When "Easy as Pie" Makes Sense

        Sometimes I wonder who coined the phrase, "easy as pie." I've mulled those three words over in my mind countless times when working with pastry. Pastry, like pie crust for example, isn't too hard once you get the hang of it, but it's far from easy when you're just starting out. At least, it was for me. It took a long time before I knew what I was doing, but I loved homemade pie crust too much to simply purchase it store-bought.
        Then came puff pastry. Making your own puff pastry is supposed to be very time-consuming -- it can take over five hours of prep-time. There are some days when I'm perfectly willing to spend that amount of time in the kitchen. There are other days when I want to pop into the kitchen for only a few minutes, throw a few ingredients together and into the oven, be on my way, and pop back in half an hour later to find… magic. I love to find a meal that seems to defy logic -- so little time and effort is needed to produce it, yet the meal itself manages to be incredibly delicious.

Chicken Pie with Puff Pastry