When I made it a couple of weeks ago, I didn't get the butter and shortening cold enough and it melted as I rolled it out. That just means that it didn't roll out nicely and I couldn't roll it over the pot pie nicely. It was awful. I cried. I refused to take a picture because it looked like a patchwork quilt gone very wrong. It still tasted good, but it wasn't pretty at all. Tonight's version is so much better. It's still not perfect, but it was getting hot and I had to hurry. It's after 8 PM and still 98 degrees outside (no, not the singing group) just the really hot temperature that is dangerously close to triple digits. Speaking of triple digits, it is supposed to be that way for at least the next six days. I'm not even opening blinds. I'm just going to swim for a while every day and then hide in my cold house. Sounds delightful, doesn't it?
Since I am still using food storage for most of my cooking, I used canned beef stew as the majority of the filling. This is a great way to use up leftovers! Add your favorite veggies and meats. (I don't recommend adding rice to them, however. The rice gets too mushy. Feel free to serve it with rice though. I had a roommate teach me that trick 9 years ago. It was a cheap meal for a college student and rice makes most things better. Since I wanted to lighten up the beef stew a little, I added sautéed onions, carrots, and celery. It was really good! So here we go...
Beef Stew Pot Pie
Flaky Pie Dough
10 oz flour
7 oz shortening (or a combination of shortening and butter or all butter)
1 tsp salt
3 oz cold water
Step 1. If you are using butter, dice it and leave it in the fridge until the shortening is done. If you are using shortening, there are a couple of tricks. Run it through the squares of a cooling rack and put it on a plate and in the freezer for about 30 minutes. If you don't want to use a cooling rack, you can spread it out on a plate and run a fork through it so it isn't a solid mass. (Oh how I wish I had taken a picture of this step. It sounds all sorts of confusing and it really isn't tricky.) You just want it to get cold so it doesn't melt as you mix it with the flour. Trust me.
Step 2. Dissolve the salt into the water and put it in the freezer until you bring out the shortening. You don't want it to become ice, you just want it super cold.
Step 3. I measure out the flour at this point and put it in the bowl I am going to use to mix the ingredients together. Then I put it in the fridge. Remember how I said everything had to be cold? I wasn't kidding.
Step 4. Once your shortening has been in the freezer about 30 minutes, you can mix in into the flour. I used a potato masher because I don't have a pastry cutter. It worked like a charm. You want the butter and/or shortening to be about the size of peas. Work it in pretty good so most of the flour is incorporated.
Step 5. Add the water. Mix it gently until it absorbed. Do not over mix.
Step 6. You'll never guess this step! Oh, you did. Put it in the freezer!
Step 7. This is when I made the mix for the inside of the pot pie. It's the perfect amount of time for your dough to rest and get cold again.
Step 8. Put the filling in the dish you want to bake it in. (You can use cute individual dishes, or you can take a family style approach and put in in a 9x13 pan.) Maybe I drizzled hot sauce on it before topping it with the dough. It was a good idea.
Step 9. This is when you can take your dough out. Roll it out on some flour to fit your baking dish(es). You want to roll it out to about 1/4"and turn it 90 degrees often so it doesn't stick to your counter.
Step 10. If you are using a 9x13 pan, roll the dough onto your rolling pin and roll it out onto your pan. Cut it to fit. If you are using individual pans, roll out your dough and cut the dough big enough to fit the pan. (Ok, I know this doesn't look perfect but it was SO much better than my last attempt that I didn't care about the corners needing extra pieces and that little tear in the middle. Maybe mess up your first one so the second one is killer no matter what it looks like!)
Step 11. Vent your dough. You want a place for the steam to escape. Make a couple of slits with a sharp knife.
Step 12. Bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes. You want the edges of the dough to be lightly brown. Since your vegetables and meat should already be cooked, you are just cooking the dough.
Step 13. Dish it up! Blow on it, it will be hot.
Sorry for not taking pictures of the finished product or the vent. I made it a heart. Awww. Cute. By the time it was at this point, it was getting too hot to be in the kitchen. Then our AC started acting up. It was more important for me to be happy and cool down than it was for you to see a picture. I trust that you have a good imagination. Plus you'll be making it soon so you know exactly what it looks like. Right?
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