Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

I used to make Chicken Pot Pie quite often when Paul and I were living in England, but once Paul started cooking more, I stopped. Well that all changed yesterday, when I spent hours in the kitchen making dough and filling for Chicken Pot Pie...and let me just tell you, I was very pleased with myself ;)

After 

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE PIE CRUST:

·         2 1/2 cups flour

·         1 tbsp sugar

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 cup cold unsalted butter -  cut into cubes

·         1/2 cup cold whole milk

·         1 egg, beaten, for the egg wash

FOR THE FILLING:

·         1/4 cup unsalted butter

·         1/3 cup diced onion

·         1 1/2-2 medium carrots sliced (about 3/4-1 cup)

·         1 bunch of broccolini (about 1 cup) 

·         1 Russet potato chopped

·         1 sweet potato or yam chopped

·         2 cloves garlic minced

·         1/3 cup flour

·         1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

·         1 tbsp minced fresh Italian parsley

·         2 teaspoons salt

·         1 teaspoon black pepper

·         1 and 3/4 cups chicken broth

·         1/2 cup heavy cream

·         2-3 chicken breasts shredded

·         1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt 

·         ½ teaspoon white pepper 

1.    First, make the pie crust. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in an electric mixer. Add the cubed butter and pulse. Continue pulsing until all of the butter is incorporated into the flour mixture, resembling sand or pea size pieces. Place the flour mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill the butter.

2.    While your butter is in the freezer, boil your chicken and potatoes in water for 10 minutes. Your potatoes & chicken shouldn't be completely cooked since they will be cooked further in the oven. Once they are done, strain and let your chicken cool before shredding. Shred your chicken and set aside with the potatoes. 

3.    Remove your flour mixture from freezer and add your milk. Pulse until it comes together. If the mixture is too dry, add water, a tbsp at a time. Divide the dough in two and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge while you make the filling (at least one hour).

4.    To make the filling, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onions, carrots, broccolini, and garlic and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the flour, salt, garlic salt, black pepper, white pepper, thyme, parsley, chicken broth, and heavy cream. Whisk until there are no flour lumps and then simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Stir in the shredded chicken and potatoes. Remove from heat and set aside while you roll out the pie dough.

5.    Preheat oven to 400°F.

6.    Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circle large enough to fit inside your pan or ceramic dish. Tip: your dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to your pie pan. Pat with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Trim the extra overhang of dough with a knife and discard. Fill pie with filling. Roll out the second disk of dough and carefully cover the pie (or make any design your heart desires, like circles). Make sure to use your egg wash to seal the bottom pie crust to the top and around the edges. Trim the extra overhang off the sides if there are any. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork or your fingers, if necessary. With a sharp knife, slice a few small slits in the center of the top crust. Using a pastry brush, brush the crust and edges with the rest of your egg wash.

7.    Bake for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Cool for 20-30 minutes and then cut into slices and serve. Note: save for leftovers or cool completely and freeze for up to 1 month.

Enjoy!

-Halee

Pearl Restaurant

Pearl Restaurant, owned by and next to Pizzetta 211, has opened its doors in the Richmond District. They are currently serving breakfast (starting 6/4), dinner and brunch. Co-chefs Mel Lopez and Joyce Conway have created a menu that caters to the ingredients and produce in California seasonally. They are making everything in-house from scratch, with the exception of the bread they get from Acme.

I popped in to sample their brunch yesterday with a handful of others and it did not disappoint. Take a look!

Stunning corner booth.

Coffee using Andytown Coffee Roasters will be served during breakfast and brunch. 

Coffee station.

Local Halibut Crudo - strawberry, marcona almond, serrano chili, nuoc cham and cilantro.

Coastal Scrub - gin, dolin dry, pamplemousse, citrus, honey and garbage tincture.

Copa De Oro - rye, cream sherry, nocino, cherry and xocolate mole bitters.

Eggs in Purgatory - lamb sausage, spicy san marzano tomatoes, rosemary polenta and house-made pita bread. 

Chicory Caesar - crispy prosciutto, shaved parmesan and garlic croutons.

Berre Berre Spiced Carrot Soup - mint yogurt, pepitas and urfa.

Smoked Salmon Tartine + Berre Berre Spiced Carrot Soup

Omelette - herbed goat cheese, confit cherry tomatoes, fried shallots and home fries.

Dutch Baby - strawberry preserve, almonds and whipped creme fraiche.

