I like parchment best because it can be folded up easily to transfer the crust and with a little flour the crust won't stick. This is probably redundant, but to make great pie crusts, just make more! In other words, practice! Then you will know the deep, dark secrets of the pie world. The reason cooks like the vodka recipe is because it is so forgiving. With butter/shortening crusts, the dough Must be kept cold at all times. When the dough starts to even get close to room temp., I slide a cookie sheet under the parchment and pop the whole mess in the freezer. As I cut out leaves, or whatever decoration I want on top of the pie, they go on a plate to be popped in the freezer immediately. The cold, cold, cold thing can't be underemphasised with regular pie dough (butter, shortening or lard) Cracks are ok, warm is not. With the addition of the vodka, however, something magical takes place. the dough can be rolled out a little warmer, it becomes like play dough, and has no cracks. It is satisfying and easy to work with. But when cooked, the vodka evaporates and creates those beautiful layers and flakiness. If you used regular pie crust and rolled it out warm, you would get leather. All that said, I still am obsessed with keeping pie dough cold. Very cold. Cracks can be turned under for the crust. I always make about 3 times more dough than the recipe calls for, I want lots of wiggle room. The dough can be frozen anyway so it doesn't go to waste. (make a disc, wrap in lots of plastic and a freezer bag) However, I experienced the real beauty of the vodka dough one day when I let the dough get crazy warm. I was sure the crust was ruined. But it turned out great! Flaky, and just as perfect as using stiff, cold dough.

I often just wing it when making a pot pie, and usually just do a top crust. That said, this recipe is really, really, really good! I am not a big fan of frozen pearl onions, so I just sub chopped fresh onions. Ina Garten�s Chicken Pot Pie 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 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. Linda

Gosh that looks so good! I was staring at it last night, wondering when I'd have a moment to make it. Our blueberries here run about the same price as mamapinky0's, so it's pretty pricey. I could always make a mixed berry though. gardengal, I was looking for mixed berry pie ideas late last night (sleepless) and stumbled across this - DH isn't a big pie eater and I thought they were a neat idea for just a few: Hand Pies - you could use blueberries instead - King Arthur's site has them with blueberries.

All your pies look very good Lars, even the one you called ” the ugliest pie I ever made” I thought the trellis pastry worked out very well. I’ve tried to do this and it is definitely harder to do than it looks. All that folding back and threading through. I also have used many pie pastry recipes over the years. Now for pastry for say a small quiche, I just wing it. Plain flour in the bowl, some cold salted butter that looks enough and small amount of icey water. I rub in by hand which I find relaxing and can judge leaving some larger bits of butter. I add as little water as possible and knead as little as possible, just until it comes together. Then comes a break with tradition as I roll out now and put it into the pie dish and place the whole lot into the fridge to rest and firm up. I do this as I have mild arthritus in my shoulders and I find pushing a rollingpin through cold pastry a little hard. Usually seems to work out flakey and tender. One other thing I do is always cut out an outer circle of foil and place around the edge when either pre baking a shell or whole baking . Too many hard edge crusts in the past not to take this extra step.