Chicken Pot Pie

Last night I adapted three pot pie recipes to create my own. I wanted something that was lighter than the tradition pot pie and will cook a little faster. This is an easy recipe that you can cook on a work night. Enjoy!

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cups cubed chicken (I pick up a rotisserie chicken)
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup yellow onion diced
1 cup celery diced
1 cup carrots diced
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a sauce pan, simmer 2 cups chicken stock. Dice chicken, onions, celery, and carrots. In a saute pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots. Saute until slightly softened (4 to 5 minutes). Add the stock to the vegetables and bring to a boil.

In sauce pan that you used for the stock, add butter and four together to make a roux. Continue to stir until mixed, but not brown. Add the heavy cream and stir vigorously until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the roux to the chicken/vegetable mixture. Add the frozen peas at this point. The chicken should thicken and reduce heat to medium low.

Grease pie pan and pour chicken mixture into it. Roll the thawed puff pastry to size of pie pan and place over dish. (If you press the edges of the pastry to the dish, it will stick a little better.) Make several slits in the top so the pastry will not get soggy.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffy. Allow 5 to 10 minutes to sit before serving, so the liquid can thicken.

Enjoy!!!

While I don't want it to be cold yet...

I do want to start wearing pretty holiday dresses!!



www.katespade.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4345634

The Secrets To Being Southern

So, I am stealing this from Southern Living. They provided 25 tips for celebrating the soul of the south in their September issue. "Living in the south is the next best thing to being alive, where do people crown strawberry queens, know shrimpers by name and trade pass-along daylilies?"

Tips:
1. Welcome friends with a beautiful table
2. Enjoy the blues
3. Write a charming thank you note
4. Savor Savannah
5. Build with barn wood
6. Smoke like a pitmaster
7. Keep it sweet (tea)
8. Float a river
9. Put up pickled okra
10. Learn the Texas Two-Step
11. Master the Carolina Shag
12. Perform the Appalachia Flatfoot
13. Rediscover Mr. Faulkner (Monica already has P&B doing this)
14. Celebrate small town mayors
15. Grow an heirloom bounty
16. Gather 'Round at Galatorie's'
17. Bring back old-fashioned storytelling
18. Plant your family's tree
19. Pass along your garden's best
20. Visit the shrimp docks
21. Catch a break in Music City
22 & 23. Make a perfect apple pie
24. Honor the queen
25. Count your blessings!

Women Always Must Have...

With all of my new "free" time, I have been able to rediscover my love of cooking. Lately, I have been thinking what does a stocked pantry mean for the modern woman. I have started to come up with a few items that any P&B woman should have on hand.

1. Puff pastry
2. Lemons
3. Chicken stock
4. Vino Verde
5. Tomatoes
6. Eggs
7. Basil
8. Parmesan Cheese
9. Garlic
10.Good quality olive oil

Spring Green Risotto

I made this dinner last night. It's light for a risotto and had wonderful fresh flavors. It would be perfect with a glass of Vino Verde sitting outside with friends.

1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chopped leeks (2 leeks)
1 cup chopped fennel
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry wine
4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock
1 pound thin asparagus
10 ounces frozen peas
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
kosher salt and ground pepper for taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons minced chives

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2 inch lenghts and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Drain and cool immediately in ice water.

When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. (I found that I needed to add more salt at the end, but continue to taste for the acidity and saltiness) Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.

Whisk the lemon juice and the mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives. Serve hot.

It takes about 50 minutes start to finish. Enjoy!!

I love fall clothes

So cute. From Anthro.

Lots of laughter

Really funny.

Twirl...!

L.O.V.E. this so much!! Can't wait to try it out!

Quick Update

We made it out to Chicago just fine. We are in our new apartment, but our furniture does not arrive until Monday. The plans for today are to go and get new licenses, uggh! In Illinois you have to take a driving test, not loooking forward to that. I will update some more with crazy Chicago stories later on. Miss you all so much!!!!!

Love,
Jacq

P&B Retreat

Or, we could hold a retreat in this lovely city!!

Or we could retreat here:

This is a resort in Asheville where my family is currently retreating sans Sabine. Check out the underground cavern-esque pool!

The Perfect Location for a P&B Retreat

turn your handwriting into a font!

I just discovered this and find it absolutely fascinating. This video advertises a product that can turn your personal handwriting into an electronic font!



How's that for the personal touch?

Click here for the article with all the information if you want to know more.

Coastal Room from Anthropologie

As y'all know, I've been a fan of the coastal vintage look lately and most recently decided an anchor would be a nice home accessory. Unique and nautical, anchors are unlikely to appear in anyone else's living quarters which is part of the reason why this idea appeals to me! Well, lo and behold, this past weekend at Anthropologie, I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw the following bedroom display!! Anchor, rope, sand and all, these guys did this room well:

Note the hammock bed. Dreamy.


As to be expected, I would opt against a mini-sand dune but love the idea. And check out the anchor!! On my next trip home, I plan snag one and bring it back to DC.


Love the lantern.

Southern Values

All things filled with Glee

The following statement was uttered from the lips of Cricket today during lunch:

"Hey guys, so there's this show I saw recently. I don't know if y'all have seen it, or if it's even good. Y'all probably don't watch it. But I watched some episodes the other night and it's so good. It's called Glee."

The surrounding Pages promptly and vehemently explained the awesomeness of this show to Old Soul Cricket. The fact that she is just now discovering this show makes me love her that much more.

So I thought we needed a post on Glee STAT!

Watch this video and fall in love. And that is only the beginning (literally. This was the first song they did in the season premiere). Glee reruns are showing all summer long on Fox on Thursday nights. Be prepared to be obsessed. Season 2 premieres in the Fall!



And now, appreciate this sign:



I'm making a Glee mix for Cricket because I know she'll love it. Who else wants one?

Just so delicious

I haven't stopped thinking about fried green tomatoes since Lunch Bunch today! Think this means we need a trip to Founding Farmers sometime soon!

From Southern Living:

Ingredients:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
Vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside.

Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.

Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.

Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Timely Quotes

"Beauty Attracts Beauty"

and

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

WOTD

chary (adj): discreetly cautious; hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks; slow to grant, accept, or expend

I especially like the history of this word I found on Merriam-Webster:

It was sorry that bred the caution of chary.In Middle English, chary meant sorrowful. In a sense switch that demonstrates that love can be both bitter and sweet, chary later came to mean dear or cherished. That's how 16th century English dramatist George Peele used it: 'the chariest and the choicest queen, That ever did delight my royal eyes.' Both sorry and affection have largely faded from chary and in Modern English the word is most often used as a synonym of either 'careful' or 'sparing'

LOST!

Ok, I know just a few of us Pages are obsessed, but I think Hap & Ben read the blog too, and I know for fact they'd appreciate this. So there's my majority...and here is my post: