Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie

An updated version of a Chicken Pot Pie seemed in order with winter in full swing. A great classic cold weather meal made with a few updated ingredients, not too many, just a few for the modern cook to wiggle her fingers a bit.

Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pie
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
5 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup cold water
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1 cup sliced fingerling potatoes
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup chicken or turkey gravy (see recipe below)
Mix flours and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Soften oil slightly and stir into flour. Add water and combine to form a ball. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 8 inches wide. Tuck the crust into 4 ramekins (4 x 2 inches), and allow excess dough to flop over the top. Push to seal the overlaps that will occur up the sides of the ramekins. Place on a baking sheet and set aside. Turn oven on to 350 degrees. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and with shears cut bacon into 1/4 inch slices over hot skillet. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add onions and cook another minute. Add carrots and celery and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in potato slices and cook for 2 more minutes. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, sage, rosemary and pepper. Cook for 1 more minute then add peas and chicken. Cook until peas are thawed, about 2 minutes, then stir in gravy. Place 1/4 of the filling mixture in to each ramekin, pull the excess crust over the filling, leaving an opening in the center. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot in ramekins.

Hints: Don't melt the coconut oil completely, just a quick jolt in a microwave to soften enough to blend with the flour. Mix it with the back of a spoon or with your hands. You can also cut it in like you would shortening or butter if you don't want to soften it up. If your bacon doesn't have much grease, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of butter when sauteing the veggies. Adjust the amount of the various veggies as you see fit; lower the proportion of potatoes if you want, add in parsnips or use sweet potato chunks instead of fingerling slices. It's what you have on hand cooking at it's root. Sauteing the veggies helps with the final taste and texture. The free form look indicates good rustic cooking but you certainly can make these more refined looking by using a top crust with cut outs or add ons.

Simple Turkey (or Chicken) Gravy (This recipe can be halved)
Drippings from the roasting pan plus milk to equal 3 cups
2 to 3 teaspoons chicken stock paste
1/3 cup flour mixed with an additional 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Heat drippings and milk over medium heat until simmering. Add stock paste and mix thoroughly. Whisk in the flour and milk mixture. Reduce heat and cook until thicken, stirring often. Taste to adjust seasoning and add more chicken stock paste or salt if needed. Finish with the heavy cream. Heat through and serve. (Recipe can be made without drippings by increasing stock paste and adding at least 1 tablespoon butter.)

This is always a hit for dinner at my house. It is a stick to your ribs, comfort food that feels as good as it tastes somehow. Home cooking is really about satisfaction on many levels and dishes like pot pie get you there.

Turkey Taquitos

What to do with leftover roast turkey is a legit question. Usually there is some. Sandwiches are nice but after a day or so, not so appealing. Hash is also good. Soup works. However, when it comes to Ala King, I'm not as sure. So I am offering another choice, a taquito with cheese, red onion and cilantro added. Yum Yum eat 'em up!

Turkey Taquitos
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 inch corn tortillas
shredded cooked turkey
shredded cheddar cheese
minced red onion
chopped cilantro
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. When it is hot, add one tortilla at a time and cook on each side for 10 seconds. Remove to paper toweling and cook additional tortillas. (1/2 cup oil will cook at least 12 tortillas.) Assemble taquitos by placing approximately 1 1/2 tablespoon turkey meat, 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 teaspoon onion and 1/4 teaspoon cilantro on the side of one tortilla. Roll up tightly and secure with a toothpick. After you have assembled 5 or 6, heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Place taquitos toothpick side down into hot pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn with tongs and cook another side for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn twice more and cook 3 or 4 minutes each side. Remove the toothpicks before serving. Serve hot with refried beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, lime wedges, etc,

Hints: Pre-cooking the tortillas is necessary as they tend to crack and fall apart if you don't. And just heating them up doesn't help as much as frying them. They really will hold together best with a quick fry. The oil is hot enough if you can hold the edge of a tortilla in it and it begins to bubble pretty hard around the edge. If the oil is not hot enough, the tortilla will be very greasy and not usable. If it is too hot, you will end up with a chip, which will not roll around the filling well. You can use the same skillet for pre-cooking the tortillas and for frying the taquitos, making this a one pan meal. Or you can use a bigger skillet if you are cooking quite a few. Of course you can use chicken or pork or beef in place of the turkey; any poultry, meat or even fish, as long as it is already cooked. Freeze shredded poultry and use this way for a quick meal. The taquitos will brown due to the oil on the tortillas. The cheese will melt and the onion will soften a bit. A good addition would be some red pepper sauce on the filling but be sure you are serving them to people who like the heat.

