This is a recipe for individual pot pies with only an upper crust. And I know, I too love crust with a passion. But incipient old age has now proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that too much of a good thing is indeed NOT a good thing! So, with that in mind, I decided to make pot pies with our leftover baked capon, with moderation in all things foremost in mind. (Well, kinda sorta!)

So, forget a bottom crust, but save the day by topping the darling little quiches with a really delicious top crust.  

Now one of the joys of making your own crust, is that you can control the amount of fat in the dough. Well, there is no miserly fat content happenin’ in this crust recipe! There is plenty of fat to go around. (Hey, if I’m going to deny us a bottom crust, then the top crust, like I said above, has got to be fabulous!)

Then that leads to the filling. Although for some of us the crust is the star of the show, the filling must be equally delicious. So that when you take a bite that contains both filling and crust, your mind automatically goes to its happy place. And your mouth makes a smile that can only be interpreted by others as a sign of true bliss. Then you know – you’ve got a marriage of crust and filling not made in heaven, but in your very own kitchen.

So, don’t hesitate to make a pot pie from scratch. And I know, pot pies are not low calorie. But as an occasional treat, they are perfect. And yes, they take a bit of time to prepare. But the end product is so worth the effort.  

Peace and love to all.

For the Crust: This recipe makes enough crust to cover 4 (5-inch wide and 2½-inch deep) Corning Ware French white casserole dishes or a single 8-inch pie plate plus a bottom crust for a pie (or whatever)   

1 sm. egg

2 tsp. milk

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

5 T. vegetable oil

½ c. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

7-8 T. ice water 

Whisk the egg and milk together in a small bowl. Set aside

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the oil and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss in the butter. Dribble ice water in, a tablespoon at a time, mixing just until the mixture can hold its shape. The dough should be moist, but not wet and not crumbly.

Remove the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Use the plastic wrap to gather the dough into a disc shape, then wrap the dough tightly and press down on it firmly to compact it. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Remove from fridge and divide the dough in half. Re-wrap one of the halves for another purpose. Or store the dough in your freezer for up to 3-months. If you do freeze the dough, bring to room temperature before using.

With the remaining half disc, cut it into 4 even pie-shaped pieces. Then using your hands, make 4 balls, then roll each into a 7-inch circle.

Please note: If you prefer to make just a single large quiche, roll as much of the dough as needed to cover the entire diameter of a pie plate plus a 1-inch hangover. Set the 4 small crusts or single crust aside while you make your filling.

For the Filling:

2 T. unsalted butter

½ onion, chopped

¾ c. chopped celery

1 carrot, diced

2½ c. gravy, either leftover or made just for the occasion (see Gravy recipe below)

chicken base (I use Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)

2 c. cooked veggies (green beans, peas, broccoli, mushrooms, etc.)

3-4 c. diced cooked chicken, turkey, or capon

Melt the butter in a medium sized pan. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook until the carrot is just becoming tender. Stir in the gravy, cooked veggies, and the diced chicken, turkey, or capon.

Scoop the filling evenly into the 4 small casserole dishes or single pie plate. Top with the dough which will hang over the edge(s). For the small casseroles, crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it a bit to make it stick. Brush the dough with the egg wash. Make 3-5 slits in the top. Place the pies on a rimmed baking sheet.

For a large quiche, top the filling with the crust. Crimp the edges. Brush the dough with the egg wash. Make 5-7 slits in the top.

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until the tops are nicely browned and the filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-minutes before serving.  

Gravy:

2 T. unsalted butter

2 T. flour

2½ c. water

4-5 tsp. chicken base (I use Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)

1 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet

freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tsp. cognac

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Let burble for a couple of minutes. (This process takes time, so be patient.) Slowly whisk in the water and chicken base. Let that burble for a few minutes too. Add the Kitchen Bouquet (gives the gravy great color) and some freshly ground black pepper. No salt! Taste the gravy. If you think it needs more depth of flavor, begin by adding another teaspoon of chicken base. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and taste again. Repeat if needed. Just before using as called for in the pot pie recipe, taste the gravy and make any final adjustments to the seasoning. Stir in the cognac. (Don’t forget the cognac!)

