Bottomless Pie

   

    It's that time of year again, where you analyze all that has happened over the past year and recognize what is most important in your life.  I just returned back to San Francisco after spending a lovely week with my family and friends in Philadelphia, which reconfirmed how lucky I truly am to have such amazing people in my life.  This year has been one hell of a ride for Erich and I, and frankly I am thankful to have made it through with only a few bumps and scratches.  I am looking forward to the year ahead and the pies to come!

    This pie was inspired by leftovers.  There are certainly plenty of them around this time of year, and there is always that one side dish that lingers around the fridge that you're not quite sure what to do with.  In our case, we had leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving.  We went to LA for thanksgiving and only took back brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce, so there was not much around to pair with the cranberry sauce, and I was not about to cook another turkey!  These days I love pairing fruit and savory toppings on pies.  It's just soooo satisfying!

Ingredients

cranberry sauce (made from scratch)

1 1/4" slice of pancetta

buffala 

blue cheese

1/2 tsp. fresh thyme

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp. reserved pancetta fat (oil leftover in pan)

    If you don't have any cranberry sauce lying around and you want to make this pie, I suggest either making it from scratch or purchasing the kind that has whole cranberries in it.  We used the recipe on the back of the trader joe's bag.  Of course we added our personal twist, but that's for us to know and you to wonder.

    First dice up the pancetta and crisp it up in a pan for about 5 minutes.  Then scoop out the pancetta and place in a bowl.  Reserve the oil in the pan.  Next add dollops of cranberry sauce on the pie.  Use as much or as little as you like.  Then add the rest of the toppings (pancetta, cheese, seasoning etc.).  Finish the pie off with the reserved pancetta fat and bake in the oven until the cheese is all bubbly and the crust browns up nice.  Soon it will smell like the holidays in your house all over again!  

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!