Dodgy Cooking: Chicken Pot Pie

The first cooking class was a blast. 4 attended out of the 6 and we made chicken pot pie. Why chicken pot pie? Because it teaches you the following basics:

1. How to brown meat
2. How to make a roux (and subsequent gravy)
3. How to make your own pie crust (takes 5 min and is cheaper than pre-made grocery store items)
4. How to use up the ingredients you have on hand rather than relying on recipes. (Especially good since thanksgiving is coming up.)

We drank lots of wine and I wrote up a manifesto on the subject so people could take the "how-to" home with them. Afterwards, we ate our spoils by candlelight and then went to a dodgeball party. Very fun. Can't wait to do it again.

For those who want to see a copy of the whole manifesto:

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Dodgy Cooking
Class One: November 18, 2006

We’re making Chicken Pot Pie, one of the easiest and most versatile dishes. Fast to prepare, you can make it for one or fifteen with the same amount of preparation. Easily adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand.

Basic Principles: To make a pot pie, you need four things: the filling (meats and/or veggies), the gravy, the crust, and a vessel to cook it all in (i.e. you can make small individual ones or a giant one).

Deconstructing a recipe (we did not use this recipe, but it is an example of one broken down):


The Vessel:
First determine how many people you’re feeding and what you want to cook it in. I recommend individual bowls because it lets you dump all the ingredients in, cover it with gravy and a crust, and serve it straight from the oven without having to cut pieces, etc. Clean and simple. My mom always made a big 9” one. If you do a big one, you almost need two crusts to hold everything together. Two crusts mean an extra step. I am lazy.

The Filling:
Fillings can be anything. And any amounts. Just look on epicurious.com to see the massive list of options. Pick whatever suits your tastes. And don’t worry if it will work or not. It will; the basic principles of pot pies are all the same.

Meat Fillings: You can use any type of meat in your filling (i.e. chicken, turkey, pork, beef). I recommend browning it first because it tastes better. Use a heavy pan over medium high heat. Add salt and pepper and cook the whole breasts/thighs/loin/chop until it has a nice color. It does NOT need to be cooked all the way through. Remember, you’ll be cooking the whole thing at the end so the meat will finish that way. Once it’s the color I like (can be arbitrary and even burning in parts is fine – the beauty of gravy), I pull it out of the pan to cool. When cool, cut into pieces. (Alternative: you could cut it and then cook it, but then you have to watch it more. Like I said before, I am lazy). You can also skip the above if you’re using leftovers (i.e. thanksgiving turkey, that extra pork chop or chicken, ham, pastrami, etc. Just cut into pieces and use directly.)

Vegetable Fillings: Frozen mixed veggies is by far the easiest option since no chopping or measuring is needed. Other options include: onions, potatoes, squash, zucchini, apples, garlic (roasted or not), mushrooms, broccoli, artichoke hearts, pumpkin, peppers, herbs, etc. Most just require you to add directly. Some (raw garlic, onions) could benefit by being sautéed a bit first but it is not necessary. A time this could be done is after you remove the chicken, but before you start the gravy (below). All of this can be done in one pan – no washing needed between steps.

The Gravy:
Gravy sounds terrifying but is very, very easy if you follow some basic rules. Short version: add flour to fat and stir over low-medium heat. This is called a roux (pronounced ROO). The longer you cook it, the better it tastes. When the flour is dissolved and you have the color you want, you can add liquid (chicken stock in this case). The most common mistake in making gravy is when people add flour directly to hot liquids. The flour granules grab on to each other rather than get dispersed in sauce. This is why you get lumps. When you do the roux method, you are separating the flour granules before the liquid is added. Hence smooth sauce. After it’s thickened, season with salt and pepper and, if desired, herbs. Note: You can also use leftover refrigerated gravy (think: thanksgiving)

The Crust:
Endless options here, too. You can use pre-made puff pastry, refrigerated pre-made pie dough, can of cheap biscuit dough, bisquick mix, even mashed potatoes or cornbread. The topping doesn’t really matter and the choice is yours. I rarely think to pick up any of these ingredients so I just make my own. Here is a recipe that can be made in less than five minutes from easy to have-on-hand ingredients.

Basic Pie Dough (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons butter

Mix all together until it has the grain of cornmeal. When mixed, add 4 Tablespoons of water. Blend lightly into dough until it just holds together (NOTE: the longer you mix flour and water together, the tougher your dough will be. That is why you mix fat/flour together FIRST, and add water only at the end and gently.

Assembling the Pot Pie:
This is so easy, I feel ridiculous writing this down but here it goes. Into your vessel(s), dump in the meat and/or veggies. Pour in enough gravy to cover. Top with pie crust (you can roll it out or just pinch it off and layer on top. If you roll it, make sure you prick it to allow steam to escape. Optional touch: You can make fun designs out of a rolled crust using cookie cutters). Put the assembled pot pies on a baking sheet (so if they drip, they won’t make a mess). Bake 30-40 minutes at 425 degrees. You want the crust to be crisp and the inside filling to be hot. By and large, if it looks done it probably is. Optional touch: beat and egg and brush it on the top of the crust before baking. It will make the crust shiny. If you don’t have something to brush it with, use a paper towel or napkin. Even your clean fingers would work.

Summary:
Hardware needed: Bowls or some other type of vessel to cook the pot pie in, Pan to cook chicken, cookie sheet to put assembled pot pies on while baking, whisk is optional for mixing gravy since a fork will work as well, measuring cup (if making own crust).
Ingredients needed: Any amounts of meat/veggies for filling. Flour for gravy and crust, some type of fat for gravy (butter, bacon grease, etc), and butter for crust.
Make-ahead ability: Can totally be assembled ahead, even a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Pull from fridge and bake. Another option to consider: a friend of mine makes them in ramekins and then freezes them as individual servings. Easy since you can do all your prep at once and have meals for a long time.
Reheating capability: Reheats well, great for lunch the next day.