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.

Creamy Chicken-and-Rice Soup

The inspiration for this soup came from the chicken-and-veggie mixture that I make for chicken pot pie (this was originally what I had planned to make for dinner). After sautéing the veggies and making the velouté sauce (the flour-thickened broth mixture), I decided to add in more chicken broth and some rice to turn it into a soup. It seemed like just the thing for a cold winter night. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken-and-Rice Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper

2 tsp. herbs de Provence

1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 (32-oz.) cartons chicken broth, divided
1 lb. chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1 (10-oz.) box frozen green peas

2 cups rice

1. Melt butter in Dutch oven. Add chopped onions and next 2 ingredients, and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add in garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence. Stir in flour, and cook 2 minutes. Gradually whisk 4 cups chicken broth into flour mixture; cook, stirring often, until mixture is thickened. Stir in chicken, peas, rice, and remaining 6 cups chicken broth. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes or until rice is cooked through. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Peach Pie

The peaches in my farmers market basket this week were so fragrant, I had to make a dessert with them. This pie is very simple; the piecrust is the same one I use for chicken pot pie. The peaches were so sweet, I didn’t have to add much sugar to them. It’s the perfect foil for vanilla ice cream. Andy declared this his new favorite. Enjoy!

Peach Pie
1 lb. peaches, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar

2 recipes Pastry (add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to the dough and replace some of water with peach juice)

1 egg

1. Combine peaches and next 2 ingredients; let stand 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, and use juice in pastry.
2. Fit one pastry circle into a deep-dish pie plate; prick pastry with fork. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes.
3. Spoon in peach mixture; top with pastry, and crimp edges to seal. Brush with lightly beaten egg. Cut slits in top of crust.
4. Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is done.