Yesterday was March 14 — 3.14 — affectionately known in some circles as Pi Day. I thought it would be clever to make a chicken pot pie for dinner, assuming my math-loving 8 year-old would be amused. He was not, but it did remind me of one of my and J.’s favorite exchanges in the movie Fight Club, when Edward Norton’s character Tyler and Brad Pitt as his alter-ego are talking on a plane.
EN: “Tyler, you are by far the most interesting single-serving friend I’ve ever met. See, I have this thing: everything on a plane is single-serving…”
BP: “Oh I get it, it’s very clever.”
EN: “Thank you.”
BP: “How’s that working out for you?”
EN: “What?”
BP: “Being clever.”
EN: “Great.”
BP: “Keep it up then…”
Right. Back to the pi… I mean pie. This is a super-easy recipe, since the only cooking you’re doing is thickening a sauce. Everything else is pre-prepped, dump and back. You can buy a rotisserie chicken if you don’t have leftovers to use up, and the vegetables go in frozen. Mix it up and bake, and you’ve got a much healthier version of a TV dinner staple.
It was surprisingly delicicous. The boys wouldn’t eat it but me, my mom, and dad all loved it and they were eager to take home the leftovers. You won’t miss the milk found in other recipes at all.
Non-Dairy Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from The Non-Dairy Queen’s Chicken Pot Pie
3 c. low-sodium vegetable stock, divided
4 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1 16-oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables (blend of corn, carrots, green beans, & peas)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground dried savory
salt and pepper to taste
2 9″ whole wheat pie crusts (I like Wholly Wholesome brand)
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Heat 2.5 cups of the stock in a large pot over high heat, until it comes to a low boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the remaining half cup of stock and the flour together, until it is totally smooth with no lumps. This is called a slurry. Carefully and slowly pour the slurry into the boiling stock, whisk constantly until the stock thickens and is smooth.
Continuing cooking over a medium heat, and add in the chicken, vegetables, and seasoning. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Set one pie crust on top of a baking sheet to protect your oven from any spills. Carefully pour the pie filling into the first pie crust, and then invert the second crust on top, cutting a few small vents in the top with a sharp knife.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top crust becomes lightly browned, or according to the directions on the pie crust you’re using. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
My meal plans have changed a lot since school started in the fall. With an increasing amount of homework each year, we finally hit a point where I felt I needed to change the amount of family we had over during the week. For years, my mom or parents had come after school and stayed for dinner one weeknight a week, and some combination of J.’s family, including my 4 year-old niece, had come another night. Then we often saw them on the weekend, too. I loved having my kids grow up with so much family around, and selfishly I also loved having those nights to cook bigger dinners. The kids were occupied with their grandparents and cousin, and I had a willing group of adults to eat real food with me. It worked perfectly for everyone, until A. started having trouble getting his homework done with so much going on in the house (I don’t blame him — he just wanted to play with everyone else), and after-school activities became more frequent. This year, our family is only here sporadically mid-week, and though it was the right decision I do miss have the company to cook for and chat with at dinner!
For a time, we were in a sweet spot with several meals: grilled chicken tacos, baked ziti, and roast chicken were all dinners that made my boys happy. Now, one or both of them no longer care for those dinners, and I am back to a place where plain pasta seems like the only answer. Confounding that problem is that I have been testing out a low-acid diet for myself, to try to fix a nighttime coughing issue my doctor thinks is due to silent reflux. I’ve already given up carbonated drinks and caffeine (sob!), and I’ve seen some improvement. But now I need to get serious about eliminating tomatoes and tomato sauce, which is pretty big deal when your kids’ favorite meals for you to cook are pizza and pasta.
Certainly, as my kids get older and their schedules and tastes change, it’s normal for our dinners to change. I just want to make sure we’re evolving, not going the other way. Right now I feel stuck in neutral.
My friend Suzanne recently recommended Lauren Shockey’s memoir, Four Kitchens, to me. Shockey wrote the book about the year she spent as a stage, or unpaid apprentice, in restaurants in Manhattan, Hanoi, Tel Aviv, and Paris. It was not my favorite kitchen memoir (I prefer the brash, in-your-face descriptions of Anthony Bourdain’s writing), but I did find her discussion of routines in the different kitchens and the amount of detailed preparation that went into some dishes fascinating.
Her recipe for Halvah Ice Cream comes from her stint in Israel. I am in love with halvah, a sweet, flaky, ground sesame seed confection that I adore. Some people dip it in chocolate, but you will not be surprised to hear that I like it plain, without that unnecessary adornment.
This was my first time making ice cream by myself. J. and the boys bought me the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer earlier this year, and although J. has made a couple of batches of ice cream this was my first go. I was very pleased with the flavor, and the recipe “ripens,” or hardens, into a proper, scoopable dessert. However, mine did not turn out silky smooth, as J.’s salted caramel version did. It had very fine lumps in it, even though I strained it carefully. As an ice cream-making newbie, I don’t have a solution to that problem yet, but I tend to think it had to do with the texture of the tahini, and not that I curdled the eggs.
Since I didn’t nail the recipe the first time, I have an excuse to make it again. (And you won’t hear me complaining about that.)
Halvah Ice Cream
Adapted slightly from Lauren Shockey’s book, Four Kitchens
1 c. whole milk
1½ c. heavy cream
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. sugar, divided
3 eggs, separated
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. sesame paste (tahini)
Pour the milk, cream, salt and half the sugar into a heavy pot. Cover and, with a watchful eye, cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a small bowl. (Save the egg whites to make yourself a nice omelette — you’ll want something light to balance out the ice cream!)
Once the milk mixture has come to a boil, lower the heat and slowly ladle a little bit into the sugar and egg yolks, whisking as you go. This will temper the egg yolks, warming them, which prevents them from turning into scrambled eggs when you add them to the hot liquid. Once you’ve added a ladle-full of liquid to the eggs, add the egg mixture back into the pot on the stove.
Add the vanilla extract and sesame paste and cook over medium heat, whisking gently but constantly, for about 7 minutes. Strain the mixture through a chinois into a bowl. The mixture will strain slowly, but don’t push the batter through. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Back to school and our regular routine after a week off for winter break! The pizza and roasted chicken are G.’s choice; the spaghetti & meatballs and bagels & lox are A.’s request.
Monday: Make Your Own pizza or calzone (I wanted to try braiding one), sugar snap peas
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Moroccan Chicken Tajine: I recently had a chicken tajine dish at Fig & Olive in Scarsdale, and wanted to recreate something similar at home. This is an Ina Garten recipe, and she never fails me.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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