parsley, and peas with the chicken.

Butter a baking dish, 13x9 usually works, and add everything you have so far.

Pour the mushroom gravy on top and stir it in a little.

NOW FOR THE TOPPING!!!

There is an option of doing a biscuit topping here (that's Pops fave) but we are doing the delish pie crust recipe (Thanks again Alton - The Crust Never Sleeps)

Hardware:

Rolling Pin
Mixer or Food Processor
Spray Bottle (WATER ONLY)
Patience

Software:

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Stone Ground Cornmeal
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
2 Oz. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 Oz. (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced and chilled
5 Tbsp. COLD water

Thoroughly mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and place into refrigerator. Soften 1/2 stick of butter to room temperature. Chop the remaining 1 1/2 sticks of butter and return to the refrigerator for about 20 minutes (or more, if you want).

In your mixer or food processor, mix the dry ingredients with the 1/2 stick of softened butter until the butter is completely integrated (no more lumps visible). Remove the chopped butter from the refrigerator and add half to the food processor. Pulse the food processor ten times for about one second each time. The goal is to chop the first half of the butter into pea-sized chunks. Add the other half of the butter and pulse about four times to achieve larger chunks of butter.

Mix apple juice concentrate and cold water in a spray bottle. Spray the surface of the dough in the food processor bowl until there is a sheen of moisture, then fold the dough with a rubber spatula. Repeat this procedure until about 3 Tbsp of the liquid has been added. The dough mixture should be dry to the touch, but stay together when squeezed. If the dough does not hold together, continue adding moisture in the manner above. Remove the dough from the processor bowl and form into a ball. Rest the dough in the refrigerator wrapped in wax or parchment paper for at least 20 minutes.

When you pull the dough out it should be totally dough-ified - howEVER if you have the problem I did- mine was still dry and I needed to spray it a little more and knead it a little. After this I refrigerated it for a bit longer so the butter in the dough wouldn't melt.

Roll the dough out on a well floured surface until it's about 1/4" thick. Add it to the top of your casserole and decorate it if you like! Also you can brush the crust with a bit of egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little bit of water) to give it a bit of a sheen on the top.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until the crust looks golden. Yum!

For dessert I totally copied this recipe from Joy of Baking website, and it turned out delicious!