Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover
by Diane Phillips

Our Price: $28.20
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover

Book Review: The Subtitle says it all: comfort food under cover
Summary: 5 Stars

Happily, though, I'm able to report that this cookbook lived up to and beyond what I purchased it for: I'm a real under cover comfort food lover now and then.

My wife claimed not to be; until I served several recipes out of this book: The Sea Bass Stew and the Turkey with Stir Fry Veggies are just two of the many I've made already.

The best thing about this unique approach is not just the many varieties of ingredients for fillings and toppers that she provdies, but that no matter how good the dish is the first time, there is usually enough for several settings thereafter.

I'm going to wear this one out using it, and you will too. They're simple to moderate in their compexity.

Summary of Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover

The first recipe, Chicken Bouillabaisse with Rouille Crust, tells it all. The filling consists of boneless thighs simmered with white wine, saffron, tomatoes, and rice. For a crust, you spread toasted slices of French bread with a garlicky red pepper and olive oil purée, set them over the casserole-like filling, and bake until everything is bubbling hot. Reading on, you realize that Phillips sees a pot pie simply as something covered by a layer of something. Ryan's Pie, chicken chunks in thyme-perfumed cream sauce under a puff pastry lid, is as close to classic as she gets. From there, you find such combinations as turkey meatloaf baked under a layer of mashed potatoes enriched with bacon and sour cream, and lean pork, stewed Tuscan-style with red wine and vegetables, served under a polenta crust.

Phillips is so creative in working her idea that you are fascinated even by the delicious-looking results from her most fanciful flights, in which everything from tortillas and risotto to slices of sautéed eggplant, mashed beans, ratatouille, and a blue-cheese custard serve as toppings. Among the least-expected choices are a stir-fry topped with a pancake of pan-crisped noodles, and sautéed fish covered with mango salsa and passed under the broiler. Phillips tells when you can make a dish in steps, and how long each one keeps in the refrigerator and in the freezer. For those concerned about fat, she tells how to substitute leaner choices in place of cheese, cream, and butter. If you like casserole cooking, want to get stimulating variety for basics like boneless chicken, and appreciate the value of one-dish meals, Pot Pies will be a pleasing kitchen companion. --Dana Jacobi

Pies Books

• Books > Subjects > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking
• Cooking by Ingredient > Meat, Poultry & Seafood > Meats