Thursday, October 21, 2010

If at first you don't succeed, make tried and true Chicken Pot Pie


Sometimes I get in trouble when I try to come up with new recipes.  Things sound so good, until you end up with some rather strange looking pink rice (tasty, but still needs some work, and a little less...color).  It is for precisely that reason that I try to have a good balance between experimental recipes (of which there are so many) and the tried and true. 



I have been making this pot pie since we have been married, in the days when I learned not to experiment on guests (okay, I still do this occasionally) and when I learned that the true test was the hum test.  Later on, I was the youth group "cook," providing meals to the kids in between snowy trips down the North Carolina mountains.  There, I made larger batches of this pie and covered them with biscuits instead of crust.  My friend Laura, a gracious co-chaperone on that trip, now only makes this pot pie recipe with a biscuit crust. 
No matter which way you top it, this pot pie is a classic keeper. 



Chicken Pot Pie


1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup peeled carrots, sliced (about 2 medium carrots)
1 cup frozen green peas
2 cups new potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup celery, diced (about 2 stalks)
1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
5 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon herbes de provence
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons port wine, or sherry
1 pie crust, or 8 raw buttermilk biscuits


In a large saucepan, combine the chicken, broth, carrots, peas and potatoes.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove the chicken to a cutting board to cool.  Using a slotted spoon. transfer the vegetables to a deep dish pie pan.  Reserve the chicken broth in a measuring cup or small bowl.  Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes and transfer it to the pie pan. 


Using the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Saute the onions and celery for five minutes.  Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, herbes de provence; cook for one minute.  Add the milk and reserved stock and cook for 3-4 minutes, until thick.  Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture in the pie pan, spreading to reach the edges. 


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.


Top the pie with the pie crust, cutting away excess dough.  Make five slits around the top to allow steam to escape.  Alternatively, arrange the biscuits over the top of the pie.  Place a piece of foil under the pie to catch any drips.  Bake for 35 minutes, then cool for 10 minutes before serving. 


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6 comments :

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

If I could eat my computer screen I would. This looks amazing!!! I LOVE pot pie, good pot pie that is, and this sure does look good. YUM! Thanks for reminding me of this delicious treat. :)

Teresa Camp said...

This looks Great.But what is herbes de provence?

Dorothy at Belle of the Kitchen said...

Hi Teresa, Herbes de Provence is a french mix of herbs--you can sometimes find it at the grocery store (I've found it in the grocery section of Target, of all places), and at more specialty stores like Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma, or Penzey's Spices.
You could substitute a mixture of thyme, rosemary, basil, savory, and fennel.

Unknown said...

Oh delish, I agree I like to experiment but sometimes you just gotta know a fantastic outcome is happening!

Colleen Sullivan said...

This looks really good too! Especially with the weather changing to become cooler. I made a less involved version (I cheated and used frozen veggies and a rotisserie chicken from Safeway) I found on Rachel Ray's website. I posted about the recipe here

(http://colleenandkeith.blogspot.com/2010/10/easy-chicken-potpie.html).

Thanks for sharing your recipe--I will definitely try it next time I make a pot pie!

grace said...

yum! also, yum. this is primo comfort food.