Chef Johns Face Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Stir peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain accumulated juices into a saucepan and return strained peaches to bowl.
• Bring juices in saucepan to a boil; reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until mixture thickens to a syrup, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and cornstarch together in a bowl. Stir lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon into peaches; add flour mixture and toss to coat. Pour peach syrup over peach mixture and stir.
• Roll out half the pastry to fit a 10-inch pie plate. Place bottom crust in pie plate. Pour peach filling into pie shell, tap pie plate against a surface to settle filling, and dot with butter.
• Roll remaining crust into an 11-inch circle and cut into 1-inch strips using a paring knife or pastry wheel.
• Lay 5 strips of pie crust over the top of the pie. Weave remaining pastry dough strips through to form a lattice top. Fold the ends of the lattice strips under the bottom crust and crimp the crust. Brush cream over the top and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and bubbling, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

Steps:

• Place cubed potatoes and garlic in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Brown ground beef over medium heat in a skillet. Stir in flour, mixing with beef drippings.
• Add beef broth, ketchup and vegetables. Stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, until thick.
• Transfer beef mixture into an oven-proof casserole dish.
• Drain potatoes and smash them a little bit before adding 1/4 cup of grated cheese and sour cream. Mash together until smooth.
• Spoon potatoes onto the middle of the meat mixture. With a fork, spread potatoes from the center to the edges to form the top layer.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place rolled-out pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate and set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Combine rhubarb and strawberries in a bowl; transfer to the pie crust, distributing evenly.
• Whisk eggs, sugar, milk, flour, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Slowly pour filling over rhubarb mixture until it just reaches the top edge of the crust. Scatter diced butter evenly over the top of the filling. Lightly tap and shake the baking sheet to remove any air bubbles.
• Transfer pie to the preheated oven and bake, turning halfway through, until rhubarb is tender and custard is set, about 1 hour.
• Mix strawberry jam and water in a small bowl; heat in the microwave until warm, about 15 seconds. Glaze the top of the pie with the jam mixture and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Bring a large saucepan of salted water and to a boil; add russet potatoes to boiling water and cook until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Mash in 3 tablespoons butter until thoroughly combined. Season with nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Mash 1/2 cup milk into potato mixture until smooth.
• Drizzle olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add spinach, and season with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels to wick away excess moisture.
• Heat 3 tablespoons butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat; whisk mixture to a smooth paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has a nutty smell and is slightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add chopped garlic; whisk until fragrant, 10 to 20 seconds.
• Whisk 1 cup cold milk into flour mixture; cook until thickened. Whisk in remaining 1 cup milk and lemon zest. Bring white sauce to a gentle simmer, whisking constantly; season with salt. Turn heat to very low and keep sauce warm.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease an 8x12-inch casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter.
• Season buttered pan with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Lay boneless cod fillets into the pan in a single layer. Season tops of fillets with more salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Spread spinach evenly over fish and drizzle with lemon juice. Spoon white sauce over spinach; give casserole dish several taps and shakes to eliminate bubbles.
• Drop mashed potatoes by heaping spoonfuls over the casserole and spread smoothly to cover. Place dish onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch spills.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 40 minutes. Turn on oven's broiler and broil until potato crust has a golden brown top, about 2 minutes. Fish should flake easily. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of chives.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in white sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and water. Bring the syrup to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar, then remove from heat.
• Unroll pie crusts, press one into a 9-inch pie dish, and place the apples into the crust. Unroll the second crust on a work surface, and cut into about 8 1-inch wide strips. Criss-cross the strips over the apples, or weave into a lattice crust. Crimp the bottom crust over the lattice strips with your fingers. Spoon caramel sauce over pie, covering lattice portion of top crust; let remaining sauce drizzle through the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until the crust is golden brown, the caramel on the top crust is set, and the apple filling is bubbling, 35 to 40 more minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat butter in a large oven-safe skillet over high heat. Toss spinach in hot butter until wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain spinach well and squeeze it as dry as possible. Transfer to a cutting board and chop.
• Beat eggs in a bowl with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper until thoroughly combined.
