CHICKEN POT PIE

Here's something you can make with leftover cooked chicken, especially leftover rotisserie chicken. It doesn't take long, and you can vary the veggies according to what you have on hand. Mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes work well with pot pies; but this time, I just used baby carrots, green beans, peas, and mashed potatoes. When it's cold outside, this is a comforting meal. You can have a salad with it, or just have it alone. It's a balanced meal, so you don't have to feel guilty if that's all you serve.

The phyllo crust doesn't have to be full of fat. You can spray non-stick cooking spray between layers and just brush a little butter or Smart Balance on the top layer. It'll taste just as good, and no one will miss the calories. As I've said before, I'm not really a fan of phyllo dough, but for pot pie, it's a good choice, especially when you make it low-fat.

Chicken Pot Pie
Source: Judy's Kitchen
Rating: 8 out of 10
INGREDIENTS:
Pot Pie: 1 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced or grated
1 Tbsp. fresh marjoram, oregano or thyme, chopped fine without stems
1/4 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup green beans, cut in 1/2" pieces
1/2 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup cooked, shredded or cut-up chicken (or turkey)
3/4 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp. heavy cream (or lite sour cream, if desired)

Phyllo Crust: 4 sheets phyllo dough
non-stick cooking spray
1-1/2 tsp. Smart Balance buttery spread, melted

Preheat oven to 375F. In heavy 12" skillet, saute onions in Smart Balance over medium heat till transparent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and herbs and saute for another minute, stirring. Add carrots, green beans and mashed potatoes and continue to stir till just heated, about 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, raise heat, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a low simmering boil, and cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes, or till sauce reduces and thickens slightly. Add remaining ingredients and stir till heated through, but do not boil. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt if needed.

In the meantime, lay a sheet of phyllo dough on top of a sheet of plastic wrap. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and add another sheet of phyllo on top; repeat until all 4 sheets are together. Do not spray top sheet of phyllo. Cut the phyllo stack in half vertically, then into thirds, giving you 6 stacks.

Spoon pot pie filling into two 2-cup baking dishes and top each with 3 stacks of phyllo. Brush each top with melted Smart Balance. Place baking dishes on a rimmed cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake about 20 minutes, or till filling is bubbling and crust is golden. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 2 servings

ONE-BOWL CRISS CROSS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES, ADAPTED

A while back, I challenged Anna of Cookie Madness to a throwdown for peanut butter cookies. Anna has a peanut butter cookie recipe that she thinks is the best, and I have a recipe that I think is the best. Anna quickly pointed out that the cookies were different kinds and shouldn't be faced off; and in hindsight, I have to agree. But she did bake up a batch of my faves and said she liked them. In fact, she named them into her mid-autumn top 10 list. So the least I could do was to bake up a batch of her fave.

Actually, I had her recipe in my peanut butter cookie recipe file waiting to be made. Anna had the same recipe from Teri's Kitchen and just added peanut butter chips to them. Teri's Kitchen calls these Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies, and Anna calls them One-Bowl Criss Cross Peanut Butter Cookies. So here's the chronology of my kitchen experiments with Anna's One-Bowl Criss Cross Peanut Butter Cookies:

1. Made a half batch of Anna's recipe
making no substitutions or changes. I baked some small and some larger.

The cookies tasted dry to me. Did I put in too much flour? Did I overbake them? (Top photo is first batch.)

2. Emailed Anna to discuss cookies. Maybe I just don't like a sandy-textured cookie. That's how they're supposed to be.

3. Decided to make cookies again, measuring very carefully this time. As long as I was making the cookies again, I decided to add some flavors I like with peanut butter: coffee and cinnamon. Used Smart Balance buttery spread instead of butter this time, and baked some of the cookies using 1/4 cup of dough and some using 2 Tbsp. of dough. I slightly underbaked this batch. The flavor of the cookies was improved, but the texture stayed the same -- it didn't matter whether the cookie was large or small. Anna's right: I'm not fond of sandy-textured cookies.

The thing that's decidely different about these cookies is that they don't change when you put them in the oven. They don't puff up or spread. They stay pretty much the way they are when you put them in the oven. The texture is sandy and on the dry side. I'm going to assume that, if they're Anna's fave, there are a lot of others out there who will also like them a lot. So following is the recipe the way I made them the second time. You may think it's crazy to add coffee and cinnamon, but trust me, you won't taste either of those flavors: the cookie just kind of mellows out. Or, you can do what Anna did: add chipotle chile powder!

