Pie was the theme for September’s Glory Salon, a monthly dinner among friends in honor of our friend Glory Jones. Each Glory Salon is hosted at a different apartment, and everyone brings a dish. After the initial organizing emails were batted around, our menu was to include onion and gruyere quiche, spinach pie, Steve’s Famous Key Lime Pie, chicken pot pie, Sicilian spaghetti dessert pie, and pigs in blankets. (Hey, anything wrapped in dough counts.)
Colds and conflicting schedules reduced our usual group of about 15 to just eight. We started the evening with lots of wine alongside Kristen’s mini quiches and lemon tarts (Casey’s fave) that worked surprisingly well as a sweet appetizer instead of a dessert. Then came the savory pies.
After I realized we would be short on main course pies, I changed my Sicilian spaghetti pie from a sweet treat with cinnamon, raisins, and saffron to a savory version stuffed with salami, pepperoni, and provolone cheese. Casey brought a traditional chicken pot pie, complete with her own homemade crust. Finally, Irene supplied the dessert with a nectarine and blueberry tart courtesy of the booby food goddess Giada de Laurentiis.
The recipes below come from Casey and me:
Spaghetti Pie
- 1 pound thick spaghetti
- 1/3 pound sliced salami
- 1/3 lb sliced pepperoni
- 8 eggs
- 5 slices of provolone cheese
- olive oil
- parmigiano reggiano
Cook spaghetti, drain and let cool for 20 minutes.
Cut the pepperoni and salami into long strips.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl and mix in the spaghetti. Once well coated, add in the sliced salami and pepperoni and combine all the ingredients well.
Coat the bottom of a large nonstick or cast iron skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add half of the spaghetti mixture to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes. (You’ll notice the bottom of the spaghetti bubbling and browning.)
Cover the top with the provolone slices. Add the rest of the spaghetti on top of the cheese and let cook for another 2 minutes.
Remove the entire pan from the heat and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes. When the top is golden brown, you’re all set. Sprinkle parmigiano reggiano cheese on top to finish.
Casey’s Chicken Pot Pie
Please note that all vegetable quantities are approximate guidelines; the more you make it, the easier you’ll be able to eyeball the amounts that you prefer and sub in any other veg you want—steamed potato chunks, green beans, whatever works. This is more of a veggie pot pie than a chicken one in the end, which is how I like it!
- 1 recipe homemade pie crust
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/2 yellow onion, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 ears corn, kernels sliced off the cob, or 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- chicken or vegetable stock
- heavy cream
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (if I don’t have leftover chicken in my freezer that I can thaw, I’ll just bake a chicken breast in the oven while I’m assembling the other ingredients)
Roll out your first round of pie crust, place in your standard pie pan, and reserve in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400˚.
In a large, high-sided skillet or a dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat and add the olive oil.
Add the onion and garlic in the olive oil and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper and carrots and continue to cook until tender, 5 minutes more. Stir in the corn and peas, then add enough stock just to cover the veg and simmer until the liquid reduces at least by half. It will look more like vegetables in a very loose sauce than soup at this point.
Add a splash of cream, season with salt and pepper to taste, and reduce a bit more if it’s still looking too soupy. Finally, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the chicken and remove from the heat.
Roll out the second pie crust and reserve while you place your chilled pie pan onto a baking sheet and dump the filling in. Place the pie crust lid on top, cut 4 slits in the top of the lid so your pie can vent, and cut/crimp the sides to seal.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling out of the vents. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving; I know, the wait will nearly kill you because the pie will look so tempting, but all you’re going to get is molten ooze unless you have patience.