So, why a capon you might ask. And I would totally understand. Because that is just what I asked Mr. C. when he returned from a grocery shopping expedition just before Christmas. A capon. Really? Why?! And his answer. “Because it was there and we had talked about it recently, and it seemed like a good idea.” Fine. I get it. We now have a capon in the freezer. Life is good.

But then, how in the heck should I go about cooking this oversized, male version of a chicken?! So, I did what I sometimes do when faced with this kind of situation. I procrastinated. I’m not proud of this lamentable tendency, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it either. (There are much worthier causes to feed my anxiety and keep me from a good night’s sleep!)  But finally, the time came to face this 7.58-pound frozen hunk of poultry. So, armed with 1 capon defrosting on my drainboard and a good bit of timidity, I went in search of a recipe.

Well, to be truthful, there aren’t that many recipes out there for baked capon. Of course, I could have used one of my recipes for baked chicken, and simply added more baking time to allow for the difference in weight. But frankly, after baking the capon, I realized that there is much more than a size difference between a chicken and a capon.

According to The Spruce Eats, “A capon is a special type of chicken created to make the meat more tender and less gamy. It is a rooster that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity, which improves the quality of the meat; after that, it is fed a rich diet of milk or porridge. The lack of testosterone makes for a more tender, flavorful meat that is a delight compared to regular chicken. Unfortunately, in the United States today, it may be rare to see capon on a dinner menu or in the grocery store.

This poultry was once considered a luxury, and during the early part of the twentieth century, the capon was the chosen bird for Christmas feasts, especially for the wealthy. Working-class families saw capon as a rare treat because it was quite expensive.”

(And BTW – it still is. And at least in our immediate vicinity, capons are only available during the holidays.)

So, what to do? I simply took a bit from this recipe, and that recipe, and came up with the recipe you see below. And the meat was perfect. Tender, succulent, and tasty. Really tasty! I mean, how could it not be with all the herb, garlic, and lemon action going on. Truly delicious.

So, when you decide to bake a capon, I hope you find it to be as rewarding an experience as I did. The ease of preparation, the simplicity of ingredients (except the capon itself, of course), and the fantastic results make the effort completely worthwhile.

And for those of you who also have a predilection for using delaying tactics when faced with an unknown, take heart from my experience with baking a capon. If I hadn’t baked the capon, I never would have had the satisfaction of overcoming. And I think overcoming has never been given the respect it deserves. I overcame procrastination and my self-doubt about baking a capon. And I know, at a glance, both seem trivial. But when I add them to all the other minor achievements that make up my daily routine, like cleaning up after myself, or doing the laundry, calling a friend, or performing my almost daily exercise program, it leaves me feeling good about myself. And if I feel OK about me, then I can reflect my inner peace to my family, friends, and especially to Mr. C. And witness their comfort and happiness with me in their countenance. That, my friends, is the greatest feeling in the world!

Peace and love to all.  

1 T. vegetable oil

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter

5 cloves garlic – 3 minced, 2 halved

2 T. finely minced rosemary

1 lemon – zested, halved, and juiced (all parts will be used in this recipe)

2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the cavity

freshly ground black pepper

1 capon (7-8 lb.), giblets removed, then washed and dried thoroughly

½ onion, cut in 4 pieces

1 (3-inch) sprig fresh rosemary

3 (2-3 inch each) sprigs fresh thyme

Coat the bottom and sides of an enameled Dutch oven with the veggie oil. (I use my Le Creuset Dutch oven.) Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 475-degrees.

Melt the butter in your microwave. Stir in the minced garlic(3 cloves), minced rosemary, lemon zest, kosher salt, and black pepper. Set aside.

Season the cavity of the capon with salt and pepper. (Not too much.) Then stuff the bird with the zested and juiced lemon rind, 2 halved garlic cloves, onion pieces, sprig of fresh rosemary, and thyme sprigs. Place the capon in the prepared Dutch oven, breast side up.

Using your hands, spread the mixture liberally over every part of the chicken and under the breast skin. (Be careful not to tear the skin).

Tie the legs of the capon together tightly using kitchen twine. Pour reserved lemon juice over all.

Roast capon uncovered for 15 minutes at 475-degrees, then reduce heat to 350-degrees. Bake still uncovered for approximately 20 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature taken reaches 180-degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.  (About two and a quarter hours for a 7.5 lb. capon). The capon should be uncovered the entire time it cooks, unless it seems like it’s getting too brown. If so, place the lid ajar on the Dutch oven until the capon has fully cooked.

