Turkey pot pie

"I never see any home cooking. All I get is fancy stuff."

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

I had still had Thanksgiving gravy and turkey in the freezer, so I made a pot pie on Sunday afternoon. It really does take almost all afternoon-- especially if you do the double crust version. But pot pie is so good. Plus it's fun to put on some Christmas CD's and putter around the kitchen on a cold afternoon. Amanda's been asking me how to make this, so here goes.

I started by dicing and sauteing some plain vegetables: onion, parsley, celery and yellow potatoes:



While that was slowly cooking, I diced the turkey. Look at that yummy gravy. Good gravy is the only real secret to a fine pot pie:

Next, I added the gravy and turkey to the sauteed vegetables. I also put in some frozen peas and carrots. Now... this is where you have to tinker a bit, and do some tasting. If the mixture looks thin, thicken it with flour (I use Wondra) and season to taste with salt and pepper and dash of cayenne. If it's too thick, you can also stretch your gravy with a little bit of broth. Then let the mixture cook slowly for just a few minutes. The vegetables don't need to be cooked to tender, because the filling will be baking a long time.


And now the crust. Have I ever mentioned I hate making pie crust? Despite that, I've gotten pretty good at it, and this is a simple Martha Stewart recipe-- just butter, flour, salt and ice water. And as Martha would say, a double crust pot pie is "a good thing," so it's worth the extra work.

So make a crust for the bottom of the pan first, and then pour in the meat filling:

Then add the top crust, trim, seal and sprinkle with a little paprika. Bake in a 350 oven for at least an hour, until the top is very brown and the filling bubbly.

You'll want to dig into it immediately when you take it out, but restrain yourself and let it "rest" on a cooling rack. Meat pies are scalding hot right out of the oven, and the gravy needs to "set up."

In about a half hour, it should be the perfect temperature for eating and flavor, and the consistency right (not dry, not too runny.) The filling is really delicious under that rich, buttery crust!

Pour another glass of wine (you deserve it) and sit down to a winter supper fit for a king.

And Prince Philip is welcome to pull up a chair!