Morning-After Granola

Leaving your guests with a little gift to take home is always a treat. I’ve thrown parties where I’ve had slices of pizza or doughnuts for guests as they walked out the door in the wee hours. For the holidays and more understated dinner parties, a bag of granola is my go-to. It makes the next morning easy for your pals who hung out past their bedtimes and keeps the good party vibes going into the next day. Granola feels like it is a lot of effort, but is so easy to make, and you can make it a few days ahead of time so you’re not putting together the recipe or bags at the last minute. With this recipe you can add or subtract pretty much any nut or dried fruit, so if you have a friend who hates raisins (like I do), it is easy to swap out for something else.

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups coconut chips, not shredded 1 cup raw pecans, roughly chopped 1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped ¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 ½ tablespoons sea salt
• ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
• ⅔ cup maple syrup
• ⅓ cup honey
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¾ cup dried sour cherries
• ¾ cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and salt.

In a small pot on low heat, warm the sugar, maple syrup, honey, and olive oil until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and combine with the oat mixture until all ingredients have been covered with the syrup.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your hands, spread the oat mixture evenly over it. Make some “chunks” of granola by creating globs of oats in different spots on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Stir the granola a few times while it is baking.

Remove the granola from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the granola and dried fruits. Add more sea salt to taste. Allow to fully cool before placing in individual containers. A typical serving is about 1 cup per guest.

Alpine Potpie

Creamy, meaty, and chock full of hearty winter vegetables, this potpie is influenced by my Finnish roots. The recipe uses chicken, but you can easily substitute stewed beef or make it vegetarian friendly by doubling the veggies. You can also use a favorite biscuit recipe as the top crust for a heartier, more country-style potpie (if you are using biscuits, add black pepper and rosemary to the batter). You can make the base and the topping a day or two ahead of time, keep separate, and refrigerate. All that is needed for the day of the party is to roll out the puff pastry dough, build, and cook, making your dinner prep time easy-breezy.

Ingredients

For the potpie base

• 4 pounds of bone-in chicken (can be a mix of breast and thigh meat or whole chickens broken down)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Water
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Juice from one lemon
• Salt to taste
• Black and white pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme

For the potpie filling

• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 celery stocks, sliced
• 2 cups crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed to room temp
• Bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 to 3 springs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stem
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pie crust recipe (or store bought) or biscuit recipe of your choice
• Egg white from one egg

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Make the potpie base

Evenly lay out the chicken in a Dutch oven. Add chicken stock. Add enough water to cover all the chicken parts but don’t overfill. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Partially cover and continue simmering until the chicken reads 165 degrees on an instant thermometer, about 25 to 35 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth, and shred into bite-sized pieces. Set broth aside.

In a separate pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly until smooth. Add 2 cups of the broth you cooked the chicken in and continue whisking until smooth. Add the heavy cream and bring the liquid to a slow boil. Continue to whisk, and add the lemon juice, salt, peppers, nutmeg, rosemary, and thyme. Cook the liquid for another minute and remove from the heat.

Make the potpie filling

Oil a large skillet, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the cooked vegetables, cream mixture, and shredded chicken. Stir in the peas, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine.

Assemble the potpie

Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan or large, deep pie pan. Pour the pot pie filling into the buttered dish and then top with the rolled-out pie crust or drop the uncooked biscuit batter on top of the filling. If using a pie crust, cut a few steam holes in a pattern in the dough. Brush the top with the egg white and place in the oven. Cook until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling through, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let slightly cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.