Nicken Pot Pie (With Kind Regards to Knatolee's Hens)

I'm sorry the photo isn't as appetizing as it should have been, but the results were most assuredly delicious! The ingredient list seems long (I should just draft a disclaimer to put in all my recipes, beginning with "the ingredient list seems long, but . . .") BUT have a few beers and a couple of glasses of wine and you'll be cooking in no time! Here we go:

Nicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

Pastry:

You should use commercial pastry dough (NOT Pillsbury) or pâte feuilleté (puff pastry). Making your own is simply too time-consuming. I got mine from Quality Kosher on Victoria.

Filling:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can chicken broth, with water added to equal 2 cups (or use 2 cups homemade chicken broth)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
2 small ribs celery, cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup crème fraîche mixed with 1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons dry sherry
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Method

For Pie Filling: Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken and broth in small Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat. Cover, bring to simmer; simmer until chicken is just done, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to large bowl, reserving broth in measuring cup.

Increase heat to medium-high; heat oil in now-empty pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. While vegetables are sautéing, shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.

Heat butter over medium heat in again-empty skillet. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth, crème fraîche mixture, any accumulated chicken juices, and thyme. Bring to simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in sherry.

Pour sauce over chicken mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings. (Can be covered and refrigerated overnight; reheat before topping with pastry.)

Assembly

Roll dough on floured surface to approximate 15-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. If making individual pies, roll dough 1/8-inch thick and cut 6 dough rounds about one inch larger than pan circumference.

Pour chicken mixture into 13-by-9-inch pan or any shallow baking dish of similar size. Lay dough over pot pie filling, trimming dough to 1/2 inch of pan lip. Tuck overhanging dough back under itself so folded edge is flush with lip. Flute edges all around. Or don't trim dough and simply tuck overhanging dough into pan side. Crimp down in an attractive pattern with a fork around the lid. Cut at least four 1-inch vent holes in large pot pie or one 1-inch vent hole in smaller pies.

Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 minutes for large pies and 20 to 25 minutes for smaller pies. Serve hot.

Note: There was a fair amount of sauce and pastry dough left over, so Brigitte added some more chicken to the sauce and instead of doing individual ramekins, somehow made a chicken pot ROLL! I'm not quite sure how she did it, but it was fantastic! I'll try to find out and post with pics next time she makes it.