pot pie question for Gail

[Missi]

...Or, anyone else who might know!

You posted a recipe for a roasted vegetable with feta cheese pot pie awhile back, which I tried and LOVED! (thank you, thank you, this is definately going in the favorites!)

My question is, have you ever frozen the pot pie? Could I make the filling and the crust and freeze it before the final baking? Or should I bake it and then freeze it? I really want to make several of these up and have them on hand while the vegetable are so readily available at the farmers' market.

[LauraEllen]

I'm sorry I can't answer the question but the recipe caught my attention - roasted veggies and feta? Yum! Where can I find that recipe? I did a search for Gail's postings, but Gail is a very prolific poster. Too many to search through. It's getting harder all the time to keep up with these BB's but I'll try.

Can someone please point me to that recipe?
Thanks much.

[Natasha]

Laura Ellen,
Here are the two gems that Gail posted a little while ago. I believe that the first one is the one you want. Enjoy!
P.S. I found the recipes quickly by running a search for the phrase pot pie, which tends to work better than searching by user (at least from my limited experience).

--------------

Missed the May, 2000 issue, eh? There was a feature on pot pies.
Here's one of them, plus another from a difference source:

ROASTED VEGETABLE POTPIE WITH FETA
This potpie can be a light entrée or an impressive side dish. Prepare the crust while the vegetables are roasting.

ROASTED VEGETABLES:
6 cups (1 inch) cubed peeled eggplant (about 1 1/4 lbs)
2 cups (1 inch) cubed zucchini
2 cups (1 inch) pieces red bell pepper
2 cups (1/2 inch thick) sliced carrot
1 large Vidalia onion or other sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges
Cooking spray
20 (1/2 inch thick) slices portobello mushrooms (about 2 large)
4 plum tomatoes, halves lengthwise
1 large garlic clove, minced

BUTTERMILK PASTRY:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 450º.
2. To prepare roasted vegetables, combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Place on a jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Bake at 450º for 40 minutes, stirring once. Add mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic; bake an additional 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Removed roasted vegetables from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400º.
3. To prepare buttermilk pastry, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add buttermilk, butter and vinegar; toss with a fork until moist. Gently press mixture into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle on heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover with additional plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into a 12 x 7-inch rectangle; freeze 10 minutes. Remove 1 sheet of plastic wrap; let stand 1 minute or until pliable.
4. Combine roasted vegetables, feta, and next 6 ingredients (feta through black pepper) on an 11 x 7-onch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Fit dough over filling. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut 6 slits in top of dough to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake at 400º for 35 minutes or until the potpie is golden brown and bubbly around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes. Yield: 6 servings.

CALORIES 234 (29% from fat); FAT 7.5g (sat 4.1g, mono 1.8 g, poly 0.9g): PROTEIN 8.3g: CARB 36.2G; FIBER 6.5g; CHOL 19mg; IRON 3.3mg: SODIUM 517 mg; CALC 122 mg.

** PIE TIPS

Potpie can be made in a shallow, round, oblong, or square 2-quart baking dish. Roll the crust 1 inch larger than the dish; press to edge of dish. Bake as directed.

(From: CL May 2000)

CHICKEN POTPIE

This hearty, satisfying supper centerpiece is elevated to company status with a rich-tasting sauce made with shiitake mushrooms, white wine and pearl onions.

1 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil, preferably canola oil
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose white flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups defatted reduced-sodium canned or homemade chicken or turkey stock
1 12-ounced can evaporated skim milk (1 1/2 cups)
4 cups cooked diced chicken or turkey (1 pound)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 recipe Light and Flufy Biscuit dough (follows)
1 tablespoon skim milk

In a large, heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté until the mushrooms are just ender, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in wine, stirring with a whisk. Gradually whisk in stock and evaporated skim milk and bring to a boil, stirring. Cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chicken or turkey, lemon juice, parsley and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

Blanch carrots in boiling water until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir the carrots, onions and peas into the filling. Spoon the filling into a deep, 3-quart casserole dish and set aside while preparing biscuit dough. (The filling can be prepared ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Make Light and Fluffy Biscuit dough. Pat the biscuit dough into a 1/2 inch thick disk. With a 3 inch cutter, cut out rounds. Gather the dough scraps together and repeat. Cover the filling with biscuit dough rounds and brush with skim milk.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake an additional 10 to 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are nicely browned and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

375 CALORIES PER SERVING; 31 G PROTEIN, 8 G FAT, 42 G CARBOHYDRATE; 448 MG SODIUM; 65 MG CHOLESTEROL.

LIGHT AND FLUFFY BISCUITS
A combination of all-purpose flour and cake flour produces a light, tender low-fat biscuit. Serve with meals or for breakfast or tea with fruit preserves.

