[Ree] Here's what's happening on the ranch.
I'm making a perfect shortcut chicken and chorizo pot pie --
the first of my impressive ideas for stress-free entertaining.
Then there's a fancy layered chocolate berry cake,
that's an effortless and elegant superstar.
A stunning shrimp chowder, all made in a slow cooker.
And finally, quick chicken cutlets
with vermouth cream to wow your dinner party guests.
It's all impressive made easy.
When I'm hosting a get-together, whether it's around the holidays
or just any time of year, I like to pick recipes
that are kind of in that sweet spot
between absolutely mind-blowingly impressive
and easy to make. [chuckles]
This chicken and chorizo pot pie fits squarely
under that umbrella.
It is so flavorful, so beautiful,
but it's really easy,
especially because I use a couple of shortcuts.
I started by browning the chorizo,
and to that, I'm gonna add a bag of frozen vegetables.
This is a great shortcut.
It saves you time having to chop the veggies.
Also, I don't need a lot of veggies,
'cause this is a very rich pot pie
in a slightly smaller skillet.
So if I cut into a yellow, green, and red bell pepper,
and a whole onion, I'd have a bunch of veggies left over.
So the bag of frozen vegetables is really a great trick.
And once they're cooked into the mix,
you don't even know they were frozen.
Alright, so that chorizo was so hot.
These veggies are already starting to really cook,
so I'm gonna give 'em a couple more minutes
until they're super hot and sizzling.
[ticking]
[ding]
That did not take long at all.
I wanna thicken the gravy of the pot pie,
so I'm gonna sprinkle over some flour,
just all over the veggies and chorizo,
and then I'll give it a stir,
just to give that flour a little chance
to heat up and cook.
I would say chicken pot pie, to me, is such a great thing
to make when you are cooking for people or guests.
You know, it's one of those things
that you can easily buy frozen,
but a lot of people don't routinely make
their own chicken pot pie.
And I just think a homemade chicken pot pie is impressive,
just by itself.
It is the definition of impressive,
in my world anyway.
[chuckles]
OK, the flour has had a chance to cook,
so for the liquid,
I'm gonna add some chicken broth...
and some heavy cream,
which is gonna make the chicken pot pie gravy
so rich and beautiful.
Now I'll just cook this mixture until it bubbles up
and gets nice and thick. It'll take about two minutes.
[ticking]
[ding]
OK, look at this bubbly mixture.
It is really bubbling away, and the color of this sauce,
slash gravy, is so nice.
Alright, couple more things.
This is chicken chorizo pot pie,
so I have some rotisserie chicken,
which is the other shortcut I am using for this pot pie.
Of course, you can cook your own chicken.
You can use chicken that you have in the freezer.
I think a store-bought rotisserie chicken
is one of the very best shortcuts in the world.
Once you put it in the casserole or soup or stew
that you're making, nobody will know
that you didn't cook that chicken yourself.
So after the chicken
comes a can of diced green chilies,
and I'm gonna go ahead and add salt and pepper,
even though the chorizo is plenty salty.
Just add a little more, and then stir this together.
As you can tell,
I am kind of filling up this skillet,
but that is intentional.
I'll show you why in just a little bit.
Alright, this filling looks incredible.
So I'm gonna head over to the countertop
to start working on the crust,
and I'll let the filling just sit and slightly cool.
So I have, actually, a homemade crust that I made,
and it's been in my freezer,
so I let it thaw out just a little bit,
but you can totally use store-bought crust.
So I've floured the surface and the top,
so I'm just kind of rolling it out
and I wanna get just a little bit larger
than the iron skillet that the pot pie will bake in.
Sometimes, when I make homemade pie crust
and pop it in the freezer,
I'll actually roll it out halfway too,
too and that can speed things along.
It's already kinda halfway rolled out
when you're ready to use it.
Shortcuts, and standby ingredients,
and make-ahead-ingredients are my life.
[chuckles]
OK, I think this size is looking good.
