Amy’s Preferred Chicken Pot Pie

Go with Your Gut

I have been cooking long enough to know better when it comes to trying new recipes for old favorites. Yet, I keep falling into that same trap—the who knows? trap.

Case in point: Chicken Pot Pie. I love Chicken Pot Pie. It’s up there in my top 20. And I am pretty militant about what makes a good one. And, I have tried many different versions, and I know which one I prefer.

Yet, I continue to try new recipes, hoping for a different outcome, but knowing that I will probably be disappointed…

This phenomenon occurred again last night. I recently found a recipe for pot pie turnovers that I thought would be great to have in the freezer. (I am still on my freezer food kick.) So, I gave it a shot. Alas.

One of my kitchen rules is not to alter a recipe until I’ve made it once according to the instructions. I was tempted to bend the rules this time, because the recipe called for dried thyme. I love the taste of thyme.

Fresh thyme is one of my favorite herbs, and I use it often. Dried thyme, in my opinion, tastes like dirt. And it will overpower anything you make with that dirty flavor. So I compromised and only used one teaspoon of the two the recipe called for.

Bad move… Fresh thyme is the way to go. I also did not care for the addition of Dijon mustard to the gravy.

The pot pies were definitely edible. But as a family, we agreed that this recipe was not a keeper. I’ll stick with my tried and true. And the moral to this story? Don’t mess with a good thing!

Amy’s Preferred Chicken Pot Pie
The good news is you can use this filling I developed, anyway you want—be it as a traditional pie, or as turnovers for something more portable. Read more…

Vietnamese Banh Mi (Sandwiches)

Banh Mi for Me
We have three ladies who work for us here in our office without whom this place would fall apart. They represent The Money: from billing and AR, to payroll and HR; they handle it all.

Two are sisters from a large half-Chinese, half-Vietnamese family. I mention this because they have a lot of family get-togethers, and family get-togethers almost always involve food. In this case, it’s a lot of food. Good food. A lot of really good Vietnamese food…and I totally benefit from the left-overs that they bring in—when it is all said and done.

It’s not always left-overs. On any given day you can find some tasty treat. Sometimes it’s fresh pork buns, still warm from the ovens of the bakery in Chinatown. Other times there are these cute, little egg tarts that are great with coffee. My favorite meal surprise is Bahn Mi sandwiches. (My mouth is watering as I write this.)

I love Bahn Mi, and when they magically appear, my day is that much brighter. My favorite is the grilled chicken, but you can never go wrong with the classic. The combination of meat and pickled veggies with the cilantro and chilies on fresh French bread is rhapsodic, and worthy of enthusiastic discussion. In fact, we have been having a conversation about Bahn Mi in the office today—basically echoing the sentiments here. If I were a betting girl, I would lay good odds that I know what we will be having for lunch tomorrow…

Vietnamese Banh Mi (Sandwiches)
Serves 4

This basic recipe is for Grilled Chicken Ban Mi. See below for variations for Black Pepper Pork and vegetarian Lemongrass Tofu. Read more…

Plancha Salmon with Chimicurri

The North American Female
When it comes to the Dad lottery, I hit the jackpot twice. I was lucky enough to have a father who thought my sister and I could do anything we wanted, and did everything he could to make sure we had the opportunities to try. We have no greater champion than our Dad (except Mom). That was my first Jackpot.

Because of his example, I knew exactly what I was looking for in a husband and father for my own kids—and I found him. My second jackpot. Our kids are very lucky because they have someone who loves them beyond measure, and especially just loves to hang out with them. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the same thing, but it’s just a different bond. Of course, it helps that he is still a child himself. In fact I am very sure that in some ways he never progressed past the age of thirteen…his mind works like theirs does. The stuff that they do that drives me bananas, he is equally skilled at, and most of what he does to get the kids laughing comes at my expense. It’s their favorite sport…

Case in point, my husband does these voices that crack the kids up. He’s got a whole battery of personalities. He even has a “Rocket” voice that imitates our Basset Hound. Of course, now we all use it…

The best voice was created out of boredom when we went on our trip to Yellowstone. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you The North American Female.

I was getting ready to go out, and I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth, and the rest of them were sitting on the bed opposite the bathroom door watching me get ready, like I was part of a zoo. As I was going about my routine, I heard this questionable British accent coming from the other room…and a lot of giggling.

I remember as a kid watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom on Sunday nights at my grandmothers. There was always a narrator explaining what was happening on the screen usually a lioness stalking a gazelle. (Strangely, that is how my husband explains our courtship. Go figure.) Turns out my husband was a Wild Kingdom fan as well; this voice was a cross between the Wild Kingdom guy and the guys who do color commentary for the British Premier league…(GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!)

By the time all was said and done we had pee-ed our pants laughing, and I had mascara running down my face—because it’s just plain difficult to apply anything to your face with a running color commentary. It remains to this day one of my favorite memories of the four of them.

In honor of Father’s day and childlike fathers everywhere, I adapted this week’s recipe for Plancha Salmon with Chimicurri from the cookbook I bought while we were in Yellowstone. It’s called Open Range: Steaks, Chops and More from Big Sky Country by Jay Bentley and Patrick Dillon, and it includes a great group of recipes from Big Sky country. We ate well on that trip including some fantastic Salmon….

Plancha Salmon with Chimicurri
Serves 4
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Red Chilaquiles

Breakfast, It’s What’s for Dinner
I have long been a fan of breakfast for dinner—it kind of feels like you’re breaking the rules a bit. A rebel without a spoon, if you will…

We would have breakfast for dinner once in a while when I was growing up, usually waffles ‘cause Dad was a big fan. When I moved out on my own, scrambled eggs and toast made for and easy and cheap dinner. Throw a little salsa on there, and it was a fiesta. Ole!

Nowadays we have breakfast for dinner at least 3 times a month. It’s my culinary equivalent to running up the white flag. Whether it is because of time constraints, over-achieving chickens or the inability to string an idea together beyond eggs, breakfast is a great way to avoid extreme pizza, Chinese take-out, burger fatigue.

Breakfast for dinner almost always involves whatever I have on hand. Sometimes that means straight up scrambled eggs and toast. Sometimes there’s bacon or sausage. Pancakes have been known to make an appearance, with or without pecans and bananas. Other times there might be drop biscuits and honey instead of toast. My favorite though, is when there are leftover tortilla chips because that means one thing: Chilaquiles.

My love of Mexican food is well documented which is why it should come as no surprise that my favorite breakfast for dinner dish is basically Mexican breakfast. If you have never had Chilaquiles you have been missing out on the ultimate comfort food and hangover cure (or so I have been told). It’s spicy, cheesy, crispy goodness piled high on your plate. Sometimes there is shredded chicken. Sometimes I use salsa verde or regular salsa instead of making a red sauce…just depends on mood and my previous shopping trips.

So next time you find yourself with a half-eaten bag of stale tortilla chips, give this a shot!

Red Chilaquiles
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