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup skim milk buttermilk
1 tablespoon skim milk

Preheat overn to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender or two table knives, cut in cream cheese and butter until pea-sized lumps form. Stir in buttermilk with a fork. Gather the dough into a ball and knead it several times in the bowl until smooth.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a smooth, 1/2 inch thick disk. With a 3-inch cutter, cut out rounds. Repeat with dough scraps until you have 10 biscuits. Brush tops with skim milk. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.

Makes 10 biscuits.

122 CALORIES PER BISCUIT: 3 G PROTEIN, 3 G FAT, 20 G CARBOHYDRATE; 250 MG SODIUM; 8 MG CHOLESTEROL.

(From: The Eating Well Recipe Rescue Cookbook)

Happy cooking!


[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 09-11-2000).]

[LauraEllen]

Thanks, Natasha.

[Gail]

Sheesh! Leave the computer for a few measley hours and look what happens! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

First of all, let me say I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed the pot pie-- not that I did anything other than type it...

I see no problem with making the filling and freezing it, EXCEPT, I'm not too thrilled about freezing feta. It's a thing of mine, admittedly, but I just don't think cheese ever tastes as good after it's frozen.
I found a little goodie in Epicurious relevant to freezing dough:

Freeze pie dough in one-crust wads or discs, tightly wrapped in self-sealing plastic bags you have labeled and dated.

So, you could freeze dough and filling separately and construct right before cooking.

Another source says (with fruit pies anyway) that you can fill the unbaked crust and freeze that way. No one seemed to say anything about baking first. Since I've not a huge devotee of pot pies, I'm not exactly an expert in the field of freezing them. Perhaps if you check back every so often, some marvelous potpie guru will have genuine been-there, done-that advice.

Sorry not to be of more help!

[Jeanne G]

Missi,

I have to admit you peaked my curiosity b/c I was the one who posted the question about pot pies a while ago. I have yet to make the veggie one, although at first I thought I'd make it before the chicken one. I did make the chicken recipe and just a note for anyone interested, it was very good but needed a little more salt, garlic, etc.

As for freezing, I would think to bake it first. My mom taught me to do that with lasagne. If you bake it then freeze it, when you are going to eat it, you bake it frozen. It always works out fine. Although I am speaking about pasta and not pie crust.??

Jeanne

[Missi]

Thanks Gail and Jeanne! I was thinking, too, that the feta cheese might not freeze well. I will experiment and let everyone know.

LauraEllen--- you should definately try the recipe! It was well worth the time it takes to make!

Thanks again to everyone!

[karen w]

Another word of advice(and I am no potpie expert either). I also made the roasted vegetable pot pie as well as one with chicken and another with asparagus from May 2000. I would think that if you bake the pie and crust together and then freeze, the potpie crust may be soggy when you defrost and reheat. I agree with the suggestion of making the crust dough and freezing it separately from the filling. This would still save quite a bit of time!

[Karen from VA]

Another Karen here. I've not made pot pies, but I've frozen dozens and dozens of apple pies (as my mother did before me). I prepare the pie completely EXCEPT for the baking and freeze it. When I'm ready to serve it, I put it in the oven still frozen and increase the baking time. To freeze the pot pie, I would advise cooling the filling before topping it with the crust, then put it in the freezer. I have no idea how feta cheese freezes, but I should think it would freeze in a pot pie as well as mozarella does in lasagna.

[This message has been edited by Karen from VA (edited 09-30-2000).]

[Gail]

Glad I was able to help. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Jeanne G]

Gail!

I had to find this post to thank you again for the pot pie recipes. You were the one who originally posted the Veggie w/ Feta one for me on my thread. I just made it last night and it was awesome!!! I know lots of the BB people tried it and raved. It was fairly easy too, and downright good food.

Thanks,
Jeanne

[This message has been edited by Jeanne G (edited 10-02-2000).]

[JeanneW]

I'm a pot-pie freezing veteran. I make chicken pot pie all the time and freeze in little individual pie tins. I always freeze without baking and then pop the frozen pies in the oven to bake. I've even tried thawing first and then baking and had no real problems. Now, it's possible I've had no trouble because the small size thaws faster.
I'm not sure about that. But they do freeze beautifully. I say give it a try.