Black-Tie Pot Pies

The words “pot pie” on a menu appeal to the traditionalist in all of us, evoking images of Grandma’s apron and the steamy comfort of a warm kitchen. So what if the pie turns out to be like nothing Grandma ever dreamed of?

In Dana Point, at the luxurious new St. Regis at Monarch Beach Hotel’s Aqua restaurant, Chris L’Hommedieu makes pot pie stuffed with chunks of lobster and baby vegetables lightly bound in a cream sauce. It is served tableside, the waiter carefully lifting off the crust intact and spooning out the filling.

At the House, Scooter Kanfer’s spunky little place on Melrose, there’s no pastry lid at all. There’s no meat, either. Even the fairly traditional pot pie Patrick Healy makes at Buffalo Club in Santa Monica is based on a homemade chicken stock reduced to a glaze and spiked with wild mushrooms.

Clearly, this humble dish has been dressed up in ways Grandma never imagined. Yet all three chefs credit their grandmothers with their first pot pie experience.

Kanfer says her New Yorker grandma called her dish pot pie, even though it was made with a mashed potato topping, which purists might consider more of a shepherd’s pie.

“I grew up in a Hungarian Jewish home in Queens, and I was one of those weird kids who didn’t even have store-bought bread until I went to boarding school, because my nana made a loaf of fresh bread every morning,” she says. “For her pie, she would take a little leftover goulash and put a layer of mashed potatoes on top of that and bake it. I loved that. To me, that’s the ultimate comfort food.”

L’Hommedieu ate pot pies at his grandma’s table in New England. “I remember she used to bake them in an oval casserole dish. She’d boil the chicken up in the morning, then flake it into the pot with carrots, potatoes and creamed peas. Then she’d bake it in the oven with a flaky pie dough. A lot of things I do in the restaurant, I picked up from her.”

Grandma might not recognize the tableside lobster preparation, but she’d still feel safe ordering it, L’Hommedieu says. “I think that’s the one dish on the menu that, if one of my family members came in, that’s what I’d send them. I come from a pretty humble background, and most of my family doesn’t have much experience in this kind of restaurant. But this dish touches on the comfort zone for most people while still being pretty sophisticated.”

Healy’s family was very sophisticated about food. His grandmother was a high-society cooking teacher in Palm Beach, Fla., and counted Julia Child and her sister Dort among her students, as well as Jackie Kennedy.

“My grandmother used to do a pot pie with pheasant,” he says. “At home she used a puff pastry crust and served it in a beautiful old earthenware dish. She did things very French. That was my first chicken pot pie and still probably one of the best pot pies I’ve ever had.”

You can rail about the evils of meddling with tradition if you want, but in reality, these modern improvisations are perfectly in keeping with the historical spirit of the dish.

There is no single definition of a pot pie, and there never has been one. Meat pies go back to time immemorial. As long as food has been written about, there seems to have been some kind of main dish being served in a crust somewhere. In fact, until the 17th century, nearly all pies were filled with meat.

In early America, with its colonial culinary roots in England, the meat pie was particularly important. In Amelia Simmons’ “American Cookery,” published in 1796 and credited as this country’s first cookbook, she mentions savory pies made of chicken and “stew,” as well as a “sea pie” made with meat and salt pork. Mince pie, today regarded as an antique dessert, actually began as a main dish.

Perhaps because of its ubiquity, the pot pie has resisted uniformity. In addition to having wildly different fillings, there is similar disagreement as to topping. Crusts are made with flaky pie pastry, puff pastry and biscuit dough. In the first edition of “The Joy of Cooking,” the chicken pot pie is topped with a batter, more like what we would consider a dumpling.

Even Kanfer’s seemingly radical topless pie isn’t all that weird. In Pennsylvania Dutch country, pot pie is a chicken stew served with broad noodles. Who knows? Someone may even have made a vegetarian version once.

Even with something as homey as pot pie, careful preparation is required. For the Aqua pie, that starts with exact cooking of the lobster. “All the love goes in before the pie is baked,” says L’Hommedieu. “That’s making the sauce and precooking the lobster.

