Shrimp Pot Pies

I don't like watching the Food Network nearly as much as I used to. I'm not a fan of a lot of the new personalities on the channel. That being said, however, it's still my channel of choice for background noise during the day.

One day a few weeks ago, I happened to catch an episode of Cooking for Real with Sunny Anderson. She was making individual shrimp pot pies, and they looked and sounded so good that I just had to give them a try. And I am really, really glad I did. This meal skyrocketed right to the top of my favorite meals, ever. These shrimp pot pies are so incredibly delicious. The filling is rich and creamy and spicy and sweet and just...oh. So good. I can't adequately do them justice, so you'll just have to go make them yourself. Seriously. MAKE THEM. I guarantee that you will love them.

Sunny made her own puff pastry shells, but that was a little bit too fussy for me, so I'd planned on buying the pre-made shells for this recipe. However, my grocery store apparently doesn't carry the pre-made shells, so I had to improvise further. I cut one sheet of puff pastry into fourths, baked them, and then halved them and put the filling inside. They probably didn't look as pretty as Sunny's, but they were a lot easier to assemble.

If you make no other recipe on my blog, please, I beg you, make this one. These shrimp pot pies are one of the best things I have ever made. We all loved them, and I think they're well on their way to becoming a family favorite.

Shrimp Pot Pies
source: adapted from Food Network

1 egg
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
Flour, for dusting
1 package frozen medium shrimp (buy them shelled and deveined)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 small can mushrooms, drained
2 cloves minced garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and white pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water until well blended. Lightly dust work surface with flour. Unfold puff pastry, roll with a rolling pin to remove creases, and cut into fourths. Brush each piece with egg wash and bake in the middle of the oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and gently halve each pastry with a bread knife.

3. Meanwhile, season the shrimp with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Saute the shrimp, 1 minute per side. Remove shrimp and set aside.

4. Add remaining butter to the pan and saute onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and thyme, until softened about 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds. Add wine, bring to a simmer and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the cream and bring back to a simmer until the sauce thickens to a gravy consistency, about 12 to 15 minutes.

5. Place the shrimp back into the sauce to coat. Remove thyme and season with salt and white pepper. Ladle the shrimp mixture onto the bottom halves of the puff pastry; top with other halves.