If you are looking to add a new cookbook to your library or give a gift for Christmas, consider Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach. Mr. Bee gifted me this book for Christmas ’12. Read her story here. In summary, Jenny recorded her 14-year journey of preparing a family dinner every night for her husband and two children while working full time. The book is organized into phases: Phase 1 -just married, learning to cook; Phase 2 – New Parenthood where your house looks like the epicenter of an explosion; and Phase 3 — Family dinner. Her casual recipes serve 4 people, are easy to follow and beautifully written as if Jenny is providing the narrative to each recipe herself in your kitchen.
Jenny has a new book and I can’t wait for my copy to come this week — How to Celebrate Everything.
So, back to the Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potatoes. It’s super easy to make, looks like you spent a ton of time cooking it and it’s a perfect weeknight meal with a salad since it has all the veggies you need in the pie. It would be the perfect “soul” food for someone needing a warm hug and dinner – one in the same. I like that you can use sweet potatoes instead of potatoes, but Jenny notes that Yukon gold potatoes are perfectly fine as a substitute.
It calls for fresh thyme, carrots, onion, and peas.
I bake a few chicken breasts each week to use for soups and salads. Or, you can use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
Top with either your own pie crust recipe, or I use Pillsbury (I always have a few boxes in the freezer).
Jenny has the recipe on her website here with a twist showing you how to do a monogram with pie crust. Or, you can just do it plain like I did. I’m thinking next time I make this recipe, I will prepare individual pot pies in these little Le Creuset cocottes I got from Mr. Bee for my birthday!
With cooler weather coming this week, a pot pie is a perfect way to finish the day with enough leftovers for lunch the next day.