New England Pot Pie

I started off with a bang last night--delicious burgers and bacon jam topping (don't knock it 'til you've tried it, it's a lot better than it sounds). Today sounds good--I love pot pie (although my taste runs more towards Banquet than homemade). We got the shopping done a couple of days ago, I'm not sure about two bottles of clam juice but bring it on!

New England Pot Pie
From Woman's Day Magazine July/August 2015

Active Time: 30 minutes         Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes          Level: Easy
Serves: 8                                  
Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 2 medium russet potatoes
• kosher salt
• pepper
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 2 bottles clam juice
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1 c. frozen peas and carrots
• 1 c. frozen corn
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 lb skinless white fish (such as cod, hake, pollack, haddock)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 1 large egg

I asked Andy what he thought of tonight's recipe, to which he replied "I'm not a foodie, I just like to eat". He is more adventurous than I am (he ate a butterfly in Japan and a grasshopper in Thailand, whereas sushi is as exotic as I get), but I must say we are both looking forward to this one.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400. Lightly oil 8 ramekins or a 2 quart casserole dish.
2. Place potatoes in saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp salt, reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, 5-7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until crisp 4-5 minutes. Discard all but 2 Tbsp fat. Add onion, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until tender, 6-8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle flour on top and stir 1 minute.
4. Gradually stir in wine, clam juice, and cream. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and coats the back of spoon, 5-6 minutes. 
5. Add potatoes, peas and carrots, corn, parsley and thyme and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and gently fold in fish and shrimp. Transfer to prepared dish.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and cut out 8 pieces using a 4-inch round cookie cutter (or cut one rectangle to fit casserole dish). Brush the top edge of baking dish with water. Lay the pastry over the seafood mixture and press the pastry against teh edge of the dish to seal.
7. Lightly brush the pastry with the egg (if making the rectangle, cut 3 diagonal slits in the middle of the pastry). Place the dishes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust is deep golden brown and puffed in the center, 30-40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Per serving: 439 calories

Another night, another kitchen disaster. First I forgot to take my fish and shrimp out of the freezer this morning. I got those out and partially defrosted (shrimp in cold water, fish in microwave just until soft enough to cut). Because the fish was still kind of frozen, the sauce was thinner than it should have been. After everything was mixed together I remembered the puff pastry was still in the freezer, so had to microwave that. It was too sticky to roll out, so I just slapped it on top which seemed to work out fine.

Tips; I ended up using my 2 1/2 quart casserole dish because the 2 quart was too small. I only used 1/2 an onion but I'm not sure if it was a benefit or not. DO NOT FORGET to take out the puff pastry before preheating the oven!

Result? I was way more pumped for tonight than I was last night when I started this project, but the bacon jam burgers were by far the winners so far. We can handle eating leftovers for work tomorrow, but I wouldn't make it again. Lila ate the fish, potatoes, corn and peas but picked out the puff pastry, peas, and shrimp. She either loved it or hated it, she can't quite decide.

Verdict? Taste of Day meh