• Place bacon in the same skillet used to cook spinach and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until bacon has rendered its fat and is almost crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Use a paper towel held in a tongs to remove excess bacon grease. Reduce heat to medium; saute onion with bacon and a pinch of salt until onion is translucent, about 5 more minutes.
• Saute chopped spinach with bacon and onion until spinach is hot; pour in eggs. Use a wooden spoon to distribute spinach evenly throughout the eggs. Sprinkle feta cheese over mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until eggs are set, 10 to 15 minutes. Top may still be a little wet.
• Turn on oven's broiler. Broil pie until top is lightly golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, and frozen butter slices in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until butter is about the size of peas, about 30 seconds. Stir vinegar into water; drizzle over the flour mixture. Pulse on and off until mixture is crumbly and holds together when you pinch a piece off, about 10 seconds. Drizzle in another teaspoon of water if dough can't be pressed together.
• Transfer mixture to a work surface. Press it together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Mix salt, pepper, thyme, sage, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mustard, cloves, and cayenne together in a small bowl.
• Place potato quarters in a saucepan; cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat. Simmer until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop out potatoes and transfer to a bowl; save cooking liquid. Mash potatoes with a potato masher while still hot.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook and stir until onions turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in spice blend, garlic, and celery. Stir until evenly coated with the spices, about 30 seconds. Add beef and pork. Ladle about 3/4 cup of the reserved potato cooking liquid into the skillet.
• Cook and stir until meat is browned and has a very fine, paste-like texture. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes. Stir in mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a pie plate upside-down onto the parchment. Trace the rim to make the circular area for the face.
• Divide chilled dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other.
• Keep the smaller piece of dough chilled while working with the large piece. Tear off dough to make the brow ridge and roll it into a thick log slightly shorter than the diameter of the circle. Place it near the top of the circle, below the forehead region. Form a pyramid with a triangular base and place it about 1 1/2 inches below the brow bone.
• Roll 2 smaller pieces of dough into strips for the lips. Roll 2 more for the cheekbones. Form lumps for the eyes and place them above the cheekbones. Shape a small lump into the cleft above the lip. Refrigerate the rest of the dough and freeze facial features until firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Shape remaining dough into a disc and roll out until 1/8 inch thick. Center the skin over the facial features. Use fingertips to carefully contour the skin to the facial features and smooth out the edges. Dip fingers in water as needed. Refrigerate for a few minutes whenever the dough gets too warm.
• Poke nostrils into the base of the nose using a chopstick. Carve out a pupil-sized amount of dough from one eye. Draw 2 horizontal slits across the center of the other eye. Freeze face until firm enough to slide off the parchment, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll the smaller piece of dough into a circle large enough to line a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with a slight overhang. Fill crust with the meat mixture; smooth out the surface.
• Remove face from the freezer and place on top of the pie. Let thaw until edges are flexible enough to shape, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk egg and water together to make egg wash.
• Press top crust lightly around the edges to seal, tucking in the edges as needed. Trim excess dough from the crust. Part lips slightly. Stick grape half into the open eye. Use trimmings to make the eyelid and socket and stick them around the grape. Cut some shallow lines into the lips. Make additional tweaks to the facial features if desired.
• Brush entire pie with egg wash. Mix remaining egg wash with a drop of food coloring for a slightly pink hue; lightly dab over the eye sockets and cheeks. Add one big drop of food coloring to the egg wash to color the eyes, nose, and lips a deeper shade of red. Crimp the edges of the pie with a fork. Place pie dish on a baking sheet and loosely tent with aluminum foil.
• Place in the preheated oven. Bake until well browned, about 1 hour. Place on a rack and cool to almost room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll pie dough in a 9 1/2-inch glass pie dish and crimp the edges. Cover dough in parchment paper and press paper down to line the dough; pour pie weights on top of the parchment paper and spread evenly over the bottom.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights to a bowl. Bake crust until lightly golden and set, about 10 minutes more.
• Spread pecans out on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until lightly toasted, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Stir brown sugar, butter, white sugar, corn syrup, flour, milk, bourbon, vanilla extract, and salt together in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Slowly drizzle sugar mixture into eggs, whisking constantly.
• Spread pecans out in the bottom of the crust. Pour sugar mixture over nuts and gently stir with a spatula to coat all of the nuts.
• Bake pie in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown and pie is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely.