farm house cooking

The bitter cold temperatures kept me in the house cooking this week.  While thumbing through a magazine recently I saw a photo of homemade butter and I thought, I’m going to do that myself.  I made the decision a few years ago to eliminate margarine from my diet, too many chemicals.

I always get a little tickled when my dad says he doesn’t care for butter, he grew up on a farm and is too familiar from where it comes. The process is a little messy but goes fairly quickly. Start with heavy whipping cream, the higher the fat content the better. draining the buttermilk from the butter

first separate the buttermilk from the butter

I am including at the bottom of this post a great step by step video. Check it out, you will be amazed at how easy it is.

My favorite thing about the cold weather that we have been experiencing is burning the wood stove and cooking on top of it.  My favorite comfort food to cook is a roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.  This week, I made a little change to the menu.

I  made a chicken roast on top of the wood stove, which I was able to get several meals from. I lined the bottom of my dutch oven with a couple of onions and for a new twist, I added 1/2 of a very large sweet potato cut up into cubes. I used the other half of the sweet potato later to roast in the oven with brown sugar and bourbon. Back to the bird, I added my seasoned bird, and about 1/4 of a cup of chicken broth.  That baby slow cooked on top of the stove all day sending out the most heavenly scents.

for easy clean up I serve the chicken and the vegetables all on one platter

The next night, I used the rest of the chicken to make cast iron chicken pot pie. To make the sauce 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup flour, make a roux, then slowly incorporate 11/2 cup milk, and 1/1/2 cups broth from roasting the chicken.  Seasoned with S&P and a few other herbs and spices, doesn’t need a lot because the broth is highly seasoned from when I roasted the chicken.  I also use a splash or two of Cognac.

slowly add the broth and milk

I use the left over vegetable from when I roasted the chicken the day before, and I saute whatever other vegetables I have on hand.

Lightly butter the bottom of the cast iron skillet and add a basic pie crust. Then I add my  vegetables. Then I add the chicken which I have pulled apart with  my hands Next I pour the sauce over everything in the pan and then top it with another pie crust.

I used my rooster cookie cutter to vent the top and brushed on an egg wash

The pot pie is baked in a 350 degree oven for about an hour

Here is the butter making video I promised. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CQ4Q9obbc-4

Do you have a favorite comfort food you cook when the weather turns chilly?

Until next time,

Cheers!

Kim