Speaking of chickens....

Chicken Pie

In Which We Make a Chicken Pie from Scratch

The night before:

You need....
A whole chicken
Onions
Celery
Carrots
Optional: Apples, white wine, peppercorns, whole cloves, salt

Pop a whole chicken in a large pot, including the neck but not including the guts that they always leave in the middle. I cut up the chicken, just so that it will fit, but it's not necessary. Throw in some carrots, a quartered onion or two (peel and all), celery stalks (the ends or those pale center pieces will do just fine), a bay leaf, a couple apples (also quartered) and about half a cup of white wine if you've got some handy. Add a little salt if desired. Put a few whole cloves, whole peppercorns, and a sprinkle of oregano and basil into a tea ball and drop that in too. Add water until everything in the pot is just covered. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce the heat to bring it down to a nice simmer. After about 30-40 minutes of simmering, remove the chicken from the pot. Leave the neck in and leave the pot simmering on the stove. Let the chicken cool until you can handle it and pull the meat off the bones. (I'm always in a hurry, so I use tongs while it's still pretty hot.) Save the cooked meat in the fridge and toss the bones back in the pot. Let pot simmer on the stove for another hour or so, or until you've got time to put a strainer or sieve on a large bowl and strain the veggies and such out of the broth. Cover the bowl of broth and put it in the fridge until tomorrow. If you want fancy clear reduced chicken broth, strain the broth a few times through several layers of cheesecloth and boil it until it's reduced. I don't bother because the unfancy way looks kind of murky, but it only takes ten minutes to prepare, ten minutes to pull the meat off the bones, and a few miscellaneous minutes to strain it, put the broth in the fridge and clean up. It takes some cooking time, but for most of that time the broth is just simmering away while I do laundry or chat on the phone or watch mindless television.

The day you'll make the pie: The fat will have hardened at the top of the broth. Skim it off (I've found that a flat metal spatula works best) and save 2 1/2 to 3 cups of broth. Freeze the rest for later use.

If you really want to skip the whole broth step, you can use leftover chicken and canned chicken broth. Wimp.

Pie crust: Either the night before or sometime on the day you're making the pie, make your favorite double pie crust recipe. Pat it into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, wrap them in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until you have time to make the pie.

Pie Filling:
This will give you enough filling for two pies. Just pop the extra filling in a freezer bag, and the next time you want a chicken pie all you've got to do is thaw the filling and make a pie crust.

You need....
4-5 red or yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
3 medium carrots, also peeled and diced
3-4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 package partially thawed frozen peas
6 tablespoons butter
1-2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3/4 cup flour
2 1/2-3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg (don't skip this, it makes the pie delicious!)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add carrots and potatoes. Once the boil returns, blanch the potatoes and carrots for 2-3 minutes. Drain well. In a large bowl, toss the carrots and potatoes, peas, and diced chicken. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Before the next step, I measure out my ingredients and set them in my cooking space so that I can just add things to the pot without having to stop and measure while I stir. It seems to work better that way. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and saute until softened. Stir in the flour. Keep stirring for a bit to toast the flour. Add the chicken broth, the white wine, and the spices. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat and simmer until it gets really thick. Pour it over the chicken and vegetables and toss.

Roll out the pie crust, and put the bottom crust in a pie plate. Pour in half the filling. (Set the rest of the filling aside and put it in the freezer once you've got the pie in the oven.) Put the top crust on the pie and make a fancy curly "C" on top for "Chicken." Or make your own initial to show your pride in your pie. If you can crimp the edges of the pie crust, go for it, make your pie beautiful. Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet, put it in the hot oven, and bake 45-55 minutes. Let the pie cool for at least one hour before serving.

It's perfect served with a simple salad.

This is the best chicken pie ever. It reads like a lot of work, but it's divided into shorter tasks that can be completed in those little interstices allowed by school, chauffeuring, and parenting. And the long cooling time makes this dinner perfect for, say, choir night, when I've got to make dinner then go pick up a kid then come home and serve dinner before I shuttle another kid off to a different activity.