Turkey won’t taste like leftovers in this pot pie

COMING THURSDAY IN DASH

Ree Drummond cooks up a traditional feast for her family’s ranch Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is big on the Drummond ranch, says Ree, a.k.a. the Pioneer Woman of Web and Food Network fame. It’s a meal steeped in tradition, and Ree shares the recipes with dash: Basic Thanksgiving Dressing; Brined Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey; Perfect Mashed Potatoes; Broccoli-wild Rice Casserole; Green Beans and Tomatoes; Caramel Apple Pie.

Find Dash inside your Thursday newspaper

The book: "The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, 140 Step-by-step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations" by Ree Drummond. 388 pages, $29.99. Published by William Morrow, 2013.

What you get: New York Times best-selling author, TV Food Network personality and award-winning online blogger Ree Drummond has put together a collection of recipes that call for simple ingredients to make holiday meal planning easy and tasty. The chapters are organized by holiday: New Year's Day, The Big Game (football), Valentine's Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. Step-by-step photographs accompany each recipe.

In her own words: "I hope (my cookbook) allows you to embrace the fun and meaning of every holiday in your house, so you can share even more love, good times and great food with those around you." — Drummond

What we made:

TURKEY POT PIE (Page 289)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup finely diced carrot

1/2 cup finely diced celery

2 cups leftover turkey, shredded or chopped (a mix of light and dark meat is fine)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, more if needed

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup heavy cream, more to taste

1 unbaked Perfect Pie Crust (page 286)

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion, carrot and celery. Stir them around until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Mix in the leftover turkey, then sprinkle the flour over the top and stir it until it’s all combined with the turkey and vegetables. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth and stir it around. Add the turmeric, salt, pepper and thyme. Pour in the cream, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. (If it seems overly thick, splash in a little more broth.) Turn off the heat.

Pour the filling into a 2-quart baking dish. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface and lay it over the top of the dish, pressing it lightly into the surface of the filling Press the dough so that the edges stick to the outside of the pan. Use a knife to cut little vents here and there in the surface of the dough. Mix together the egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crust. (You will have some egg wash left over.)

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Serve it up by the spoonful.

Variations:

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Makes two 9-inch pie crusts

This pie crust — shared with me years ago by my friend Sylvia — really is perfect, whether you’re making pie, pot pie or tarts. Get a head start and make several in advance — they keep perfectly in the freezer!

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into pieces)

1 egg

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

5 tablespoons cold water

Combine the flour, salt, shortening and butter in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, gradually work it all together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg with a fork and add it to the mixture along with the vinegar and the cold water. Stir it all together until it comes together, adding another tablespoon or two of cold water if it needs the moisture. Form the mixture into two balls and wrap them in individual plastic bags. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer. Remove them from the freezer 30 minutes before you need them.

Our assessment: This recipe is an excellent way to use leftover turkey or chicken. We tested the recipe with chicken and cut corners by using a store-bought pie crust. Do, however, use fresh thyme — it tastes so much better than the dried version in your spice rack — as well as heavy cream. The thyme and cream make the pie taste extraordinarily rich and delicious. It's an easy recipe and the step-by-step photos ensured we were following it correctly. We did have some filling leftover and enjoyed it as a small bowl of soup. If you love soup as much as we do, you may be tempted to just make the filling and forget about the pie crust with its extra calories. Use extra broth to thin it to the consistency you like.