Chicken Pot Pie

My best friend, Kristin, and her family visited us this weekend. On Saturday night Paul, Julie, and their kids joined us for dinner. We had a variation of Ina Garten's chicken pot pie. The main difference between Ina's original and the way I made it is that I omitted the 1/4 cup of cream in the chicken mixture; it was creamy enough. I also didn't blanch the carrots separately; instead they sautéed with the onions (one less pot to wash). A food processor is key for making the dough because it comes together very quickly. You could probably use a heavy-duty stand mixer to make it, but I think it would take longer and I don't know if the butter and shortening would be as evenly distributed. If you're in the market for a food processor, I recommend the 11- or 12-cup capacity one by KitchenAid. The large bowl size is great for doughs and big batches of pimiento cheese (a necessary part of a Southern girl's cooking repertoire). Note: This dish makes a ton! I feed six adults and five children (including some second helpings) and still have enough left for another meal for four. Cost per serving: about $2.

Chicken Pot Pie
1/2 cup butter
2 sweet onions, chopped
4 carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup flour
1 (32-oz.) carton chicken broth

1 1/2 lb. chopped cooked chicken

1 (10-oz.) box frozen peas
Salt and pepper
Pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Melt butter in Dutch oven. Add chopped onions and carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, on medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir in flour, and cook 2 minutes. Gradually whisk chicken broth into flour mixture until it begins to thicken. Stir in chicken and peas. Simmer 5 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with Pastry, crimping edges to seal. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut slits in top of crust.
3. Bake at 375° for 1 hour.

Pastry
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup butter, cut into cubes
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

1. Place flour and next 4 ingredients in food processor. Pulse until mixture is blended and resembles coarse sand. With the processor running, gradually add in ice water through food chute until dough forms a ball. Place dough on a lightly floured surface, and knead to make a disk. (At this point you can chill dough for 30 minutes—a key step when it's hot outside. However, I didn't chill it this time and it was fine.) Roll dough out into a rectangle.