11pm on a cool November night. Steve has just taken our new puppy, Lola, for a run and I am contemplating dinner. Cold weather and staying up all night call for comfort food, and Chicken Dinner Pie is just that.
This is a dish adapted from the recipe my mother made us growing up. I used to ask for it ever year on my birthday, and now I don't have to wait for my birthday.
Pie Crust:
2
cup all-purpose flour
1
teaspoon salt
2/3
cup plus 2 tablespoon butter
4
to 5 tablespoons cold water
Pie Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1 cup chicken broth or mushroom stock
3/4 cup cream
1 small onion
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or mushrooms
10 ounce package frozen peas and carrots
First take your homemade pie crust (See November 28 2011) and place half the dough into the pie pan. Roll out the other half of the dough and cut it into 1-1.5 inch strips.
This recipe is ideal when you have leftover chicken. The
recipe calls for cubed cooked chicken but tearing it off in small
pieces works as well. If you are using mushrooms slice or chop the
mushrooms into bite sized pieces. Next chop dice your onion into
moderate to small chunks.
Melt half the butter over medium heat and cook onions till they are translucent. At this point I unconventionally make a rue in the same pan with the onions. Melt the remaining butter and add more if needed. If you are a purist, or like to wash extra pan, set the onions aside and melt butter in a new pan.
Next stir in the flour, pepper, sage, thyme, and salt. If you are making broth from bullion omit the salt. It will be salty enough. Stir the butter mixture until it has no lumps and bubbles form on the top.
Slowly add the broth and cream and continuously stir till the liquid boils. Continue stirring and let the mixture boil for one minute. Now you can add all of your vegetables and chicken or mushrooms.
I am adamant about using a homemade pie crust, but frozen peas and carrots taste just as good as fresh vegetables and take much less time to cook. Stir until un-thawed and mushrooms are soft.
Add filling to pie crust and place strips of crust over the top in an interwoven pattern. *
Take a fork and flute the edges by sealing the top layer of crust into the bottom layer. You can also seal the edges by pinching the crust with your fingers.
Bake the pie in a preheated oven for 35 minutes at 425 Fahrenheit. If you don't like crispy edges on your pie like I do, you can cover the edges with strips of tin foil for the first 15 minutes of baking.
-Spot
*if you don't weave your pie crust strips into a perfect alternating lattice pattern it still tastes just as good.
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