“Lobster is temperamental. You don’t want it undercooked or overcooked. We precook the lobster before assembling the pot pie. You want a three-minute lobster. You want to cook the tail and the claws so you can get all the meat out.

“You also want to make sure all the vegetables are tender but not messy. Everybody puts their twists on this recipe. Down here, I have a particular farm I work with for my produce and I want to show that off, so I get baby vegetables and cook them just tender.

“For the sauce, I sweat lobster bodies with a little chopped vegetables, a little white wine, a little brandy and some cream. Cook those for 20 to 30 minutes to infuse the flavors. Some people use roux-based sauce. I don’t like that as much as thickening the sauce with pureed vegetables. You get a natural flavor and it’s as stable as roux is.”

Healy uses a roux for his sauce, but only after a lot of cooking has already gone into it. “The sauce that’s served with this is very rich,” he says. “It’s made from a deep chicken stock reduction that turns into glaze and I add cream to it.”

The chicken has to be cooked just right as well. “I tried serving it with dark meat and with white meat and I found that most people like white meat, though that’s not necessarily my preference. And like any recipe with white meat chicken, there’s a fine line between when it is tender and moist and cooked through and when it starts going to the stew stage, where it will be dry, and you’ll have to keep cooking it until it is falling-off-the-bone tender. Always cut a little piece off and give it a taste test. That’s the way we do it in the restaurant.”

The biscuit dough, which he prefers as a topping because of the way its hearty texture matches the sauce, has to be handled lightly, too, or it will become tough. It’s much better made the same day it’s baked, Healy says. “You get a much better rise. It’s lively and light.”

Kanfer’s pot pies aren’t so much an example of perfecting technique as of rethinking the form. They are whimsical and change with the seasons. First, there’s some kind of roasted vegetable container--anything from a winter squash or spring onion to a summer tomato. Then she puts in a protein base--lentils or grain to keep the dish vegetarian. On top of that goes a mix of seasonal vegetables--some blanched, some roasted, some grilled, for a variety of flavors and textures--bound with a vegetable puree.

“I call it a pot pie because it comes in a vessel,” she says. “I think it’s fun to give people something a little familiar, then give them a twist on it.”

Aqua, 1 Monarch Beach Drive, Dana Point. (949) 234-3325.

Buffalo Club, 1520 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 450-8600.

The House, 5750 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 462-4687.

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Lobster Pot Pie

Active Work Time: 1 1/2 hours * Total Preparation Time: 3 hours

This is a signature dish at all of the Aqua restaurants. It was developed by Michael Mina. At the St. Regis, Chris L’Hommedieu substitutes turnips and baby beets for zucchini during the winter months. Truffle butter and truffle oil are available at specialty and gourmet markets.

LOBSTER

2 (1 1/2-pound) lobsters

Kill the lobsters by making a cut just behind the head. Remove the claws and tails. Put the tails and claws in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Blanch the claws for 21/2 minutes and the tails for 3 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water and shock them in ice water until chilled. (These can be cooked ahead of time, then brought to room temperature when ready to use.)

Remove the meat from the tails and cut on the bias into 3 or 4 medallions. Remove the meat from the claws and knuckle and set aside. Clean the body shells, removing the innards and scraping the gills. Reserve the shells to make stock for the cream sauce.

VEGETABLES

2 carrots, cut on the diagonal into

1 1/2-inch pieces

2 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, then into 1 1/2-inch pieces

6 small boiling potatoes, cut in half

1/2 cup cipolline onions or pearl onions

1 cup chicken broth or water

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 pound oyster mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter

Salt, pepper

Blanch the carrots, zucchini, potatoes and onions in boiling water until they are almost tender; do not cook them all the way because they will finish cooking in the pie when it is baked. The carrots will need 6 to 8 minutes, the zucchini 2 to 3 minutes, the potatoes about 8 minutes, the onions 2 to 3 minutes.