Like I always say, a day with a taco (or in this case a taquito) is better than a day without a taco. Pork, chicken or beef, it's all good! I am going to try these taquitos with some shrimp I have in the freezer. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Post Holiday Goodness

Eat more vegetables! A good way to recover from a feast and a way to use up leftover gobbler meat:
 
Turkey Hash with a Twist
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups sweet onion, very large dice
3 large red bell peppers, very large dice
2 cups acorn or butternut squash cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 15 oz can coconut milk (light or regular)
1 cup milk
zest of 1 lime (reserve some for garnish)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 pound cooked turkey (or chicken) meat, cut into 1/2 inch peices
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place coconut oil and olive oil in a large, shallow baking pan. Heat oil in oven for about 5 minutes. Add veggies and salt to pan and toss to coat with oils. Bake 20 minutes and toss veggies again. Roast an additional 20 minutes. Veggies should be cooked through and beginning to caramelize. Mix coconut and regular milk in a large saute pan that has a tight fitting lid. Heat to a simmer over medium heat. Add veggies, lime zest, basil and turkey. Cover and cook until turkey is heated through, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Mix cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. Slowly pour into veggie mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook uncovered until sauce thickens, stirring frequently. Season with additional salt to taste if desired. Garnish with a bit of lime zest. Serve hot with couscous pilaf or coconut black rice.

Hints: I use a broiler pan or jelly roll pan for roasting the veggies. Be sure to use a smooth textured winter squash, not a fibrous one. The coconut milk gives a hint of sweetness to the hash.  This dish has an exotic curry type flavor and goes well with a savory salad. I have made it with grilled chicken breast and that worked well. This dish is tasty enough to serve to guests.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a multitude of things to be grateful for this year and for years to come!

Amy's Turkey Paprikash

Amy’s Turkey Paprikash

¾ lb. turkey breast cutlets

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika

2 tablespoons apple vinegar

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 medium carrot, sliced thinly

3 green onions

¾ cup half and half

salt to taste

Cut turkey into ¼ inch wide strips. Place a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, sauté turkey strips in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add paprika stir well.  Deglaze pan with apple vinegar, allow time to reduce a bit.  Add peppers, carrots and green onions. Continue to cook for several minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir in half and half. Cover and cook for an additional 8 to 10 minutes. Salt to taste. Serve over rice or egg noodles.  Spinach noodles are also good!

Amy is such a good cook! She feeds her family (and guests) in a healthy way, with lots of love. It is always a pleasure to sit down at her table and break bread. Speaking of bread, Austrians know how to bake bread! Thanks to Amy, Claus and the kids for the lovely hospitality.

 

Turkey Schnitzel

My daughter Amy lives in the lovely land of Austria and I am fortunate to be visiting for a week. One of my favorite dishes she makes is Turkey Schnitzel. She made some for a traditional Sunday dinner today-- I know, I know "Lucky You!"

Turkey Schnitzel

1 ½ to 2 lbs. turkey breast cutlets

flour for dredging

3 to 4 eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups fine breadcrumbs 

1 lb. butter (unsalted is best, but reguar will do)

Pound each turkey cutlet with a meat tenderizer or mallet (a marble rolling pin will work in a pinch) to achieve about 1/8 inch uniform thickness. Next, dredge both sides of each cutlet in flour, dip in egg and finally coat with breadcrumbs. Melt butter in a deep-sided pan over medium high heat. When butter is hot and bubbly, cook schnitzel one at a time for 2 or 3 minutes per side, turning once. They should be golden to deep brown. As you continue cooking, the butter will get a bit darker. That is fine, just be sure to keep the heat low enough to avoid burning the butter but high enough to cook the schnitzel quickly.  As each piece is finished, place on a serving tray in a warming drawer (or in a low temp oven) until ready to serve. 

Serve with plenty of preiselbeere or lingon berry preserves. Cranberry sauce can be substituted if you cannot get to Austria for the preiselbeere or Ikea for the lingon berry.

Hints: I can get turkey cutlets in packages at local grocery stores. Breadcrumbs are readily available as well, or you can make your own. Just make them very fine. The breadcrumbs Amy uses are made from the rolls here called semmel and they are fabulous but sadly, unavailable in the USA as far as I know. We like to serve a green salad and some roasted potatoes as sides--Austrian potatoes are also unavailable but Yukon gold come close. Real butter is a must for this dish. You end up throwing most of it out but the flavor cannot be replicated.