When you cradled last week’s ham pie in your hands, was it not one of the most beautiful sights your eyes have ever seen? I figure with the bounty of this winter and our continued “dusting” of snow, it is still very fashionable to continue chatting about pot pies. Besides-when you make the traditional Easter ham and you are faced with leftovers, you will be able to proceed with charisma. It can be unfortunate when your husband waltzes in with a 30-pound ham and only Aunt Mable, along with the four of you, show up at the dining table for Easter dinner.

You can see it in your family’s eyes.ham leftovers forever! This is the perfect time to stay alert and prepared! Don’t let this excess ham throw you out of whack. After all, you made the vow back in January that you were going to give Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart a run for their money. This is the ideal time to showcase your skills. You may go ahead and listen to family members whine about leftovers. In fact, just for the fun of it, appear to be very congenial, and while they are not watching, put the ham back in the refrigerator!

Once they are out of sight, transform it into ham pie with passion. This is no time to give in and serve them tacosno way! Nor should this abundance of ham detour you from being “Cook of the Year.” Believe me, when their lips meet ham pie, they will be thrilled those seven other untamed relatives did not show up for Easter dinner.

I would like to share with you a few more hints that I have discovered in my pot-pie baking.

Rarely do I place a bottom crust in my pot pies for the three reasons: First, most folks don’t need more calories; second, it involves more work, and third, it usually becomes soggy, even with prebaking – and there goes the “Cook of the Year” award. If you absolutely want a bottom crust, I do know Swanson pot pies come equipped with just that feature.

I generally like to make my fillings a day Ahead. First, because the flavor is always better and second, because you do not want to put pastry on hot filling. I would consider an exception to this rule if I were not using a traditional pie crust. Crust may also be made of mashed potatoes, Bisquick, or layered noodles. All of these can be placed on hot fillings. Another easy and tasty topping is to use phyllo dough. You will find this in your freezer section of the grocery store. Phyllo makes a buttery, flaky topping that browns nicely on any pot pie.

Repnow is a Rugby resident