So before I put this on the pot pie,
I'm actually gonna grab some pepper jack cheese.
This is kind of a variation of a pot pie.
So this isn't something I would normally do
with my regular pot pie,
but the rules are out the window
with this one.
Once I added chorizo to the mix, it was like,
"We're gonna have some fun with this."
Alright, and then the crust goes on.
And if it's the right size,
it should just kind of settle down.
You can sort of press it down so that it's even
with the rim of the skillet.
It that looks a-mazing, and then I wanna brush
the top with a beaten egg...
just to give it that beautiful kind of glossy...
homemade look -- gonna get it around the rim
and all over the surface.
I promise, this is going in the oven
in just a second,
but honestly, it came together so fast.
Usually, when I make chicken pot pie,
I would cook the chicken, boil it on the stove,
let it cool enough to pick the meat off the bones,
and then cook broth with the bones.
[chuckles]
Golly, no wonder I love shortcuts so much.
OK, now I've got one more thing to add,
but before I do that,
I'm gonna cut little vents in the crust
just to...give it a little place to release all that steam.
And then, before it goes in the oven,
I'm gonna top the crust with more cheese.
Yes, you heard me, folks.
You heard it here first...
cheese in and cheese on.
OK, now it's going into the oven.
I'm gonna bake it at 425 for 20, 25 minutes,
and then I'll take it out and let it rest for five,
and then it'll be pot pie time.
[ticking]
[ding]
Can we take just a second to admire this thing of beauty?
Oh, my, the cheese on that crust,
it honestly makes me wanna put a little cheese
on every pot pie I make.
It's so inviting.
So since this is a little bit of a Tex-Mex pot pie,
I'm gonna sprinkle on some cilantro.
And I have some more for the serving.
And speaking of that, you didn't think
I was gonna end this recipe without showing you
what's inside of this beautiful pot pie.
So by the way, it is illegal to slice
into a pot pie with a knife.
You have to get a big old serving spoon
and just break into that crust.
[chuckles]
And then, oh, my gosh, it is so thick.
Letting it sit for five minutes after you take it out
of the oven is key,
because it just sits there and thickens,
and it's just part of the crust.
It looks amazing.
Sprinkle on some more cilantro.
Ooh!
Check that out, beautiful!
So next time you wanna make something impressive
and utterly divine for the people in your life,
please consider this chicken and chorizo pot pie.
It is splendid.
Throughout the years, during the holidays,
or on other special occasions, I have often found myself
needing to make some kind of cake.
The problem is cakes can take a long time if you make them
from scratch, and if you want something that's impressive...
well, you're kind of stuck spending several hours on it.
Enter this layered chocolate berry cake.
Yes, it's impressive, yes, it's delicious,
but it's basically smoke and mirrors
in terms of how easy it is.
You will not believe it.
I'm just making the icing now, and I'm gonna add
some softened butter to a whole bunch
of sifted powdered sugar,
and then I'll add some vanilla bean paste...
and a pinch of salt, because this is very sweet,
and by the way, that's why I add salted butter to icing,
it just kinda helps cut through that sweetness,
and then I have some milk, and I'm gonna start
by just adding a couple of tablespoons,
but I have more if I need it,
and then I will let the mixer just mix this together.
Through the years, I have made, from time to time,
a very impressive cake,
but usually, I really like to kinda take shortcuts,
make it look really beautiful and special,
but not spend... three weeks making it.
[chuckles]
Alright, I think we are there with the icing.
So for the cake, the big shortcut
is that I used box cake mix.
It was a kind of a dark devil's food cake.
And the cool thing is you can dress up cake mix to really
make it taste homemade.
If you want to, you can add chocolate chips
or shaved chocolate
just to kinda drive home that chocolate point.
I think this is a very good one, and with the homemade icing,
it's going to be delicious.
So I'm gonna take one layer and get it on the cake stand.
Sometimes, I get it off-kilter there.