For a peek at their list of menus, including brunch: Menus. 

Honestly, everything we tried was great, but if I had to choose a favorite dish from their brunch menu, it'd have to be the Chicory Caesar or Eggs in Purgatory. I don't really eat salad much but when I come across a salad like this one, it's one that I want to recreate at home and eat every week. SO GOOD. And for the Eggs in Purgatory, there isn't much to say.  Lamb sausage, spicy san marzano tomatoes, rosemary polenta AND house-made pita bread!! Sign me up. To top off brunch, breakfast is rumored to have coffee and fresh baked goods, including wood-fired bagels. Sign me up for that too. And for dinner, well there is fresh hand-made pasta and a Tomahawk Chop (chili-cheese polenta, cipollini onion, asparagus, sauce bernaise - may take up to 45 minutes) to share between 4 people. 

We had such a great time and can't wait to go back for breakfast or dinner (or both). If you're in the Richmond, make sure to check this place out, and grab a slice of Pizzetta after ;)

Cheers, 

Halee

Sun Basket Review

Sun Basket, an organic food delivery service based in the Bay area, reached out to have me review their product. I haven't blogged, let alone reviewed a product, in such a long time so I wasn't sure this was something I wanted to commit to. 

After doing my research I learned a lot about Sun Basket and was very impressed: 

• Sun Basket is a certified organic handler, and strives to source organic produce 100% of the time (currently over 99% of their produce is organic).
• Organic ingredients are clearly labeled on delivery.
• They work exclusively with ranchers and farmers who raise their animals responsibly and sustainably. 
• All of their seafood is wild-caught, never farmed.
• All of their fisheries are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a leading authority in sustainable seafood.
• Their meal plans are dietitian-approved like Paleo, Lean & Clean, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Mediterranean, and more, which make healthy eating easy.
• Their packaging is 100% recyclable and compostable.
• Sun Basket works with local farmers, ranchers, fishermen and shops to offer the best ingredients each week. 
• The executive chef/owner of Sun Basket, Justine Kelly, spent time at Slanted Door restaurant. She also was mentioned in Gourmet Magazine and had an appearance on Iron Chef.

All of these details about Sun Basket (+ many more) made me say "let's do this". I received my first week's meals this past week and will receive my second batch next week. Each box included 3 meals, of my choosing, to prepare. I chose Lemongrass Tofu, Salmon and Quinoa Bowls and Tomato-Coconut Shrimp this week. Out of the three, my favorite were the Lemongrass Tofu + Tomato-Coconut Shrimp. 

Lemongrass Tofu

Lemongrass Tofu with shiitake mushrooms and coconut black rice.

This meal was so flavorful and fun to make! The process was simple enough for anyone to execute, whether you are comfortable in the kitchen or not. Starting with the rice, you let that cook for a good 30 minutes. While the rice is cooking, you are able to prepare and cook everything else. This made things almost effortless.

What was inside (serves 2): 

• Black Rice
• Coconut milk
• Dried shiitake mushrooms
• Hodo Soy firm tofu
• Onion 
• Fresh cilantro
• Sun Basket Lemongrass paste (lemongrass, EVOO, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, ground turmeric)
• Sunflower sprouts
• Sun Basket stir-fry blend (gluten-free tamari, sesame oil, fresh garlic, fresh ginger)

Tomato-Coconut Shrimp

Tomato-Coconut Shrimp over broccoli "rice".

This meal, like Lemongrass Tofu, was bursting with the right amount of flavors that both Paul and I pleasantly enjoyed. The broccoli rice was a nice addition to an already healthy-ish meal. This is one I will gladly recreate again and am looking forward to the results. 

What's inside (serves 2):

• Broccoli rice
• Wild gulf shrimp
• Red chile flakes
• Onion
• Peeled fresh garlic
• Lemon
• Fresh parsley
• Fresh basil
• Diced tomatoes
• Coconut milk
• Baby spinach
• Shaved coconut

Things to know about Sun Basket:

• Pricing does seem to be a bit steep; $11.99 per serving. Considering all of the local organic ingredients they use, it may be worth this price, especially if you don't have all the time in the world to go grocery shopping. The fact that they provide the exact measurements of what you need in each dish is convenient and makes things incredibly easy. (easy seems to be the constant word here). 
• You can choose 2, 3, or 4 meals per week (depending on your menu plan) and can mix & match them (making some vegetarian, paleo, gluten free, etc.) within your meal plan (classic/family).
• You can skip a delivery or cancel your plan at any time. 
• Sun Basket ships to most zip codes in the United States, excluding AK, HI, MT, & parts of NM.
• Your pantry should include olive, grapeseed or sunflower oil, plus salt and freshly-ground pepper. They occasionally call for wine or butter as an optional recipe item. You'll need basic pots and pans, a knife, and basic utensils.

