Dragon Pot Pie
by Galanoth
Every now and then, we Dragonslayers get a craving for something that is a little less spicy and doesn't have anything to do with chili powder. Ribs, chili and jambalaya all have their place, but so does a good POT PIE. Yes, just thinking about my Dragon Pot Pie makes me want to take off my armored gauntlets and get busy in the kitchen... but I think for right now I will just stay right here in my dragon blind and wait for the next scaled and fire-breathing fiend to take the dragonbait. A day without a dragon slain is like a day of, uh, acid rain? Ahem, anyway, while I wait to get the jump on the next dragon, here is my recipe for Dragon Pot Pie.
Ingredients:
6 cups diced or pulled precooked meat, your choice: chicken, turkey, or dragon
4 cups diced potatoes
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced onion
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Premade pie dough or puff pastry to cover a 9x13 inch baking pan
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Add vegetables to a large pot with butter and slowly cook for about 15 minutes on low heat, until onions and celery are very soft, and potatoes and carrots are starting to get tender. Add the flour and stir to coat vegetables. Pour in chicken stock and cream and stir to incorporate with flour. Bring to a boil while stirring over medium heat.
Once it is bubbling, the sauce should thicken quickly. Add salt, pepper, sage and thyme. Add the meat and parsley. Stir and taste; adjust seasonings if you like.
Pour the mixture into a 9x13 inch baking pan/casserole dish. Cover with pie dough or puff pastry.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes, but check occasionally to be sure the top isn't getting too dark. Every oven is different.
When it's done, be very careful with serving and eating. Moist pies like this stay very hot in the middle, so supervise any little children to be sure they don't burn themselves.
Variations:
Zing!: Add 1/4 cup sour cream to any version of this pot pie right before you pour it in the baking pan. This gives it a totally new dimension of flavor, a bit of “zing”. Remember to taste it before you pour it in the pan: you may want to add even more sour cream. Obviously, only add this if you like the taste of sour cream.
Beef or pork pie: Substitute beef stock for the chicken stock. Add 1 cup chopped mushrooms and more onions if you like.
Seafood pie: Substitute lobster or shrimp broth for chicken stock. (Make this by simmering lobster shells or shrimp peels in a 6 cups of water for 15 minutes) For meat, you can use lobster chunks, shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab meat, and even salmon or tuna. Use only half the salt and add a little Old Bay seasoning to taste. This is really good if you like seafood-- sort of like a chowder in a pie. But make sure no one has shellfish allergies before you serve it to them ;)
