Sunday, September 27, 2009

Chicken Pot Pie






Fall is my favorite time of year, and I find myself making comfort food nearly every weekend.  This chicken pot pie ranks near the top, if not at the top of my favorite foods list.  This recipe definitely falls under the "tedious" category, but the final product is SO WORTH IT!!

for the recipe

Make sure you read the entire recipe before begin to cook! This recipe is fairly easy to make, just tedious as I mentioned. You start by boiling your washed chicken (make sure to take the gizzards out) with some chicken stock, fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaves, whole peppercorns, an onion, a celery stalk and just enough water to cover the bird.




Bring it all to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hr.


My favorite thing about this recipe is that it's made entirely from fresh produce!



Leeks are vegetables that grow into the soil, so they retain lots of dirt in their layers and leaves.  The best way to ensure that every bit of dirt is washed from leeks is to cut them first into the size that is called for in the recipe.  Transfer the leek pieces to a large bowl of cold water, stir and let stand for 5 minutes to let dirt and sand settle to the bottom.  Lift leeks out of the water with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.



Start by making your dough for the crust.  It needs to sit in the fridge for 1 hour before you can use it.  The crust for this pot pie so fabulous.... it has fresh thyme leaves in it!  I love the way it smells when it mixes together...







The dough is chilling in the fridge, and the chicken is boiling on the stove... now is a good time to cut up all the vegetables and get them ready to just throw in when the recipe calls for them.  Don't zest the lemon until right before you are going to start cooking the veggies.  It loses some of it's flavor the longer it sits.



Doesn't that look pretty?


Once the chicken is done, cooled and picked clean, time to start putting it all together.  This is one dish that is very pretty when you're cooking it, and it smells incredible!






10 minutes later, this is what you have!




Roll out your crust and brush it with the egg wash.  The egg yolk and heavy cream mixture will give the crust a nice shiny brown look to it.






Of course Princess Caroline wanted to help with the rolling pin!






40 minutes later, the chicken pot pie is ready to come out of the oven!  The house smells SO good while this is baking it's ridiculous.



This recipe makes enough for 8.  I like to serve this with caesar salad and dinner rolls. This will go equally as well with a glass of white wine or a tall glass of cold milk!  Yum yum!


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