Avgolemono is one of my favorite Mediterranean recipes!
Most of our local places add a bit of shredded white chicken meat, but one place added a substantial meatball of beef and lamb instead. Gotta say, it was different...and damn good,
Cookin again
Most of our local places add a bit of shredded white chicken meat, but one place added a substantial meatball of beef and lamb instead. Gotta say, it was different...and damn good,
Riffs on comfort food are probably going to dominate home cooking for a while, at least for most people.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
I made a chicken pot pie for St. Pat's Day, and finished off the leftovers today for lunch. It's one of my favorite comfort foods.
There’s a Korean-owned/operated American diner near me that does a great CPP. Instead of a traditional pie crust topping, though, they top it with some kind of leaky puff pastry.
Chicken Pot Pie is awesome. I'd pick puff pastry there too, as much as it's sometimes a pain in the butt. Leaky, yeah, but tasty.
Tomorrow I'm going to rock out with a slow cooked Brisket and southern fixings. I'll risk a quick trip for groceries so I can do something appropriately southern with a veg side dish. Coleslaw maybe. I'm going to try and creative with switching from the oven to the slow cooker and back again to get something out the other end that's at least a reasonable facsimile of smoked. Should be interesting.
Tomorrow I'm going to rock out with a slow cooked Brisket and southern fixings. I'll risk a quick trip for groceries so I can do something appropriately southern with a veg side dish. Coleslaw maybe. I'm going to try and creative with switching from the oven to the slow cooker and back again to get something out the other end that's at least a reasonable facsimile of smoked. Should be interesting.
I’ve seen a lot of home cooks sub those flaky tube biscuits (like Grands, etc.) as toppers for both pot pies and certain soups, as opposed to pie crusts and toasted sliced breads. I’ve never done it myself, but I can’t imagine it not being tasty, though the resulting texture might be unusual.
In a pinch why not. Unless I'm in a huge hurry I'd probably go with cheater pastry, but that does take time if you don't already have some frozen off. Using a normal dumpling recipe also works with a little practice.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
I don't use a pastry crust, I use buttermilk biscuits that have been rolled thin, then layered over the filling.
You know what? Here's the recipe.
CleverPotPie
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
First we are going to make the filling (which will be fully-cooked before the pie even goes into the oven). Then we are going to make a half-batch of buttermilk biscuits and layer them over the top, and bake the whole thing until those biscuits are done and the filling is nice and bubbly. At least that's how I do it, anyway.
Filling:
1 T. butter
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup English peas, frozen
3 crimini mushrooms, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh sage, finely minced
1 T. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth, bouillon, or stock
2 cups cooked chicken meat (I used the leg and thigh meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, from the deli)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook until slightly browned (about 20 minutes). Add the onion, garlic, mushroom, and peas, and cook until the onions are translucent, about another 10 minutes.
Dissolve the flour into the broth, then add it to the vegetables. Bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Add all remaining ingredients, simmer for 2-3 minutes. Taste for seasoning, then remove from heat and let it rest while you make the crust.
Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
1/2 stick of frozen butter, grated
1 cup buttermilk
Wisk the dry ingredients together, then grate the stick of frozen butter into the mixture. Rub it together with your fingers until the butter is well incorporated, then add the buttermilk. Mix with a wooden spoon until just barely combined, then turn out onto a floured board and press out into a rectangle. Fold it in half, press it back out into a rectangle, fold it in half, press it back out into a rectangle, etc., four times in total. Don't overwork it.
Roll it out until it's about a quarter-inch thick, then cut into 3" rounds.
Make the pie:
Layer the biscuits over the still-hot filling in the cast iron skillet, working from the outside toward the center. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the biscuits are cooked through and golden brown. You can brush it with a beaten egg before baking to make it extra-pretty, but I usually don't bother; a fresh-baked CPP is beautiful without makeup.
You know what? Here's the recipe.
CleverPotPie
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
First we are going to make the filling (which will be fully-cooked before the pie even goes into the oven). Then we are going to make a half-batch of buttermilk biscuits and layer them over the top, and bake the whole thing until those biscuits are done and the filling is nice and bubbly. At least that's how I do it, anyway.
Filling:
1 T. butter
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup English peas, frozen
3 crimini mushrooms, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh sage, finely minced
1 T. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth, bouillon, or stock
2 cups cooked chicken meat (I used the leg and thigh meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, from the deli)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and potatoes, and cook until slightly browned (about 20 minutes). Add the onion, garlic, mushroom, and peas, and cook until the onions are translucent, about another 10 minutes.
Dissolve the flour into the broth, then add it to the vegetables. Bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Add all remaining ingredients, simmer for 2-3 minutes. Taste for seasoning, then remove from heat and let it rest while you make the crust.
Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
1/2 stick of frozen butter, grated
1 cup buttermilk
Wisk the dry ingredients together, then grate the stick of frozen butter into the mixture. Rub it together with your fingers until the butter is well incorporated, then add the buttermilk. Mix with a wooden spoon until just barely combined, then turn out onto a floured board and press out into a rectangle. Fold it in half, press it back out into a rectangle, fold it in half, press it back out into a rectangle, etc., four times in total. Don't overwork it.
Roll it out until it's about a quarter-inch thick, then cut into 3" rounds.
Make the pie:
Layer the biscuits over the still-hot filling in the cast iron skillet, working from the outside toward the center. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the biscuits are cooked through and golden brown. You can brush it with a beaten egg before baking to make it extra-pretty, but I usually don't bother; a fresh-baked CPP is beautiful without makeup.
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This recipe didn't go so far as to name itself like that - maybe too many differences from the traditional form.
The avgolemono I have had before has been with meatballs - tiny ones, like are often found in Italian wedding soup. This one used shredded chicken. Traditional or not, it was very tasty, and really easy.
The shredded chicken is what I got in Greece (Athens and the islands) and in most restaurants. I suspect the meatball variant is either Lebanese or a regional variant.
When I made it the last time, I had a bit too much orzo, and it came out a tad thick. Absolutely nobody complained.
When I made it the last time, I had a bit too much orzo, and it came out a tad thick. Absolutely nobody complained.
