Crossing biscuits and gravy with chicken pot pies! Our deconstructed pot pie? Or our open-faced pot pie? Whatever it is, it's freaking delicious.
Justin had been wanting to do pot pies recently; the traditional kind with a pie crust. We even bought a perfect sized ramekin to make a family-size one in. But... he's been on another Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuit kick and made such a perfect, huge batch. We'd recently seen some traveling food show where a restaurant was known for their chicken pot pie biscuits and gravy and we both drooled on ourselves a little when we saw it. We had the biscuits, we had the chicken, we had most of the vegetables... it was on!
I just roasted some seasoned chicken thighs at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. I leave the skin on while cooking and it comes out ridiculously crispy, like cracklins or chicharrones. Then I removed it before pulling the meat off the bone. I'm not going to lie... I ate 2 of the skins straight up and felt guilt. Massive, delicious guilt. I just threw the remaining skins into our freezer bag of broth-makin' scraps, but I kind of wish I'd kept one of the super crispy ones to chop up and sprinkle on top of the plated biscuit pot pies.
The potatoes I cooked real quick while I was chopping up and sauteing the veggies, it doesn't take too long to cook them. The instructions are below.
This recipe makes a large amount of gravy/pot pie filling. If it's more than you want, you can always freeze it. Or just cut the recipe in half. Or make somebody's day by sharing it with them... that's what we did. Justin took most of the batch to work to share with his coworkers since it's just the two of us at home.
Going back a little ways with some Stiff Little Fingers doing "Straw Dogs".
BUTTERMILK BISCUIT CHICKEN POT PIES Time: about 35 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 10 cups (10 servings - large batch!)
12 tablespoons butter (1.5 sticks)
2 cups carrots, diced 1/2" (about 3 medium)
1.5 cup celery, diced 1/2" (about 2 stalks)
1.5 cup onion, diced 1/2" (about 1 medium)
1.5 cups crimini mushrooms, diced
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional for colour)
3/4 cup flour
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups potatoes (about 1 medium), diced 1/2" and cooked (see How To below)
In a large skillet or stock pot (that holds at least 4 quarts), melt butter over medium-high heat. Add carrots and celery, cook about 5 minutes. Add onion and mushrooms, cook 3-4 minutes until onions are translucent. Add sage, black pepper and turmeric, cook 1 minute. Add flour and stir until incorporated, cook 3-4 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and whisk until thickened, about 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium and stir in heavy cream, potatoes, peas, chicken, hot sauce and basil. Add salt to taste and serve over Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits.
How To Boil Potatoes Dice potato into 1/2" cubes. Place potatoes in a large pot. Add cold water to cover 1" above the potatoes. Add a generous amount of salt. Bring to a boil and cook about 6 minutes. Potatoes should be cooked through but still firm.
I'm not really sure why I wanted to do some stuffed cabbage lately but it's been on my mind. Makes sense. It's a completely NorCal summer dish, right? My heritage has nothing to do with Eastern Europe, where the dish is believed to have originated, and we have no Jewish ancestry, also associated with the origins of this dish. However, I do recall my mother preparing this a couple of times in my youth, and I remember disliking cabbage in general, so I wanted to give it a go with my big boy taste buds and see what came of it.
I believe it was a success! It's a bit intense to put it together but well worth it in my opinion. Clear a couple hours from your afternoon, if you can, and give it the attention it deserves and you shall be rewarded for your efforts. If you find you want a quick recipe, this is not for you. If you want comfort food tastiness however, that's another story all together.
To accompany this cooking adventure I had some Stiff Little Fingers on the laptop. Referred to in their inception as the Irish Clash, they faded from the scene in the early 80's and yet, I still find myself singing little snatches of songs here and there when I'm working. So it seemed apropos to have some playing while I slaved away in a hot kitchen on a hot summer evening cause if that isn't work, i don't know what is. -justin
Bring water and salt to a boil and add the rice. Return to boil and reduce to simmer until grains are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat, drain in small mesh colander and set aside to cool.
Sauce
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow or white onion
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra dry vermouth
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Heat olive oil in large saucepan or dutch oven, add onions and sweat over medium low heat till translucent, roughly 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, vermouth, brown sugar, raisins, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Filling
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup chopped yellow or white onion
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup grated carrot
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice (see previous instructions on prep)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Combine everything in a large bowl.
Cabbage
1 head green or Savoy cabbage, cored
enough water to cover cabbage in a large saucepot or dutch oven
Boil your water and while you are waiting for that to happen you can core your cabbage (and make sauce and filling if you're awesome at multitasking). Simply, use a sharp paring knife to cut the stem core out of the bottom of the head of cabbage. Place the head of cabbage in the water after it boils and simmer for 3 minutes or so, until the outer leaves begin to become pliable. Remove them with tongs (the water is boiling, remember?) and set aside to cool. When all useable leaves are removed (the center or heart of the head isn't much good for rolling) cut the rib out of each leaf to make it easy to roll.
Assembly
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of an 11x15, glass baking dish with a couple of ladles of sauce so the rolls don't stick or burn. Place roughly 1/2 cup of filling, molded into a cylinder, at the top of a cabbage leaf. Roll the "log" toward the stem part of the leaf, folding in the sides as you go. Place the rolls in the dish, they can be touching, and cover with the remaining sauce (uncovered cabbage will dry out as it cooks in the oven, not yummy!). Cook, uncovered for 1 hr. Let it rest for 5-7 minutes before serving with a healthy ladle of sauce. One or two of these are very filling!
