A Passion for Pot Pies

There is nothing like a hearty pot pie to warm you up on these dark, rainy winter nights we're having. My little brother got me this wonderful cookbook for Christmas in 2007, and I have been loving it over the past couple of years.

One of the recipes from this book that has made it into my regular rotation of cozy dinners is the recipe for Turkey Pot Pie - although you can make it with chicken as well. We've even tried it with ham, and it was delicious!

The combination of the creamy, savory turkey filling, the golden crust flavored with thyme, and the sweet and tart cranberries is out of this world.

Turkey Pot Pie with Cranberry-Thyme Crust
(adapted from Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover by Diane Phillips)

Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken or turkey broth
1 cup whole or 2% milk
4 cups cut-up or shredded cooked turkey or chicken meat
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Spray a 10-inch round ovenproof baking dish with cooking spray. Set on top of a roasting pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter, add the onion, celery, and carrot, and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring to form a paste around the veggies. Gradually whisk in the broth and milk, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cooking for about 4-6 minutes until the mixture thickens. Add the turkey, thyme, sage, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust accordingly. Transfer the filling to the prepared round baking dish.

Next, prepare the crust.

Crust:
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

Place the Bisquick in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently just until combined.

Drop mixture by heaping spoonfuls on top of the turkey pie mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden. Makes 6-8 servings

Yes, I am that annoying newlywed . . .

. . . who wants to tell you all about her wedding. Well, the food anyway.

I've been wanting to do a post on the food we had at our wedding for a while now. We got married on October 4, 2008 in Athens, GA, and in my oh-so-humble opinion, we had the best food of any wedding ever. Period. :-)

Let me start with a post about our rehearsal dinner. We had the local barbecue place in our little town cater it. The menu: a whole hog, pork rinds, cole slaw, beans, brunswick stew, and banana pudding. It was so relaxed, and the food was delicious. Here are some photos.

Here is the setting - it was a beautiful day.

This is the buffet table.
I love the glass beverage containers that my sister in law found!
All of our flowers were done by Gardenia Floral Design - they rock!


Party favors were local honey from the UGA Honey Bee Program,
which is part of the Entomology Department.
My father in law actually got to go to the lab and draw the honey himself.
My mother in law is responsible for the super-cute UGA-colored packaging.
Not to mention that this is some of the best honey I've ever tasted.


And here is my husband's groom's cake!
Modeled after his very first car - a 1973 VW super beetle.
All our cakes came from Cecilia Villaveces Cakes in Athens, GA. They are wonderful!


Here's the hog!


And the profile view.

It was the perfect rehearsal dinner party, and our friends and family from all over the country (er, the world, I guess, since we had folks from Canada and Mexico in attendance) really enjoyed tasting all of the southern delicacies!

Look for a post on our wedding menu in the next few days! It had quite the southern flair, too!

Gather 'round the campfire

The idea for these cute little S'more Cupcakes came to me from my friend Ashley of HauteCakes - you should check out her website, she makes some fabu cupcakes!

I made these for some of our friends who have young kids, and they LOVED them. If it's too rainy or cold to make real s'mores over a campfire, then these cupcakes definitely hit the spot. The icing is to die for - like a fluffy buttery melt-in-your-mouth marshmallow.

It was also a good chance for me to check out Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe. It was super easy (especially considering it came from Martha) and tasted wonderful. It will definitely be in my normal rotation from now on.

I apologize for the sub-par photo quality - I'm hunting down my USB cord for my camera, so I took these with an older point and shoot.

S'more Cupcakes

Cupcakes: Martha Stewart's One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in each tin, or simply grease with cooking spray.

Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir in eggs, 1 1/2 cups warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake, rotating once, until tester inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of your cupcake tins.

Let cupcakes cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from tins and allow to cool completely on wire rack. Makes about 24 cupcakes.

Marshmallow Frosting:
1 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Graham Crackers, crushed
Mini chocolate bars (i.e. Hershey's)

With an electric mixer, blend marshmallow and butter until creamed. Gradually add confectioner's sugar until desired consistency and sweetness is reached. (I think I only used about 1 1/2 cups.) Add vanilla extract, and blend well.

Ice your cupcakes with the marshmallow frosting. I used a ziplock back with a corner snipped off to pipe the icing on, which made it super easy. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and garnish with a miniature chocolate bar.

Peaches 'n' Pecans Baked Brie

Here is another southern-inspired baked brie that we enjoyed over the holidays. This one is super simple, using peach preserves and chopped pecans as a filling. My brothers gobbled this one up so fast, they could barely eat any of their dinner!

This photo aptly demonstrates why I always make baked brie in a nice pie dish!

Peaches 'n' Pecans Baked Brie

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup peach preserves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 round or 1 large slice soft ripened brie
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (I use Trader Joe's, but Pepperidge Farms works, too)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Remove puff pastry from freezer and allow to thaw. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a pie dish and place the sheet of puff pastry on top. Slice brie horizontally. Place bottom half of brie in the middle of the puff pastry. Spread peach preserves over the brie. Sprinkle with nuts, then sprinkle with cinnamon. Place top half of brie over the filling. Fold corners of puff pastry over the top of the brie, gathering them together at the top in a decorative fashion.

Brush beaten egg over the dough with a pastry brush to create a flaky, golden crust on the outside. Bake in preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown and cheese inside is melted.

Serve hot with stoned wheat crackers, water crackers, apple slices, or pear slices.

Quick and Easy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Happy New Year! I hope that you are having a great start to 2009, dear readers.

Here is a quick and easy appetizer to start off your new year right! My trusty spinach and artichoke dip is based on Alton Brown's recipe, but has a bit of an onion and cheese twist.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Adapted from Alton Brown's recipe

1/3 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach

1 1/2 cups thawed, chopped frozen artichoke hearts (or canned)
6 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a small oven-safe dish. Heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add onions. Allow to brown over medium to medium high heat, stirring occasionally.

Microwave frozen spinach and artichokes according to package directions.

Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in spinach and artichokes, 1/4 cup parmesan, red pepper flake, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Place in an oven-safe dish and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. At this point, you can either store the dip, covered, for up to 3 days, or continue.

Bake until hot and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.