I know that Easter was, well, a while ago, but I don’t usually have an “Easter” dinner. In fact, on Easter Sunday, I took in a rather delicious dinner out with my mother and father in law, and of course my two lovely boys (that’s my husband and son). It was fun to be out for dinner at a restaurant I used to go to when I was single, one that is still standing mind you! A feat, in Victoria, that is not to be considered small. So, because of this fine fact, I found myself without any leftovers to make one of my favourite childhood dishes. Pot Pie. Lucky for me the grocery stores here and everywhere, I’m sure, buy much too many turkeys for every holiday and always have great sales on in the following days. We bought ourselves a nice, fresh 8 lb. young turkey and set to work.

If you don’t know how to roast a turkey, simply follow my directions here and you will find yourself with one of the moistest turkeys known to man. There are a couple of changes though to make it turkey friendly:

1. Leave out the root vegetables. You do want gravy don’t you? Well, you’ll need the drippings if you want to make gravy.

2. Roast your turkey breast side down. A lot of people look at me like I am crazy when I do this, but just DO IT already! It makes for the juiciest breast meat in the known universe.

3. Roast your turkey for the appropriate amount of time called for by it’s weight. You can still do the higher temp first, or simply roast the whole thing at 325°F for about 20 minutes per pound if 8 to 10 pounds or 14 to 16 minutes per pound for bigger birds.

After a day in the fridge, your turkey will be ready for all sorts of good things. Like turkey sandwiches for your husband (or yourself, working lady), turkey salad for the kids, snacks between meals, and this recipe that follows, turkey pot pie.

Although this recipe is for two individual servings, you can always double it for a family of four and cook in a large baking dish. There’s no limit to the possibilities fellow cooks!

Sadly, there is no picture of the finished product being consumed, so no peek inside. Sorry, I was too busy eating it about 8.5 seconds after that picture up there was taken. You’ll just have to imagine it.

On a completely different note, and in a shameless example of self promotion, I’ve been nominated as one of Babble’s 50 Best Mom Food Blogs! But I need you to keep me in the top 10 loyal readers! If you haven’t already, go to Babble, scroll down to my name (Elizabeth Nyland) and click the thumbs up button. No registration required, just your undying love for my recipes. It’s all I will ever ask for (for now), I swear! Thanks a million folks!

Turkey (or Chicken) Pot Pie

Yield: Two individual servings (16oz)
Prep Time: 30 minutes plus one hour chilling time for dough
Cooking Time: 35 minutes

For the Crust:

4oz Cold butter, cut into small pieces
6 oz all purpose or pastry flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt (1 tsp if you are using unsalted butter)
1/4 cup fresh herbs (sage, oregano, rosemary, etc.)
1/4 cup buttermilk
Fresh ground pepper

1. Cut butter into 2 cm pieces and pop into freezer for 10-15 minutes (don’t forget about it!).
2. Sift flour, sugar and salt into bowl. Take cold butter and dump into flour, toss to coat.
3. Dump onto work area and roll butter pieces with rolling pin.
4. When all butter is flattened and it looks like a big shaggy mess, throw it back into the bowl and put it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from fridge, make a well and pour in buttermilk. Bring dough together with hands, making sure to moisten all of the flour. It will be a big shaggy mess.
6. Form into two balls, then flatten into discs, wrap in plastic and put in fridge for 1 hour.

For the Filling:

1/2 large onion, diced
1-2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into coins
2 1/2-3 cups diced, cooked turkey or chicken
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/4 cups turkey or chicken stock (preferably homemade with bones)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp each of marjoram, basil and poultry seasoning
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten

1. In a large sauté pan, melt butter. Add vegetables and flour, coating evenly. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

2. Add stock, milk and herbs to vegetables. Bring to boil, continuing to stir and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until it begins to thicken a bit.
3. Stir in turkey (or chicken) and remove from heat. Set aside while you prepare the dough.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
5. Roll out dough discs to just shy of 1/4″ thick. Everyone loves the crust!
6. In two greased, 16oz baking ramekins, fill with turkey (or chicken) filling right to the top. (If you don’t have two 16 oz baking ramekins, you could use one smallish baking ramekin by itself.)

7. Lay pastry over tops of ramekins, trimming edges of pastry to within 1cm of the edge of the ramekin. Fold edges under themselves and flute with the end of a knife or with a thumb.
8. Cut steam holes into pastry and brush with egg.

9. Place ramekins on a baking tray (to catch drips) and bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.