Over time, the term became used to designate a meat pie with conventional crusts, baked in the oven in a deep pie plate or casserole dish. There’s more on the history of meat pies below.

The pot pie can be baked without a bottom crust but with a conventional top crust or a biscuit topping (the dough is dropped onto the top), like a cobbler. Personally, we prefer a crisp biscuit to a crust.

Here’s a recipe for a “crustless” pot pie using biscuits comes to us from PotatoGoodness.com; the original recipe was sent to them by GoodLifeEats.com. Prep time is 1 hour, cook time is 1 hours, 35 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE: TWO POTATO BEEF & VEGETABLE POT PIE WITH ROSEMARY BISCUIT CRUST

Ingredients For 6 Servings

For The Filling

 
For The Sauce

 
For The Biscuits

 
Preparation: Filling

1. HEAT the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet or pan. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat until it is browned on all sides. Remove and set aside on a plate.

2. ADD onion to the pan, with additional oil as necessary. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

3. RETURN beef to the pan and add the red wine to deglaze, taking care to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan as they offer a lot of flavor (see how to deglaze a pan). Cover and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, or until beef is tender. (Optional technique: use a pressure cooker on high pressure for 10 minutes.) Meanwhile…

4. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F and prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan, add the butter and melt. Whisk in the flour, then the milk and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

5. UNCOVER and add the carrots, celery, potatoes and parsnips. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas. Stir in the sauce.

6. POUR the ingredients into a large casserole dish and top with the uncooked biscuits (recipe below). Bake for 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
 
Preparation: Biscuits

1. REMOVE the flesh from the baked potatoes. Mash it with a fork or press it through a potato ricer. This will take 1-2 potatoes and should result in a total of 1/2 cup of potato. In a small mixing bowl, combine the 1/2 cup potato with the buttermilk. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

2. COMBINE in a medium bowl the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well sifted. Cut the butter into the flour mixture either using two knives, a pastry blender, or a cheese grater (to grate frozen butter into the flour mixture). Add the rosemary and stir to combine.

3. MAKE a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk potato mixture. Stir until combined, and then when you can’t stir it anymore, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until you can form a rough ball.

4. FLATTEN the dough into a circle about 1/2-3/4 inch in thickness. Using a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass (about 2-1/2″ to 3″ in diameter for the listed baking time) turned upside down, cut as many rounds as you can. Using the dough scraps, form another circle of the same thickness. Repeat cutting until you have used all the dough.
 
 

POT PIE HISTORY

Meat pies likely date back to milling of flour in ancient times—but before the invention of pie plates. Very thick crusts were used as baking vessels, and were popular banquet fare during the Roman Empire.

By the 16th century, the English gentry revived the ancient custom of meat pies. Venison was the meat of choice. The recipe crossed the pond to America, where it became as American as…pot pie! Chicken, beef and vegetable pot pies are the most common; but if you have venison, by all means, enjoy a historic venison pot pie.

[1] Pot pie without the pie: Use biscuits instead (photo © Good Life Eats).

[2] Beef stew cubes (photo © Lobel’s Meats | NYC)

[3] Fresh thyme adds great flavor notes: earthy, slightly lemony, minty (photo © Good Eggs).

[4] Parsnips are a very under-appreciated vegetable in the U.S. We put them in chicken soup, too (photo © Barbro Bergfeldt | Fotolia).

[5] Bay leaf and beef stew are a natural pairing (photo © Monika Grabkowska | Unsplash).

[6] Fresh rosemary makes a difference (photo © Burpee).

Top chefs agree. Here’s a recipe from one of our favorite Top Chef finalists, Fabio Viviani.

Among his other pursuits, Chef Fabio serves as the brand ambassador for Bertolli Olive Oil (which happens to be the world’s number one brand). He is also the host of the award-winning web series “Chow Ciao!” on Yahoo!

We can’t get to Fabio’s Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood, California; but we can whip up his recipe.

Fabio serves the beet tartare with lobster tail poached in olive oil. You can substitute shrimp for the lobster; or serve the tartare as a side or a first course, presented with whatever you like.

