Ad Hock's Chicken Potpie

We're big fans of Thomas Keller. One of the country's world's most respected chefs, famous from his restaurants The French Laundry, Per Se, and Bouchon, but still restless, he decided to open Ad Hock, a temporary-restaurant-turned-permanent, which focuses on a single daily menu featuring dishes inspired by his working-class upbringing.

Being a huge potpie fan, as soon as I saw this recipe in the Ad Hock At Home cookbook, I knew I was going to make it. I will warn you however, that although this is the most delicious potpie you'll ever make, it takes dedication, requiring about two hours of active cook time, as well as some inactive cook time. This is a recipe best left for the weekend, when you can give it the proper attention, although I imagine it could be assembled beforehand to be thrown into the oven on a weeknight.

Pie Crust
1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 cup 1/2-inch pieces red-skinned potatoes
1 1/4 cups 1/2-inch pieces carrots (cut on the diagonal)
12 white pearl onions
3 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
24 black peppercorns
1 1/4 cups 1/2-inch pieces of celery (cut on the diagonal)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Béchamel 
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
Pinch of cayenne

1 egg, beaten

Pie Crust Directions
Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the butter and toss to coat with flour. With your hands or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour, tossing and incorporating and pieces of butter that have settled at the bottom of the bowl, until the butter pieces are no larger than a pea. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the water over the top and, using a fork, mix the dough until it just holds together when pinched; add the remaining tablespoon of water if the dough is very dry. Knead the dough until it is completely smooth and the butter is incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, with one piece slightly larger that the other (the larger piece will be for the bottom crust). Shape each half into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or for up to a day (if the dough does not rest, it will shrink as it bakes).

If the dough is too hard to roll, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes or pound it a few times with a rolling pin. Lightly dust the top of the larger disk of dough with flour and roll it out to a 13-14 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll outward from the center, rotating the dough frequently and adding a little flour to the work surface or dough as needed to prevent sticking. Fold the dough in half and transfer to a 9 to 10 inch pie plate, gently easing the dough into the corners and up the sides.

Roll out the second piece of dough in the same manner, to a 12 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate both doughs.

Makes one 9 to 10 inch double crust pie.

Pot Pie Directions
Put the potatoes, carrots, and onions in separate small saucepans with water to cover and add 1 bay leaf, 1 thyme sprig, and 8 peppercorns to each pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and simmer until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Drain the vegetables, discard the bay, thyme, and peppercorns, and spread on a baking sheet. Cut the onions in half.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Blanch the celery until just crisp-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain, transfer to the ice bath, and chill just until cold. Drain and add to the baking sheet with the other vegetables.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes; adjust the heat as needed so that the mixture does not brown. Whisk in the milk, lower the heat to keep the béchamel at a gentle simmer, and cook, whisking often, until the sauce has thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, 30 to 40 minutes; move the whisk over the bottom and into the corners of the pan to be sure the béchamel doesn't burn.

Position the oven racks in the lower third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Strain the béchamel through a fine-mesh conical strainer into a spouted measuring cup. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, and cayenne.

Remove both doughs from the refrigerator.

Scatter the vegetables and chicken into the pie shell. Pour the béchamel over them. At this point, if the top crust is too hard to shape, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes. Moisten the rim of pie shell with some of the beaten egg. Cover the filling with the top crust and press the edges of the dough together to seal. Trim away the excess dough that overhangs the rim. Brush the top crust with the egg. Cut a small vent in the center of the dough with a small cutter or the tip of a paring knife to allow steam to escape.

Bake on the lower oven rack until the crust is a rich golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. If necessary, move the pie to the center rack during the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the crust. On the other hand, if crust is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes

Atomic Hashbrowns

This month for Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to our group D hostess Sarah's blog, Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Sarah is an Army wife and mom to 2 young kiddos. How she has time to keep up a blog full of recipes, Pinterest posts, and linky parties is beyond me, but she does, and she does it well! While perusing her blog to find a recipe to make, I came across this one for hash browns and knew it was the one for us. We love to make big breakfasts on the weekends and I knew that this would be a welcomed alternative to our typical cubed hash brown potatoes. These hash browns reminded me of potato pancakes. I bet they would be delicious topped with a dollop of sour cream, but we paired with some eggs and we were in a happy food coma for the rest of the day! 