And I'll start icing it.
So I'm not gonna ice this carefully all around the sides,
I'm just gonna to put it on top of each layer.
So I'll take about half of this icing...
whoop! [chuckles]
And plop it.
Oh, I am chaotic sometimes. Plop it in the center.
So I'm gonna spread this just to the edge,
because when I put the second layer on top,
I kinda wanna see that billowy white icing
kind of peeking out of the edges.
Little bit more there.
And then once it's all pushed out to the edge,
you wanna kind of make a well in the center,
'cause I have another thing I'm gonna add
that makes this cake feel just a little bit more
like someone and took their time
or someone called a really nice bakery.
[chuckles]
Alright, so I have this mixed berry,
or four-berry preserves, and I'm gonna add
about half a cup in this well.
And that is basically gonna be
part of the filling of this cake.
So when you slice into it, you get that beautiful icing,
but you also get that kind of bright red jam situation.
OK, that looks great.
Impressive so far.
Let's see if I can do this without running out of icing.
So For the top layer, of course, turn it over,
and then you have a nice flat cake.
And the rest of the icing goes right on top.
This is so great, even for a kid's birthday party.
Yes, you can make kids really fancy cakes if you want to,
but you could also dress this up for different holidays.
You could make it really springy or boozy
and cherry-forward if it's a holiday cake.
I love how you can see little drips of the jam
coming over the sides. That's so pretty.
OK, so shmear it and smear it and spread it
however you like,
and then you can just decorate the top.
And that's always fun, just use your creativity.
I'm not the most...
spectacularly creative when it comes to decorating cakes.
So I'm just gonna wing it.
I have some strawberries that are halved
with the stems still on.
I like to kinda just let my...
[chuckles]
...randomness be my guide.
I also have something I don't usually have on hand,
but these are dried edible flowers.
And I'm just gonna kind of put them here and there.
I chose colors that are, kind of like, berries.
Alrighty, as I said, I'm very random.
[chuckles] -- I don't know how this is gonna work.
See, how I decorate cakes is I just keep adding things
until I'm somewhat happy with it.
Alright.
And then, I think, fresh mint leaves
always cover a multitude of decorating shortcomings.
[chuckles] So if you're not thrilled with how things are going,
just grab some mint leaves and put them here and there.
Hey, I think this is looking cute.
I was a little skeptical there for a second,
but...if at first you don't succeed, just keep going.
Sometimes you can add too much, but I think this is darling.
OK, one more little mint leaf
and I promise I'm gonna stop.
Wait, one more little sprig right here.
OK, how cute!
Well, next time you have to make a cake for someone
you love, don't fret, don't panic.
Just grab a box cake mix and then go crazy
like I just did.
This is really gonna be so good.
I love making big, beautiful soups
during the holidays or year round,
and I always think a big pot of chowder
always feels so special.
Well, don't be afraid to break out the slow cooker
when it comes to soups, and stews and chowders.
I'm gonna show you how to make
a slow-cooker shrimp chowder.
It is out of this world, and it's so easy to make.
So right into the slow cooker,
I'm gonna add some frozen shrimp,
just hard as a rock, frozen.
And what you're gonna love about this recipe is
how simple it is.
You basically throw everything in the slow cooker
and turn it on.
So this makes a regular slow-cooker soup
seem a little more special.
It's diced andouille sausage.
You can do any kind of smoked sausage
or flavored sausage that you like.
I love the andouille with the shrimp.
It's kind of got a little bit of a New Orleans vibe.
And then a very easy, easy ingredient
is bagged potatoes.
These are diced potatoes, and they have red
and green bell pepper and onions mixed in.
So you just saved yourself a whole bunch
of chopping and cutting.
And fire-roasted corn.
I love how many amazing frozen vegetables you can get
in this modern era we're in.
I mean, you can get everything from Brussels sprouts
to butternut squash, fire-roasted corn kernels,
and it just makes cooking so easy,
and it doesn't make you feel like you're sacrificing flavor.
