Chicken Pot-Pie Casserole with Biscuit Topping

This dish was inspired by Tiffany's vegetarian version, which I don't have the recipe for but which was damn, damn good.

My version was inspired by two recipes: Just Chicken Pot Pie (America's Best Lost Recipes cookbook) and Buttermilk biscuits (Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook, Mollie Katzen).  Both were adapted, and can be adapted further.

This is a pot-pie with no crust, baked in a casserole dish with chunks of biscuit on top for a crust-like effect.  It takes a while to make/bake (an hour and a half including baking), but the result is a delicious, savory, incredibly popular meal that will feed a LOT of people.  Or, four very hungry, greedy people.  The quantities of most vegetables here are approximate, but this recipe is very forgiving if you use more or less of something.  You could also omit the chicken and increase the amount of vegetables or use less butter, or substitute olive oil for the butter.  The richness of this dish is part of what makes it so good, but the flavors of the vegetables and biscuit is enough for it to shine without the extra cheese and butter.  

"Pie" Filling

~2 lbs chicken breast, no skin or bone

~3 carrots

an onion

~3 celery stalks

several summer squash

~4 cloves garlic

zest of one lemon

a few chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

2 c. broth

1/3 c. flour

1 stick butter

1 c. buttermilk

~1 c. gruyere cheese (to taste)

Biscuit Topping

2 c. flour (use half wheat/half unbleached if you like)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg, beaten, plus

enough buttermilk to bring the egg to 2/3 cup

1/3 c. melted butter

chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 400*F

Boil or roast chicken breasts, then shred the meat.

Melt the butter and sautee the onions until translucent, then add celery, carrots, squash all chopped finely (& other veggies that you like).  Add green onions and garlic and fry until fragrant.  Add the flour and stir until it gets a little toasty, about a minute.  Add the broth, buttermilk and lemon zest, stir it and let simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, ~5 minutes.  Add the chicken and season w/ salt and pepper.  Turn off the heat.

Mix the dry ingredients for the biscuits in a large bowl, and make a well in the center.  Pour the combined egg/buttermilk in the well, and the melted butter.  Stir until just combined, adding the onions when it is sort of half-mixed.  Pat into a uniform, smooth ball.

Pour the veggie/chicken/saucy mix into a casserole pan and sprinkle with the grated cheese.  The insane part of the original recipe (the "Just Chicken Pot Pie") was that it called for straining the vegetables out of the sauce and discarding them - which is truly insane.  These veggies are goo-oo-ood.  Cover with chunks of the biscuit dough, alternating biscuit with cheese if you like.  Little pieces of dough will get crispy, larger chunks will get doughy and biscuity (I highly recommend the big chunks).  

Bake for 40 minutes or until the biscuit topping is crispy.  Cook 10 minutes, eat, then tell me how good it was!

20-hour Meat Roast

The original recipe for this comes out of the book Heat, by Bill Buford. It's not a cookbook, but a book about food and cooking. The original recipe has five ingredients, including the meat, and it's spicy enough to melt your speak-hole off. This is slightly modified and a little less spicy.

"Peposo"
~2lbs meat (I used brisket; recipe calls for shank, which is hard to find)
1 bottle red wine (pref. chianti)
1 head garlic (peeled)
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp sea salt
1 sprig of marjoram
dash of nutmeg
juice and zest from a small lemon

The rest is easy: put ingredients in a pot. Cook in oven for a minimum of 8 hours, and a maximum of ... oh, I don't know, but 20 worked well for us. Start the oven at a high-ish temperature for the first hour (like 375), then bring it down to 200 for the remaining time. The meat will get stringy and fall apart when touched, and the wine turns into a light brown, meaty broth with lots of great flavor. This is especially good with crusty olive bread, and a glass of wine.

Almond Meyer Lemon Bread

1 2/3 c. flour
1 c. almond meal/flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 stick (8 tbs) butter (soft/room temp)
zest and juice from 2 meyer lemons
1/2 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the lemon zest and juice, and add one egg at a time - when I did this, the butter seemed to curdle a little (is that possible?), but it was no problem. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix, and add the milk and mix in as well. Transfer to buttered loaf pan, top with toasted almonds and bake at 350* for one hour or longer. Don't burn it, as I did mine, and you should have a sweet and tangy, crumbly delicious loaf!

Porridge Bread

I bought a Porridge Bread at a local natural foods market, and it was so good that my housemates gobbled it up before I'd had very much of it. In an act of rebellion, I found a recipe online and have attempted to re-create the tasty bread at a cheaper price and larger volume. The recipe I used advertised a yield of 6 loaves, but I only got 3. The recipe here is modified from the one google turned up (less oil, less sugar, more grains, whole wheat flour in addition to white flour).

