It's All About The Crust

Yes I love pie crust. The flaky layers of flour and butter and shortening. And I added some dried thyme. Put a pie crust on anything and you have bought dinner up a notch. It has to be homemade. Really is it too easy not to make it. You can make the dough when you have a few free minutes and then pop it in the fridge when it is time to bake you pot pie. Chicken Pot Pie. Beef Pot Pie. Short Rib Pot Pie. Vegetable Pot Pie. And did you see the recipe for Chock-A-Leekie Pie in this month's magazine! We had our usual Chicken Pot Pie. Click here for my favorite Chicken Pot Pie Recipe.

Don't you want to make this crust?

Pate Brisee

 Ingredients -
1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch granulated sugar

5-1/2 Tbsp (2/3 stick) sweet butter, chilled

3 Tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled
1/4 cup ice water


Method -
Sift the flour, salt and sugar together into a bowl; add butter and shortening and cut them into dry ingredients with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is like coarse meal.
Sprinkle on and blend in enough of the ice water to make a workable dough, mixing water in lightly with a fork.
Turn dough out onto you work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smear the dough away from you, about 1/4 cup at a time. Scrape up the smeared dough into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.