​​Weston • Platte County • Missouri

The Weston Chronicle

  Opinion and Local

Below is an excerpt from Beth's editorial from this week.  The entire editorial may be found in this week's print copy of the Weston Chronicle or online here.

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Chicken Pot Pie
No other dish describes comfort quite as well as chicken pot pie. Made with tender chicken, mixed veggies, satisfying spices, and delicious piecrust. This chicken pot pie recipe is loaded with flavor. It has it all--flaky piecrust and a buttery creamy filling with chicken, a mix of fresh and frozen vegetables, dried and fresh herbs. Interestingly, pot pies originated in Greece, where various fillings were cooked in open pastry shells. The Romans added a top crust, making the dish into today’s recognizable version.

4 T unsalted butter
1 lb. or 3 C dark and white chicken-cut into small bite size pieces*
1 C sliced carrots, ½ C sliced celery, ½ C chopped onion
1 t salt, ¼ t ground black pepper
½ t garlic powder
½ t dried thyme leaves, ½ t dried rosemary leaves
¼ C all-purpose flour
½ C heavy cream
1 C chicken broth
½ C frozen peas
2 T minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 (1 top and 1 bottom) unbaked pie crusts, homemade or store bought 

Preheat oven to 400- 425 degrees F.

Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add raw chicken (if using precooked chicken, add later) carrots, celery, onion, salt, garlic powder, thyme leaves, and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, stirring often.
Add the flour. Stir well, until no dry flour remains. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in cream, then chicken broth. Return to heat. Cook until bubbling and thick, stirring often, 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in the precooked chicken, peas and flat leaf parsley. Let this cool for 15-30 minutes before filling the pie crust to avoid a soggy crust.
Spoon the cooled filling into the pie crust. Top with the second pie crust. Seal the edges of the pie crust together. Cut 3-4 slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Place the filled pie plate on a baking sheet. Bake for at least 30 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Cool for 15-30 minutes before slicing and serving. The longer it cools before slicing, the thicker the filling becomes. 

*Notes and 0ptions
1. You can use previously chicken cooked.
2. Use one pie crust for the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate and one for the top. Or you can use only a top crust. Or fit pie crust into individual bowls like ramekins or soup bowls.
3. Filling can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
Recipe from thewholesomedish.com by Amanda Finks

Meatloaf, the Quintessential Comfort Food
Meatloaf can actually be traced back to the ancient Romans of the 4th century, where it was first noted in the Apicius, one of the world’s oldest surviving cookbooks. Meatloaf made its way to the United States in the early 1700s by way of German immigrants that settled in southeastern Pennsylvania. The first known recipe for modern American meatloaf, was published on May 12, 1875 in the St. Joseph Gazette, St. Joseph, Missouri. It called for chopped leftover meat to be mixed with onions, bread, eggs, and seasonings, and then baked in a form. It was originally considered a breakfast meal.

In the 1800’s, meatloaf recipes began to appear in a number of prominent magazines, newspapers and cookbooks. It soon became clear that meatloaf was not just for breakfast. It had become the go-to economy meal for children’s school lunches, office workers, and even the “working man’s” meal bucket. The invention of the meat grinder sometime during the nineteenth century (exact date is unknown) by Karl Drais took meat and meat loaf to a completely new level.
So why is meatloaf so resilient, living on through ancient times to modern times? The answer is meatloaf not only tastes good, it is versatile! An internet search will yield a plethora of meatloaf recipes, some simple and straightforward and some not so common, like Spicy Peach Loaf and Pineapple Meatloaf. There are even vegetarian versions. Then there was the Great Depression (1929-1941) that boosted meatloaf’s popularity. More about that in another issue! Enjoy this recipe and the tips by Executive Chef Monte Melugin, on how to make a succulent meatloaf. 
Executive Chef Monte Melugin Meatloaf
For the panade* 
1/2 C diced white bread, crust removed
1/2 C whole milk

For the loaf
2T olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely grated
2-1/2 t Kosher salt, divided
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C ketchup
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T minced fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried
1-1/2 t ground black pepper
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 lb ground beef (preferably 80:20 blend)
1 lb ground pork

For the glaze
1/3 C ketchup
1 T Molasses
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T Dijon mustard

In a large bowl, stir together cubed bread and milk; let stand for at least 5 minutes, stir to form a panade. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, lightly oil. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook onion, carrots, garlic, in olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, pepper, and panade. When mixture is cool to the touch, stir in eggs and ground meat. Using your hands, gently but thoroughly work the mixture together.

Scoop mixture onto the prepared pan and shape it into a roughly 9”x 5” loaf shape. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

For the Glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together second ketchup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard until well combined.
Remove meatloaf from oven and spread entire loaf evenly with the glaze. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes, or until center reads 160ºF. Allow meatloaf to rest in pan for 10 minutes before slicing.
*NOTES:
1. The word panade comes from the French for “bread mash.”  Bread and milk make up the iconic duo that is a traditional panade, a starch and liquid mixture that prevents the protein fibers in meat from constricting and stiffening. It is the key to locking moisture into your meatloaf. 
2. Cooking your meatloaf to 160ºF will prevent it from drying out. It will continue to cook by carryover heat as it rests. Resting your meatloaf is important, as it lets the juices reabsorb into the meat, instead of letting them run out.
3. A rimmed baking sheet is far superior to a loaf pan because the entire surface area is exposed to the heat, allowing it to brown and caramelize, which translates into more delicious flavor.
grubamericana.com 

Mac & Cheese 
The exact origin of macaroni and cheese is unknown, though it most likely hails from Northern Europe, around 1769. The creamy combo made its way to the United States courtesy of Thomas Jefferson who, while visiting France, became enamored of fashionable pasta dishes served there. As president, he served macaroni and cheese at an 1802 state dinner. Kraft Foods introduced its boxed macaroni and cheese in 1937, when America was in the throes of the Great Depression. The product could serve four for 19 cents, and the company sold 8 million boxes of its quick-and-easy macaroni and cheese in one year! https://rizersporkandproduce.com/blog/

Martha’s Mac & Cheese
1 T melted butter, plus more for baking dishes
1/4 C store-bought or 3/4 cup homemade breadcrumbs
1 pound grated white cheddar cheese (4 cups)
Salt and pepper
8 oz elbow macaroni
1 1/4 C whole milk
8 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter baking pan. In a small bowl, toss 1T melted butter with breadcrumbs and 1/4 C cheddar cheese. Set aside.

Cook macaroni according to package instructions; drain.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; add cream cheese; stir until melted. Gradually stir in remaining cheddar until melted. Add cooked pasta, 1/4 t salt, and 1/8 t pepper; toss to combine. Pour into desired baking pan. Bake about10 minutes. Add buttered bread crumbs and bake another 10 minutes.

For individual servings or appetizers, divide the mixture among muffin pan. Bake until bubbling, Remove from the oven; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until golden. Let set for 10-15 minutes. Good hot or cold.  

Courtesy of Martha Stewart. This is one of my top favorite Mac & cheese recipes. Always creamy and scrumptious! Never fails to comfort.

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Beth McPherson, Editor