Scribbles & Munch

      Ok...that holiday break was way more of a break than I intended. Here's the post I meant to post, well, two weeks ago...sorry about that....

      I still have turkey leftover from Thanksgiving. Some of you just finished yours--and you're about to get more from Christmas. Now I don't know about you, but I still wind up with plenty of leftover turkey meat long after the stuffing, the gravy, and the other side dishes are gone. But I stopped stressing about eating it all up right away years ago, because cooked turkey freezes really well--which is how I can enjoy every bite of leftovers without getting turkey over-load.
      Inspired by a wonderful woman and mother of a dear friend, I began looking for creative ways to give makeovers to my leftovers in my mid-20's. Every year I try to discover something new (this year's favorite is Turkey Ramen--I highly recommend it), but I almost always make pot pie at least once. Why? Because pie is the best thing to happen to meat since fire, that's why.
      Think about it: why should fruit get all the flaky pastry? Whether it's a Cornish Pasty, a potato-laden Piroshky, or spiced Dim Sum offering, when pastry meets meat my tastebuds get insanely happy.* And nothing - nothing - is a better winter comfort food than a rich, savory pot pie. Let's face it: all Thanksgiving turkeys hope they'll get made into one.
      There are lots of approaches to pot pies, ranging from the "stew-with-a-puff-pastry-hat" version to the "upside-down-chicken-a-la-king" variation. They all have their merits, and it's rare for me to find one that I don't like. My favorite, however, is a true pie with crust on the top and the bottom. The reason many people avoid this type is because they're worried about a soggy bottom, but we've got an easy trick for that, never you fear!
      Other common pitfalls for all types of pot pie include thin gravy, too much (or too little) salt, and disproportionate amounts of vegetables. I've even had some that were essentially turkey soup with a crust on top (tasty, but not really a pot pie, I'm sorry to say). My recipe yields a dense, meaty, satisfying stew with plenty of flavor, just enough moisture, and crisp, tender crust above and below; in other words, poultry pie perfection.

Did I mention, perfection?

      You'll need two rounds of my pie dough, and about 1 & 1/2 Cups of leftover cooked turkey meat, cut into bite-sized pieces (I include skin, because I like the flavor, but if you don't like the texture feel free to leave it out). I also recommend using homemade turkey stock, preferably made from the carcass of your Thanksgiving bird, which is ideal for thick sauces due to the bits of leftover stuffing that were cooked into the liquid.** Finally, you want herbs. I used fresh thyme, but feel free to substitute with rosemary or sage, if that's your preference--and there's nothing wrong with dried if they're good quality. And that's all there is to it, just follow the recipe and enjoy!

Z.D.'s Leftover Poultry Pie

Ingredients:
Two rounds of pie dough
3 Tablespoons schmaltz, OR olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Cup small Crimini mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/2 Cup cooking sherry or white wine
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, OR 1 teaspoon dried
2 Tablespoon flour
1 & 1/2 Cups stock, either turkey or chicken, divided
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground pepper
1 & 1/2 Cup chopped leftover cooked turkey (or chicken)
1 Cup frozen peas

Directions:
 - Pre-heat your oven to 375º F. Roll out one of your two dough rounds, and fit it to the bottom of a 9.5" pie plate. Line the dough with aluminum foil, and fill with dried beans, or pie weights. Make sure your aluminum foil covers the edges of the pie crust. Place the lined pie plate directly onto the floor of your oven, and bake for 10 minutes. This gives the bottom crust an early start on baking, so it doesn't get soggy when laden with nummy gravy goodness! Remove from the oven, discard aluminum foil and set aside while you prep the filling.

Easy as...

 - In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt one Tablespoon of schmaltz or oil. When hot, add the onion and onion, and sauté until carrot is softened and onion is just getting golden on the edges. Scrape vegetables into a medium bowl and set aside.

I actually forgot and had to cook my carrots separately--but you don't!

 - Melt another Tablespoon of schmaltz/oil to the pan. When melted and hot, add the mushrooms and spread out in a single layer. Allow to cook, undisturbed, until the tops begin to sweat and the underside is getting golden, about 3-4 minutes. Stir to turn them over and cook and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the other side is golden. Scrape the mushrooms into the bowl with the onion.

 - Deglaze the pan with the sherry or wine, stirring to scrape up the fond (better known as "the tasty brown bits"). Once the liquid has evaporated to only a couple spoonfuls, reduce the heat to medium, and melt in the remaining schmaltz/oil and butter, and stir in the thyme. Once the foam has subsided, sprinkle in the flour and stir vigorously to create a roux. Stir for a minute or two so that the flour loses its "raw" taste.

You're not cooking the herbs so much as flavoring the liquid.

 - Using a whisk, slowly pour in a cup of the stock, stirring vigorously all the while. Allow to cook a minute or so until thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the meat until coated, then add the rest of the veggies back to the pan, and stir in the frozen peas. At this point, if you feel you need more sauce - keeping in mind that the peas will release some more liquid into the filling as the pie cooks - up the heat slightly and stir in the remaining stock, cooking until the gravy is slightly thickened.

Just looking at this is making my stomach rumble....

 - Pour the mixture into the bottom crust of your pie. Roll out the top dough, fit it over your pie, and crimp the edges (this will be a little harder than usual because of the lightly pre-cooked bottom crust, but just remember that pies don't have to be pretty to be delicious). Cut slits in the top of your pie to release the steam, then place back on the floor of your oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Note how this looks like sauced meat & veggies, rather than a more liquidy stew.

 - Remove the pie from the floor of the oven onto the lowest oven shelf, and bake for another 30 minutes (if you feel your top crust is baking too quickly, you may reduce the heat to 350º and cover with foil). Pie is finished baking when the top is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven, and allow to rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.

After 15 minutes of waiting, you'll get a little leakage when you slice. Wait longer - say, 30 minutes - and you'll get relatively little as the gravy "sets." But no worries--your gravy will never turn to paste with this recipe!

*I am literally salivating as I type this--no joke.

**Yeah, that's right, I said STUFFING, as in something you put inside the damn bird. Don't give me any of that "oh, no, samonilla-diptheria-turkey-poison" nonsense. It's called a thermometer, people--you stick the stuffing in the bird and the thermometer in the stuffing and when it reaches it 165º F you know that all the germs are dead! Science: effectively saving people from disease since the invention of fire.