Friday Supper Club: Week 2

Classic Comfort Food with a Side of Science

What could be better on a dreary winter day than a simple, but delicious, homemade pot pie loaded with roasted vegetables?

Recently, a Seattle middle-school teacher who loves to cook boarded a city bus with several of her students. They were on their way to one of my kitchen classrooms, where I was waiting to lead them in a six-week crash course in culinary fundamentals.

After the students arrived, as they were busy pulling back their hair, washing their hands, and, in some cases, writing made-up first names on their adhesive nametags (in the sort of middle-school joke that sometimes eludes me), their teacher and I stood off to the side and chatted while we waited for them to get settled.

“Pot pie?’ she asked about that day’s menu, in a voice that was polite but still edged with a little concern. “Why?” was what I think she really meant.

“Why not?” is what I wanted to answer. It gives everyone a chance to practice their knife skills, learn some baking basics, and eat a delicious, stick-to-your-ribs sort of meal on a cold and dreary winter day—using an updated recipe that swaps out the gluey gravy and glum chicken and peas of yore for a far more flavorful roasted-vegetable version.

I was glad to hear by the time class was over that her tone had shifted. “It was really good!” she said to me brightly, as she prepared to lead her students out the door.

To which I won’t say, “I told you so!” But I will say: Give me a chance to talk a little bit about the science hiding in such a simple menu (which I will do in this week’s accompanying Friday video), and it’s even better.

Happy cooking!