I finally have a Kitchenaid mixer.
Let me go back.
I started cooking pretty seriously. Things taste better when you make it all yourself, and I’m starting to really get into it. One of the things I’d noticed in foodie/recipe blogs is that people were doing a lot of work with Kitchenaid mixers. It’s kind of the thing to have when you’re ready to really step it up.
And then, like many things you lust after, it seemed that everywhere I went, there was a Kitchenaid mixer. I’d go visiting friends and every single one of them seemed to have one. My American-born keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality started screaming.
They are freaking expensive because they are built like tanks. Many people pass them down from generation to generation, hence the expense. They last. I despaired ever being able to afford one.
Then, like the savior it is, Craigslist delivered. Someone was offering one for $75, an 80s model that has been barely used. I picked it up tonight, from a man who lost his parents a few months ago. He met us at his parents house, the place in disarray. He inherited the house and its contents, and the Kitchenaid was him parting with things he didn’t want or need before he rented out the house. He said he was happy it was going to a good home, and that makes it feel like it’s all that much more special.
As my first endeavor with the mixer, I made pasties – meat pies. It’s like a hybrid of a chicken pot pie and a calzone. It was so good, I have to share the recipe.
Chicken Pasty
Ingredients
Crust:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup cold water
Filling:
3 cups chicken broth
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp onion soup mix
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes (about 1 1/2 c.)
4 carrots, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cubed into small pieces
pepper to taste
thyme
cilantro
sage
dill weed
fresh chopped parsley
1 egg white
4 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
Directions:
1) First prepare pie crust. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Put broth in large saucepan, put on med-high heat. Throw in spices, potatoes, and carrots. Boil. Turn down heat to low. Add chicken. Simmer until potatoes and carrots are just getting tender. Turn off heat.
3) Whisk together flour and onion soup mix. In a medium to large saucepan, melt butter completely. Mix in flour until a paste forms. Turn heat to low. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and veggies from other sauce pan to one with the flour/butter mix. Stir in some broth too. Mix, adding broth until mixture is thick but not like a dough. Optionally, mix in bacon. Turn off heat, set pan with chicken mix aside.
4) Take dough ball out of fridge. Roll into a tube on a lightly floured surface. Separate dough into six pieces. Shape each dough bit into a ball, roll out into a round sheet. Spoon about one cup of chicken mix into one half of the dough, leaving enough for edges. Using a pastry brush, spread some egg white over the edge overage. Fold sheet over chicken mix. Press down dough, fold it over a bit. Using a fork that has been dipped in a bit of flour, press into the edges to seal. Brush more egg white over the top, then poke a few vents into the top using the fork.
5) Bake pasties for 30 minutes in preheated oven.
6) Transfer pasties to cooling racks. Let cool about 20-30 minutes.
7) Om nom nom nom.