Having a Math Nerd for a husband (and many Math Nerds as friends) means that there are little things my family may do differently than your average family. Take for example Pi Day (3/14)…a whole day devoted to a number…or for me, a whole day of eating pie!
I was really happy to finally use up the cherries that I canned over the summer. I didn’t have enough of either sour or sweet cherries for a full pie, so I decided to put them together to make one Super-Cherry Pie. It made for interesting flavors. I also, of course, made the vent in the shape of the Pi symbol, on Mike’s request. It may be my very favorite part of the pie!
My friend Stephanie made a very delicious strawberry pie, which was beautiful, and tasted even better than it looked…I went back for seconds!
The second pie that I made (which of course I didn’t take pictures of….sorry!!) was a chicken/tomato/parmesan hand pie. I know you can’t see what it looked like, but it was delicious!
Chicken Parmesan Hand Pies
- 2 chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 batches of Pate Brisee (omit the sugar)
- 1/4-1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
- ice water
- Heat a medium pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the pan. Saute garlic and onions until the onions are transluscent. Add tomatoes, oregano, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes, bring to a boil.
- Place chicken breasts in sauce and cover pan with a lid. Adjust heat to bring sauce to a simmer. Simmer the chicken breasts in sauce until they are fully cooked. Turn the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat in sauce.
- Remove chicken from pan and allow to cool on a plate. Cool the sauce as well. Cut chicken in thin strips against the grain of the meat.
- Roll the dough out to 1/8″ thickness and cut into 4″ circles (work in batches if needed). Place the circles of dough in the frige for 30 minutes.
- Place dough circles on baking sheets. Fill each piece of dough with a couple strips of chicken, a tablespoon or two of sauce and a sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan.
- Dab ice water around the edges of the circles, fold one half of the circle over to the other side, and pinch closed with a fork or your fingers. Make a small slit in the top or stab it a couple of times with a fork. Refrigerate hand pies for another 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place pies in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden (May take more or less time depending on your oven. Go by the color, not the time!).
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before enjoying!
Have you ever celebrated Pi Day? or Pie Day??
Oh my goodness, as a homeschooling mom, I LOVE this! I wish I had known. Better stash it somewhere for next year! Your pies look (and sound) delish. I know that strawberry pie, only we do ours with whole strawberries standing right on their heads. Yum.