Christinas Beef Pot Pie Food

BEEF POT PIES

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy pot. Sear the meat over medium-high heat in batches until brown, 4 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
• Add the carrots, celery and shallots and saute until the vegetables start to wilt, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the mustard, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the flour and saute for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, beef broth and 1 cup water. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir. Bring to a boil. Return the browned meat to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Add the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, then cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
• After 45 minutes, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons flour with a little water and pour into the stew. Cook and thicken for 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry sheets one by one to get rid of the creases. Set a 6- to 8-inch ovensafe skillet upside down on a pastry sheet and cut a circle around it, making it 1/2 inch larger than the dish. Repeat with the remaining 5 skillets using all of the pastry sheets; discard the scraps.
• Put the 6 skillets onto 2 baking sheets and fill the skillets with the cooled beef mixture. Sprinkle over some chopped bacon and 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley on each.
• Top each skillet with a pastry circle, pressing along the edges to seal. Mix together the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Brush each pastry lid with the egg wash. Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

BEEF POT PIE

Steps:

• Procedure: Filling is made in 2 parts and then combined: the stew and the vegetables. The crust is partially baked before filling.
• The vegetables: Blanche the turnips and then the carrot chunks in rapidly boiling salted water until just tender, removing the vegetables from the water and immediately cooling them under running water to stop the cooking. Microwave the peas in a 1/2 cup of water for 20 seconds or pour some of the hot blanching water over them and then drain. Mix the vegetables together. This can also be done ahead, the same day as the pie will be served or even the night before, but don't freeze the vegetables.
• The stew: Cut beef into 1-inch chunks and dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and brown slowly in the casserole. Remove the bacon and set aside, and turn the heat to high. Brown the beef quickly in the bacon fat. Add olive oil if necessary. Remove the beef from the casserole and set aside with the bacon. Add the minced carrots, onions and celery and brown on medium high heat in the remaining fat. Remove the vegetables from the pot and add to the reserved beef and bacon. Add the clarified butter to the pot and sprinkle in the flour. Stirring constantly, brown the flour on medium high heat until it is a dark, nut brown. Return the bacon, beef and vegetables to the pot. Stir to coat them with the browned flour and cook for 1 minute on medium-high heat. Lower the heat, add the cayenne, wine, bouillon or stock, the tomato paste, the garlic and the herb bouquet tied in a cheesecloth. Stir to mix well and simmer for at least 3, preferably 4, hours, stirring occasionally. When done the meat should be very tender. Skim fat if necessary. Check for seasoning. Remove the meat from the gravy with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove and discard the herb bouquet. Reserve the gravy in a separate container. The stew may be prepared to this point a 1 or 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. It can also be frozen after preparation to be kept longer.
• The crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Process the flour, butter, shortening, and salt until mixture is like coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water and pulse processor a few times until dough begins to clump. Do not overprocess. Scrape dough onto a board, divide in half and put each half in a plastic bag. Working through the bag, quickly press the dough into a ball. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. (May be frozen at this point for future use.) Roll 1 of the balls out to about 1/8-inch thick. Butter the tart pans and line with the dough. Roll the other ball of dough out and cut circular pieces about 1/8-inch larger than the individual tart pans (or 3/8-inch if using the single 9 or 10-inch pan). The circles for the top crust of the pot pie are cut larger because there will be shrinkage when it is baked. The edges can be crimped with a fork if desired. Leftover dough can be cut into decorative shapes for the top crust.
• Butter pieces of aluminum foil and line the crust in the tart pans with them. Fill the foil with dried beans or rice to a depth of about 1-inch -- this will keep the crust from puffing when it is baked empty. Place the top crust circles on a cookie sheet and prick with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes. Crust should just start to brown. The top pieces will likely take a little less time. Remove the aluminum foil and return the beans or rice to their container. Leave the tart pan rings in place. The crust can be made up to 4 hours before the dish is assembled and served.
• Assembly: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you have made the stew and gravy ahead of time, warm them separately on the stove until they just begin to simmer. Add gravy back to the stew a little at a time until it is liquid enough but not too soupy. Stir well to mix. The proportion will vary according to the cut of meat used and the actual cooking time. Once you've made it a couple of times you'll know how you like it. If there is leftover gravy, keep it warm on the stove while you bake the pie. Mix the vegetables into the stew just before you assemble the pie. Spoon the filling mixture into the partially baked pie shell. It should fill it right to the top. There may be some filling mixture left over. This is not a bad thing. Bake for about 8 to10 minutes, until the crust starts to look quite brown at the edges and the filling is bubbling. Allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Carefully remove rings from the pans and slide the pies onto warmed plates. If there is remaining gravy, serve on the side with the pie. Garnish with chopped parsley.