Prep and cooking time: 45 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE: LOBSTER WITH BEET TARTARE

Ingredients For 1 Serving

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the beets: Dice the beets into small pieces so they resemble chopped tuna. Place in a bowl and add the shallots, orange zest, mustard, vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. PREPARE the lobster: Place the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and 2 sprigs of thyme into a small pot and place over low heat. Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add the lobster.

3. COOK for about 5 minutes or until the lobster is cooked through (but not overcooked—it will be tough and dry). Remove and set aside.

4. PLATE: Add the diced beets to a mold or ramekin; place on the plate with the lobster and garnish as desired.
 
 
WHAT IS TARTARE?

Steak tartare, or tartar steak, is a meat dish* named after the legend that Tartars† did not have time to cook their meat, so ate it raw on horseback.

Steak tartare is made from finely chopped or minced raw beef or horse meat, plus seasonings. With its growing popularity over the last 30 or so years, other recipes have adopted the name. Salmon tartare, tuna tartare, tomato tartare, carrot tartare and strawberry tartare are some examples.

[1] Beet tartare (under the edible flower) and poached lobster (photo © Fabio Viviani).

[2] If you don’t like lobster, scallops are equally delicious and more budget-friendly (photo © Iliane Solenyi | Panther Media).

[3] We love fresh beets, but they are one of the rare vegetables where the precooked, plastic-packaged or canned versions taste just as good (photo © Good Eggs).

*The typical recipe is round raw beef mixed with onions, capers, Worcestershire sauce and a raw egg, served with toast points. A variation, tartare aller-retour, is tartare patty lightly seared on one side. Steak tartare is often served with frites (French fries). In Belgium, the dish is known as filet américain. American? What happened to the Tartars?

†The Tartars, also spelled Tatars, are an ethnic group in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Most Tatars live in the Russian Federation. To Americans, the most famous of the Tartars is Genghis Khan, whose troops invaded Europe in the 13th century. The most famous Tartar-American is the actor Charles Bronson.

At any time of year, this lavish mash recipe is sure to impress. It’s easy to prepare when you use packaged baby beets, typically found shrink-wrapped in the produce department. This recipe is courtesy Love Beets. Find more beet recipes at LoveBeets.com.

The recipe serves two: prep time 5 minutes, cooking time 20 minutes.

RECIPE: MASHED BEETS & POTATOES

Ingredients

Purple passion: mashed beets and potatoes. Photo courtesy LoveBeets.com.

Preparation

1. PEEL the potatoes and cut each into 8 pieces. Put them into a large pan of salted water and bring to boiling. Simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. While the potatoes cook…

2. CHOP the beets into quarters.

3. DRAIN the potatoes and add the quartered beets and crème fraîche to the pan. Mash everything together well until you have a smooth pink mash. Season to taste.

THE HISTORY OF BEETS

Beets, Beta vulgaris are a root vegetable: leaves grow above ground, and the edible root is below. In America, the shortened form, beet, is used instead of the longer beetroot.

Beets evolved from wild sea beet, which grew in places as wide-ranging as Britain and India. It was first cultivated in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East—although only the leaves were eaten. (Even today, beet greens are delicious. Don’t throw them away: Sauté them in olive oil with some minced garlic.)

Roman recipes included cooking beets with honey and wine. Apicius, the renowned Roman gourmet, included a beet broth recipe in his cookbook as well as beet salad with a dressing of mustard, oil and vinegar. All are still fine recipes today.

The original beet roots were long and thin like carrots. The rounded root shape of today was developed in the 16th century; by the 18th century it was widely cultivated in central and eastern Europe. Many of today’s classic beet dishes originated in this region, including borscht.

In 19th century England, beets’ dramatic color were often used to brighten up salads and soups. The high sugar content made it a popular ingredient in cakes and puddings (and in the U.S., led to the creation of red velvet cake).

Today there are many varieties of beets sizes large and small, including candy-striped (with red and white concentric circles), orange, white and yellow. Look for these specialty beets in farmers markets.
 
BEET TIPS

You can use cooked beets in any recipe that requires raw beets. Just reduce the cooking time accordingly.

