Pot-pie-palooza

I don't remember eating out much as a kid, and it didn't really become a regular thing until I was about 15. My parents were cheap, I wasn't a picky kid, and my mom was a pretty goddamn good cook. One place I do remember eating at every couple of months was this crappy family restaurant called "friendly banners". I specifically remember heading there after church (back when we were kidding ourselves into going to church), perhaps to purge ourselves of godliness via grease and jello bar. Mom was a wildcard, but dad always got fish and chips and I always got a chicken pot pie. Now I kind of cringe thinking about that place, but my love of all things pie-related remains, so here's my recipe for veggie pot pie. If you're not dealing with a boyfriend hell-bent on healthy living you could do the right thing and add in some meat, just season it up and brown the bits over high heat before adding into the sauce with the veg. This amount of dough and filling will make a dozen 5" diameter pies.
1 large parsnip
3 large carrots
1 large onion
1 stalk celery
2 tbsp thyme
5 cloves of garlic
3 medium potatoes
(high-starch varieties hold up better, I like yukon gold)
1 cup of corn nibs
11/2 tbsp rendered duck fat (mmm or bacon fat)
3 tbsp flour
4 tbsp butter
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 tsp hungarian paprika
1/2 cup chopped garlic chives (or herb of your choice)
s+p to taste

Dice up all of the veggies to your liking, and then heat up a laaarge pan/wok/pot/whatever and dump in the first 9 listed ingredients. I love using duck fat because - come on now - vegetable flavour just doesn't cut it for me. The extra layer of savoriness is extra nice, as is the excuse to cook duck every month in order to support my habit. Cook over high heat until the carrots and parsnips are softened, but don't worry about the potatoes just yet. Season with salt,pepper, paprika, and set aside in a bowl. Use the same pan/wok/pot/whatever to make the bechemel sauce by melting the butter and adding in the flour (ooh, aaah, a roux). Cook it through for a couple of minutes to avoid that nasty raw flour taste, then whisk in the milk and stock. Continue to whisk until thickened, then add in the vegetables you've previously put aside. Season once again and then simmer over medium-low heat until the potato bits are fork-tender. Make sure that you taste your concoction after cooking because potatoes have a tendency to absorb salt, so you may need to season it further. Stir in your chives, put the whole thing outside to cool, and use this time to prep your pie shells.

Here's a really easy, generic recipe for all purpose pie crust - the trick to making it flaky and delicious is keeping everything cold cold cold. So chill your butter, your flour, and your water.
2 2/3 cups of flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 lb butter (go to hell, marathon-running-boyfriend)
approximately 1/2 cup iced water
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Cut the butter and flour+salt+sugar together into a sort of fine granola kind of texture. If you own a food processor or pastry blender, life is easy for you my friend. Grab your ice water and pour in a little at a time while mixing, the dough should not be wet and super sticky - you want to use just enough water for the lot to come together. Separate into two pucks (I split it 1/3 for the pie tops and 2/3 for the pie bases) and stick in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes or so. Although this is pretty simple, making anything with copious amounts of flour seems like a huge production to me, so I usually make a whole bunch of dough at once and then keep it in the freezer for future use.
Once you've got the dough figured out, partition each of the 2 portions into 12 equal parts each. Roll them out and lay into the tins. Scoop in some of the cooled filling, roll out a top crust, pinch shut and then brush with egg wash (just an egg beaten with some water or milk). Cut a steam vent and, if you're disgustingly domestic like myself, you can sprinkle some finishing salt on top just to make them look nice. Bake in a 400 degree oven until the crust is brown and cooked through - about 20 minutes. Voila, you have a meal comforting enough to ease you through the weeks of VANOCouver.