Just in case you're not sure whether you'll like this cookie, just remember that the half batch doesn't make that many -- only about 10. So you don't have a lot to lose by trying. Who knows, you might find the peanut butter cookie of your dreams.

One-Bowl Criss Cross Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted Half Batch from Teri's Kitchen + Cookie Madness

Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) of Smart Balance buttery spread

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar (I used 1-1/2 tsp. Stevia)

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Smucker's Natural)

1/2 egg (about 2 Tbsp.) (Use the other half egg to make a half batch of something else!)

1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. coffee syrup*

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (3 oz. by weight)

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350F. By hand, cream butter and sugars; add peanut butter, egg, vanilla and coffee syrup; mix well, scraping down sides. Add salt, baking soda and cinnamon, mixing well. Add flour and chips and stir till blended.

Using 2 Tbsp. of dough**, shape into 1" balls and place on cookie sheets about 2" apart. Flatten balls with a fork, making crisscross patterns. Bake about 10 minutes, or till just barely done. (Use a toothpick to test for doneness, just like you do for a cake.) Cookies will not be browned and will be soft. Transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool. These cookies break easily, so be gentle. (**Or use 1/4 cup dough and bake about 12 minutes.)

*Coffee Syrup: In a small jar, measure 1/4 cup coffee brandy and 2-3 Tbsp. instant coffee. Refrigerate and use as needed. This is a wonderful flavoring for chocolate recipes, such as brownies, cupcakes, etc.; for peanut butter recipes and for chocolate chip cookies. Use like you would vanilla but add it to vanilla instead of substituting it. If you don't care to bake with alcoholic beverages, you can sub very very strong coffee for the syrup.)

A YUMMY SHRIMP-PASTA TOSS

Allrecipes.com had a recipe for Fresh Tomato Shrimp Pasta, which I adapted for the ingredients I had on hand. The shrimp were in the freezer, but we caught them ourselves a few months ago. Instead of fettucini, I used thin spaghetti: you can use whatever pasta suits you. The thin spaghetti worked very well with this recipe, especially with the additions of Smart Balance, cream and parsley. For the sauce, I added mushrooms, white wine and some heavy cream. Luckily, my oregano has survived the freezes we've had, so I was able to harvest enough for this recipe, and IMHO, it made the dish superb. Of course, you can use dried oregano, but be sure it's a fresh jar of good-quality oregano, and only use about 1/4 of the amount listed, since dried herbs are more concentrated.

This dish was exquisite -- one that I'll definitely make again. We both liked it. And here's a real bonus for small eaters like us: this recipe made enough for 2 meals. So we had two dinners out of it. It was every bit as good when reheated, two nights later. How's that for efficiency?

Since there is a bit of chopping to do, you can prep all the veggies in the AM, then when you're ready to start dinner, it's a breeze to finish.

Pasta with Shrimp Sauce

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta: 8 oz. dry thin spaghetti, or other pasta of choice

1 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread or butter

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Shrimp Sauce: 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, patted dry with paper towels

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 tsp. chopped fresh garlic

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves (or 1 tsp. dried crushed oregano)

1/2 tsp. crushed dried basil

1/4 cup drinking-quality dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste (taste before using -- I used about 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper)

3/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes in juice

1 cup chicken broth

2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach (I used 2 cups baby spinach)

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 Tbsp. oil till very hot. Add shrimp and quickly par-cook on both sides, but don't cook through. Remove shrimp to a dish and keep warm.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to pan with onions and mushrooms and saute over medium heat till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and basil and cook for another minute, stirring as needed. Pour the wine over the veggies and let it bubble for about 30 seconds while scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and broth and bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered, till mixture reduces. Cover pan and continue to cook sauce on low heat.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook per package directions, until tender.

When pasta is almost done cooking,

stir in the spinach, par-cooked shrimp, and cream, cooking just till heated through.

Drain the pasta and toss with Smart Balance, cream and parsley.

