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Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

By Barbara Beltrami

Despite unseasonably warm fall days, there’s been a real chill in the air and some gusty winds lately. The leaves have finished their autumn pageant, the days are shorter and it’s time for some serious comfort food like pot pies. In fact, I can’t think of anything that would hit the spot more on a dark December evening. With the convenience of a pie crust from the refrigerator or frozen food section of the supermarket, you can concentrate on that savory concoction that goes under the crust, pop the whole thing in the oven and sip a glass of wine while you catch up on your emails.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

YIELD: Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

Nonstick cooking spray

4 refrigerated pie crusts

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, poached and shredded

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray 6 ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. On lightly floured surface, cut six 5” circles from two rolled out pie crusts, then roll each circle into an 8-inch round. Line bottoms and sides of 6 ramekins with 8” crusts; crimp around top edges and prick bottoms and sides of dough with a fork. Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until dough is lightly browned. 

Meanwhile in a large skillet melt butter over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, potato, onion, carrot, and parsley and stir occasionally until onions turn a light golden color, about 6 to 8 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and half a cup of the broth; add to skillet, stir, then add remaining two cups of broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium, stir occasionally and simmer another 5 minutes; stir in chicken, peas and cream, let sit 10 minutes. 

Distribute filling mixture evenly among the six ramekins; cut and roll second two pie crusts as first ones, crimp edges, make slits in top crusts, brush tops with milk and bake on rimmed baking sheet, until crusts are golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with a crisp green salad.

Seafood Pot Pie

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

1 stick unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery with leaves

1/2 cup flour

3 cups clam juice

1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound bay scallops

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pound lobster meat, cut into bite-size pieces

One 10-ounce package frozen peas and carrots

One 10-ounce package frozen pearl onions

1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

One 9” uncooked pie crust, rolled out

3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 375 F. In large skillet melt butter over medium heat; add onion and celery and cook until onion is opaque, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add flour, stir and cook another minute. In large saucepan bring clam juice to a simmer over medium-high heat; add shrimp and scallops and cook just until shrimp are pink and scallops are tender, about 2 minutes. With slotted spoon transfer shrimp and scallops to bowl, but reserve cooking liquid. 

Go back to the skillet and, stirring constantly, add cooking liquid, salt and pepper, a little at a time, to onion and celery and cook 3 minutes. Add the cream and stir. Add lobster meat along with shrimp, scallops and onion mixture, then stir in frozen peas, carrots, pearl onions and parsley; transfer to deep pie dish, cover with rolled out pie crust and crimp edges; brush with milk and make a few slits in crust. Place pie on rimmed cookie sheet and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbly, about 1 1/4 hours. Serve with an arugula and endive salad.

Chicken Pot Pie

By Barbara Beltrami

The holidays are history. All those sumptuous hors d’oeuvres and cookies have worked their way to postholiday residence in my body, but in these temperatures I cannot bear to even think of my annual New Year’s resolution, to subsist on rabbit food and rice cakes to reverse the damage. Baby, it’s cold outside and New Year’s resolutions be damned!

Surely my body is smarter than I am, even has a mind of its own and is telling me that it craves no-nonsense tummy warmers … simmering soups, stews and bubbling casseroles. I don’t need much convincing. Before I know it I’m standing in the kitchen chopping and stirring. By the time it is dusk and I turn on the lamps, savory aromas waft through the house.

It’s starting to snow again or maybe it’s still snowing. I sip a glass of wine and remember why I insist that I like winter when the snowbirds challenge my decision to stay here rather than move to Florida.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 whole chicken breasts, bone in

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (for chicken breasts)

¼ cup olive oil

5 cups chicken broth

½ stick unsalted butter

1 medium-large onion, diced

2 tablespoons flour

¼ cup heavy cream

More salt and pepper, to taste (for sauce)

Two 10-ounce packages frozen peas and carrots, cooked according to package directions

Nonstick cooking spray

Four 8-inch pie crusts

2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 F. Place chicken breasts skin side up in baking pan; rub with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until skin is golden and meat is cooked through. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, remove skin and discard. Pull meat away from bone and dice. Set aside.

In small saucepan heat chicken broth. In medium saucepan, melt butter and cook onions over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, about two minutes. Add the hot broth and, with wire whisk, stir vigorously over low heat until thickened. Whisk in cream, salt and pepper; stir in peas and carrots and chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray four individual ovenproof bowls with nonstick cooking spray. Divide chicken mixture evenly among bowls. Top each bowl with rolled out pie crust; crimp edges and make a few slits in top. Brush crusts with milk, place bowls on baking sheet, then bake one hour, until crusts are golden and insides are bubbling.

Beef Stew

Beef Stew

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

2½ pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium onions, cut into wedges

1 cup dry red wine

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

10 cups beef broth or stock

1½ pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

6 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juice

½ cup chopped Italian parsley

1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS: Combine the flour, salt and pepper; dredge the beef cubes in the mixture. In large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil, then cook the meat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned. Remove and set aside.

Melt the butter in the same pot, add the onions and cook over medium heat, until pale gold. Pour wine in pot and over medium heat with spatula scrape and loosen any bits from bottom of pot. Add garlic, tomato paste, beef and broth to pot; stir and bring to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer one and a half hours, until beef is tender. Add potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, parsley and bay leaf and simmer one more hour, until vegetables are tender. If necessary, add water or more broth during cooking. Remove bay leaf before serving.