I am going to use the pre-baked puff pastry idea myself in the future. Here is a to-die-for recipe for chicken potpie from Ina Garten. When I made it, I just used a "red box" pie crust (I'm so NOT a baker). I baked the filling as a whole double-crusted pie. Even though I used a deep dish pie plate, I had filling leftover. I froze that. Can't remember if I've used it yet or not - I'll have to go look lol! Ingredients: 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on 3 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade 2 chicken bouillon cubes 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups) 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves For the pastry: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well. For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot. seagrass

Coconut, the ends are the best. Especially when still warm. Eileen, the great smell is a side benefit of baking. Thanks Annie. Amck, I'm glad your family liked the apple pie. That pastry is my favourite. Never fails. Sally, it is getting down to below 40 some nights and days are just in the mid 60's so it is nice to be able to turn the oven on again. Sherrmann, one of the best things about bread is that it tastes just as good regardless of what it looks like. And it freezes well. Thanks Tricia. I have a couple of neighbours who are the happy recipients of much of my baking. Caminnc, that tart is very easy to make. You can even use frozen puff pastry. Thank you Dcarch. Ibpod, not by choice,(no gas lines in my area) I have an electric range. I get steam by both spraying and tossing ice cubes on to the bottom of the oven. Thanks Nancy. I feel the same way about you. I'm so impressed when I read what you have been baking for the Farmer's Market. NancyLouise, try this recipe for a quick version of puff pastry. Easier to make than traditional and yet equally as good. Fast French Puff Pastry Based on recipe from Julia Child & Company 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 13 ounces chilled butter 3/4 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup ice water (more as needed) Cut butter into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes. Place flour and salt into heavy duty mixer with paddle blade. (I use a KitchenAid). Add cubes of butter and mix just enough for the paddle to slightly flatten the butter cubes. Do not break up butter into smaller pieces. Add enough ice water to moisten. Turn out on to floured surface. Will look very shaggy and the butter pieces will be visible. Pat and push mixture into rectangle and using a pastry scraper, flip bottom of pastry over the middle and then the top over to cover. (Like a business letter). Turn so that the fold is on your left hand side. Roll pastry out to a 12 to 14 inch rectangle. Fold again. Turn and roll out again. Do this "fold and turn" four times. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or longer. Remove from fridge and roll out and turn two more times. Pastry is now ready to use. If not using right away, refrigerate or freeze. Enough for two single crust tarts or one two pastry pie. There was enough dough leftover from making a pizza Wednesday night to bake again yesterday.

Someone posted this recipe a while back on a thread looking for recipes using Pillsbury crescent dough. In that recipe, you melted the butter, added the sugar and sprite and mixed, then just poured the mixture over the crescent-wrapped apples. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. I've made it this way several times, my family loves it. The dough on the bottom absorbs the liquid but doesn't become soggy, the dough on top becomes crispy. My only suggestion is to stop and buy the crescent rolls at a grocery store near your grandmother's house, then just put it all together & bake at her house. This doesn't take more than about 10 minutes to do, and everyone will get to enjoy the wonderful aroma as they bake. Don't know if that's a practical solution, but I think it's what I'd do.

Baklava. Ingredients 18 sheets ready-made filo pastry (unwrap and keep under a damp tea-towel until you are ready to use) 225g/8oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 225g/8oz mixed pistachios and walnuts, roughly chopped 2 tbsp granulated sugar 1 tsp ground cardamom For the syrup 350g/12oz granulated sugar 300ml/10ýfl oz water 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp orange blossom water Preparation method Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 17cm x 28cm (11in x 7in) baking tray with butter. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat or in a microwave. Lay 10 sheets of filo pastry, one at a time, into the tray, brushing each sheet with butter before adding the next. In a clean bowl, mix together the nuts, sugar and cardamom and spread the mixture over the pastry in the tray. Layer up the remaining sheets on top of the nut mixture, brushing each sheet with butter, as before. Using a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern into the top layers of the pastry. Place baklava in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and cook for an additional half hour to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is slightly puffed and golden on top. Do not allow the top to burn. Remove and allow to cool slightly. For the syrup, heat the sugar, water, lemon juice and orange blossom water in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the sugar has melted and a syrup is formed. (This will take about 20 minutes or so.) Pour the syrup into the slits in the baklava and leave to cool. Cut into small diamond-shaped pieces and serve.