CHICKEN POT PIE

Last night was my 6th in a row, working the line @ The Lodge. Today, Sunday is a day off, well spent on the golf course and the beach. Family meal last night featured Chicken pot pie, a favorite on cool evenings. Served with a crisp romaine and red vinaigrette salad.

Recipe serves four

For the CHICKEN POT PIE:

Crust made in the food processor:
2 cups AP flour
½ cup bacon grease
4 tablespoons ice cold water
1 teaspoon salt

Bring together in the processor bowl and run until smooth
Pour the mixture into a bowl and roll into a ball (add more bacon fat if needed)
Wrap with plastic and repeat to make 2 balls, refrigerate for an hour.

The filling:

4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrots
½ cup diced onion
2 tablespoons celery salt
1 cup AP flour
¼ lb butter
½ cup brandy
¼ cup fine herb
1 box frozen sweet peas

Start with the chicken stock in a sauce pan over high heat as it begins to simmer add the chicken and stir, then reduce the heat to medium. Season with celery salt and stir frequently, when the chicken is ½ cooked remove it from the stock and reserve both in the refrigerator until you are ready to put the dish together.
Using the same sauce pan sautee the mirpoix with butter, then add the flour and stir until it makes a roux. Follow with the brandy and then about ½ of the stock and stir over medium heat frequently. After simmering the sauce for a few minutes return the chicken to the pot and add the herb then the peas. Turn the heat down to low.

Dust a clean table top with AP flour and roll out the dough to the thickness that you like. If one is more crumbly than the other use the crumbly one on the bottom, place the bottom piece in a glass 11×16 pyrex dish and then pre-bake the crust bottom for 5 minutes. Then fill the pie with the chicken filling and lay the top crust on taking care to crimp the edges. Bake in a 375 degree oven for at least ½ hour or until the top crust is sufficiently brown and the filling begins to bubble.
Last night the pie was enough for 20 people and the crust was not. So I sliced the top piece into strips and gave it a lattice top. Side by side with a green salad topped with avocado and tomato slices.

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