CHRISTINA'S TV DINNERS

Steps:

• If using a disposable baking pan, fold up several layers of heavy-duty foil to create 2-inch wide strips. Fit the strips into the baking pan to form 1 large and 2 smaller compartments.
• Spoon 1/4 cup of the Lasagna Roll-Up sauce into the large compartment of each tray. Put 2 roll-ups and 3 meatballs over the sauce in each tray. Spoon remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Divide the frozen peas among 1 of the remaining compartments in each tray and top with a pat of butter. Put a piece of brownie dough in each of the remaining compartments. Cover the trays tightly with aluminum foil and freeze until ready to use, up to 3 months.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Let dinners stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Uncover the brownie compartment and bake dinners until heated through, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and pat dry.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the marinara sauce and basil and let simmer for 5 minutes.
• Spread 2 tablespoons of spinach across 1 end of a lasagna noodle, about 1-inch from the edge. Sprinkle with a little garlic salt. Spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta over the spinach. Arrange about 1/8 of the provolone over the spinach and top with 1/8 of the prosciutto. Roll up the noodle around the filling. Repeat with remaining noodles and filling.
• If making Christina's TV Dinners, proceed according to that recipe. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread half of the sauce in a shallow baking dish and set the roll-ups on top. Spoon the remaining sauce over the roll-ups and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk egg and milk together. Tear bread into pieces, add to the egg mixture and let soak for a few minutes.
• Place beef in a medium mixing bowl. Add egg-bread mixture, salt, and pepper and mix well. Form the mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs.
• In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Roll the meatballs in the bread crumb mixture to coat evenly.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

BEEF POT PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flours and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until crumbly. Add cheese; toss to blend. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate., For filling, in a large skillet, cook the beef, celery, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes., On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of dough to fit the bottom of an ungreased 8-in. square baking dish. Transfer to dish. Spoon filling over crust. Roll out remaining dough to fit top of dish; cut slits or use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place dough over filling; trim and flute edges., If desired, arrange cutouts over pastry. Bake at 375° until bubbly and crust is golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

BEEF POT PIE III

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily; about 2 to 3 hours. Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Shred the meat slightly and add salt and pepper to taste.
• In another 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, pour in beef broth and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost tender; about 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef; leaving the liquid in the pan. Combine the peas with the carrots, potatoes and beef.
• Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup of water. Pour into the saucepan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat; cook for 5 minutes.
• Line a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crust following the package directions. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over the top of the mixture, then cover with the other pie crust. Bake in a preheated oven until the crust is golden brown; about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

QUICK BEEF POT PIE (MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Make the beef filling. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Season the beef sirloin with salt and pepper and then coat with the flour. Add the butter and oil to the hot pan. Once the butter has melted, brown the meat on all sides. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Bring the wine to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Add the browned beef, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn to the pot. Season with parsley, sugar, garlic powder, onion salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the beef is cooked through and the vegetables are soft. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the mixture of 2 tbsp of flour + 2 tbsp water.
• Assemble the pie. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a pie plate. Press one of the pie crusts in the bottom of the pie plate. Carefully pour the beef mixture into the pie crust. Cover with the second pie crust. Make slits in the top of the pie crust.
• Bake in a preheated oven according to pie crust baking instructions, or until the pie crust is golden brown. Cover the edges of the pie crust about 15 to 20 minutes after baking, so they don't burn.
• There's no need to allow the pie to sit - you can slice it immediately. Be careful - it's hot! My husband likes to drizzle a little brown gravy on top of his.
• Serve with a tall, cold glass of milk. Enjoy!