about three years ago my friend heather told me i should really check out heidi swanson's food blog 101 cookbooks. my response to her was, "what's a blog?" she explained to me a blog is short for web log, a website that is centered around a particular subject and is updated frequently. she then took me to 101 cookbooks, introducing to me the world of not only blogging, but food blogging. going through swanson's blog, i thought to myself, "this is brilliant!!! yay for all the technogeeks out there!" since then, 101 cookbooks and heidi swanson have found a place in my kitchen. 101 cookbooks is a particularly unique food blog structured around the mission of "exploring cookbooks. one recipe a time." her blog is centered around her cookbook collection. each entry tells a story of her experience with a recipe. swanson's blog has inspired me to grow my cookbook collection and appreciate the heart and creativity that have gone into each one of my cookbooks. they have become my bedtime reading and much of my cooking inspiration.
swanson herself has also authored one cookbook cook 1.0: a fresh approach to the vegetarian cookbook, a favorite of mine. filled with crisp, beautiful food photography, the cookbook is divided into 8 chapters. chapters 1.0 to 3.0 take us through our daily meals from breakfast dishes to the lunchbox to one-dish dinners while chapters 4.0 to 8.0 focus on sides, spreads, sauces & salsas, sweets, drinks and food ideas. i have especially enjoyed her pocket tart ideas in the lunchbox chapter and her modern take on the pot pie in the one-dish dinner chapter, perhaps because both involve the decadent wonder of puff pastry. it has always been my go-to cookbook when i'm having vegetarians over for dinner or when i'm in need of a simple but chic meal.
tonight was one of those nights where i wanted a warm, comforting dish to greet the noticeably cooler autumn weather that has finally set in. it didn't take long to decide that it was a night fit for the warm comfort of good ol' pot pie. i took cook 1.0 off my shelf and decided to put a spin on swanson's chipotle-potato pot pie. the original recipe calls only for potatoes, and i could not resist adding some sweetness to the mix by dicing in some sweet potatoes and yams (also featured in my autumn risotto - can you tell i'm ready for thanksgiving?). swanson's recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce which is the real kicker to this dish. that additional hint of heat provides that extra layer of warmth on a cold night, exactly what i was craving. in between greeting our constant stream of trick-or-treaters, my roommate anne and i prepared my favorite menu so far this season. anne fried up the last of the tomatoes from our backyard to add to the southern comfort feel of the pot pies. i threw together my favorite autumn salad. three friends sitting down to a warm, comfort meal. it doesn't get much better than this. thanks heidi.
preheat oven to 400 degrees. to a large pot over medium high heat add:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup diced potatoes,1 cup diced sweet potatoes and/or yams (1/4 inc diced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles*
1 cup corn kernels
in a small bowl, combine:
2 cups cold milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
stir into the potato mixture. bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the filling starts to thicken. remove from the heat and season with more salt to taste.
*you can buy adobo sauce on its own, but the adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers transfers the additional heat of chipotle peppers into your pot pie, making this dish so unique.
**puff pastry dough can be found in the frozen food aisle of your local grocery store. most large-chain grocery stores will stock the pepperidge farm variety. however, some gourmet stores offer a less-commercial version which always seems to be puff up much lighter than pepperidge farm's. just a warning, once you discover the light, flaky, buttery heaven of puff pastry, there is no going back.
Everything looks fantastic! I first learned of 101cookbooks in the July '06 issue of Food & Wine. Great site, as is yours! If you have a minute, I recently started my own. Cheers,
Scott
Posted by: One Food Guy | November 10, 2006 at 10:28 AM