2 tbs dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbs granulated sugar
2 cups porridge*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses**
1 tbs salt
3 cups all purpose white flour
4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil

*For the porridge, I used about 2/3 four-grain oat cereal (i.e. oatmeal) and 1/3 a mix of toasted buckwheat, red winter wheat berries and amaranth. I made a huge pot of it, used 2 cups for the bread, and served the rest up for the housemates with sugar and milk for a late-night oatmeal snack.

**My second time making this bread, I used honey instead of molasses. I think the full 1/2 cup of molasses is too much, but the honey has a really nice flavor which is more subtle. I haven't tried mixing the two, but that might be where the happy medium lies.

Mix the yeast with the sugar and warm water until it dissolves, then set aside until it gets foamy. Meanwhile, mix the porridge with the molasses, brown sugar, oil and salt, and add the yeast mixture when it's ready. Begin adding the flour one cup at a time, and finish by kneading the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes, or as long as it takes for it to feel good. The dough might stay a little tacky because of all the grains, which is fine.

I let it rise overnight in the refrigerator (you could let it rise at room temp until doubled in size), then punched down the dough and broke it into 3 parts. Let it rise in pans (or in the round, if you want a round loaf) for another 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size again. Bake at 375*F for 30-40 minutes. The color is a rich, warm brown, with a sweet wheaty flavor from the grains and molasses. This is one of my favorite kinds of bread, wholesome and comforting, satisfying both the health nut and sweet tooth in me (who are so rarely on the same team).

Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Simple and fresh. Takes a while to prep everything, but the payback is well worth it. I like to make a meal out of these alone, or they can be a salady side dish to something more substantial.

measurements are approximated, as I was very bad at keeping track of how much went into everything. The proportions are very fluid, especially for the peanut sauce and tempeh marinade, so keep tasting and stop when it's right for your palate.

Peanut Sauce
~1/2 cup peanut butter (I like unsalted, grind-yourself peanut butter)
~1/4 cup soy sauce or Ponzu
~1/4 cup rice vinegar
~2 tbs sesame oil
~1/4 cup sake or soju
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbs chili flakes
~1 tbs brown sugar

Mix it up. If it's too sweet, add more vinegar. If it's too tangy, add a little more sugar or peanut butter. I like it when it is just barely runny - it's easy to dip in, but not too thin.

Marinated Tempeh
1 square block of tempeh (~8oz?), sliced long and thin
~1/4 cup soy sauce or Ponzu
~1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbs oyster sauce *or* ~1 tbs brown sugar

Marinate as long as you can, then fry until the marinade is evaporated and cooked onto the tempeh.

Spring Rolls
about 20 rice paper wrappers (they keep well if there are leftovers)
~2 cups thin rice noodles or bean noodles, cooked or soaked
1 bunch cilantro, washed and de-stemmed
Marinated Tempeh (above)
2 carrots, shredded
1 or 2 cucumbers, sliced in half lengthwise and sliced thin
~1 cup sunflower or pea sprouts
~2 cups lettuce or salad mix, chopped
2 or 3 avocados, halved and sliced thin
optional: 1/3 lb prawns, steamed, shelled and sliced in half lengthwise

The formula is simple: soak a wrapper in warm water until it is soft enough to work with. Oversoaking will make it too delicate, so it might take a few tries to get the feel for it. Then, lay the wrapper on a plate and start adding small amounts of your toppings, like a tiny burrito. Begin by using less of everything that you think it needs, since small rolls are easier to wrap (and eat) than big ones. Start with a little noodles, some cilantro, a few strips of tempeh, some cucumber, shredded carrot and some sprouts. Try mixing and matching: shrimp rolls with avocado, tempeh rolls with cucumber, etc. I like it when each roll is a surprise. The fillings are entirely subjective to your tastes, so add to the list above and change things. Try mint instead of cilantro, try marinated tofu instead of tempeh, use arugula instead of pea sprouts - get creative. Making these is as much fun as eating them when you get into it!

As for the wrapping: some have a natural talent for wrapping presents, cheese in paper, burritos, spring rolls - and some don't. Be patient, don't go too fast, and aim for a tightly-wrapped result. If the wrapping is too loose, the filling will spill out as soon as you bite into it. On the flip side, pulling too tightly will tear the wrapper. Trial, error, and success!

Serve with the peanut sauce.

I made these rolls twice in three days because:
a) the peanut sauce is so damn good, and
b) they are a fresh, bright, healthy and filling way to brighten up a winter menu!
c) they are the perfect collaborative social dinner activity
d) the peanut sauce, again.

Poor Boy Stroganoff

My friend Sally asked for this recipe, and after typing it into an email I figured I may as well paste it here for others to see - this dish is damn good.

A traditional Beef Stroganoff, as I understand it, is filet mignon with a creamy mushroom sauce, served over a bed of egg noodles. This version uses ground beef and mixes everything into a casserole form, making it easier on the budget to feed a hungry family. This recipe is adapted from the one in "America's Best Lost Recipes," published by the folks at Cook's Magazine. The original recipe is from one Carole Weinberger in Florida. The book is not bad, but focuses largely on sweeter recipes; the first two chapters are starters and entrees, and the following four chapters are dedicated to sweet things of various kinds. I wish it were a little more balanced in that respect, but the next time I'm making a dessert I might be grateful ...

