Winter comfort foods... curried "chicken" pot pie

The last couple of days have been a bit on the chilly side (ok, I admit it, I've become a northern California wimp when it comes to cold).  Tonight for dinner I wanted something warm and hearty to go with a nice glass of rich red wine and a fire in the fireplace.  I typically loathe using fake meat in recipes, but there are a couple of things I'll make exceptions for.... and tonight was one of them--curried "chicken" pot pie, inspired by Alton Brown (more about celebrity chefs in a future blog entry).  The crust turned out very crisp, but flaky and the filling was tangy and rich--just the right thing to warm belly and soul.

I based the crust on Alton Brown's standard pie crust recipe.  Instead of water, I used Imagine's No-Chicken Broth and Crisco instead of lard.  I can't stress enough the importance of deeply chilling the butter and Crisco before processing.  I cut both into very small chunks then put them in the freezer for about 45 minutes before using.  After the rest period, I divided the dough into 8 equal parts (think SNL anal chef, I used my kitchen scale for this) and rolled 4 of them out until they fit in medium sized ramekins.  The other 4 I rolled out as tops for the individual portions, generously floured and stacked them and put everything back in the fridge to rest again while I made the filling.

The filling, again inspired by Alton's recipe.  I made a few modifications--I substituted about 1.5 teaspoons of dried onion flakes (a compromise since my husband thinks he hates onion) and put in 2 cloves of garlic.  Instead of milk, I used non-fat evaporated milk for a richer flavor.  I added a few extra veggies that were in the fridge--some mushrooms, half a carrot, and fresh parsley instead of the dried.  Finally, instead of the chicken, I used MorningStar Farms' Chik'n Strips.

Once the filling was done, I added it into the unbaked crust in the ramekins in equal parts.  Then used the pre-rolled tops to cover the filling, sealing the edges along the way.  After an egg wash, I made 4 small slits in each and baked at 375 for about 45 minutes--until the pies were golden brown and a bit of the liquid had bubbled out of the vents.  Don't dare eat them until they've had 5-10 minutes to cool--otherwise you'll be eating molten curried lava!