Crust craze: Dinner’s in the oven!

If there’s one thing I love about the end of the summer, it’s turning the oven back on again.  And if there’s one thing I like about an oven, it’s getting to make dinner under, inside, or on top of a crust.

My son’s favorite dinner is chard tart (sautéed greens in a Gruyère custard in a crust, basically).  That’s followed closely by Turkish börek, which takes an easy yogurt pastry and is the only exception to his anti-yogurt crusade.  My daughter likes empanadas, I think because she can run off with one clutched tight in her little fist.

Personally, I have a weakness for chicken pot pie, which I make whenever I can work up the energy for the puff pastry.  Why make puff pastry, you ask, when it’s so easy to find at the supermarket? Daft, I know, but it just bugs me to pay the markup on something whose ingredients cost less than $4.

Short crust, pâte brisée, phyllo, express puff…doesn’t really matter.  As long as it gets shattery and golden-brown after 40 minutes at 375 degrees, you can be sure there will be whimpers of crustatory pleasure at the table.

What’s your favorite savory crust food?  and how far will you go to get it?

Susie