So to this mixture, I'm gonna go ahead
and add a good amount of salt and pepper
and some Cajun seasoning --
a couple of tablespoons, and this has salt,
so you're also salting it with this.
And I've got some salsa verde just to make things
a little punchy and a little can of green chilies.
I have so many of these in my pantry.
I use them all the time whether I'm making queso or soup.
It's always delicious.
Alright, next, some green onions and finally, for the liquid,
a whole carton of chicken broth.
It's best to use low sodium or no sodium just so everything
doesn't get too salty.
But when you're making food in a slow cooker,
it's always good to have plenty of liquid,
even if it's not a soup, just make sure
you have plenty of liquid in there
to keep things moist.
Alright, so the lid goes on and then I'm gonna cook this
on high for four hours and then I'll show you how delicious
it looks and I'll show you how to serve it up.
[ticking]
[ding]
Well, I'm four hours older,
and this soup is officially done.
I cannot tell you how good this soup smells.
And I just want you to look at this.
I'm going to lift out a big ladleful.
Look at how hearty and chunky it is.
There is so much going on in this soup.
And to me, that makes for a really tasty soup.
So I'm gonna serve it.
It's pretty rich and filling, so you don't have
to fill a bowl to the brim.
Oh, wow, look at that.
I'm gonna grab a little extra andouille sausage,
and honestly it really needs nothing more than just
a sprinkle of the green onion.
The soup is so good, it really stands alone.
Alright, next time you wanna impress your friends
and family with a super incredible chowder,
you have got to make this.
It is...you ready for this? Super-duper.
Sorry.
[upbeat music playing]
I am on my way home to the ranch,
and I have a couple of friends heading out for dinner,
but I am totally chill, because I am gonna make
chicken cutlets with vermouth cream.
It is a delicious recipe that never fails to impress.
Let me walk you through how to make it.
So first you get to work on the chicken.
It's just four cutlets, and you season them
with kosher salt and black pepper.
Flip them over and season the other side
just the same.
Next, dredge them in a third a cup
of all-purpose flour and put them on a sheet pan.
Then do the same with the second, third,
and fourth cutlet.
Then, when they're all done, put them in a pan
containing two tablespoons of salted butter
and two tablespoons of olive oil.
They are so quick to cook.
They'll just take about three minutes
on the first side,
then turn 'em and give 'em another three minutes
on the second side before taking them out onto a plate.
So far, so good, and talk about fast.
OK, now with the chicken all cooked,
it's time for the next step.
This is making the sauce, and all you do is throw
a medium minced shallot into the pan,
along with four cloves of minced garlic,
two teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme,
a pinch of kosher salt, and a pinch of black pepper.
You stir them and let everything soften
for about 60 seconds,
then pour in four ounces of dry vermouth,
to deglaze the pan,
scraping the bottom to release any bits.
The vermouth really adds a little something special
to the sauce.
Then, for even more decadence, add a cup of heavy cream,
a tablespoon of chopped chives,
stir everything together, and the sauce is all done.
So now add the chicken back in.
One, two, three, four pieces.
Bring everything to a simmer and cook the sauce
for a couple of minutes until it's thickened slightly.
Now you could serve this with sides like mashed potatoes,
green beans, a beautiful salad.
But I think my favorite way to serve it is with pasta.
It's just so good with all that sauce.
And let's face it, who doesn't love pasta?
So to serve it up,
just drain 12 ounces of pappardelle
cooked in boiled salted water,
tip the tangle of noodles onto a platter,
pile the chicken on top...
Oh, man, this is looking good.
Then pour over that fantastic vermouth sauce,
and sprinkle over a tablespoon of chives.
I have made this dish several times before
and I have to tell you, people go crazy for it,
me included. It's so easy
and no one would ever know it just takes minutes to make.
Don't tell anyone.
I know my secret's safe with you.
Alright, I've got dinner to make.
Bye, friends!