Wolf Pie - Great for Meatless Monday!

Wolf Pie, the hilarious picture book by Brenda Seabrooke and Liz Callen, retells the story of the 3 Little Pigs with a fantastic twist.  The wolf becomes a friend of the pigs and a willing vegetarian.  After reading the book, Sweetie Pie and Little Man were inspired to make up their own recipe for Wolf Pie, highlighting their favorite vegetables.  Here is their creation!

Wolf Pie
filling recipe by Perficious Eats, Sweet Pea and Little Man

Filling Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon of water, beaten together in a little dish (this is the pie crust's egg wash)
salt and pepper to taste
optional:  several threads of saffron

Pie Crust Ingredients:

Use your favorite pie crust recipe here.  I like Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee recipe for this.

1.  Make the pie crust, separate into 4 little discs and refrigerate.  (If your recipe makes enough dough for a 2-crust pie, then only use 1/2 of the dough for this recipe.  You can freeze the other half for another day of pie!)

2.  In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.  Saute the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and add the flour.  Add the broth slowly and keep stirring to break up the flour clumps.  Add the saffron, salt and pepper.  Simmer for a few more minutes and take off the heat.

3.  In a separate pot, cook the sweet potatoes in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes.  Drain and add to the sauce pot.  Stir in the peas and corn.

4.  Divide the mixture among 4 ramekins.

5.  Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator, roll out 1 disc into a thin layer that can wrap over a ramekin.  Before you cover the ramekin with dough, brush the top edge and sides of the ramekin with the egg wash.  Cover the ramekin with the dough and repeat with the other 3 ramekins.  Brush the tops of the pies with more egg wash and cut slits or poke holes into each pie crust.  We used a fork to make holes in the crust that looked like each person's first initial:

6.  Bake the ramekins for 1 hour, or until the crust looks golden brown and the filling is bubbling inside.  Yum, yum.

Ren and Stimpy's Chicken Pot Pie

Ren and Stimpy are a vulgar animated dog and cat duo that had odd adventures in the 90s.  One of their favorite dinner dishes was Chicken Pot Pie, that great childhood classic many of us treasure.  I thought about them traveling in their space ship as I was making this dish and sure enough, after I served it to my family, Major Obvious thanked me in his best grating Ren voice, "Thank you for my Cheeeckin Pot Pie."

Pie Crust
(Pate Brisee recipe from Martha Stewart Living)
Ingredients:
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.                   
   
   
   The Pot Pie 
   heavily borrowed from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook
   
   
   Ingredients
   6 skinless chicken thigh fillets 
   4 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ in. pieces
   2 zucchini, cut into ½ in. pieces
   1 onion, chopped
   4 T. flour
   1 c. chicken broth
   ¼ c. Cognac
   1 t. dried tarragon
   1 ½ t. salt
   pepper to taste
   a knob of butter and a glug or two of olive oil
   
   pastry for a single crust pie
   milk
   
   Directions
   Lay chicken thighs in a single layer in baking dish. Salt and pepper.  Bake at 350, 20-25 minutes. Let the chicken cool and then cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.
   
   Blanch carrots in boiling water for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and blanch 2 minutes more. Drain.
   
   Warm butter and olive oil in large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add broth, and whisk until thickened. Stir in Cognac. Cook over low heat until thick. Stir in tarragon, salt, and pepper.
   
   Fold in chicken and vegetables. Pour mixture into deep casserole or soufflé dish. Roll out pastry and place on top of dish. Trim pastry and crimp edges. Brush milk over top of crust. Cut steam vents.
   
   Bake at 400 for approximately 30 minutes.

A Thanksgiving in England

Celebrating Thanksgiving in the UK is actually really fun.  It's totally low pressure in that the average person in the village has no idea what's going on.  The local butcher vaguely realizes that I ordered a 12 pound turkey for some American holiday, but since there is only one other order for a turkey that week, he doesn't think much about it.  All supermarkets are open on The Big Day, so if I've forgotten something, I can quickly run to the store and grab it.

This year, my family and I did something very strange, indeed.  We stayed by ourselves.  I may have served Thanksgiving dinner in my pajamas, I'm not sure.  My kids were dressed in clothes, as they went to school just like it was any normal day.  Major Obvious had the day off and was also dressed since he took the kids to school.  After that one task, he promptly came home, kicked off his shoes, and headed straight for the couch.  He was consumed with the Play Station Portable (PSP) for most of the day.

So while it was odd getting a turkey ready without the Dallas Cowboys or the Detroit Lions gutting it out in the background, I may prefer this low-key experience.  I enjoy getting together with friends and family over the holidays, but it was such a treat to have 2 whole days to ourselves.  No work, no birthday parties, no swim lessons.  Just 12 pounds of juicy, delicious goodness, and some fantastic sides. And NFL football or NHL hockey at midnight.