I’m not sure we’ll ever get tired of potpie
I bet many of you remember that potpie is a subject of some long-term interest on Only in York County.
July 6, 2011 – Potpie recipes, plus something yummy to make with pie crust
June 22, 2011 – Potpie: A subject of many heated opinions
May 18, 2011 – A subject of much confusion to non-Yorkers: Potpie
Well, some more thoughts have come in over recent weeks, and I thought I’d share those as well!
Jo says, “Chicken/ham/beef pies – with a top & bottom crust – can be excellent depending on who’s doing the cooking. Years ago my mother made some of each occasionally as did my grandmother. Their pies were always excellent and much requested by family. Once in a while my mother would also make ham pot pie – no crusts. It was a nice break from the usual chicken pot pie. When my mother moved to FL she would come north to visit to get away from those terrible hot summers down there. She always received three requests for cooking: Chicken pot pie, corn meal mush and her super fantastic tea rings.”
Then, newer commenter Nancy, of the Rediscovering Grandma blog, said, “One of these days I am going to make my great-grandmother’s ham pot pie recipe. I only remember her making it once (she was in her 80s by then so I guess that’s not a surprise!) and was thrilled to discover the recipe in my grandmother’s recipe box a few years ago. I mostly remember her rolling out the dough on the countertop and the two of us cutting it into rectangles before tossing them in the pot (I’m sure she did that part!). As for other pot pies, if it’s got a crust, it’s a chicken pie, not a pot pie, in my ever-so-humble opinion (why put the word “pot” in there otherwise?). And it’s inherently inferior to the real thing. ;)”
In my most recent potpie post, I’d linked in passing to a Food Network potpie recipe that used two cans of tomatoes. Both Adam and Jo were adamantly against that, and I admit I was not sharing it because I thought it was authentic but because it mentioned the “bott boi” name origin!
And finally, I heard from Bill Schmeer of the Thomasville area, who writes, “We always had the slippery kind at home, as did my wife. Both she and her mother rolled the dough many times during our 58 years of marriage. Never get enough of that wonderful stuff. We both grew up in northeastern PA. Although we have never tried it, I bet the won ton squares used to make won ton soup, would work for anyone who didn’t have the time or patience to roll the dough. They’re chewy and doughy.”
Bill also sent me a link to an article from the Reading Eagle: “Why is potpie in Berks unlike potpie anywhere else in the country?” Check it out – it goes into a lot of the same topics we’ve covered!
