Chicken Pot Pie Version 2

I have long been obsessed with a good chicken pot pie.  On this site I offer two...this one I am now writing about and another which I recently published (http://invitedtodinner.blogspot.com/2013/12/chicken-pot-pie.html).  These are two very different pot pies.  This one is not your regular, traditional pot pie.  First, it is topped with a biscuit crust instead of a traditional pastry topping.  Second, the meat portion of this pie is the main ingredient.  It also has a lovely cream sherry sauce which is added to the chicken so the flavor is unbelievable, but again not your traditional sauce.  I will have to make this a few more times to get used to the not your regular pot pie flavor.  Plus, I added a bit too much chicken so the portion was off a bit.  Another great thing about this is the it reheats well and the flavors continue to come together.  The biscuit is also very good and I really like the toasty crunchy bits.  This recipe is adapted from Pam Anderson's Perfect One Dish Dinners.

Chicken Pot Pie
1 cup chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk (you will use 6 oz.)
4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
2 large leeks, chopped as far up as the stalk isn't too firm (mainly the white and light green parts)
1 medium granny smith apple thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 cup cream sherry
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley

Biscuit Dough
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Heat chicken broth and evaporated milk for about 3 minutes in the microwave.  Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add leaks and apples and cook until tender.  Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl with the shredded chicken.  Heat additional 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet.  Whisk in flour and sage.  Mix and then add the heated chicken broth and evaporated milk mixture.  Once the sauce thickens, turn off the heat and add the cream sherry and season with salt and pepper.  Stir this mixture and parsley into the chicken and leek mixture.  Adjust seasonings.  Pour mixture into a 9 inch pie plate.

For the biscuits mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cheddar cheese.  Mix in cold butter until small crumbs of butter appear. (I use my fingers.)  Mix buttermilk into dry ingredients until the dough just comes together.  Place biscuit dough over the chicken mixture in the pie plate.  It is sticky so I pulled it out in small bunches.  Bake until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 30-40 minutes.  Serve hot.

Serves 4-6

Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb!

Two years ago my mom came for a visit and decided that I could not live without rhubarb.  While I was glad to have a fruit which would come back each year and sad that my raspberry bush had died that year as well, I wasn’t all together sure what I would do with rhubarb, let alone two rhubarb plants.  Well now, two years later, the rhubarb is doing great, I have found a lot of recipes using rhubarb and I have added a different variety to my raised rhubarb bed.  All is going well in rhubarb land.

Flaky Piecrust (for one crust, double for a top)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

8 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter

3 Tablespons water

Combine all, but water.  Gradually add water until dough comes together.  Divide dough in half and roll out half.  Place into pie plate and then roll out the top.

Filling:

5 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Heat oven to 450F.   Toss rhubarb with sugar, corn starch and salt.  Pour into prepared crust and dot with butter.  Cover pie and brush with milk, then dust with sugar. Make two or three slits for steam to be released.  Bake for 10 minutes at 450 F, then reduce heat to 350 for 45 – 50 minutes.