Spinach Feta Pocket Pies
Awhile back I made these Chicken Pocket Pies and they were fabulous. The dough worked out perfectly, angels sang, and we left nothing but pie dust in the kitchen. Remember?
I've been "trying" to bring spinach back into Cooper's diet so I thought these Spinach Feta Pocket Pies might do the trick! Plus this momma loves spanakopita, and these are pretty similar (except they're made with cream cheese pastry instead of phillo dough).
I whipped up the pastry dough the night before using light cream cheese instead of full fat. I am soo happy to report that it tastes just fine! A bullet has been dodged, people. We can have a tasty lower fat pie crust and eat it too!
The spinach pockets were super. I was delighted every time I got a chunk of feta in a bite. Next time I am going to add a little more cheese to the filling. Oh man do I love feta! The pies totally satisfied my spanakopita cravings!
Garlic Naan
I had a horoscope the other day that said something like:
" It's time to try new things. If you don't do it now when will you ever?"
So that's why I tried making garlic naan. I must get rid of this dough fear I have. I saw Hannah post her naan loot on flickr the other day and boy was I jeeeeeeeealous. I wanted a stack of naan in my kitchen!
I think one of the reasons why I am afraid of dough is the timing. I always have like 5 projects going on at once-- in addition to taking care of Cooper and oh my gawd-I have to go back and punch down dough and get all dirty again? I guess I never time it right...and I don't really know the right consistencies. Plus I doubt myself....Is that yeast bubbly enough??! Am I kneading this right? Oh dough, why aren't you very forgiving?!
Savory Chicken Pocket Pies
Let me begin by telling you how IN LOVE I am with this book!
Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn (The Executive Food Director for Martha Stewart Living) It's beautifully written and OMG the inside is a graph designer's dream. It's like Blueprint magazine made a cookbook filled with the tastiest looking man food!
I started to mark the recipes I wanted to make with tags and then I had to stop because I found myself marking EVERY SINGLE PAGE.
Raspberry Peach Pie
The other morning I was perusing my daily blog reads and saw this post by the wonderful Amanda over at Slow Like Honey. Look at that picture and tell me you that you DON'T want to make pie RIGHT NOW.
Didn't help that I was secretly checking back AGAIN at a pics of this little beauty...a Blueberry Crostata made by L.M over at Bake & Shake. Have you ever seen anything soo perfect? Guaranteed no leftovers.
L.M. is always trying to coax me into trying the Pate Brisee recipe from Martha and I DID IT.
Are you proud L????!! Oh honey!! I can see why this is your go-to recipe!
EEEK! I have two pie discs! I never thought that would happen!
So the next thing you know, I'm whipping out my food processor whipping up some dough and making a filling. I hadn't even finished my cup of coffee and my kitchen is buzzing.
Before I make it sound all easy, let me give you some background on my pie *situation*
I've had "MAKE A PIE" on my TO DO list FOREVER. I helped a friend make a quiche like 10 years ago and I over mixed the dough and was soo letdown that I convinced myself never to make pie again. I vowed that I would just eat them...and sometimes share.
Over the past few years I've watched about 30 different segments of Martha Stewart where she's making pie crust so I felt a little more confident tackling this endeavor. She makes it look sooo easy and if you have a food processor it pretty much is!
And friends, this recipe did not fail. I am picky on my pie crust. I like it flaky and buttery. Actually I just really like a LOT of it. If I could make a pie that was FILLED WITH PIE CRUST I totally would. It is the reason for living. It is also the reason why diets were invented.
As for the filling...well I improvised. I knew that it needed some type of thickener so I added:
- about 1/4 cup of flour
- and stirred that with 3 cups of raspberries & about 5 large peaches (peeled & sliced)
- 1/4 cup of sugar (but I probably should have added a bit more because the raspberries were super tart)
....but hey add a little ice cream and who knows the difference.
In retrospect, I should have added more fruits, but hey- I didn't prepare for this so now I know what I am up against next time.
Now you see it....
Now you don't....
So folks, I cannot offer you an exact/full proof pie filling recipe (there are tons out there on the internet). But I CAN share with you (if it's ok to) theeeee most amazing recipe for pie crust.
Pate Brisee
(Martha Stewart Baking)
2 1/2 cups AP flour
2 sticks (1 cup) frozen unsalted butter, diced/cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
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Amanda is right!!! You will feel like someone on Little House on the Prairie when you make a pie!
Having a freshly baked pie sitting on the counter is a good thing. Thanks Martha!
Mushroom & Spinach Tart with Goat Cheese
Today is a sad day. It is my last day on maternity leave. booo!
To help me through this "rough" time, I decided to treat myself to a special "going away lunch"-if you will.
I had my eye on this recipe for AGES. So I figured I should get my special lunch fix in while I can. Casey isn't too keen on mushrooms so this is all mine baby!
Or maybe I'll share some with the neighbors. That would be the neighborly thing to do.
I have to say that this was pretty easy to complete...Very flaky, hearty and tasty. Totally satisfying on an overcast day like today. I paired a slice with an arugula salad dressed in a honey mustard vinaigrette.
Come on! ANYTHING on top of puff pastry HAS to be good.
Cooper cried a little bit through the endeavor, but I think it's because he REALLY wanted the corner of that puff pastry crust. Someday son!!! I guess that's what momma gets for attempting this sooo close to nap time. The nerve...
Mushroom & Spinach Tart
(recipe via EVERYDAY FOOD)
Ingredients
Serves 4
-Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
-1 (from a 17.3-ounce package) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
-1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-Coarse salt and ground pepper
-2 packages (10 ounces each) white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
-1 packages (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach
-2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score dough to form a 1-inch border. Using a fork, prick dough inside the border every 1/2 inch. Bake until golden, rotating pan once, about 15 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, toss onion with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir. Continue cooking with cover on for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat remaining oil. Add mushrooms; cover and cook until tender and all liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Fold in spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes more. Drain any liquid.
4. Top dough with mushroom-spinach mixture. Scatter onion and goat cheese on top. Bake until cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
