Originally Published in the November 26th Print Publication
As the leaves start to change colors, you know it’s the season for Thanksgiving. You might crave warm Autumn themed recipes to enjoy through the chilly nights. Pumpkin pie is a classic dish that families always eat around the country. Chicken pot pie soup is also a major savory staple of Thanksgiving that is perfect to be paired with the sweet pie.
Chicken pot pie soup (recipe from The Pioneer Woman):
A hot soup dinner with vegetables and flaky golden cheddar crust dippers. Serves 4-6 people, takes 15 minutes to prepare, and 20 minutes to cook.
Ingredients (cheddar crust dippers):
2 refrigerated pie crusts (9 inch. long)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Ingredients (soup):
4 tbsp salted butter
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
1 pinch of turmeric
Salt and black pepper, match your tastes
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup white wine
6 cups chicken broth
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
½ cup heavy cream
How to make the cheddar crust dippers:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Unroll a pie crust on each prepared sheet pan. Sprinkle the crusts with the cheese and parsley, lightly press it into the crusts. Bake until the edges of the crust turn golden, the cheese bubbles, and the crust is baked through, (12-14 minutes)
How to make the chicken pot pie soup:
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, onion, and thyme into the pot. Season with the turmeric and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook until the vegetables begin to soften (3-4 minutes). Sprinkle flour over the vegetables, stir until combined. Let the flour cook for 1-2 minutes. While stirring, slowly pour in the wine and chicken broth in add the chicken and parsley. Let the soup come to a boil and thicken slightly, then stir in the heavy cream
Classic pumpkin pie (recipe from Kristine’s Kitchen):
Cool pie, perfect for the Fall. Serves 8 slices and contains
390 calories in the whole pie.
Ingredients (pie crust):
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, chopped into cubes
4 tbsp water, ice cold
Ingredients (pie filling):
1 ¾ cup pure pumpkin puree (from the can)
3 eggs
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
How to make the pie crust:
Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine (or you can make the pie crust by hand in a large bowl using a pastry cutter to mix in the butter and a fork to bring the dough together). Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the pieces of butter are the same size of small peas. Add the ice cold water and pulse until the dough comes together, adding more water in tsp if needed. Put dough on a floured work surface and form it into around disk. Roll the dough into a 12-inch disk. Transfer the dough disk to a 9-inch pie dish, 2 inches deep. Trim the dough edges as needed around the pie plate and then fold edges under. Use your fingers to crimp the edges of the pie crust. Place pie crust in the fridge while you make the pie filling.
How to make the pie filling:
Preheat the oven to 375° F. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, brown sugar, heavy cream and milk. Whisk until smooth. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well combined and no clumps remain. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust. Bake at 375° for 40-55 minutes. Halfway through baking, check on the pie and loosely cover the pie crust with foil to prevent the crust from over-baking. (The pie is ready when the filling is set but the center jiggles just a little bit when you wiggle the pan). Cool the pie for 3 hours and then transfer to the fridge to chill for a few hours or overnight before serving. After making the chicken pot pie soup, instead of the pie crusts that was recommended, it can be replaced with puff pastry to make it more flaky. Parsley in the cheddar crust dippers and soup is not needed, along with the white wine in the soup. The soup is still flavorful without those extra ingredients. For the pie filling, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice can be substituted with the Trader Joe’s pumpkin pie spice that comes with it all in one and only takes one or two teaspoons of the seasoning. To make the pie crust faster and easier, instead of making a dough from scratch, you can use pie crusts.
