Lately, I’ve come across a lot of recipes calling for a cheddar pie crust to bake an apple pie. While I haven’t tried that recipe combination yet, it got me thinking- what else would be good in a flaky, cheesy, cheddar crust-o-goodness… Turkey pot pie indeed.

Cheddar Crust
Ingredients
Makes enough for one 10-inch double crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup ice water

Process flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter; pulse until pea-size lumps appear. Pulse in cheese. With processor running, add ice water; process just until dough comes together.

Turn dough out; gather into a block. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Dough can be frozen up to 3 weeks.

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 ounces button mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps cut in half then thickly sliced crosswise
1 cup thinly sliced peeled carrots (about 2 carrots)
1/2 cup diced leftover cooked vegetables (optional)
1 1/2 cups diced cooked turkey (7 to 8 ounces)
1 to 1 1/4 cups gravy
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 egg white, beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)
1 9-inch purchased pie crust

Sauté onion in olive oil until golden. Add sliced mushrooms; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until browned and tender, about 4 minutes. Add sliced carrots; cover and cook until carrots soften slightly, about 2 minutes. Add leftover vegetables, if desired. Add diced turkey, gravy, and chopped fresh thyme. Bring filling mixture to boil; reduce heat to low and simmer to thicken if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in peas and chopped parsley. Pour filling into 9-inch-diameter ready made pie dish and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.

(Assemble Cheddar pie dough, see recipe above)

Place crust atop filling and fold edge of dough over edge of pie dish. Pinch dough rim to seal crust all around. Press down on top edge of crust with thumb or fork tines to seal decoratively. Chill 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly brush top of pie with egg glaze. Make three to four 1/4-inch slits in center of pie to allow steam to escape. (You could also use left over dough to make embellishments on the pie crust). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.