Place in serving bowls and spoon shrimp sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top of shrimp sauce. Enjoy! Yield: 2-4 servings

BLUEBERRY-CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Lauren Groveman is a food writer for the Larchmont Gazette, as well as a cookbook author and TV personality. So I figured her recipe for
"Loaded with Blueberries" Muffins would have to be good. I was disappointed, to say the least. Lauren uses cinnamon and nutmeg to flavor the muffin, and IMHO, those flavors don't work well here. Call me a traditionalist, but I still like lemon and orange zests the best for flavoring anything made with berries. The muffins also come up a little short on sugar, and you know I tend to go light on sugar. But these need a little more. In the rare event you might like to make these, I've adjusted the ingredient amounts below to make these a little sweeter. I added some broken pecans on the tops of the muffins, and I do like the texture and taste of the pecans on the muffin tops. But I won't make this recipe again.

Blueberry-Cranberry Muffins

Rating: 5 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

Topping:

1/2 cup mixed blueberries/cranberries

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. broken pecans

Muffins:

1-3/4 cups all-purpose or white whole wheat flour

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1 large egg

1 Tbsp. oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar + 2 Tbsp. for tops

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups mixed blueberries and cranberries, frozen & unthawed

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 8 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. (Or use a 6-cup standard muffin tin and a 12-cup mini-muffin tin.)

In a small bowl, mix all topping ingredients together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine egg, oil, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar, whisking till well combined and smooth. Whisk in applesauce and vanilla. Fold berries into dry ingredients, coating them thoroughly with flour mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring with a spatula just till barely combined. Spoon lightly into prepared muffin cups, allowing about 1/4 cup batter for each. Sprinkle topping mix evenly over muffins, then sprinkle tops with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar. Bake the minis for about 13 minutes; the standard muffins for about 19 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick near center of muffin; when it returns with just a few crumbs, the muffins are done. Cool in pans about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

LOW-FAT APPLE STRUDEL

It's been a long time since I made an apple strudel. I used to make them all the time, with frozen puff pastry. They're easy and fast and perfect for just two people -- not a lot of leftovers. I've been thinking about strudel lately, and I decided to make a recipe I saw on foodnetwork.com, by Robert Bleifer. Instead of brushing melted butter on the layers of Phyllo dough, Robert uses a mixture of beaten egg whites and just a touch of olive oil. Instead of the olive oil, I used melted Smart Balance buttery spread, which I think has a better flavor for a pastry. I made other changes as well, most notably I subbed toasted broken walnuts for the plumped rum-soaked raisins. I served this the other night, when we had a friend for dinner. The dessert got two thumbs up -- way up -- from our friend and from picky Guy. So I guess it's a winner. I'm not a big fan of Phyllo dough, and I've gotten away from strudels, but this was a nice dessert. One last word of warning: Don't serve it with ice cream, or anything for that matter. Let the strudel stand alone so you can appreciate its flavors. Any accompaniment will mask the apple flavors that want to shine on their own. It's a nice, light dessert -- perfect for 4 people. There was one slice left over, and I ate it the next day cold after lunch. It was still good.

Low-Fat Apple Strudel
Adapted from Robert Bleifer's Apple Strudel, Food Network
Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1 Granny Smith apple
1 Delicious apple Total weight of apples, about 10 oz. (2-1/2 cups)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. apricot preserves or apple jelly
1 egg white, room temperature
1 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread, melted or butter
2 Tbsp. Panko breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. finely chopped almonds
2 Tbsp. sugar + 1 tsp. to sprinkle over top of strudel
5 sheets of phyllo
2 Tbsp. toasted broken walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and core the apples and grate them on a box grater or slice them thinly. Measure out about 2-1/2 cups and put them in a bowl with the lemon juice, zest, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and preserves. Toss to distribute ingredients.

In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt the Smart Balance and let it cool slightly. Add the egg white and whisk it till it's smooth.

In a small bowl or dish combine breadcrumbs, almonds and 2 Tbsp. sugar, stirring to distribute ingredients. Place one sheet of phyllo on a large piece of plastic wrap on a work surface and lightly brush with egg white mixture. Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp. crumb mixture over dough. Top with another layer of phyllo and repeat the process four times. When you get to the last sheet of phyllo, just brush it with the egg white mixture; don't use any crumb mixture on top.

Place the apple mixture on the lower 1/3 of the phyllo tack, being sure to leave a 2" border. Gently lift the bottom edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling, then fold the side edges over, making an envelope. Continue to roll the stack away from you, until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom.

