Glorious Pot Pie

Most pot pie recipes are 'how to use up leftover baked chicken' recipes. Well, I didn't have any and I wanted pot pie, so this is a 'from scratch' pie. 

Don't be discouraged by all the different parts of this tome. You could always substitute shortcuts and I'm sure it'd be just fine: refrigerated pie crust for homemade, leftover chicken for my poached chicken, frozen chopped veggies.  But that said, let's dive in. 

Glorious Pot Pie

Makes one 9" pie and two mini pies. The 9" pie serves 5 easily, maybe 6. 

The crust, cuisinart method 

2 1/2 c flour, 1/2 tsp salt, stick butter, ice water

In a cuisinart food processor with metal blade put 2 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Pulse to blend. Add a stick of butter you've cut up into 6-7 pieces. Pulse until the butter is cut into tiny pieces, and in a cuisinart they're invisible. Change blade if you like to plastic dough blade and pulse while you add in 1/2 cup or so of ice water..just until the dough starts to make clumps.  Take off lid and see if it'll bind when you squeeze it. If not add a bit more water. Dump out on floured board, mash into two balls, cover with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge. 

The filling. 

4 small chicken breasts or 3 larger

1 cup diced fresh carrots

1/2 c diced celery

1/2 c frozen peas, rinsed and drained

1 c corn niblets, rinsed and drained

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

3/4 c white wine

Garlic powder

Savory, or herbs de Provence, or whatever you like. 

Salt n pepper

3 c chicken broth

Flour

1/2 c milk

1 egg white

Cut the chicken flat ways so you have twice the number of thinner fillets. Sprinkle salt and garlic on the chicken breasts, then rub with a tablespoon of flour...just till the chicken is lightly coated. Do both sides. Heat a very large skillet on medium high and add a drizzle of olive oil and your chicken. Cook chicken just to color, and remove to a large dish. 

Add more olive oil as needed and add carrot and celery. Sauté for 7 minutes. Remove to the same plate.  Add the white wine and scrub up all the brown bits. Let cook a minute to remove alcohol and then add the chicken broth. Add back in all the chicken, veggies, and the potatoes too. Add a tsp salt, a tablespoon of dried herbs, and bring to a boil, reduce to medium and simmer uncovered for 7 min, or until the potatoes are cooked but still very firm. 

Remove everything with a slotted spoon to that plate, and pour your broth into a saucepan or bowl (I made broth with water and bouillon so I put it back in that pan). 

The sauce. 

Now in your dry pan, on medium, add 3/4 stick of butter and melt. When melted add 3/4 c flour and stir to absorb all that butter. Cook, stirring around a bit, for 3 minutes. It'll coat the bottom but don't worry. Now take off heat and add in your broth again. It'll really bubble. Put back on heat, whisking, removing all the bits from the bottom. It'll be ready in just a minute or so. When starts to be thick remove from heat. Add a good bit of pepper and taste for salt. Whisk in the milk.  

Dice up your chicken now  

Assembly. 

Roll out one ring of dough to fill a 9" pie plate. Extra edges can be used to cover the mini pies. Put dough in a glass pie plate and cut off edges at outside rim of plate. Now put in COLD oven. Then turn on to 375. When oven dings that it's ready take pie plate out. Whip the egg white a little and brush bottom with egg white to seal a bit. 

Roll out the second piece of dough to cover the pie. Have ready.  

Mix the corn and peas into the sauce first to warm. Then add your veg and chicken. Take a bite to check for salt and pepper and adjust. Then pile into the pie plate. Extra can go into the mini pies. Or into muffin tins lined with extra dough. 

Cover with your other round of dough and pinch over the edge of the plate so it doesn't shrink. Brush with egg white and cut a hole in the center. 

Bake at 375 for 40 min or until browns and bubbles. Mini pies cook about 30 min. Let it really brown well. The bottom crust will be a little less brown than however the top is. 

Let set up a few minutes before cutting but it'll cut great and be servable with a pie server since you have that nice firm crust. 

Quick recipe:

1. Make two pie crusts

2. Brown chicken, then sauté hard veggies. Remove all and deglaze with white wine. Add broth and poach chicken with hard veggies and potatoes 7 min. Remove. 

3. Make a velouté sauce using the broth. Add milk when done.  Mix in all filling. 

4. Line plate with dough, prebake 5 min. Then brush w egg white, fill with filling, cover and bake 40-50 min at 375.