Remove from oven, remove the capon to a platter, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Use the liquid left in the pan for gravy, if desired. See recipe below.

CAPON GRAVY WITH COGNAC

pan drippings from roasted capon

flour

chicken stock

1 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet

freshly ground black pepper

chicken base (I use Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)

1-2 tsp. cognac

Skim off a bit of the fat. Whisk in enough flour to absorb the remaining fat. Let burble for a couple of minutes. (This process takes time, so be patient.) Slowly whisk in chicken stock until you reach the desired thickness. Add the Kitchen Bouquet (gives the gravy great color) and some freshly ground black pepper. No salt! Taste the gravy. If you think it needs more depth of flavor, begin by adding one teaspoon of chicken base and a small amount of chicken stock. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and taste again. Repeat if needed.

Turn heat as low as possible and let the gravy gently simmer while you carve the capon. Whisk periodically. (You will probably need to add more stock during this time.) Also, after the capon is sliced and plated, don’t forget to add the accumulated juices on the platter to the gravy.

Just before serving (and gravy should be the last item plated), taste the gravy and make any final adjustments to the seasoning. Stir in the cognac and serve piping hot.

On the rare occasions when I consider my kitchen “private enemy number one”, I become fixated on producing the easiest dish possible. And of course, because I know the Gods are probably having a field day watching my conundrum, they seem to take delight in instilling me with a burning desire for a savory meat dish. Which invariably takes a lot of prep time. Well, when this occurred a few days ago, I nixed their fun! I fixed this recipe!

I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. And this dish is super easy to prepare. And you could not ask for a more delicious and savory meat dish. (And I know. It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature or the Gods of “whatever”. And in all truth, I wasn’t trying to be duplicitous. But dang, when an old gal like me doesn’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen, she shouldn’t be needlessly tortured with a hankering for the type of dish that usually takes hours to prepare! That’s simply not fair! Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) But back to this recipe.

After the few minutes it took me to get the game hen in the oven, it occurred to me that maybe I should serve a little something with the game hen. But again, I wasn’t in the mood to go to any trouble. So, I whipped together a simple salad and baked a sweet potato. Done!   

So, the next time you are feeling less than inclined to spend a hunk of time in your kitchen, but still want to give the illusion of having spent quality time slaving away on someone else’s behalf, give this recipe a try. And to make things even easier on myself next time I make this dish, I plan to cut up some regular potatoes and a sweet potato, coat all the pieces with a bit of olive oil, and place the potato chunks right on the pan with the game hen. Then if I still have a tad bit of energy, I might slice up a couple of tomatoes, slather them with olive oil, splatter them with a bit of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and decorate the whole mess with basil chiffonade. (That will complete the illusion of time and effort spent.)  At which point, I will probably go sit down and read my book while the oven does the hard work. And no, you don’t have to wait to make this recipe until you are tired of your kitchen. Do make it any old time you want. You will be glad you did.

As always, live your life to the fullest. And if some days the “fullest” you feel you can tolerate is several hours spent reading a good book or listening to your favorite concertos or binge watching several seasons of Schitt’s Creek, then that is just fine. Everyone gets to define “fullest” their own way.   

Peace and love to all.

1 T. unsalted butter, room temp.

1 T. extra virgin olive oil 

1 tsp. dried parsley 

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. lemon juice  

½ tsp. seasoned salt, plus more for sprinkling  

freshly ground black pepper

1 (24-oz.) Cornish game hen

In a small bowl, mix the butter, olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, seasoned salt, and black pepper together. Place the spatchcocked hen on a small, rimmed baking sheet.

Using your fingers, loosen the skin from the breast and legs/thighs and stuff all but 1 tablespoon of the lemon-herb butter under the skin. Rub the remaining butter over the top of the hen. Lightly sprinkle with seasoned salt.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for 1 hour or until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature in the thigh reaches 160-degrees.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

To spatchcock a game hen:

Wash and dry the hen and place on a cutting board, breast side down. Using sharp kitchen shears, cut down each side of the backbone, starting from the neck end down to the tail. Remove the backbone, pull open the hen, flip it over, then press down on the breast to open it out flat.