We hope that you are staying warm, have people you love close by,
and love in your heart. We have prepared for you a wonderfully simple and
delicious shitake mushroom and Christmas ham pot pie. You can make one gigantic
one or you can make 5 or 6 small ones!!
Merry
Christmas!
*you can
make your own pate brisee, we have recipes for that, but don’t feel any shame
in using frozen pie dough!
Ingredients:
serves 6
2 large
carrots
1 turnip
1 yellow
onion
1 cup
diced red and purple potatoes
5 medium
shitake mushrooms
3 garlic
cloves
Pre-cooked
glazed ham (2 cups worth)
1 ½ sticks
unsalted butter
¾ cups
flour
2
chicken bullion cubes
5 cups
chicken stock
1
teaspoon salt plus a pinch
2
teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 egg
2 packs
frozen pie dough
Start by
preheating the oven to 400 degrees, and dicing all of the vegetables and ham
into small pieces, leave pie dough out so it softens.
Place
the potatoes and turnips on a sheet tray and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and
bake 10 minutes, until partially cooked but not completely raw.
In a
medium sauce pan heat 5 cups of chicken stock, then dissolve the bullion cubes
in the stock.
In a
large sauce pan melt butter. Once butter is melted add onion, garlic, and
rosemary. Cook until onion is translucent.
Reduce
heat to low, add flour and salt to the butter and whisk constantly until
thickened, about 2 minutes. After two minutes add chicken stock, stirring
constantly until completely thickened. Add salt, then take the mix off the heat
and add in all of your vegetables and ham and fold in.
Spoon mix
into the bowl or bowls you will be baking in. Mix the egg in bowl, and brush the
outer edge of the baking dish. Place pie dough over the top with at least ½ and
inch over the edge, then pinch the dough where it meets the baking dish so that
it adheres. Brush the top with of the dough with egg, and using a really sharp
knife make four small slits.
Place in
oven and bake 45 min to an hour, or at least until the dough is golden brown.
Let them
cool at least 10 minutes, otherwise you may sear your tongue!
Enjoy,
Merry Christmas!!
D Ed
I hope that everyoneefd dcr had a
wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a glorious time, friends, family, neighbors,
everyone united around two table put together to enjoy a magnificent feast that
my father put together. My mother had us decorate the table with porcelain
statues of turkey, oyster bowls full of grapes, and mismatched vintage table
cloths. In true holiday spirit Michael and I helped out with the meal, but made
our own personal contribution of dessert.
We are so accustomed to
pumpkin pies or pecan pies this time of year, that we decided upon making a
simple cold chocolate spiced dessert, in the form of a spiced chocolate ganache
tart topped with caramelized figs. I don’t think it gets more decadent than
this!
*To cheat on the crust, you
can also buy pie crust mix, and add one egg, and three table spoons brown
sugar.
*Take about 2 and a half
hours.
Pie Crust:
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour,
plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter,
very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 Tablespoon ice water
Ganache:
12 ounces bittersweet
chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Caramelized Figs:
8 medium to small sized figs
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
This tart is incredibly easy,
and it is velvety and delicious. It is nothing short of decadent. You will make
the tart in three steps; start with the pie crust, the ganache, and then caramelize
the figs.
Mix the dry ingredients
together in a food processor pulsing to mix. Next add cold butter and mix about
8 times until butter is broken down. Now add ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a
time, then brown sugar, then egg. Take dough out of processor and flatten and
then place in refrigerator for up to one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
remove dough from refrigerator, and roll out until it is about an 1/8 of an
inch thick. Lay over a 9 inch round tart pan, and press down to fit the fold,
piercing the bottom about 10 times with a fork to allow steam to release from
underneath the dough. Place in oven and bake about 15-20 minutes or until the
dough turns golden brown. Once done,
remove and let cool completely.
For the ganache, place cream
in a medium sauce pan and chocolate in a large bowl. Boil the cream, once
boiled pour the cream, through a sieve (or strainer) into the chocolate. Mix
together until there are no lumps in the chocolate. Next add vanilla and
cinnamon, and make sure to mix together completely. Next pour the chocolate
into your cooled pie crust, and place in refrigerator and let set for about an
hour.
For the figs, slice cut both
ends of the figs off, and then split into quarters. Preheat the oven to 300
degrees. In a bowl, mix together the figs, honey, and half of the brown sugar,
making sure you coat all of the figs. Now lay the figs out on a baking sheet
evenly, and sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar on top, and place in oven.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the figs are soft to the touch. You can
even taste one, and test for sweetness, and no bitterness. Once the figs are
done, remove from oven and let cool completely.
To serve all you need to do
is pile the figs up in the middle of the tart and take out of the tart mold.
Enjoy! The mix of the chocolate, cinnamon, and figs is a combination that will
be a crowd pleaser and hopefully will become a tradition for years to come!
