Turkey Pot Pie. YUM.

Do you have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving?

I hope so.
If not, you may want to barbeque (or roast, if that's your style) another turkey just so you can make this recipe. It's that good.
Giada's Turkey and Pancetta Pot Pie.


I'm not a huge pot pie fan (gasp!), but maybe it's because I haven't had really good pot pie...this pie, however, has changed my opinion of pot pies forever.

Ingredients
Filling:
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 oz pancetta, finely diced
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large shallots, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup flour
2 1/12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups roasted turkey meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 tsp black pepper

Crust:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp olive oil

For the filling, heat oil in large saucepan. Add pancetta and cook until brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. Drain pancetta on paper towel. Add butter, shallots, carrots, and thyme to the saucepan. Cook for 6-8 min. until carrots are tender. Stir in flour and increase heat to high. Add chicken broth and cook until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Add cooked pancetta, heavy cream, turkey, peas, corn, and pepper. Simmer for 3 minutes. Using a ladle, fill ramekins with the filling mixture.

For the crust, place flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a food processor. Add butter and cheese and process until coarse. Add 1/3 cup buttermilk and the oil. Process until the mixture begins to form a ball, adding extra buttermilk if needed. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10-inch diameter circle. Cut the dough into circles and place on top of filling.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 min. until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Gone, in 60 seconds. Just kidding...I don't eat THAT fast.

The most wonderful time of the year...

Christmas has arrived at Apt. #23!
I love this time of year. Really, I do.

My little tree may only be 2 feet tall, but it's perfect. After all, it just isn't Christmas without a Christmas tree. Can it be December for longer than 31 days? Ah, it really is the most wonderful time of the year and when it's gone, I'll miss it but at least I always know that it'll be back.

Groceries

You know it's time to go to the grocery store when...

you eat a handful of cereal for dessert because you're hungry and there's nothing else around.

2 out of the 3 refrigerator shelves are empty. completely empty and very lonely.

Thankful.

I'm thankful for...

...my family and friends. Obviously.
...a healthy body and all important limbs.

...the hugs of students and their genuine delight in seeing me at school.
...Trader Joe's vanilla cinnamon black tea (but it really should be sold year-round).

...a working car heater. Driving with the heater blasting is my favorite.
...the month of November. It's the best month.

...good music.
...cell phones, texting, and Skype. But Skype, most of all.

...a mom who taught me how to bake/cook and how to be on time.
...a dad who taught me how to laugh in any situation.
...a brother who taught me that it's always best to look at what you're eating because you never know what's hiding in your food.

I'm pretty sure that I can say, without a doubt, that Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year. Especially in Santa Barbara.
Sleep in, take a long walk in the morning all bundled up but still enjoying the sun, hang with the fam, play a few competitive games of ping-pong, laugh a lot, play a few more games of ping-pong, try (in vain) to beat my brother, laugh some more, eat good food, play games, eat delicious dessert, talk, and laugh. Ah, I love Thanksgiving.

I'm a fan.

Forgotten God

"I struggle to always and actually keep in step with the Spirit moment by moment. To submit and give up everything truly is radical and terrifying.
However, when I think deeply about it, walking in my own wisdom, contrary to the Spirit's leading, is even more frightful.
Though I struggle, I know that ultimately I want nothing more than to live in total surrender and abandonment to the Spirit every moment I have left on this earth."
-Francis Chan

THE Pushing Daisies Pie.

I did it.
I patiently waiting for my pears to ripen.
I did the grocery store marathon trying to find cheap port wine (doesn't exist).

I conquered the homemade gruyere crust.

I baked THE Pushing Daisies Pear Gruyere Pie.


Is it good? Couldn't tell ya.

I'm waiting (yes, more waiting) for a friend from Ventura to make the drive north tomorrow and THEN we will do the taste test.
Honestly, though, I am quite confident that it will be amazing. Just look at it. And look at the ingredients. You can't go wrong.

I just wish Ned, Olive, Chuck, and Emerson were around to try it...
I guess I'll just have to open my own Pie Hole.

Pear Gruyère Pie
Gruyère Pie Crust:
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. sugar
20 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1 in pieces
3 oz. Gruyère, grated finely
6 tbsp. ice water

Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and grated gruyere in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter. Sprinkle ice water over flour in increments of one tablespoon, toss with fork after each addition. When dough begins to clump together as you stir, form two equal balls of dough. Roll out the bottom crust, place in pie dish, pour pears over crust and top with top crust.

Spiced Poached Pear Pie Filling:
3 lbs. Bartlett pears
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. port wine
1 1/2 c. water
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1 cinnamon stick

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add sugar, wine, water, vanilla, cinnamon stick, nutmeg and clove into a large stock pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Put an empty medium bowl into the freezer to chill.
Peel and halve pears. Scoop the core and seeds out and then cut the halves in half. Once liquid mixture has come to a boil add cut pears. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the pears are tender.
Using a slotted spoon remove the pear quarters from the poaching liquid and put them into the chilled bowl. Return the poaching liquid to a boil and reduce until you have about 3/4 of a cup of syrup. Add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to the syrup to thicken the syrup further.
Remove the pears from the chilled bowl layer them into the bottom of the pie. Pour the syrup on top of the pears and top with top crust, sealing edges.
Bake pie until the crust is golden and you can see the filling bubble up between the slits in the crust, about 30 to 40 minutes.