We’ve all been there. Random halves of bell peppers, almost too floppy celery because let’s face it: who actually eats an entire bunch? An onion that you think might grow an arm soon, that 3/4 of a cabbage that is still left because you only…
I don’t even know where to start with this dish, to be honest. I don’t think I’ve ever made anything so simple and yet so tasty (this is where you say to yourself, “Everything Laura makes is super simple and really tasty”). Not to toot…
Lately, I have been really missing England. Surprisingly, it is not because of the weather.. I’m a lover of the cold and not going to lie, I was really excited to wake up to snowy conditions this week. What felt like the next best thing to actually being in England, was to make a chicken ale pie. (Not actually that close, but whatever.)
Ian and I ate in quite a few pubs during our time in the UK and it was hard to resist a good old chicken and ale pie. Of course, we found one on Yummly that Ian made a few times (I can honestly say, I do not recall helping him to make them so I must have been at work.. or watching Made in Chelsea..) but for today, I figured I would hammer one out on my own.
Usually, I chop and prep as I cook, but for this, I chopped all of the veg and the chicken before I turned on any elements or preheated the oven. And let me tell you, I felt infinitely more organized. Who knew?
Easy enough to add everything to a large pan (which I’m almost certain has been the same one I’ve used for every one of my recipes, which will give you an idea of how much filling this pie will have!) and then toss it into a puff pastry lined casserole dish. By all means, use a proper pie crust if you prefer or if that’s what you have access to. Also, extra points if you make one from scratch. I know my mom made pie crusts from scratch, but I for one, never have. That will just have to be a challenge for me at some point, I guess.
The carrots and celery might not be super soft before you add them to the dish – don’t fret! They will continue to cook in the oven. If your pie filling seems runny, you can stir in more flour. It will thicken as it cooks and definitely as you let it rest once you take it out of the oven after the final 15 minutes.
Speaking of carrots and celery, when I am making things that require cooking celery, I like to skip into the middle of the stalk and use those pieces. You know the ones. The ones that are a little pale and leafy and you don’t feel like eating them. This is a great way to reduce waste! And definitely use the leaves, they’ve got lots of flavour too. Second to that is your carrots – don’t peel them if you can help it. The peel has lots of good nutrients.
For beer, I used Farmery’s Robbie Scotch Ale. Farmery is a brewery about 20 minutes east of where we now live, in Ian’s hometown of Neepawa (okay, he’s actually from a tiny place 10 miles from Neepawa called Eden). I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I really do enjoy what Farmery puts on the shelves. Especially their flavoured beers! To my knowledge, Farmery is not sold outside of Manitoba, so my resident beer expert (Ian) says you can use an Amber Ale, as an alternative. I honestly think a good old Pabst Blue Ribbon would work just as well because let’s face it, beers that aren’t the greatest for drinking – are great for cooking with. But what do I know? I’m the girl whose own grandmother asked her if she needed a nipple for her beer once… (Since this has been published, I am pretty sure there are places in Saskatchewan and Ontario where you can buy their product but do NOT trust me on that one as I couldn’t find the info.. will call Farmery this week)
I had a suggestion to add potatoes, so if you want to chop up a potato into small chunks, go for it on the condition you let me know what it’s like! (Also, bacon. Add bacon if you prefer) For a vegetarian option, omit the chicken and toss in a couple of cans of white beans. For a low carb option (gasp!), just eat the filling without a crust.
Lastly, have you signed up for The Fancy Napkins Newsletter yet?
Happy cooking!
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Pumpkin and squash is are everywhere you look. So clearly, this Simple Spaghetti Squash is on the docket! Lucky for me, Ian brought home a cute little spaghetti squash for me recently. The weather has turned cold (I don’t know how I’m going to survive.. I have already worn the jacket that I wore all winter in Europe. It is only fall) and so warm, cozy, feel good meals like this Simple Spaghetti Squash are where it’s at! Speaking of feel good, have you had a chance to try out The Fancy Napkins’ Deep Fried Pickled Beets and Goat’s Cheese with Spicy Mayo yet? Add it to your to do list if you haven’t!
I love pasta as much as the next person, and in no way am I going to try and tell you that you can’t even tell the difference between carby, floury noodles and squash. BUT! Hear me out, because spaghetti squash is actually so tasty and keeps you satisfied! And I’m all about feeling satisfied after a meal… not feeling like I am going to proceed to eat enough to feed a small village. And if I am going to be honest with you.. sometimes I do eat enough for a small village after I’ve eaten my dinner. I used to be an athlete, what can I say.
My first time trying this out, I was coming down off of a prosciutto high from some meatballs Ian made the weekend prior. Naturally, I went back to the market and bought myself a massive piece of prosciutto. It didn’t work with the squash. I felt like I was eating spam; not because the prosciutto was bad, but just because of the way I cut it in chunks and put it in with the spaghetti squash. So until further experimentation, I have committed prosciutto from this recipe.
You have to bake the squash for 40 minutes and there really isn’t a ton of other work to do until the last ten minutes, which is pretty awesome if you’ve got some things around the house to accomplish.
After the squash is finished baking, you toss everything together and bake it for a little longer before serving. I served this with Caesar salad because even though it is basically just romaine lettuce and croutons, it’s the best salad around. I’ll post my dressing recipe one of these days, I swear it’s a game changer.
Something important to note, is that spag squash can be a bit watery. When I scooped it out of the frying pan and into the casserole dish, I used a slotted spoon in hopes that the liquid would stay behind. I also drained it from the casserole dish. THEN when I was reading the August issue of Bon Appetit Magazine (“The Simple Issue” and by far my favourite one so far) there was a suggestion to squeeze as much liquid as you could from shredded squash with a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel, DUH! I was way too excited to even be ashamed that I hadn’t thought of it myself. And so, that’s what I did my next time trying this recipe and it worked like a top. Thank you, BA!
A few more things. First, this dish doesn’t have a lot of protein in it so I recommend the Fancy Napkins Oven Fried Chicken Thighs. Second, if you haven’t any garlic cloves to rub the squash with, just sprinkle on some garlic powder! And lastly, there is a lot of room here for extra veggies like mushrooms, peppers and asparagus. Chop them up and add them to the onion mixture – you will just need a little more than the last ten minutes, so start a bit earlier.
Please let me know what you thought of this dish! It’s great to get feedback so I know what you all like and dislike and also so I know whether my directions are completely insane or if they are easy to follow.
Happy cooking!