Peel the onions and place them in a small skillet with the broth or water and the sugar. Cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced and the onions are tender and start to brown from the sugar caramelizing, 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly sear the mushrooms in the butter in a small skillet over high heat until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add to the onions. Add the carrots, zucchini and potatoes and set aside.

PIE DOUGH

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, slightly chilled, cut in small chunks

Dash salt

3 tablespoons ice water

Sift the flour into the bowl of a mixer. With the mixer on low speed, drop the butter into the flour, a few chunks at a time. Season the mixture with salt. Add the water slowly just until dough forms; do not overmix. Shape the dough into 2 disks and refrigerate for 1 hour.

TRUFFLE MUSHROOM CREAM

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons truffle butter or 1/4 teaspoon truffle oil

Lobster shells

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 onions, sliced

5 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup brandy

1/2 cup white wine

3 cups whipping cream

10 shallots, sliced

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns

Place the flour in a saucepan and whisk in the truffle butter over medium heat to make a roux, cooking until the raw flour taste is gone and the mixture smells nutty, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Sear the lobster shell pieces in the vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat until they turn red, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook 5 minutes. Add the brandy and wine to the pan and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until no liquid remains in the pan. Add the cream, shallots, bay leaf, coriander seeds and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 30 minutes.

Strain the mixture, discarding the solids, and place the liquid in a saucepan. Whisk in the truffle roux and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture thickens, about 2 to 3 minutes.

ASSEMBLY

1 cup spinach, cooked and chopped

Vegetables

Lobster

Truffle Mushroom Cream

Pie Dough

1 egg, beaten

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

To assemble, divide the spinach in half and arrange it on the bottom of 2 (3-cup to 1-quart) baking dishes. Divide the reserved vegetables and add to the dishes. Arrange the lobster on top of the vegetables by crossing the claws over the tail. Divide the Truffle Mushroom Cream Sauce and pour over the vegetables and lobster.

Roll the pie dough out so it is slightly thicker than 1/8 inch and place it on top of each dish. Trim the dough so that it is about 1/2 inch wider than the dish and seal or flute the edges. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and cut 2 to 3 slits in the top of each pie.

Bake the pies until heated through and the tops are browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve immediately.

4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings: 441 calories; 496 mg sodium; 125 mg cholesterol; 25 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams protein; 5 grams fiber.

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Farmers Market Pot Pie

Active Work Time: 1 1/2 hours * Total Preparation Time: 2 1/2 hours * Vegetarian

This is one way Scooter Kanfer makes pot pies at the House. The recipe will change with the seasons, though, and many different vegetables are used.

FILLING

1 cup French green lentils

Coarse salt

4 (1-pound) acorn squash

Olive oil or grapeseed oil

Freshly ground pepper

4 cups assorted vegetables, such as baby yellow beets, asparagus, broccoli crowns, cut into bite-sized pieces

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine 2 cups of water, the lentils and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the lentils until tender but slightly firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut the tops off each squash and remove the seeds and pulp. Rub the inside and outside of the squash with oil and season with salt and pepper. Set the squash in a baking dish and bake until just tender, 40 minutes. Remove the squash from the oven and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook the vegetables by blanching, roasting, steaming or sauteing (how you cook them will depend on what vegetables you have and how much time you have). Set aside.

HERB AU JUS

1 tablespoon oil

2 onions, diced

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup red wine

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup flour

6 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup minced parsley

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onions, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and salt until the onions are soft and browned, about 30 minutes.

Add the wine and garlic and reduce the liquid by one-half. Add the flour slowly, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-fourth, about 25 to 30 minutes. Add the parsley.

ASSEMBLY

1 large head garlic

2 tablespoons oil, divided

Salt, pepper

2 cups assorted mushrooms, such as shiitake and baby portabellos

Cooked lentils

Herb au Jus, divided

Cooked vegetables

Cooked squash

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut off the top one-fourth of the garlic and place the head on a piece of foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Seal the foil and roast the garlic 30 minutes. When the head is cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic from the cloves, cut into small pieces and set aside.

