Christmas Recipes

MY DINNER ENTRÉE FOR CHRISTMAS was a New England-style turkey pot pie. It came at the suggestion of my New Hampshire sister, who orders her pot pies from a specialty store on Cape Cod. She knew I preferred making my own, which prompted her to recommend a recipe from Yankee Magazine.

I decided to buy a puff pastry to top off the homemade ingredients, reasoning that my kitchen was busy enough with several other recipes in progress. As you can see from the above photo, the puff pastry didn’t really “puff.” I may not have read the directions for layering it to create the flaky effect. Usually, I go back to the drawing boards, but not this year. Life is too short and just a bit busy to fret over the outcome.

I followed the recipe for the filling (adding chopped celery) and was very pleased with the savory flavor it produced. I also added cornstarch, which thickened the rather loose sauce. https://newengland.com/food/main-dishes/new-england-skillet-chicken-pie/ 

I’m trying to stay on track with my essay, but one of the nice surprises during this culinary endeavor was whipping up a Knorr’s Spinach Dip that I haven’t made in over twenty years. https://www.knorr.com/us/en/r/knorr-spinach-dip-recipe.html/68467 

I modified the recipe by using whipped cottage cheese (instead of sour cream) and half the amount of mayonnaise. I also substituted artichoke hearts for water chestnuts and added a teaspoon of dill weed. It was a tasty surprise, served with fresh-cut veggies (carrots and celery) and tortilla chips.

I didn’t take a photo of the spinach dip, so you only get to see the fallen puff pastry crust on the turkey pot pie.

It is often the way things go during the holiday cooking season.