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Pot
Pies
Comfort Food Under Cover
by
Diane Phillips (Doubleday)
Let's face it, you could get tired of making the 85 pot pies in
Diane Phillips' book, but what a way to go. You'd certainly have
a smile on your face after polishing off her rich, creamy pies topped
with flaky, melt-in-your mouth crusts.
And,
besides, there's actually little chance of becoming burned out no
matter how many of Phillip's pies you prepare: Her inventiveness
is impressive. When, for instance, was the last time you got excited
about making a pot pie? Phillips' gourmet touches add excitement
and anticipation. If you think a filling of diced chicken and a
few vegetables are the end-all and be-all when it comes to pot pies,
consider some of Phillips' creations:
Chicken bouillabaisse fills her rouille crust (which is flavored
like pesto with garlic, roasted red bell peppers, basil leaves,
Tabasco sauce and fresh French bread crumbs).
A
delicious chicken and andouille gumbo is inside a pie that has a
flaky buttermilk biscuit crust.
A tangy Gorgonzola crust tops a delightful chicken and eggplant
mixture.
A ratatouille and Brie crust highlight another chicken pie.
Phillips' chicken chili is given a refried bean crust.
Her Tuscan chicken gets a roasted red potato crust.
A noodle pancake tops her Asian chicken and vegetable filling.
Multiply
this ingenuity by chapters on turkey, meat, seafood and vegetable
pies and you begin to see just how easy it would be to eat pot pie
every night. That's partly because Phillips' choice of ingredients
are not her only inventive touch. She doesn't limit herself to dicing
up those ingredients and topping them with a flour-based crust.
In
yet another chicken dish, for instance, Phillips, a cooking teacher
and the author of seven additional cookbooks, stuffs boneless chicken
breasts with Monterey Jack cheese and chiles and tucks in the sides
to make rolls. Her "crust" is a topping including ground tortillas,
milk, cilantro, corn, salsa and Colby cheese that's added before
baking.
If
that's got your mouth watering, just try the following easy chicken
gumbo pie, followed by one that is applesauce-accented turkey meatloaf
topped with bacon-sour cream mashed potatoes.
RECIPES
—Chicken
Gumbo Pie with Buttermillk Biscuit Crust
—Turkey Meatloaf Pie
with Bacon-Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes Crust
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