Cook the assorted mushrooms in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat until softened, 5 minutes. Set aside.

Combine the cooked lentils with 2 cups of the Herb au Jus and the roasted garlic in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, covered, until the lentils have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender, 10 minutes. Set aside.

Place each squash in the center of a serving plate or bowl and fill each with the lentils then the vegetables. For the sauce, combine the remaining Herb au Jus and the cooked mushrooms and heat in a saucepan until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle the sauce over and around the squash.

4 servings. Each serving: 472 calories; 1,437 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 72 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams protein; 15.11 grams fiber.

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Colonial Chicken Pot Pie With Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Active Work Time: 2 hours * Total Preparation Time: 3 hours

This recipe by Buffalo Club’s Patrick Healy makes enough pot pie for a crowd. If you’re serving a smaller group, it can be cut in half.

BISCUIT CRUST

3 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour, plus more for rolling

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Place the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and butter in the bowl of a mixer and mix on low speed until it reaches a sand-like texture.

Add the buttermilk slowly while mixing. Do not overwork. Form into 2 disks and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Flour a flat surface and roll out each disk 1/2 inch thick. Trim the dough about 1/2 inch larger than each of 2 (2-quart) casserole dishes that are 2 inches deep. Place each piece of dough on a baking sheet or floured board and poke holes across the top using a fork. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

SAUCE

3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 pound chicken backs and/or wings

2 large carrots, cut in half

1 onion, cut in half

1 stalk celery, cut in half

1 leek, sliced, white part only

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

4 quarts chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

6 bone-in chicken breasts, about 4 pounds

3 cups whipping cream

2 tablespoons flour

Salt, pepper

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes without browning before adding the chicken backs or wings, carrots, onion, celery, leek, thyme, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes before removing the carrots. Set the carrots aside, covered. Cook the stock for 30 more minutes. When the carrots have cooled slightly, cut them into small uniform pieces and set aside.

Add the chicken breasts to the pot and cook at a low simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the breasts, cover and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and set the meat aside.

Meanwhile, strain the stock into another pot and discard all of the solid ingredients. Boil the stock at high heat until it is reduced to a syrupy glaze, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the cream and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.

Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and mix in the flour. Whisk the roux into the cream mixture with a whisk and continue stirring while cooking over medium heat, 10 minutes. Strain the sauce into a blender container.

Blend the sauce until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to come to room temperature

FILLING

1 ounce dried morels and/or other wild mushrooms, such as porcini, black trumpet, chanterelle

1 bunch slender asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Salt

1 pound green beans

1 tablespoon sugar

2 ears corn

10 ounces pearl onions

Soak the dried mushrooms in cold water for 2 to 3 hours, then rinse several times, changing the water each time until the water remains clear.

While the mushrooms soak, plunge the asparagus into boiling salted water and cook at a full boil until bright green and crisp-tender, 4 minutes. Remove the asparagus, saving the water, and shock in ice water until cold, 1 minute. Drain and set aside.

Trim the stem side of the beans, leaving the curly pointed tip intact. Cut the beans in half and cook them in the same boiling water used for asparagus until bright green and crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and plunge the beans into ice water for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.

Bring another large pot of water to a boil. Add the sugar then the corn. Boil the corn until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. You can pull an ear out of the water, cut off a kernel or two, and taste for tenderness. Remove the corn, saving the water, and set aside until the corn is cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels off the cob and set aside, covered.

Plunge the onions into the same boiling water and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and let cool. Cut away the knob and slide the outside skin off the onion. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

Filling

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, cut into wedge-shaped quarters

1 bunch chives, minced

Sauce

Biscuit Crust

Flour

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the Filling, mushrooms, chives and the Sauce and divide between the baking dishes. Lay the Biscuit Crust on top of the filling and sprinkle lightly with flour (this gives the crust a more rustic look).

Bake until the crust is golden brown and the pies are cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.

12 to 16 servings. Each of 16 servings: 386 calories; 519 mg sodium; 87 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 3.03 grams fiber.