pray for rain
getting out of the leftovers funk, and a versatile pot pie recipe
Greetings, fellow travellers. I hope you didn’t miss me much last week— when last Thursday rolled around and I realised all we’d been eating since Thanksgiving was leftovers, I decided that wouldn’t be very interesting to read about, and took the week off from writing. Liang and I went out for spicy ramen at Taishoken in Chinatown; the fall urge to eat soup is strong, regardless of if the weather agrees. It does seem to be clouding over and promising to deliver some rain soon, though— love to leave drought season and immediately enter flood season.
It was municipal election day last weekend— not much changed here in North Van, but my sincere condolences to everyone I know in Vancouver. After doing our civic duty on Saturday afternoon Jeff and I went to Cerveceria Astilleros for a taco and a beer and a little bit of societal despair (as a treat). We also went to music bingo at House of Funk on Wednesday, which was very fun, and I got the first bingo! Winning a gift card that covered a round of beers was nice, but it would still have been worth going just to hear a room full of mostly 30+ men sing along to Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name”.
Our Thanksgiving dinner went well the previous weekend. We’d never cooked one for so few people— just ourselves plus Liang and Tim, who made apple and pumpkin pies. It was very freeing not having to plan and prepare for days, and meant I actually had the cheese platter out and was already wearing my dinner clothes when they arrived instead of dashing around in an apron overtop of a t-shirt and dirty jeans.
We’ve perfected our turkey method at this point after so many years: unstuffed so that it cooks more quickly and evenly, with a dijon-lemon herb compound butter under the skin, basted with maple glaze, and covered with bacon in the final stages to keep it from drying out. A little of the butter also gets used in the stuffing. The key to a balanced Thanksgiving dinner is the acid; a lot of the traditional holiday foods just don’t have enough of it, and the mustard and lemon in the butter is a nice way to add some into the more savoury parts of the meal.
Cooking for fewer people also meant I could do mashed potatoes in the instant pot, which is a blessing as it’s totally hands-off until it’s time to drain and mash them. Pressure cooking the potatoes in salted water with a few peeled cloves of garlic gives them a great texture and more flavour than you might expect. As Tim put it, “The potatoes are really good! Mashed potatoes are never really good!”
I also made some beets and carrots roasted with turmeric and then tossed in za’atar, but my favourite part of the meal is the brussels sprouts. The dish comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Simple, roasting them until charred and then tossing them in brown butter with thyme, black garlic, and caraway, with a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds (I skip the tahini in this case). It’s so uniquely flavoured, and yet still works well with the other dishes.
The day after the dinner is always reserved for making stock from the bones, and then using it to make soup. It makes the house smell great and just feels super cosy to have it bubbling away while I do some chores or watch a movie. My other favourite thing to make with the leftovers, something that really transforms them into tasting totally different from “Thanksgiving”, is a curried pot pie— it lends itself well to adjustments, too, so you can make it whether you have turkey or not, vegetarian or not. I’ve provided the recipe with lots of potential options at the bottom of this newsletter if you want to try it yourself.
I had leftover chickpeas after making the pot pie, and a last handful of Roma tomatoes from the garden, so I made Priya Krishna’s chana masala. It’s pretty fast because you’re using chickpeas that are already cooked, and incredibly delicious thanks to the whole toasted spices at the beginning. I used a little of the pear and green tomato chutney I made last year on top. After a week of Thanksgiving leftovers, it was just what we needed.
On Tuesday I got both my bivalent covid booster and my flu shot. The side effects weren’t bad but I was a little tired and both my arms were sore, so I went for an easy pasta dinner. I had a leftover half-pint of cream that I bought for Thanksgiving and didn’t use, which gave me the perfect excuse to make vodka sauce. It only takes about twenty minutes with mostly pantry ingredients and it’s so satisfying to watch it come together, not to mention how rich and comforting it is to eat.
I make it on instinct now, sometimes adding finely chopped shallots and fresh basil, but if you haven’t made vodka sauce before, Dan Pelosi’s recipe is a great starting point. He also has a nice tip about adding starch to pasta water if you’re using gluten-free noodles. You can use coconut milk instead of cream and vegan parmesan (I like Earth Island) if you want a dairy-free version— I’ve done this and it still tastes amazing. I also threw in a few chopped kale leaves to wilt along with the noodles, which takes away from the visual a little, but doesn’t leave my body yelling at me to eat a vegetable.
CURRIED POT PIE
about 3 cups cooked turkey or chicken, diced or shredded (vegetarian options: smoked tofu, roasted mushrooms, or shredded seitan, or see note about chickpeas)
1 cup each diced onion and bell pepper
1½ cups diced carrots, or a mix of carrot and celery
¼ cup flour
2 tbsp curry powder, plus a big pinch of chili flakes
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1¾ cups vegetable or chicken broth
1¼ cream, milk, or coconut milk
1 cup each chickpeas* (or white beans) and frozen peas
⅓-½ cup squash purée, or mashed potato/sweet potato if you’ve got some already
salt and pepper
pâté brisée or other pastry dough for the top
*you can use all chickpeas instead of tofu or another alternative in a vegetarian version; in this case use about 3 cups total, and mash a half-cup or so before adding to the filling.
The measurements are in volume and not weight because I do this all essentially by eyeballing it! It’s a bit like making soup in that you can use what you have and not worry too much about the ratios. The main thing is it should all fit in your pan and give you a nice, thick sauce.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat 3 tbsp oil or butter in a 12” cast iron or other ovenproof pan. Add onion, bell pepper, and carrot, and cook until softened, 7-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chili flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the flour and the curry powder and toss to cot. Let toast for about 2 minutes.
Stream in the broth, while stirring so the flour and spices dissolve. Once somewhat thickened, add the milk and bring to a simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring often.
Add the meat or alternative, chickpeas, squash, and peas. Heat through and add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. Let cool slightly.
While the filling is cooling, roll out your pastry to a little larger than the diameter of your pan. Cut a few vents in the centre, and lay it over the top, pressing it around the interior to lightly seal it around the edges, and brush with a beaten egg or a little cream. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating halfway, until the crust is golden and the sauce has bubbled over and made it look like a big mess.
Thanks for reading— if you enjoyed this newsletter, please smash that like button below, or share it with someone new! I like providing this to you for free, but it does still involve time and effort, so donations I can use towards cookbooks or future treats are much appreciated. Anyway, shoutout to everyone who would never be rude to a service worker.