Pie Gals

Every week (almost!) I sit down to a homemade dinner, a bottle of wine and I watch Sex and the City with two of my favorite people. This past week I made a healthier version of chicken pot pie and a normal, fattening version of chocolate peanut butter pie.


Healthy Chicken Pot Pie 
adapted from Everyday Food


Ingredients
- 2 bone-in chicken breasts
- olive oil
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 small onions, chopped
- dried thyme
- phyllo dough
- 2 1/2 cups of lowfat milk
- juice of one lemon (2 tblsp)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. Shred meat, and set aside.

While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.

Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

Stack phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil. Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients

30 chocolate wafer cookies
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 envelope (1/4 oz) unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped peanuts


Directions: 



1. Preheat oven to 350. Place cookies in a food processor, and process until finely ground (you should have 1-3/4 cups); add butter, and pulse until moistened. Transfer crumb mixture to a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides (use bottom of a dry measuring cup to help). Bake until fragrant and set, 15 to 20 minutes; let cool completely. Wipe food processor clean, and reserve.


2. Place 1/4 cup cold water in a small saucepan; sprinkle with gelatin. Set aside to soften, 5 to 10 minutes.


3. In food processor, combine sugar and peanut butter; process until smooth. Add cream; process until mixture is light and holds soft peaks, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.


4. Heat softened gelatin over very low heat, stirring, just until dissolved. Add to peanut butter mixture in food processor; blend to combine. Transfer filling to cooled crust, and smooth top.

Roasted Whole Brined Chicken, Biscuits and Mac 'n Cheese with Caramelized Shallots

Yesterday Billy had a big interview for a promotion. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to drive him to the airport, and picked him up later that day. Obviously, this was a big day for him. We both were tired and needed some comforting food for dinner. What is more comforting than a roasted whole chicken, biscuits, and macaroni and cheese? I had originally planned to include some sautéed asparagus into the mix but after making the other three components I was too tired to even open the package.

For the chicken, I wanted to make sure it was juicy and succulent. How do you guarantee this? Brine your chicken! In warm water I combined dry thyme, kosher salt and sugar. I hate to tell you I eye-balled this mixture, but that's exactly what I did. I'd say it was about 2 tablespoons of salt, sugar and 2 teaspoons of thyme. I soaked the entire chicken in a large bowl for about an hour to an hour and a half while I was making the biscuits and mac 'n cheese. I unfortunately didn't get a photo of the chicken, but it was absolutely worthy of expletives delicious.  After brining for about an hour, cover the chicken in olive oil. Salt the cavity with kosher salt and stuff with a lemon cut in half. Sprinkle chicken's skin with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast at 400ºF until brown and juices run clear. Our chicken was small, but took about 45 minutes to an hour.

Mac 'n cheese comes in two varietals: baked and stove top. I personally prefer stove top, but baked can be alright, too. It requires less face time, as you don't really have to stir incessantly or serve immediately. I adapted this recipe from one found on Epicurious. Originally the recipe included goat cheese but in the spirit of saving money I kept it to one cheese, extra sharp cheddar. My favorite part of this macaroni and cheese recipe undoubtedly are the caramelized shallots. The sweetness of the shallots was a great addition to the sharpness of the cheese. It took comfort food to a new level. I'm sure, however, adding goat cheese, too, would have made this mac 'n cheese over the top good!

Recipe For Mac 'n Cheese with Caramelized Shallots 

Ingredients:
- 2 cups elbow macaroni pasta
- 1 1/2 tblsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, plus more for sprinkling on top
- 1 1/4 cup half and half
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- 3 cups sliced shallots (about 6 shallots)
- 3 tblsp butter plus more for baking dish

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Butter an 11x7x2 baking dish.

Heat medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add then add sliced shallots. Sweat the shallots. Once they've become soft add salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Periodically stir shallots. Once browned and sweet (caramelized) remove from heat and reserve for the mac n' cheese.

Cook macaroni according to the manufacturer's directions. Do not overcook, as you will be baking the pasta later.

Toss cheddar cheese with the all purpose flour.

Bring half and half and hot sauce to a simmer. Add cheddar cheese mixture to the half and half. Still until melted. Add cooked pasta. Pour into baking pan. Top with cheddar cheese and caramelized shallots. Bake for 15 minutes!

I

Recipe for Biscuits

Biscuits are tricky. The best biscuits have yet to be made by yours truly but these are better than the last batch I made a few months ago. I liked this recipe because it was so simple, I could memorize it and not have to keep looking at what I was supposed to do. Food should be simple, amazing and easy, right? Well, sometimes.

Ingredients

- 2 cups all purpose self rising flour
- 6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 1 cup whole milk
- all purpose flour for rolling and dusting

Preheat oven to 400ºF

In a bowl mix self rising flour and butter. I like to use my hands to break up the butter into the flour. The consistency should be a mealy, grainy flour.

Add the whole milk to the flour and butter. With a fork mix the milk into the flour until just combined.

Flour a surface liberally as well as your hands. Dump the biscuit dough onto the floured surface. Knead lightly about 6 times. Then pat the dough into a square about 1 inch thick. Cut into squares and place on an unbuttered baking sheet. Bake for about 15-18 minutes until brown.