Chicken Pot Pie

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    I made chicken pot pie!  From scratch!  And I actually liked it!  I apologize for the abnormally excited reaction to such a small thing, but let me explain.

     I have always hated pie crust.  When I would eat pie, it would just be the middle.  The rest I left alone.  I especially hated it when it was used in savory dishes.  My mom used to make a hamburger pie that the rest of the family loved but that I couldn't stand.  It was way too sweet.  And those little Banquet chicken pot pies?  Fugeddaboutit.  The idea of sweetish pie crust mixed with chicken and vegetables made me ill.

     Then came baking and pastry class at school.  It was a revelation.  I learned to make pie crust, and one day I made beautiful apple and cherry pies.  When I got them home, I tried them without much enthusiasm, and....Eureka!  The crust was fabulous.  It was buttery and flaky and not at all sweet, and that was the best piece of pie I've ever had.  (Little tip...If you've never had a piece of apple pie with a big slice of cheddar cheese on top, heated just to melting in the microwave, you're missing out.)  I was so grateful to have learned it.

     Then it dawned on me...the possibilities!  I could actually make a pot pie that I might like, and that I could endlessly adapt depending on what I wanted inside.  And so I tried it.

     I made sure I made a bottom crust as well as a top one.  I figured the bottom one, sitting there soaking up the herbs and creaminess from the sauce, was a must.  The filling was chicken, carrots, celery, onions, and peas, all precooked and sauteed together for a while to marry the flavors.  The sauce is something I'll keep perfecting, but it was good for a first attempt.  I made a simple white roux and added a mixture of milk and chicken stock.  I would have rather used heavy cream or even half and half, but I was out.  I seasoned it with plenty of salt and pepper, as well as thyme, marjoram, savory, parsley and a little bit of basil.  That was it.  I mixed the filling and the sauce, poured it into the bottom crust and topped it with another crust.  An egg wash and some fairly pitiful looking leaves for decoration (my pie crust artistry still has a ways to go, as you can see), and it was into the oven at 425º for 35 minutes or so.

     It was so good!  It needs some perfecting and tweaking and a lot of visual help, but the flavors were there and I was really happy with it.  I just love it when I find new dishes I can make, especially ones this versatile.  It sent my little mind spinning off in the direction of mushroom pot pie, and beef pot pie, and spinach and goat cheese pot pie, and lamb and fall vegetable pot pie, and....oh my, it goes on and on!  Somebody should stop me....