Chicken Pot Pie

I can think of one person, in particular, that will probs make this. She LOVES pot pies and thinks it is normal when her brothers put dead deer on top of their mid-size sedan until they are ready to butcher it. This recipe is definitely dedicated to all the country folk out there. I want to live on a farm.

I made these babies yesterday. I made the filling and the pastry. Assembled them and put them in the fridge unbaked. Scot put the egg wash on, slit them and baked them tonight (b-ball night, remems?) I wouldn't recommend making too much more ahead of time without baking them first. He also made the same salad previously posted with the Potato Bacon Torte.

I used a recipe from Ina Garten, although was inspired by Annie's Eats recipe. I just liked Ina's a little better. I don't like using frozen carrots because fresh carrots are so easy and always available. Peas, on the other hand, I always use frozen unless it is summer. I followed Ina's recipe exactly, except for one thing, I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I do that a lot. I don't think it is that much more expensive and it just makes my life a little easier. However, I do like to roast the chicken myself too, because I love having carcasses saved up for stock. Ina's recipes are always so fine tuned, you can almost never go wrong with her. Except if you are on a budget. This one wasn't too bad at all money-wise.

Taste-wise ... delicious. I have tried several different pot pie recipes. I tried Emeril's once and it was kind of horrible. Yeah, just everything about it. This was everything I wanted in a pot pie. I will use it from now on. This is not a good week day meal because it takes some time to prepare. And all the time is active prep time. I would guess it took me about 1.5-2 hours. Hard to say because I was also making the beef and barley soup last night. And some apps for the game.

The only trick to making good pastry dough it to keep it wicked cold. Be quick, don't mess around. As soon as it comes together, wrap it up and put in the fridge. There is a little butter in this. Nothing to be scared of. You will be ok. You burn most of the calories off just by making it. Sometimes I just jog in place or do handstands against the refridge. That seems to help.

Anyways, Ina says this makes four bowls. She must have huge bowls, because for me it made eight servings. Scot had two. I had one. I am going to save two for leftovers later in the week and freeze three for later.

Chicken Pot Pie

from Ina Garten

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

2 chicken bouillon cubes

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)

1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

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