My, Oh My, Chicken Pie

We are having a glorious Indian summer here in northern Nevada - warm days and cool evenings. Despite the temperate weather, our thoughts are turning to fall comfort foods, and who doesn’t like chicken pot pie? This one doesn’t include the traditional vegetables but is rich and satisfying.
 
Sue initiated the discussion for this meal after seeing this chicken pie on the PBS “Cook’s Country” show. They refine recipes through extensive testing and provide the best recipe for any given dish. After tasting this chicken pie, we applaud their process.   Despite the simplicity of the seasonings in this dish, it has a wonderful depth of flavor.

We had decided on roasted carrots to go with this pie and came up with the glaze to bring out their sweetness. A picture and recipe in the latest “Whole Living” magazine persuaded us to not roast Brussels sprouts as planned, but to “go raw” with a Brussels sprout salad.

We started off our cooking adventure this week with some very fine cheese and fruits. This meal is a labor of love and we needed sustenance. Meg had a Gouda she wanted to share, along with some brie and an American creamy blue cheese. This all went really well with a nice California merlot.

Moravian Chicken Pie
From Cook's Country
December/January 2012
Serves 8

If you get less than 2 tablespoons of fat from browning the chicken in step 4, supplement it with butter. The pie may seem loose when it comes out of the oven; it will set up as it cools.

INGREDIENTS

Crust
1/2 cup sour cream, chilled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

Pie
2 (10- to 12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE CRUST: Combine sour cream and egg in bowl. Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until only pea-size pieces remain, about 10 pulses. Add half of sour cream mixture and pulse until combined, 5 pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough begins to form, about 10 pulses.
2. Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and knead briefly until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw completely at room temperature before using.)
3. Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes. Working on lightly floured counter, roll into 12-inch round and transfer to 9-inch pie plate, leaving 1/2-inch overhang all around. Repeat with second dough disk and transfer to parchment–lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover both doughs with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. FOR THE PIE: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Pour fat (you should have 2 tablespoons) into small bowl; reserve. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin. Add broth, chicken, and bay leaf to now-empty pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding bones. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer into second bowl and reserve (you should have about 2¾ cups); discard bay leaf.
5. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat butter and reserved fat in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of reserved broth and half-and-half and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gravy until thickened and reduced to 1¾ cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine 1 cup gravy with shredded chicken; reserve remaining gravy for serving.
6. Transfer chicken mixture to dough-lined pie plate and spread into even layer. Top with second dough round, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Cut four 1-inch slits in top. Brush pie with egg and bake until top is light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes.
7. When ready to serve, bring remaining ¾ cup reserved gravy and remaining ¾ cup reserved broth to boil in medium saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve pie with gravy.

We use gravy to form the base for the filling in our Moravian Chicken Pie and also to serve with slices of the pie.
GRAVY FOR FILLING Combine 1 cup of thick gravy with the shredded chicken for a sliceable filling.
GRAVY FOR SERVING Thin the remaining thick gravy base with fortified chicken broth to make gravy for serving.

Weight Watchers: 17 points

Glazed Carrots
Recipe developed by Meg
For Saturday Night Specials 10/20/2012
Serves:  4
8 medium carrots, scrubbed
Olive oil for roasting
Salt & pepper for roasting

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. orange zest

Rub carrots with olive oil. Place on cookie sheet. Salt & pepper to taste.

Roast carrots in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, baste the carrots in the glaze and roast for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Weight Watchers: 6 points

Brussels Sprout Salad with Avocado & Pumpkin Seeds

Recipe: Whole Living, November, 2012
Serves: 6

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (1 tsp.)
1  ½ Tbsp. lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed, leaves separated
2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 avocado, sliced

Whisk lemon zest and juice and mustard in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking to emulsify, and season with salt and pepper.

Toss dressing with Brussels sprout leaves and pumpkin seeds. Gently stir in avocado and adjust seasonings.

Weight Watchers: 5 points

 

We had this Riesling for the first time with the Tandoori chicken and knew immediately that it would also be a great complement to this meal. (Those wine classes at Total Wine are paying off.)

Baked apples are a standard fall dessert. It took Meg five minutes to pick the prettiest apples from the store display. The clerk stocking the produce was watching her closely. After the apple selection she moved on to gourds.

Baked Apples
Recipe developed by Meg & Sue
For Saturday Night Specials 10/20/2012


Serves:  4
4 Macintosh apples
 ½ cup bourbon
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup walnuts, toasted
2 Tbsp. Honey
 Dusting of cinnamon and ground ginger
1 Tbsp. melted butter

Pour bourbon over raisins. Heat in microwave for about 30 seconds. Cover and let sit for at least 3 hours.

Wash apples and hollow out leaving bottom intact, and peel about ½ inch from top. Place in an oven proof dish. Stuff the apples with soaked raisins and walnuts, alternating until generously filled. Pour some of the bourbon from soaking the raisins over the filling. Drizzle the honey into the cavities.
Brush the exposed apple flesh with melted butter and dust with cinnamon and ginger.

Pour enough water into the baking dish to come up the sides of the apples about ½ inch. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and let sit until ready to serve.

Toppings of choice:
1-2  Tbsp. bourbon sauce per apple
Whipping cream
Vanilla ice cream

Bourbon Sauce
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com
Serves/Makes: 1.5 cups

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey

Directions:
Melt butter over medium heat, add sugar and water and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Gradually add butter and water mixture to egg, beating constantly. Slowly stir in bourbon.



Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

We loved this chicken pie. We recommend that you do all the chicken prep the day before, including the gravy. This is not a week night dish, but it is totally worth the time investment for a special occasion.  The crust is wonderful.

If you like carrots, you will love this dish. The smoked paprika and the orange juice elevate them from “just roasted” to something special. Watch them closely after adding the glaze.

We really liked the concept of the Brussels sprout salad, however the raw sprouts were tough and didn’t really have much taste. We like Brussels sprouts cooked a variety of ways and were disappointed in this recipe.  Great vinaigrette, though. We are going to try this again and will blanch the sprout leaves briefly in salted water and then immerse them in ice water. We anticipate that this will develop more flavor.

The baked apples were like the best of  an apple pie. Total comfort food. Sue's only change to the bourbon sauce recipe was to cook the sugar mixture longer, about 4 minutes total, before adding the sugar to the eggs.

Right now we are very full and happy and glad we spent the time on this meal. Cheers!