2 pounds Russet Potatoes, peeled, grated, and dried
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

In a large bowl, toss the grated potatoes with the garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes to the pan and pack them down tightly. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Carefully flip the potatoes onto a baking sheet and add the remaining butter and oil to the empty skillet. Add the potatoes back to the pan, cooked side up, and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Slice the hash browns into wedges and serve.

SOURCE: Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Scallion Potato Cakes

When we were in Napa, we drove to Yountville and saw Thomas Keller's restaurant Ad Hoc. We didn't go, partly because I really didn't know much about the restaurant and just assumed that, with a pig as the main decor, it was a restaurant that was heavy on meat. Instead, we ate at Michael Chiarello's restaurant, Bottega (I'm pretty sure I saw him walk past me a few times while I was sitting in the courtyard waiting for our table, too). Fast forward to Christmas 2011. Joel had put the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook on his wish list, so I purchased it. While picking it up at the store, I flipped through a copy and noticed that it was far from what I had originally expected. I read the story about how the restaurant came to be and what types of meals they serve, and while Bottega was excellent, I was immediately sorry that we passed up the chance to give Ad Hoc a try. I guess that means that we will just have to make another trip out to Napa some day! So, a few days after Christmas, Joel and I parked ourselves on the floor with his new cookbook and a package of sticky notes. We flipped through every page and flagged the recipes that we liked the most. This recipe was one of them. The concept of scallion potato cakes is so simple, yet when cooked, they taste so wonderful! We made these as a side dish to steak (and even though I asked Joel to pick up a veggie as the other side, he brought home macaroni salad, so we had that too...). I wish that we would have planned only these cakes to be our meal, because it would have given me an excuse to eat more! Joel had leftovers for breakfast the next morning, and said they were even good then! I will definitely make these again and again.

5 Scallions
3 pounds Russet Potatoes
1/2 cup Cornstarch
Canola Oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut the scallions into thin slices, reserving 1/4-cup for garnish, and set aside. Peel the potatoes, then shred them (you can use a food processor to do this, but I used a box grater). Immediately, transfer the shredded potatoes to a large bowl of cold water; swirl and rinse the potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the water and spin dry in a salad spinner (or squeeze dry using a towel). Transfer the potatoes to another large bowl and spoon the cornstarch around the sides of the bowl, tossing the potatoes with it. Heat some canola oil in a 10-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering; turn the heat down to medium. Add one-sixth of the potatoes to the pan, gently spreading them into an 8-inch circle. Do not press down on the potato cake while it is cooking. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and sprinkle one-third of the scallions over the top. Carefully spread another one-sixth of the potatoes on top. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the bottom has browned. Turn the pancake and brown on the other side, adding more oil if necessary. Cook until the other side is browned and crisp. Keep the potato cake warm by placing it on a cooling rack over a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven while you cook the other 2 potato cakes. Cut each pancake into 4 wedges and garnish with reserved scallions (and sour cream, if you would like). *I made smaller pancakes instead of the 8-inch rounds that were suggested in the recipe. 

Baby Hasselback Potatoes

Like I had mentioned in a previous post, Joel and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, but instead just make a slightly nicer meal at home for the two of us. While I was scrolling through the many recipes I have saved for potential components of our meal, Faith at An Edible Mosaic posted a whole Valentine's Day menu on her blog, which stopped my search dead in it's tracks! Spiced Sirloin Roast, these Baby Hasselback Potatoes, and green beans sounded nicer than our normal dinners. I've seen, and saved, many hasselback potato recipes before, and now that I have made them, I have no idea why I hadn't done it sooner! What a simple and elegant way to dress up a plain potato. This recipe is super simple and will dress up the fanciest of meals, or be just as good with any weeknight meal.

3/4 pounds Baby Yellow Potatoes, scrubbed (I used 4 baby white)
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Pinch of Black Pepper
*Pinch of Mrs. Dash Salt Free Garlic & Herb Seasoning (I added)
Parsley, for serving (I added, though Faith had it in her pictures)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a potato on a wooden spoon. Starting at one end of the potato, using a large knife, cut until the knife touches the spoon (using the spoon ensures that you will not cut through the bottom of the potato), and continue cutting at 3-4mm intervals across the whole potato. Continue this process until all potatoes have been cut. Using your fingers, gently open the potatoes, then toss them together with the oil, salt, pepper, and additional seasoning, allowing them to marinade for 5-10 minutes. Arrange the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with chopped parsley and serve.