I really enjoyed the first week's meal plan and am excited to try next week's! Check back in to see my thoughts when I review Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs, Bucatini Pomodoro and Saigon Noodles with Braised Tofu. 

Cheers, Halee

Homemade Pasta Recipe

About 4 years ago, when I first moved to the UK to be with Paul, I started baking. That's where it all began. I told myself that in the future I wanted to have my own bakery, plant my own garden, and make my own pasta from scratch. I did try it a few times after learning how when I attended Betty's Cookery School, but since being back in the states I haven't. 

Fast forward 4 years and I can't stop making it, and we eat pasta A LOT. We almost always have carbonara and spaghetti & meatballs for dinner every week, and I always try to make the pasta for the carbonara. 

To be honest, its quite simple-only 2 ingredients (3 if you need to add some water), and you most likely have these ingredients in your cupboard. 

Ingredients (3 servings)

-2 cups of all purpose flour

-3 eggs (I use organic eggs so that I get that yellow tint in the pasta)

-Water if needed 

-Semolina flour (for dusting)

What equipment you'll need (to make things easier)

-Rolling pin (you could get away with not having this if you have a pasta machine)

-Pasta machine (this is crucial for me; it really makes things easier, less time consuming and overall consistent.

-Bench scraper (you could use a knife instead)

-Food processor (again, your can do this by hand but it will take much longer)

Again, this is 3 servings. If you want just 2 servings, only use 2 eggs and 1 1/3 cup of flour. 

Gather your ingredients. You can use a food processor (like I am doing) to make things easier and quicker, or you can opt to do it the traditional way (on the table). 

Add your flour and eggs together in your food processor. 

Pulse to combine. If you mixture looks like the picture, you may need to add 1 teaspoon of cold water (one at a time), until it comes together (I ended up adding 3 or 4). 

It should end up looking like this. 

Take your dough out of the processor and knead it for about 3-5 minutes (you don't want to do this too long; remember the processor did some of the work.) If you are doing it by hand without the processor, you'd ideally knead for about 10 minutes until there's so much elasticity built up that you won't be able to continue. Next, let it rest for 20-30 minutes in cling film on the table (we need the gluten to now relax, since we just worked it when kneading). 

Make sure your work surface is lightly floured. If you have a bench scraper, use that to cut your dough into 4 (almost) equal sections. 

Take one of your four sections and, using your rolling pin, roll out your dough. Make sure your pasta machine is set on its lowest/widest setting (0 for me). Guide it through multiple times, folding in half like a book or even in thirds if it's too long. I usually fold and guide through at least 8-10 times on the the first go through setting 0. The first couple of times I tried making pasta I didn't do this and the pasta didn't turn out. From my research, putting the dough through several times allows the gluten to stretch and makes for a tastier pasta. After your several times on setting 0 (the widest setting), move on to setting 1, or the next on your machine. You don't necessarily need to run it through as many times as you would on your lowest setting, but I still run it through a few times. I also let it rest a minute or 2 before running through the next setting, so that the gluten can relax. 

Eventually you will have a long sheet of pasta (pictured), which is setting 5. You can make it as thick or thin as you want it. I personally like thicker pasta so I stopped here. I have gone to setting 6 for thinner fettuccine. Also, make sure you aren't letting your pasta get sticky. Constantly have flour handy if needed.  

Next, guide your sheet of pasta through your fettuccine or spaghetti setting, or cut your pasta yourself with a knife! My pasta machine already has those 2 pasta settings so it makes it easy, but I've cut my own pasta before when making tagliatelle and it's definitely fun! 

Repeat these steps another 3 times with the rest of your dough sections. You'll end up with a mound of pasta that you can't wait to stuff your face with. *heart eyes*

SO MUCH PASTA.

Boil pasta for a few minutes (yes, only a few minutes!) and create your favorite dish. We made carbonara and it was divine. Simply divine. Now, it's your turn! 

Thanks for reading guys! Shoot me message if you have any questions. Until next time.

-Halee