More pie

Tonight Emily came down with her cousin Alagna who is visiting from Idaho. Our plan was to do some hennaing,  which proved much more complicated then I had assumed, luckily Emily had a book. Long story short, we cooked down tea and coffee with cloves and other stuff i can't remember, added henna powder and eucalyptus oil ( spelled that right first try! ya!) and then had to let it sit for an hour. The two instructions we had, one on the henna powder box and one in the book conflicted on several points, which probably wouldn't have been an issue if we had stuck to one or the other but we were mixing and matching ingredients and instructions in a way that made the process a whole lot more creative! And awesome. I had brought a tube of premixed stuff with a squeezie tip from Portland, so we started with that while the homemade stuff rested. It was great fun and the results, so far, are pretty amazing. I don't know why i don't always have henna on my feet. It looks great!

Shannon's lovely foot covered with Emily's lovely artwork! We were lucky to
 have her there with her steady hand and creative eye, she did some awesome work.

First try on the right, second on the left. Both look good, different,
though. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

The artist at work

Alagna was the only one brave enough to try one of the stencils that came in the
 pack. It turned out great, and was really easy.

That's my foot!

In the end, I think we were all glad to have done feet rather than belly- Shannon especially. This way we were all included and there was no smearing of strange chemicals or strange artwork on the baby. Lord knows it will do enough of that it it's life! Joking.

And then there was the pie. (Actually the pie came first but the other part was easier) Dinner pie tonight, chicken. I strayed from the filling combos in my book once again, glancing at it only once to get a suggestion on baking temp for such a pie. In the end, it was pretty freaking impressive.

Chunks of Brie and Apple on top

Shan agreed to cut out some decorations from the dough scraps

Not too shabby!

Lovely!

Pie!

Piece we saved for Adam!

Chicken and Brie pie

Dough:

3 c flour and a bit of salt, sifted into a food processor

Toss in 1 1/2 sticks of very cold butter, cut into little cubes.

Pulse for about 20-30 seconds

Add enough very cold water- while the machine is running- to make the dough come together,

 I used about a 1/4 cup.

Dump the whole processor bowl into a large bowl and bring the dough into a large ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate, 30 minutes or so.

Divide dough into 2/3 and 1/3, roll out the larger of the two and lay into greased deep pie dish.


Filling:
2 chicken breasts ( or whatever chicken parts you like) de-boned, finely chopped
1/2 onion, sliced
1 leek, halved, sliced( but only the white and light green part)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 new white potatoes diced ( red potatoes would be fine)
1/2 apple- i used a fuji, cubed up
1/2 small wheel brie- get a 7 ozer- half for pie, half for crackers! Lovely!
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 T flour
Fresh basil
Dash of lemon
Salt and Pepper
Beaten egg.

Cook up the onions, garlic, and leeks till nice and soft, add in the potatoes, cook for a bit, then add the chicken. Season everything as it goes in. Get this nice and hot, add your chicken stock and cream. Make a small bowl with the flour, a bit of cream and stock or water and whisk up, add once your filling is bubbling. Whatever seasoning you like can go in now, i added the fresh basil, chiffonade, some mixed italian seasoning, plenty of black pepper and a bit of paprika and cayenne. Oh, and the lemon. Once this is nice and thick, take it off the heat and let it set. Get the bottom crust in the pan, then chop the apples and brie. Smallish chunks are good here, whatever size you like. Pour the hot filling into the crust, sprinkle on your cheese and apples, then put on the top crust. Decorate if you wish, brush with beaten egg. Make sure you get some nice vent holes on this one- I did five knife stabs- or a pie bird, if you happen to remember to bring one. 350, about an hour. Needs to rest for at least 20 minutes. Enjoy!