Recipes and Randomness

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of my delightful daughters. They are so in love with each other it is crazy. Mame waits for Ellie to come home from school and then goes crazy. They love to kiss and hug and play. I love it and am convinced I need one more so anyone who wants to be a surrogate or knows of a surrogate let me know. Anyway, some of the pictures are from our afternoon at the Aquarium. The little brunette head you see in one picture is Landon (Ellie's brother) who was thrilled to hang with us for awhile plus he is a shark fanatic and they have some there. Scarlett was sort of scared and mesmerised at the same time. She is getting so grown up, as you can see pretty close to walking and her hard to miss giant front teeth. She really is Robert's child.

As per requested here is the Chicken Pot Pie recipe

Olive oil 3 T

chicken 1 pound, diced

yellow onion 1/2 chopped

carrots 2, chopped

small baking potatoes 2, peeled and diced

flour 3 T

chicken broth or vegetable broth, 4 cups

salt and pepper to taste

heavy cream 1/2 cup

frozen green peas 1 cup

frozen puff pastry 1 sheet, thawed

butter 2T, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook until transluscent, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften, 5-6 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables evenly. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, and cook until the vegetables are tender and the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes (I have to add a little extra flour to thicken it up but ok if it doesn't get very thick). Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream, the reserved chicken, and the peas. Stir until just heated through. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, on a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry into a large rectangle. Using a 3 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds (I use a small bowl or rim of a large drinking glass). Using a small cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out a hole in top of each round to let out steam (I just free hand cut out shapes mostly to differentiate between veggie and chicken pies). Ladle the chicken mixture into six 1 cup oven proof dishes (ramekins). Top with the pastry rounds, pinching around the edge to secure. Brush the tops with melted butter.

Bake the potpies until the crust is puffed and golden, 20 - 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Makes 6 potpies

The perfect thing to go with this or anytime you want to impress people make this restaurant like fabulous salad. I made it for my book club with pesto, mozzarella, and tomato paninis. It was a huge hit. It is great for fall because of the ingredients.

Chopped Apple Salad with Toasted Walnuts, Blue Cheese, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Pomegranate Vinaigrette -

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

2 T red wine vinegar

1 heaping T Dijon

1 T honey or more to taste (I add an extra T)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad -

4 apples, 2 Granny Smith, 2 Gala or Fuji, skin left on, core removed and cut into 1/2 inch dice

4 cups baby mixed greens (you can use whatever kind and amount of lettuce you want but I

think this is the best)

1 cup toasted coarsely chopped walnuts

3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the pomegranate molasses, vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

Combine the apples, lettuce, walnuts and blue cheese in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

This is the official recipe but you can obviously use whatever amounts you like of the apples, walnuts, and cheese depending on what you like.

As they sat on the Food Network "Good Eats everyone."