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In honor of our 2500th show, Rach is leading a cookalong—with some very special viewer guests:  

Debbie Kobel – Chicago, IL  
We all know Debbie as "Debbie from Chicago." She came to us in Season 13, as possibly the most enthusiastic audience member, and fan of 60-Minute Thanksgiving. She also became our first superfan correspondent. 

Christie Reilly – Covina, CA   
Christie is a huge foodie and cooked her way through Rachael's cookbook, My Year in Meals, making everything gluten-free! Christie had the opportunity to meet Rachael at a book signing a few years ago and later joined the virtual NYCWFF where they reconnected and she was asked to be part of this show.    

Brianna Peguero – Hoboken, NJ  
Brianna visited our show after joining Rachael on stage at NYCWFF and wowed everyone with a recipe for a classic Dominican dish she grew up with!

Goldie Medina – Chicago, Illinois  
We met Goldie when she shared her heartfelt letter as a response to our Season 15 premiere episode and happened to mention her makeshift garbage bowl. After discussing Goldie's "garbage bowl theory" for life, and sharing that she has been saving up for her own Garbage Bowl, Rach truly made her dreams come true by sending her that garbage bowl (and pot and pans set!).

Sonya Mitchiner – Raleigh, NC  
We first met Sonya in Season 11 when we sent Keri Glassman to challenge Sonya and her fellow teachers to participate in a healthy cooking "Lunch Swap." The group lost over 45 lbs. from the challenge, and Sonya learned how to cook with ingredients she'd never tried before!   

Gabby DiSalvo – Staten Island, NY  
Gabby is a 16-year-old from Staten Island, who Rachael met during last year's virtual NYCWFF. Gabby has been in a wheelchair her whole life but is not letting that stop her from getting into the kitchen—she even has an Instagram page called "Cooking On Wheels" where she shares all her recipes. Gabby hopes to go college to pursue a career in the culinary and entertainment business. 

Marcus and MJ Hill – Murfreesboro, TN  
Marcus and his 7-year-old son, MJ, are a father-and-son dining and dancing duo from Murfreesboro, TN! They cook "room service" breakfast for mom or grill up something great while grooving about! They've been all over the internet inspiring people to shake it while they make it! 

Rick Brohman (+ Tina Brohman) – Palmer, Massachusetts  
Military Veteran and former firefighter, Rick, was first introduced to us in Season 13 when his wife, Tina, wrote into our show telling us Rick was Rachael's biggest fan! We fell in love with Rick, his service dog, Kaizer, and his entire family when we reunited Rick and Tina with their daughter, Hailee, who had been deployed overseas. And yes, Rick still cooks "What's for Dinner Tonight," every single day.    

And of course YOU ALL, at home! If you're cooking along with Rach, here's what you should have prepared ahead of time + the equipment you'll need:

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Lightly roll out your puff pastry on floured surface and cut into 6 portions, rectangles or circles, for topping bowls.

Make your egg wash: crack 1 egg into a small dish and mix with 2 teaspoons water.

Plus, have all your other ingredients measured out and at the ready. Note that the ingredient list below calls for all the veggies to be peeled and chopped, but all you need to do ahead is peel—you'll be chopping them along with Rach.

Equipment:

Ingredients

For shortcut pot pie toppers:
  • 1 package puff pastry or pie dough
  • 1 egg
For the filling:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 ½ pounds ground sirloin  OR two 12-ounce packages vegetarian ground "beef" substitute
  • 1 ½ pounds small white potatoes, quartered 
  • 2 carrots, peeled  and chopped 
  • 1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped
  • 1 rib celery with leafy tops, chopped
  • 1 onion, peeled, halved and chopped
  • Salt and pepper 
  • 1 tablespoon dried sage
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 ½ cups beef bone broth, stock or broth OR vegetable stock  
  • 2 tablespoons grainy or Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
  • ½ cup heavy cream, optional
  • ¾ cup fresh peas 

Yield

Serves: 6

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375˚ F. Lightly roll out your puff pastry on floured surface and cut into 6 portions, rectangles or circles, for topping bowls. Make your egg wash: crack 1 egg into a small dish and mix with 2 teaspoons water. 

Arrange dough on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush rectangles or circles of pastry or dough with egg wash, to top each individual bowl of filling. Bake to deeply golden and puffed.  

Meanwhile, in a deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, add beef or ground beef substitute and brown—transfer to platter..  

In the same deep skillet, heat remaining olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery and onions, then season with salt and pepper. Add sage, thyme and bay and cook to soften, partially covered, for a few minutes.  

Make a well in the pan, add butter. When butter is melted and foaming, add flour, stir and cook roux until golden. Add beef stock or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add mustard, Worcestershire, and soy sauce. Add cream, if using. Add peas, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add beef or ground beef substitute back to the pan.

Remove bay leaf and serve filling in bowls topped with puff pastry or pie crust.