Adrian's

bigscarykitchen:

Living with three other people, it’s typical for us to have a slew of visitors in and out of the home. The couch is permanently set up with a blanket and pillow for anyone who needs to crash. Usually it’s one of my friends visiting from Colorado, but our most recent visitor was Adrian.

This is Adrian. As you can see from his confused face, he is from England where things are not like America and it’s okay to make this face in my camera while I am distracted by kneading bread. Dragging him to yet another bar with greasy food (don’t get me wrong though, Philadelphia has amazing bar food), I asked him what he typically ate at home. Shy-Adrian replied, “Pies.” then opened his iPhone and showed me pictures of pies you can purchase on the street. I was immediately taken back to the delicious, flaky savory pies I would have every year at the Highlands/Scottish & Irish Heritage Festival in Estes Park, Colorado and the quick and easy pies my British paternal grandmother taught my mother. Earlier this week a Martha Stewart recipe hit my e-mail and I went straight to work.

Now I mention my new friend Adrian, because we playfully argue about the correct words for things. Chips versus fries. Crisps versus chips. Cottage pie versus shepherd’s pie. There isn’t really a “pie” guide, but using ground poultry disqualifies it from a traditional cottage pie or shepherd’s pie. Though Martha Stewart calls these “Italian Pot Pies,” I was thinking of Britain when tweaking this recipe so, in one of our few agreements, Adrian and I came up with a name we much prefer— “Bungalow Pies.”

I already love this recipe because it combines quick with a simple, full-bodied taste. One ramekin is enough for a good dinner without the overstuffed feeling. Look out for more pies to be made soon.

Bungalow Pie
Serves 4 | inspired by Martha Stewart’s Italian Pot Pies

Ingredients

1T olive oil
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 cup of mixed vegetables (I use a carrot/green bean/pea medley)
1/2 tsp of thyme
2 cups tomato soup
1 pound of ground chicken, thawed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of Romano cheese (sorry Ed, I stole some cheese)
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of crushed dried rosemary
4T butter, melted
1/2 c whole milk
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and vegetables, season with thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Add ground chicken and cook until no longer pink.
3. Add tomato soup, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally until mixture has thickened. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, Romano, baking powder, rosemary, and 1/2 tsp of salt; add butter and milk. Stir until dough comes together.

5. Evenly portion the meat mixture into four 8-ounce ramekins and mound dough on top. Place a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until dough is golden brown and passes the toothpick test, about ten to twelve minutes.

Tip: Don’t forget the large-rimmed baking sheet. Otherwise the meat mix will boil over and make your entire oven fill with smoke which will leak out and set a fire alarm off which will in turn get tweets and texts from roommates that say, “Are you setting the house on fire?”