Transfer to the lined baking sheet, brush the top with the remaining egg white mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Place in oven and bake 30 minutes. Let cool before serving. (I think the phyllo knew I didn't like it. One side looked perfect: see above photo. But the filling leaked out the other side. It's ok, it tasted fine. Puff pastry never did that. I think phyllo is just too thin. Haven't changed my mind; I still don't care for it.)

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED 2008 PUMPKIN PIE, ADAPTED

In November 2008, CI updated its pumpkin pie recipe. They found, through trial and error, that adding some sweet potatoes and maple syrup to the filling and cooking it with the spices and sugar before baking it in the pie crust gave the pie more depth of taste. They also liked fresh ginger as opposed to dry ginger. And where they came up with whole eggs + yolks is a mystery. (If I make this pie again, I will just use two eggs.) Usually, CI is a dependable source for good recipes. Their
vodka pie crust is absolutely phenomenal and one that will now be a standard in my house. But I had to add spices and flavoring to the pumpkin pie filling. I tasted the filling before it went into the Cuisinart, after cooking it for a while, and it was very good. But after I added the cream and milk, it seemed bland. So I added more ginger and cinnamon, then I added cloves and allspice, then I added rum, and finally it was tasting like a pumpkin pie should. The texture of the pie is great, and it's just sweet enough. But IMHO, CI did not flavor the pie correctly; and it needed just a touch of cloves and allspice to wake it up but not overpower it. (I know this is very subjective; everyone has his own idea of what a pumpkin pie should taste like. While I don't care for a pie that is overwhelmed with spices, I do like to taste some spice in the filling.) The rum just completes the flavor. (If you don't cook with alcohol, I don't have a substitute for you. Just leave the rum out and have a little less flavor.)

Cook's Illustrated 2008 Pumpkin Pie, Adapted
Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh roasted) (I used fresh-roasted pumpkin)
1/2 cup drained canned yams, or 1/2 cup fresh-roasted sweet potatoes (I used the latter)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1-1/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
Big pinch powdered cloves
Big pinch powdered allspice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup milk, divided use
1-1/2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk (Or just use 2 large eggs.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. Barbados rum (or any other good rum that you have)



Preheat oven to 400F. Prebake pie crust and transfer to a wire rack. While crust is baking, start the pumpkin filling: In a 2-quart heavy pot, cook first 10 ingredients (pumpkin, potatoes, sugar, maple syrup, spices and salt) over medium heat. Bring to a sputtering simmer and cook 5-7 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, 10-15 minutes, while mashing any lumps against side of pot. Transfer mixture to work bowl of a food processor and puree with 1/2 cup of milk. Add eggs, one at a time and pulse to combine each. Transfer mixture back to pot, add remaining ingredients (1/2 cup milk, heavy cream, vanilla, & rum) and stir to combine. (I did this on the cooktop, with stove turned to medium.) Pour hot mixture into warm crust and place on baking sheet on bottom rack of oven, at the lowest setting. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325F and bake about 25-35 minutes longer, or till pie is just barely set. (I watch the pie puff up, starting at the edges and working towards the center. When everything but 2" or so of the center is puffed up, and the pie just jiggles slightly, take it out.) Cool at room temperature 2-3 hours, then refrigerate. Serve with rum whipped cream, if desired. Yield: one 9" pie, about 8 servings

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED VODKA PIE CRUST

Leave it to Cook's Illustrated to come up with a pie crust recipe that uses vodka to get a flaky, tender crust. Naturally, there's a scientific reason for it: 80 Proof vodka is 60% water, 40% alcohol. The alcohol burns off, leaving a tender, flaky crust. The alcohol also does not add to gluten formation, another factor in the incredible flakiness of this crust. So I tried it for my pumpkin pie this year. But we didn't have an 80 Proof vodka -- we had Smirnoff 70 Proof; and it worked just fine, even though it was citrus flavored. You cannot taste the vodka, nor the citrus. Since part of the secret of this recipe is chilling the crust, even after rolling, I decided to use an aluminum pie pan, instead of the usual glass one. CI recommends placing the pie on a cookie sheet and baking it on the bottom oven grate , so I did away with my pizza stone and followed their instructions.

What can I say? CI came through again. This pie crust ranks right up there with my fave, and I thought I had the best recipe for pie crust. I've rated both recipes 10 out of 10; both pie doughs are tender and flaky and flavorful, though I think my old fave has slightly more flavor, given it contains an egg and vinegar; but the CI vodka crust is definitely flakier. With my first attempt at making CI's pie crust, I was amazed at how easy it was to roll out. But if I follow the CI instructions on chilling to make my fave, maybe it will also be easy to roll out. I will have to work with both doughs a number of times before I can truly make a comparison. For now, I have two favorite pie crust recipes; and either one will be okay by me.

