Turkey Pot Pie

I loved pot pies when I was kid. They were so... American. And back then, I wanted nothing more than to fit in and eat what all the other kids were eating. Hamburgers, pizza, fried chicken, TV dinners, and ... pot-pies. Remember those Swanson pot pies with the cubes of "chicken." I used to think those were so tasty.

As I got older, pot pie technology improved, and my pot pie palate became more refined. I no longer had to wait 45 minutes for the darn things to bake in the oven. Instead, I could just nuke them for a few minutes in the microwave. And, they still had that crispy crust. Well, sort of.

When I moved out here to San Francisco. I discovered that magical place known as Trader Joe's. Have you ever tried their turkey pot pies? Believe it or not, they are actually really good. But, tonight I was feeling inspired, and I wanted to try making my own turkey pot pie.

I found this recipe for chicken pot pie in The New Best Recipe cookbook. Here's my adaptation of the recipe using turkey instead of chicken. For the crust, I took a cue from Paula Deen on the Food Network and made a lattice out of puff pastry strips. It's great because puff pastry is buttery and flaky.

You may be thinking right about now that making pot pie is an intensive endeavor. It is. But one of the great things about this recipe is that you use the same pot to cook all the ingredients on the stove. And the picture above REALLY doesn't do justice to this recipe. I will have to make this again soon and hopefully grab a better pic.

TURKEY POT PIE

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
2 turkey thighs, bone-in (about 1.8 lbs)
2 cups of chicken broth
2 tablespoons truffle oil
8 oz carton of mushrooms, halved
2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 onion, diced
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried parsley
a pinch of saffron (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Place the turkey thighs and broth in a large covered pot. Turn on stove to medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

3) When turkey is barely cooked, pour 2 cups of broth into a large measuring cup and reserve. Remove turkey thighs to a large mixing bowl. You can freeze any remaining broth to make soup.
Return pot to the stove.

4) Add in the truffle oil. Saute mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add in the carrots, celery, and onion. Saute for an additional 5 minutes.

5) Meanwhile, place turkey thighs on cuting board. Debone and cut the turkey into 1-inch bite size chunks. Place the turkey pieces back into the mixing bowl.

6) When the vegetables are done, place them in the mixing bowl with the turkey. Return pot to the stove.

7) Over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the flour and stir together for about 1 minute.
While whisking, pour in the 2 cups of reserved broth and the milk.

8) Add in the thyme, parsley, and saffron. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

9) When the sauce is thickened, dump in the turkey and vegetables. Mix thoroughly.

10) Pour into a 9 x 13 casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

11) Meanwhile, cut the puff pastry sheet lengthwise along the folds to form 3 rectangles. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into 3 longs strips. You should have 9 strips total.

12) Take 4 of the strips, and cut them in half to form 8 shorter strips. Weave these 8 short strips between the 5 longer strips to form a lattice.

13) After the pot pie has baked for 10 minutes, remove from the over. Place the puff-pastry lattice on top of the pot pie. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ed's 1st Note: Make sure you cook the mushrooms well or else they will leak mushroom juice. You'll end up with a soup instead of a sauce.

Ed's 2nd Note: The puff pastry lattice won't completely cover the pot pie (as you can see in the picture). I kind of like how it floats in the middle of the pot pie. And it's part of my very feeble attempt to cut back on carbs. If you wanted a complete covering, you would probably need to use 2 pastry sheets.