Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

This past weekend the weather was gorgeous, perfect for outdoor events. We spent Friday night grilling several of our nearby neighbors, enjoying wine and a fire. Saturday we went to our friends Phil and Katy's house for German fare, including sausages from Vermer's in Mission, and most notably featuring Phil's excellent Oktoberfest Marzen. His version was clean and not too sweet, and he attributes that style to his omitting any crystal or caramal malt. Good call on his part, because it really turned out well. After dinner we enjoyed yet another bonfire. This was likely the last of many gatherings at their house, as they listed their home for sale just this week. I wish them the best of luck on a quick sale and hope that they find a wonderful home to replace it.

You might think that two late nights would have bought us a little extra time in the morning. You'd be wrong. Harper was up bright and early on both Saturday and Sunday. So by that second morning, after two nights of short sleep, Becky and I were fairly exhausted. Sunday was for housework and yardwork and by evening we both just wanted a nice hot meal. From the options that I threw out Becky chose Chicken Pot Pie. This was a bit surpsing as she always seemed a bit underwhelmed by past versions of this dish, mine and others'. This time she was blown away. Her reasoning was that the crust was better this time, and that overall the dish seemed more complete and balanced. I suspect it was also just plain comforting after a fun but exhausting weekend.

Crust:
1.5 c. flour
1/4 c. yogurt
1 stick cold butter cut into 1/4" cubes
 1/3 c. ice water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Filling:
Meat from one chicken, shredded or cubed, about 3 c.
2 c. chicken stock
3 carrots
3 ribs celery
1/2 large yellow onion
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. frozen pearl onions
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp sherry
1/2 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dry thyme
salt and pepper

Begin by making the dough for the crust:
Cut butter into flour with food processor or the tines of a fork
Add yogurt, salt and sprinkle water evenly across mixture, pulse process or mix until dough comes together
Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a dutch oven or large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, then saute fresh vegetables until slightly softened, about five minutes, then remove to a bowl
Reduce heat to medium low and immediately add the butter to the pan
Add the flour to the melted butter and stir constantly until the roux turns slightly brown
Whisk chicken stock into the roux, then bring mixture to a boil, raising heat back to medium
Continue to whisk while mixture thickens slightly, about three minutes
Add frozen and fresh vegetables, chicken, parsley, and thyme
Remove from heat
Salt and pepper to taste and add sherry, stirring to incorporate everything well
Pour mixture into 13x9 inch casserole or two standard pie pans

Remove dough and roll to the size of the pan or pans you are using
Cover mixture with rolled dough, tucking any excess into the edges of the mixture
Bake 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown and liquid is bubbling up from the edges
serve hot

Notes on chicken and chicken stock:
Whenever a recipe calls for shredded chicken, large amounts of chicken, or chicken stock, I use the opportunity to make extra stock. So when I make this recipe I first bring 15 c. of water to a boil then add one whole chicken cut up, skin removed, along with the neck and giblets if you have them, plus bay leaves, peppercorns, soy sauce, salt, celery, onion, and carrots. Lower heat to a very low boil and cook for 35 minutes, skimming as necessary, then remove chicken pieces to a plate to cool. Continue to boil stock for another 15 minutes on a low boil. Strain stock to remove all solids. Once the chicken is cooled pull all of the meat off of the bones and shred or chop to desired size. Remove the needed amount of stock and allow the rest to cool. Once cool pour the stock into appropriate containers and refrigerate short term or freeze for longer term storage. I freeze stock in 1-qt sports drink containers, and find that this amount is a commonly desired quantity of stock. I find that one can never have too much chicken stock on hand, and once you use it you will never go back to the canned product unless absolutely necessary.