Great Essay

I loved reading this essay. Sigh.

Chicken Pot Pie

This post is quite overdue. I had made this two weeks ago and learned some things after making it. I used the recipe from The Best Chicken Recipe. I made several changes to the recipe and will note those before I type the directions. I took some photos, but was very dissatisfied with them, plus they're in reverse order. I have tried uploading them in different order, but I keep getting the same result! I think I am going to try using Photo Bucket once again. . .

Ingredients

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 celery ribs, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium onions, minced
Salt
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dry vermouth
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 medium), trimmed
1 (1-pound) bag frozen pea and carrot medley (about 3 cups; do not thaw)
Ground black pepper
1 recipe Savory Pie Dough, chilled

The above is for the filling. I already knew based on reading the recipe that it would be a lot of work so I took some shortcuts.
First, I did NOT make pie dough. I bought already-made dough, Pillsbury Pie Crusts, though I am sure you can use puff pastry.

Second, I did not buy chicken breasts. Instead I bought a rotisserie chicken that had already been roasted and took off all of the meat off the chicken and cut it into pieces. In retrospect, I think I did not save that much time doing this since the above recipe calls for poaching the chicken breasts in the sauce. Also the texture of the already cooked chicken in the sauce was not as "solid" as I would have liked; it was at times stringy. Interestingly enough, the recipe requires that you cut up the chicken after it has been cooked. I am wondering if it would make a difference if I chose to cut up the pieces first and cook in sauce. I think one can tell either way if the chicken was fully cooked.

Third, I added 2 teaspoons of celery seed to add more flavor to the sauce. Next time I might even add other spices such as turmeric though the color of the sauce would change. But for me, flavor is more important!

Fourth, I did not use vermouth since I did not have any on hand and substituted with white wine; I think it was a pinot gris that happened to be in the refrigerator.


Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onions, and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

2. Gradually whisk in the vermouth and cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in the broth, cream, and thyme. Add the chicken, partially cover, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover completely, and cook until the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 1o to 15 minutes.


3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and set the Dutch oven aside, covered. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the sauce with the peas and carrots. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pour the mixture into a 13 by 9 inch baking dish (or a shallow casserole dish of a similar size). Roll out the pie dough, fit it over the baking dish, and crimp the edges tightly to seal.


5. Place the pot pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the filling is hot and the crust is golden, about 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Afterthought: I had written some of my thoughts in the beginning, but one major one to add is that I realize that I do not like eating flaky pastry with heavy, savory filling. For me, a better complement would be eating this filling with biscuits. Some people advise to place biscuit dough on top of the filling and bake as usual. Other people suggest baking the biscuits separately and serving the filling and biscuits separately so that the biscuits will not get soggy. And just like pie crusts, you can buy already-made biscuit dough though making biscuits is not too difficult. One brand that I do like when in a pinch is Trader Joe's - no preservatives or funky ingredients.

Reading List

There are so many books that I want to read or at least try to read.
Current Reading List:

1. Momofuku by David Change and Peter Meehan
2. Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
3. Julie/Julia by Julie Powell
4. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
5. Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall
6. Three Cups of Tea by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson
7. 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper and Cecil B. Murphey
8. Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson
9. Photography by Barbara London
10. Lit by Mary Karr
11. Cake Love by Warren Brown
12. Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Beranbaum Levy
13. Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells
14. Mindset by Carol S. Dweck
15. The Best of America's Test Kitchen (2008)