cover image Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover

Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover

Diane Phillips. Broadway Books, $24.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-385-49458-8

Convinced that pot pies are the quintessential comfort food, Phillips (The Perfect Mix) has collected 85 recipes that take a new look at an old favorite. While she praises the kind of cooking most baby boomers grew up with, her sophisticated dishes have nothing in common with the frozen pot pies of yesteryear and rely on ingredients from many regional and international cuisines. Phillips offers an abundance of the kind of satisfaction that comes from good eating; however, many of the recipes here are missing the crucial pot-pie ingredient--pie crust. There are biscuits, probably the most traditional option, as well as mashed potatoes, borrowed from the humble shepherd's pie. There are roasted vegetable toppings, cheese and breadcrumbs, mashed beans, tortillas, crispy fried noodles, the ubiquitous polenta and even foccacia. New takes on American regional favorites--from Lobster Pie, which is bathed in a sherry bisque and topped with buttery breadcrumbs, to a Southwestern-inspired chicken pot pie with a tortilla and corn crust--are included, along with French, Mediterranean and Asian selections. It's hard to resist Beef Burgundy with Boursin Potato Cake Crust, Down East Clam Pie with Bacon Biscuit Crust or Snapper Veracruz with Jalape o Jack Cheese Crust. Phillips offers a flexible outlook and suggests many ways to use leftovers. (Jan.)