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Pot pie of my dreams

chicken pot pie

When I was a kid growing up in rural Illinois, my mom would occasionally purchase Banquet pot pies at the IGA, they would be on sale for some incredibly low price and us kids would rejoice because we loved them so. I do remember the down side was that they took forever to bake, they are frozen blocks of food, but the crispy brown crust and the salty broth and chunks of chicken always satisfied.

chicken pot pie

Now, I would never dream of purchasing any Banquet product because they’re owned by ConAgra, a company I despise for it’s heavy hand in the market. But making a pot pie turned out to be easier than I thought. Since we tend to be such carb sluts around here (because we must feed the ever-hungry blog) I decided not to make a bottom crust. I have these lovely Apilco chili bowls and I thought they would make great individual pie servings. For the crust I used my standard galette dough of 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup coarse cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoons of butter, and about 1/4 cup or so of cream. I mixed that up in the KitchenAid and stuck it in the fridge to chill.

Earlier in the day I put an old stewing hen on the stove with a couple of spare chicken carcasses from the freezer. I cooked them with some onion, celery, and garlic for 3 hours or so to make a golden chicken stock. It smelled so rich and chickeny…and it turned out just that way too.

chicken pot pie

I took some of the breast and thigh meat off the old hen and diced it up pretty small…more for flavor and texture than actual meatiness. The crown jewels of the pie were brilliant purple potatoes from Carrie and Eric Johnson’s Jordandal Farm and the sweet, vibrant carrots from Jen Ehr Farm. With incredible ingredients like that I kept it simple; I sauteed an onion and some diced carrots in butter until they softened, then I added flour to thicken the filling. I cooked that until it turned golden and then I add my chicken stock until I had the right consistency. I added my diced par-boiled potatoes, the chicken, and some thyme, salt and pepper and I let that simmer for awhile.

chicken pot pie

I turned off the heat on the filling and rolled out the pie crust, tipping the bowl upside down to cut the circle out in the right size. I love working with this dough because it’s so easy and tastes so buttery. I spooned the filling into the bowls and topped each with a circle of crust. Since I had extra I made little leaves and berries to decorate the pies and I wrapped a ring of crust around the top. I remember my favorite part of pot pies is the crust and I was about to skimp on a key component.

chicken pot pie

I was worried that perhaps my filling was too thick, and when I took the pies out after baking them for 30 minutes or so at 400F I could hear the filling sizzling. My chicken stock was still piping hot on the stove so I ladled about 1/3 cup per pie down the side of the bowl into the filling and they quieted right down…whew!

While they didn’t turn out beautiful, they certainly do have a rustic charm and they were savory, tender, and so delicious that Dexter proclaimed it to be the pot pie of his dreams. Obviously these will be made again. GH took one for his lunch the next day and he said it nuked really well.

October 2, 2007 | Filed Under Local, Wisconsin, baking, beef, fish, poultry, pork, ethical eating, food, gratins, stews, and stir-frys, recipe 

comments

6 Responses to “Pot pie of my dreams”

  1. Cedar on October 2nd, 2007

    That looks so heavenly, I might have to make myself up a pot pie in the near future!

  2. Katiez on October 3rd, 2007

    OMG, I remember those pot pies! Do they still make them? People still buy them?!?
    Yours sound and look wonderful… and if it’s ‘growing boy’ approved they must have been perfection…

  3. MadLisa on October 3rd, 2007

    Those are beauties! I love chicken pot pie. And with those wonderful farm ingredients, how could they be bad?!? Dexter is a lucky boy!

  4. Stockton on October 4th, 2007

    good work – always good to see a humble, delicious pie in this age of fancyness (if that’s a word!) – and it really does look good! i think i will make…pie at the weekend!

  5. Ed Bruske on October 12th, 2007

    lovely pot pie. that’s something we’re very fond of around here.

  6. Angela McKeller on February 29th, 2008

    What a great recipe! I have a recipe for chicken pot pie in my blog (people can be on my radio show to discuss it). Mine is very simple. I look forward to trying yours!

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