Here's the rub. As I read a lot of the comments from people who have made this crust, I found that the dough is supposed to be very moist, more moist than usual. So It requires as much as a 1/4 cup of flour to roll it out. Well, my crust didn't need much flour at all to roll it out. What did I do wrong? I followed their recipe, that's what. They said 2-1/2 cups of flour, or 12-1/2 oz. I guess 2-1/2 cups is supposed to equal 12-1/2 oz., but my 2-1/2 cups came up short, so I had to add more flour to get the weight. The dough was not exceptionally moist. It went together, but it was tight, not exactly dry, but actually perfect for rolling, not requiring much flour at all. (In hindsight, I think what happened is that the relative humidity in my home is very low right now [about 34%]; and the flour weighed less. I did some quick research online and found that humidity levels can and do affect flour. I also had trouble with a cookie recipe same day for the same reason.) So whether you measure by weight or volume, remember to check the humidity levels in your home -- but the real key is to assess what kind of a dough you have and make an educated guess on the amount of flour you need to roll it out. (I've got another interesting story of a pie crust disaster in my early years because I used too much flour to roll out the crust -- I'll save it for another time, but please only add as much flour as you absolutely need or you may wind up with a stiff-as-a-board pie crust.) If the dough is very moist, don't be afraid to use as much as 1/4 cup flour to get it to roll out. And be sure you work with a well-chilled dough before you roll.

According to CI, this recipe yields two crusts. I used one for the pumpkin pie and froze the other for later use. Once I rolled out the dough for the pie, I still had some left over. I rerolled the dough and was able to fill a small disposable pot-pie tin (see top photo). I froze it for later use, also. Next time, I'll separate the dough into 3 crusts, instead of 2. (Note that I like a thin crust. If you roll yours thicker, you should keep to 2 crusts.)

One more note: CI recommends using pie weights when pre-baking a crust. Since I didn't have pie weights, I subbed a 1-lb. bag of dried chick peas (garbanzo beans), and they worked perfectly. They can be reused many times -- I just put mine in a plastic bag for next time.

Cook's Illustrated Vodka Pie Crust

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

12 Tbsp. (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup vodka (I used Smirnoff Citrus, 70 Proof)

1/4 cup water

2-1/2 cups (12-1/2 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour, divided use

1 tsp. table salt (I used sea salt)

2 Tbsp. sugar

Cut the butter into 1/4 " slices, then into quarters. Measure the shortening and cut it into small pieces. Lay it all out on a sheet of wax paper and put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Measure the vodka and water in a measuring cup so that it equals 1/2 cup, and place it in the freezer also.

Process 1-1/2 cups flour with the salt and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add the butter and shortening and process in short, quick pulses, until dough comes together in uneven clumps. (Don't use a continuous pulse, as this incorporates the fat too quickly.) All the flour should be coated, and the dough should kind of look like cottage cheese curds. Scrape down dough and add remaining cup of flour; pulse again, with short, quick pulses, until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl, about 4-6 quick pulses. Using feeding tube, pour vodka/water mixture into bowl and again use short, quick pulses to incorporate into dough. Pulse till dough is mixed and comes together. You should be able to see tiny pieces of butter in the dough. Remove dough from work bowl and divide into two or three equal pieces (two if you like a thicker crust; three if you like your crust thinner). Flatten each into a 4" disk and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 45 minutes, or up to 2 days, or freeze for later use.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F. Place oven rack in lowest position and place a rimmed baking sheet on bottom rack. Roll out chilled dough into a circle, about 13" diameter, using two sheets of wax paper. Use the amount of flour that is right for the consistency of your dough. Place the rolled-out dough on the wax paper in the fridge for 15 minutes, then transfer to a pie plate; trim and crimp edges. Line dough with tinfoil and weight with pie weights, beans, rice or coins. (Note: a 1-lb. bag of dried chick peas works great!) Bake 15 minutes; remove foil and weights (just lift all 4 corners of the tinfoil up and out of the pie crust); bake 5-10 more minutes, or till crust is golden brown and crisp. Cool slightly. If filling with pumpkin pie filling, place hot filling in warm crust.