Alas, beet juice does stain. If you aren’t a very neat cook or eater, wear dark clothing! But beet juice is a water-soluble dye, so try one of these methods to clean up stains:

But the oil does more than look pretty. It adds a rich dimension of flavor to the soup and creates a more complex aroma. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to go from everyday to gourmet.

OIL DRIZZLE FOR SOUPS

In our book, a drizzle of flavored olive oil elevates a bowl of soup to top tier restaurant level. A tablespoon or less—depending on the size of the bowl—does the trick.

Cucumber yogurt soup with a kick of chili oil, a garnish of thin-sliced baby radishes, fennel and diced orange. Photo courtesy The Chocolate Lab | San Francisco .

In a lighter soup you can contrast colored oils: a swirl of one with some contrasting droplets of another.

With a darker soup, you can use a cream-based product—crème fraîche, infused heavy cream, sour cream, yogurt.
 
HOW TO DRIZZLE

You may have natural technique, or you may have to practice to get a nice swirl. Place the oil on a teaspoon and drizzle from the tip. If you want to practice, drizzle inexpensive oil on a plate.

Another technique is to use a squeeze bottle or medicine dropper to create a circle of droplets, or a random pattern. In the top photo above, both swirls and droplets are used.

You can combine both techniques and use a different oil, or balsamic vinegar, for the droplets.

Heavy cream works just fine, but crème fraîche, sour cream and yogurt are too thick to drizzle; they need to be thinned. You can do this with water, milk or cream.

While sour cream and yogurt contribute natural tang, you can add flavor to them, or to crème fraîche or heavy cream. Lemon zest, flavored salt and pepper are some options. You can infuse heavy cream with herbs: crush the herbs and let them sit in the cream for an hour or longer. Strain and discard the herbs.

 
RECIPE: LEMON CRÈME FRAÎCHE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BLEND the crème fraîche, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper.

2. THIN as needed with water to a drizzle consistency.
 
Soup’s on! And today, February 4th, is National Homemade Soup Day. Check out our favorite soup recipes.

One of our favorite chocolatiers, year in and year out, is John & Kira’s. Using Valrhona couverture, the exquisite flavor, beautiful design and a touch of whimsey make us want box after box.

We love the Chocolate Bees and Lovebugs (chocolate ladybugs). Our favorite product, perhaps because there’s nothing like it elsewhere, are the Chocolate Covered Figs, filled with a whiskey-accented chocolate ganache.

But for Valentine’s Day, the Wildflowers & Hearts box seem spot-on. Order yours at JohnandKiras.com. A nine-piece box is $29.

Red Chocolate Hearts are dusted with a golden sheen and filled with cinnamon-accented pistachio ganache. Wildflowers are 66% cacao chocolate ganache.

A nine-piece gift box is $29.00.

The holiday named for the Christian saint Valentine had its beginnings as the raucous annual Roman festival of Lupercalia, held on February 15th. Men stripped naked and spanked maidens with whips with the goal of increasing their fertility. It was a wildly popular event.

In the fifth century C.E.—at least 150 years after Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire—church leaders sought to convert popular pagan festivals into Christian festivals. (Christmas is another example of this.)

Conveniently, there was a legend about St. Valentine to which Lupercalia could be pegged. According to the story, in the third century C.E. the Roman Emperor Claudius II, seeking to bolster his army, forbade young men to marry. The priest Valentine helped lovers by performing marriages in secret. For his defiance, Valentine was executed in on February 14, 270.

The first Valentine note on record was a couplet penned in the 15th-century by Charles, Duke of Orléans to his wife. The earliest surviving Valentine notes in English were written in 1477.

But it wasn’t until the 19th century that cards became popular. Handwritten cards gave way to mass-produced greetings. By the mid-20th century, tokens of affection extended to other gifts, including flowers and chocolates.

The first heart-shaped box of chocolates in North America was produced by Ganong Bros in Canada (founded 1873). The boxes were originally used during the Christmas season but subsequently remained for Valentine’s Day (source: Wikipedia).

Today, we know enough about chocolate to care about what’s in the box. Hold the cardboard heart; send us John & Kira’s.