Chicken Pot Pie

My friends, what is pie?

(Sidebar: one time I went to Germany to visit a friend, and while I was there I made a lemon meringue pie for a dinner party. One of the guests asked that same question: "What is pie?"

They don't know what pie is in Germany!

That will never cease to amaze me. I've mentioned it before.)

What is your mental image of a pie, those of you who know what one is? Close your eyes and imagine one. Dig, if you will, the picture.

Here's my idea of a pie: crust on top, some kind of filling, and crust on the bottom. Right? Right. Under no circumstances are the following two items pies:

On the left is a ramekin with filling and crust on top but not on the bottom. Probably delicious; not pie.

On the right is a baking dish with filling and let's say Grands!^® biscuits on top. Probably okay; not pie.

Call those two things something else, but stop calling them pies, please, especially if you plan to serve them to guests. Don't say, "Hey, come over! I'm making chicken pot pie!"...

 

...and present something that has no top and bottom crust. The second you mention C.P.P., people (well, me) will visualize a true pie and spend the day thinking about how great it's going to be, and when you deliver some casserole topped with a biscuit, a part of me will hate you, and I'm sorry. I just really love pie. 

Tuesday Melissa came out for supper, and I made a true chicken pot pie. I cut vent holes in the shape of an M on the top crust because who doesn't like a pie marked with their initial? All human beings who know about pie like that, but so few people ever receive a pie made in their honor. Bake a pie with a top crust and mark it with somebody's initial. Make one for yourself! HONOR PIES. It'll knock their socks off.

(Photo not available, but trust me, it was cute.)

So this pie is comfort food of the highest order. It's from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and I've already made it twice since Christmas at Jeff's request. I love it too, and after Melissa returned to her apartment, she Facebooked the following: Now I just want endless amounts of chicken pot pie...*sigh*

The Pioneer Woman's recipe is for a top-crust-only-pie-that-is-not-a-pie, and she made it in a pie pan/casserole dish that's bigger than mine. The recipe made more filling than my pie could hold, something like two cups, but that was no big deal. I just kept it warm while the pie baked and spooned it alongside each piece (see extras in the top photo).

It's not the easiest thing in the world to make, but pie never is. You will not be a fan of the time-consuming fine chopping that's involved. Once you start making this pie, people will demand that you keep making it. 

But come on. You've got to admit that my honor pie idea intrigues you.

(Unrelated: Bun is a stern taskmistress as she supervises the painting of Glass Gems 3.)

 

INGREDIENTS

• Top and bottom pie crust <-- However you want to make it: if you go with my recipe here (scroll down), use the version with the 3 cups of flour that I've written in blue pen.
• 3 celery stalks
• 3 medium carrots, peeled
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 large onion
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 cups chicken, cooked, diced or shredded <-- Lately I've been buying big packages of 8-9 bone-in chicken thighs, which taste chicken-ier than breasts and are cheaper. I remove the skin, top them with 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, and salt/pepper, and roast I them in a glass baking dish at 400 for 45 minutes. We eat some and save the rest for stuff like this.
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 chicken bouillon cube (optional) <--used it
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional) <-- used it
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp ground thyme <--used regular non-ground thyme
• 1 tsp kosher salt or more to taste
• black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400. I went with 425 as that's how I bake any pie that has my kind of crust.

 

Begin by finely dicing the fresh vegetables, celery, carrots and onions. Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery and peas. Saute until the vegetables start to soften, a few minutes (mine always seem to take longer than that). Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently.

 

 

Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir in the bouillon cube and wine, if using. The flour will combine with the chicken to create a delicious gravy. Pour in the cream and stir. Allow mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes. I went a few minutes longer to further thicken the sauce. Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Be sure it's adequately salted!

 

 

Make and roll out your top and bottom crusts (see link above). Lay the bottom pie crust in the pan and load it with the filling until it's level. Do not heap on much more than that. Roll the top crust out to 1" larger then the pan. Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture. Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal. Work as quickly as you can here. The heat of the filling will make the top crust kind of hard to deal with as you seal it to the bottom crust.

 

 

Cut small slits (I.E. MAKE AN HONOR PIE WITH DECORATIVE INITIAL) in the top with a knife. You might want to work the slits into bigger gaps. I've found that skinny slits will try to seal themselves back together while the pie is baking.

 

 

Cover the outside edge of the pie with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for about 12-15 more minutes, or until the pie has a little color on top. But not too much. We're looking for "healthy glow," not "tanorexic."

 

 

Let it cool for 10-15 minutes and serve with extra filling. Some filling will inevitably ooze out after you cut into the pie. I like to tip the pan at a slight angle to encourage the ooze to get back to where it once belonged as it cools with mild success.

 

 

 

 

Cover and refrigerate the leftover pie. Individual slices (with extra filling) will reheat nicely in the microwave.

 

PS It finally snowed! I made a celebratory crazy cake and, since I didn't have any powdered sugar, I made a quick mocha ganache topping:

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped or in chip form
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 5 ounces heavy cream
• tiny sprinkle of fleur de sel (decoration)
• handful of white chocolate chips (decoration)

Put chocolate and espresso powder in a smallish bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan until simmering (small bubbles will appear along the edge of the pan). Do not boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and wait for two minutes. Whisk the mixture until you have a thick, glossy ganache. I let mine cool and thicken for about ten minutes. Pour and smooth over your cake and decorate it (or not!).

Thanks to my sister in-law Shanna for my new cake stand. I love it so much!

Comments

[Jeff]

Pizza is not a pie. Calzone is. Mind blown.

[Melinda]

Inside joke interlude: Order a McD's fried pie, open box, consume contents. Carefully re-close box. Return to the counter, complain loudly "There's no PIE in here!" Throw empty box down in front of McD's employee, sustain accusatory eye contact as the box makes a very damning hollow sound.

[bj]

CPP may be my hubby's favorite food of this year. Will have to try this recipe.

Pie to me is what my mother makes. Homemade crusts, fruit and other sweet fillings, lovely folded or laced tops and that divine aroma throughout the kitchen. Monogramming sounds like a nice touch.

[Daisy]

Hello. I have been reading your blog for over a year now. i really enjoy the recipes that you share on your blog. Anyway i finally got the courage to write you a comment..and ask..Is bun Female or male? Also on the crazy cake...the recipe says to make three wholes..do you make those to the batter then add the ingredients to the three wholes and then mix again?

[bj]

I read your "crazy cake" recipe and, today, it will be a toss up between that and Nigella's easy "puddingy" brownies.

However, in that post, I was saddened to read that you were thought an "old maid" at the sweet young age of 25. I get it. I have "country" relatives all whom married either right out of high school or while still in college. I also have Mormon friends now all of whom married very young as well . . . but that is another cultural demographic entirely!

So sorry you went through that. So glad that it was just a path to develop your gifts as a painter and, ultimately, to Jeff.

[Ali]

Love the "Just Shoot Me" reference. It's almost as good as Bun's face. Who's a stern kitty?!?