Reveries of ‘happy meals’
By Jody Stump
In these war-torn times, I long for the less complicated days of my youth. Although I knew dangers lurked during the Cold War that chilled my childhood, what I remember from those days were hoots of spirited laughter from hearty meals we spent with friends and family. It was the warmth of a happy kitchen that seemed to keep fear away. Now, my family seems over-booked and the hours we would spend together scatter into minutes here or there.
The way I cope is to turn inward-toward the hearth. I cook. Since the war began, I have surfaced from the dregs of ancient memory every truly happy meal in its entirety, from the scent of flowers in the centerpiece to the crackle of a last crumb swept from the tablecloth. I have savored in my mind each element of every course so my senses could recreate peaceful memories of a time when I was blissfully safe with loved ones.
I began my backward journey with a kindergarten daydream, cake and ice cream-a from-scratch, daylong effort of sifting, separating, folding and tempering. It was eye-popping luscious, but too strenuous for publication even if the labor did take my mind off the war. Next, came a fourth-grade trip to Rome and my very first, first-class meal. At Tre Scalini, famed for Fettuccine Alfredo, tender strips of creamy pasta are twined through the tines of wondrous golden forks and wrapped into a perfect round nest of melt-in-your-mouth succulence. Macaroni and cheese, indeed! Daunted by the prospect of draping the house in shreds of fresh noodles, I passed on crafting it. Let Divine Pasta press out the dough, I moved on to another day.
When New York’s winter turned to mud and moods were just as dreary, my mother moved our meals into a little sitting room with an old brick hearth. There, we curled up by the fire in hand-me-down wing chairs and munched one-dish meals without a care as to where our elbows rested or what forks we used. Sometimes we had chili; sometimes pasta, but most often the one-dish dinners were a form of pie. The best was always chicken. Here is the best of my happy meals-as I remember it well. Enjoy.
CHICKEN POT PIE
Homemade pot pie is such a nostalgic dish that I leave the choice of vegetables up to you-choose favorites from your own memories of what was good; it’ll be just as wonderful today.
3-1/2 pound chicken
4 – 5 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
12 black peppercorns
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs. minced parsley
Salt and pepper
1/4-pound country ham, chopped
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
Pie Crust *
Options:
Vegetables to blanch Vegetables to saut
1/2 cup chopped carrots (10) 1 tsp. minced garlic
1 pound parsnips, chopped (10) 1 onion or 3 leeks (white parts only), chopped
2 fennel bulbs, cored, sliced(5) 2 celery ribs, chopped
1 cup fresh or thawed peas (2) 1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, sliced
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Simmer the chicken in the broth, bay and thyme until tender-45 minutes. Remove the chicken and strain the broth into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to 2 cups. Cool.
3. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken and cut the meat into 1-inch chunks.
4. Select your vegetables. To blanch, bring lightly salted water to a boil and cook until tender, about the time in parentheses. Drain well. To saut, melt the butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and/or celery first, stirring until limp, and then add the garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, approximately 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until the flour begins to color. Slowly, add the wine, cream and reserved stock, stirring until thick. Add the chicken, blanched vegetables and ham. Cook until you like the consistency and season to taste.
1. Pour the mixture into a large ovenproof skillet or souffl dish. Cool.
2. Cover with the crust, overlapping the edges and crimping down on the insides of the pan. Pierce and brush with the egg glaze.
3. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling bubbles and steams-15-20 minutes.
Pie crust. * Usually, I cheat and use Pillsbury’s refrigerated crusts, but there’s a lovely “herb crust” at www.epicurious.com that’s nice with pot pie.