Thursday, March 14, 2013

In Honor of π Day: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Growing up, I didn't really care for chicken pot pie. No one ever made it too often, but I always heard my dad talk about it so fondly and I couldn't understand why (from the few times I ate it). It seemed overwhelming and over spiced in a pie shell.

Once I grew older and tasted better pot pies, I started to understand the fascination. So here was my first attempt at making a home made pot pie. I did not use any sort of recipe for it, just good old guessing and cooking instinct. 

It turned out amazing. Literally, one of the best dishes my kitchen has ever seen. In the words of my crazy sister: "Oh my gosh, I am crying from how good this is." She was not exaggerating. 

For one, the vegetables I used were all from our garden (aside from the peas, which were frozen organic Trader Joe's brand). So they were fresh and extremely flavorful. I homemake my own chicken stock (it was made several days before and sat in the fridge). The chicken added in was part of the chicken stock recipe, so it was also cooked prior (I find this lets the flavors settle). Lastly, the pie crust was not any old patte brise. At some point my sister found a pie dough recipe that had sour cream in it. I really believe this was the key factor that made this pot pie the best.

Call me crazy, but the best part of fresh veggies is the compost! With everything I take, there's something I give.

What you will need:

For the filling - 

Vegetables (I used carrots, rutabagas and peas)
Several potatoes 
Chopped pieces of chicken (after boiling a whole chicken, I used all the meat I cleaned off the bones)
Chicken stock (enough to cover)
Olive oil
Seasonings (salt, pepper, oregano)

For the pie dough - [this is from an old 50's recipe my grandmother used to make]

1 pound firm butter
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream

Saute the onions in butter and olive oil (I like to use both because it makes it more flavorful).

Toss in the veggies and saute them for a while (20 minutes-ish).

Once the veggies smell amazing and are getting soft, add the chicken stock and season. Let that simmer and then create the thickening mixture.

To thicken: take a half a cup of the broth in the pot and whisk enough flour to create a paste (a couple tablespoons). Pour that mixture back into the pot and stir. You will notice it thickening instantly, creating a good gravy.

Once the mixture is all put together, turn off the element beneath it (to let it cool before placing in pie crust).

For the dough, cut the dry ingredients and butter then mix in the sour cream. Normally you should be weary of over handling pie dough, but with this type the sour cream softens, so a little more mixing is ok. Refrigerate the dough while making the filling.

Roll out the bottom and top pieces, each time refrigerating one while handling the other.

Pour in your filling, cover, press edges and cut vents. Cook on 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower to 375 and cook for another 30 minutes.

It's hard to make pot pie look good in a bowl, but the amazing flavor makes up for that.

Bon Appetite! 


  1. Great photos! I have such a hard time making recipes like this look delicious in photos, but you did it :-)

    Some Snapshots Blog

  2. Ymmm. I love chicken pot pie. The filling looks so delicious.

  3. OH my gosh YUM!!! Will have to try this version!