blog — molly yeh

pie

mini chicken pot pies

in ,

i would first eat the crust, inspecting all surfaces to make sure there weren't any mushrooms or peas. i would then filter through the innards, making sure not to ingest any mushrooms or peas. eventually i would give up and go searching for a handi-snack.

to say that i'm impressed with those second graders who made it through daniel is an understatement.

at heart i'm still the pickiest of all the eaters. so even now when i eat something as comforting as chicken pot pie, i consider it a triumph because you never know what could be hiding in that thick creamy goop. it could be a mushroom.

of course my version doesn't have mushrooms. when will i enjoy mushrooms???? and this version is v heavy on the crust, a perk of its miniature size. i've grown into tolerating peas, so those are there, along with the remaining usual suspects of a chicken pot pie, and nothing else. 

this is a no frills pot pie. a simple pie, a humble pie.

these little pies are cute, fun to make, and functional, especially for a small household like mine that can't eat an entire pie for supper. i just wrap the leftovers up individually and freeze them and wam bam, easy as... (wait for it) pie.

i made these in my new favorite pan, the lodge mini cake pan, feel free to use a muffin tin though!

mini chicken pot pies

makes 10-12

ingredients

2 tb unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 c all-purpose flour

2 c whole milk

enough chicken soup concentrate for 2 c liquid*

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 c frozen peas

1/4 t dried thyme

black pepper

2 lb pie dough

*i like orrington farms brand, which requires 2 tsp mix per cup, but other brands, like better than bouillon i believe only require 1 tsp. best to check the instructions.  

clues

in a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and add the onion, stirring until soft, 5-7 minutes. stir in the flour so that it gets evenly distributed. whisk together the milk and chicken soup concentrate and pour it into the skillet. whisk the mixture constantly until it begins to thicken.

add the carrots, chicken, peas, thyme, and pepper, and simmer, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. taste the mixture and adjust seasonings, if desired.

at this point, i find it easiest to let the mixture cool and then form my pies, however you can definitely form your pies immediately if you'd like.

preheat oven to 400. lightly grease your molds. line them with pie dough so that there is some overhang on the edges (for my pan, i used a 5 1/2-inch circle). spoon in a heaping 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture, place a smaller (3-4-inch) circle on top, and then crimp the edges from the bottom circle over. poke a few holes in the top. bake until golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

let cool slightly and enjoy!

-yeh!

this post is part of becky's eat seasonal roundup! check out a bunch of other seasonal goodies here!

pistachio bakewell pop-tarts

in ,

every day, i wake up, boil water for my oatmeal, grab the oats jar from the shelf, pour the oats in the water, and find myself well with the world. but last week molly decided that she needed to buy the massive, only-buy-if-you-own-a-bakery container of sprinkles, and then didn't have anywhere to put them except inside of my oats jar. so, i reached for my oats the next morning and came frighteningly close to melting $50 worth of naturally dyed sugar pellets. this is all coming back to me as i look at those sprinkles on today's pop-tarts. 

i used to love pop-tarts. during every track meet in high school, i would eat a brown sugar cinnamon frosted two-pack to get jacked up for the triple jump. i moved on to other things, though, cuz nobody's ever wanted to be pop-tart boy.

...until these guys popped out of the oven. take it from someone who has only eaten oats and peanut butter for the past 36 hours: these are the real deal. you know when you try to reinvent a favorite childhood food, but with better ingredients and an advanced culinary insight? you think you want somebody to say "holy cow, these are better than dunkaroos!" but what you are actually, secretly, deeply hoping, is that somebody will say "these taste JUST LIKE DUNKAROOS!" and because nothing can compete with childhood nostalgia, if you can bake something that "tastes JUST LIKE DUNKAROOS" today, well, my friend, you have made it.

ba(t)ching update: i was watching the episode where aunt bee leaves andy and opie alone for a few days, and i wished i could relate to their father-son antics, but unfortunately i don't have a mini ron howard around to yell "pa! the chicken's burning!"

-eggboy

pistachio bakewell pop-tarts

makes 8-10

ingredients

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c pistachio paste

2 large eggs

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c flour

1 lb pie dough

1/4 c jam

1 1/2 c powdered

about 2 tb milk

crushed toasted pistachios and sprinkles

clues

preheat oven to 400. line a baking sheet with parchment and set it aside.

in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and pistachio paste. add 1 egg (reserving the other for an egg wash), followed by the lemon juice and extracts.

mix in the salt and flour until just combined.

cut out 8 2-inch by 3-inch squares of pie dough and place them on your baking sheet. spread each with about a teaspoon of jam and top with a healthy blob of pistachio batter. you could also spoon the batter into a piping bag and pipe it on. 

from the remaining pie dough, cut out rectangles that are about 1/4-inch longer on all sides, so that they fit over the filling.

whip up the remaining egg with a splash of water and brush the edges of the tarts. place a layer of pie dough over the top and crimp the edges with a fork. seal the edges well!

poke the tops with a fork a few times and bake for 10-15 minutes, until slightly browned.

let cool.

whisk together the powdered sugar and milk, adding more or less milk to achieve your desired consistency. spread this on the tarts and top with crushed nuts and sprinkles.

enjoy!