This is the recipe as it's laid out in the book, but I've marked (with *) where I made a few adjustments. The first time I made it, I left out the grated cheese because it seemed so rich already, and it was still quite delicious.

Poor Boy Stroganoff

salt
8 oz. egg noodles
2 tbs butter (*I omitted this)
1 lb. lean ground beef (*I used chuck)
1 smallish onion, chopped fine (*coarse is good too, if you like more texture)
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced (*I've used crimini, king oyster and shiitake mushrooms, quartered or in wide strips)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbs flour
1 clove garlic, minced (*or 3-4 smallish cloves)
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/4 cup dry red wine (*I used more like 1/2 cup the first time I made this - was good!)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (*or Asiago)
(*I add 2 chopped zucchini)
(*dash of cayenne pepper)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place a big pot of water with 1 tbs salt over high heat (for the noodles). Cook the noodles 5-7 minutes and then drain and set aside (you can do this while you are preparing the sauce).

2. Heat a large (really large, since it will hold all your sauce) skillet over med-high heat, and add the butter. Cook the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces, until it's lightly browned all over. Transfer the beef to a plate lined w/ a paper towel. Keep about 2 tbs of the beef juice in the pan, and discard any extra (this step is why I omitted the butter - you get a little extra flavor from it, but you pour it out anyway! I thought this dish was rich enough w/o it).

3. Add the onion to the remaining beef fat, and cook until golden (~5 mins). Add the mushroom, zucchini, salt, pepper and cayenne, and cook until all are browned evenly.

4. Add the flour and cook for about a minute, until it starts to brown. Add the garlic and cook about 30 secs - 1 minute, careful not to burn it. Stir in the tomato sauce, wine, broth, and beef and bring to a simmer. Cook until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the sour cream (yum!).

5. Bring out a large casserole dish and layer: sauce, noodles, sauce, noodles, sauce. This ensures the noodles don't stick to the bottom, and that they get sauce all mixed in with them. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the dish, if using. Bake about 20 minutes, or a little longer until the cheese is browned. Let it cool 5 minutes before serving, to thicken up.


One note: the first time I made this, I put the beef in a large bowl, poured the wine, tomato sauce, and broth over it and set it aside while I was cooking the vegetables. I think it helped to keep the beef moist, and to start mixing the flavors together. Using more mushrooms than called for also has a nice effect, if you're down for shrooms.

Sherried Mushrooms

This is an appetizer that my dad makes from time to time, which is one of my favorite things to eat, hands down. The better the mushrooms and sherry that you use, the better the result will be. I've done this with crimini mushrooms before, and that was fine, but this is the perfect dish to try new shrooms: chantrelle, shiitake, oyster, porcini, chinese black, lion's mane, hedgehog, yellowfoot -- try them all. The only one I wouldn't recommend is enoki, as they are a little too fragile.

about two pounds assorted mushrooms (this time we used .5 lb each of chantrelle, black chantrelle, baby shitake and lion's mane)
olive oil or butter (we used truffle butter with shallots, for extra flavor)
salt
pepper
~1/2 cup sherry or port of your choice
~1/4 cup heavy cream

Brush your mushrooms and cut any especially large ones in half. Place a skillet over med-high heat, and add some butter or olive oil. When hot, add a couple handfuls of mushroom and stir just to coat with the oil. You want the mushrooms to cook thoroughly without stirring them very much. As they cook, move them to the edge of the pan and add another handful of raw mushrooms to the center of the pan. Do this until they're all cooked, adding more oil or butter as needed to keep them from burning. Add salt and pepper periodically, to taste. You can also add a pinch of herbes de provence and/or a bit of cayenne if you're feeling feisty.

The main idea is to cook most of the water out of the mushrooms so that you can replace it with tasty sherry. When all the mushrooms are cooked, add the sherry or port to the hot pan and cover immediately. Let simmer for five minutes or so, then check and add a little more sherry if needed. They should be wonderfully aromatic at this point, plump and moist. When the sherry is all absorbed, add the cream and toss the mushrooms in it. Cover and simmer for another five minutes or so. Finish with a little extra cracked pepper and serve over toast, crackers, eggs, endive, or any other vessel you can imagine. You can also try adding some chopped garlic with the last handful of raw mushrooms, but be careful that it doesn't burn.

A note about sherries (or ports, for that matter):
The best sherry for this dish is the one you would most like to sit down and have a glass of. Sherries vary from very dry to very sweet, and either works for this dish. The flavor of the mushrooms ultimately depends on the flavor of the sherry you use, so make sure it's one that you like the taste of. Personally, I like a sweet and nutty classic cream sherry, which I think complements the savory, umami taste of the mushrooms.