Jennifer's Week Twenty-Two Recipe: Curry Chicken Pot Pie

So, after posting last week's recipe from Rachael Ray and lamenting that it was not an Alton Brown recipe, I figured that this week I would make a recipe from AB! So, I did! This is from the Good Eats episode "Casserole Over".


Curry Chicken Pot Pie

4 cups frozen vegetable mix (I used peas and carrots)

1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth/stock

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 package puff pastry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss frozen vegetables with canola oil and spread evenly onto a sheet pan. Place into oven and cook until golden brown.

In a saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion and celery. In another saucepan, heat the broth and milk. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the celery mix and cook out the water. Add the flour and curry and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk mixture and cook until thickened. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Toss the browned vegetables and the chicken. Pour into a shallow baking pan, or a large terra cotta pot base, lined with foil, and top with 6 to 8 circles of puff pastry. Place into the oven and cook until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Would I make this again? Yes, I would! However, it seems that we have come to the conclusion in the Wagner Household that Chad just does not like curry. (I know, I know...) He blames it on the fact that growing up he ate mostly 3 different meals: spaghetti, burgers and Hamburger Helper. Erik will not have a similar problem - he likes curry! And I refuse to make Hamburger Helper.

Chris's Week Nine Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie with Corn Bread Crust

I invited Erica over for dinner yesterday. Her mother, Marcie, is starring in the Woodbury Community Theatre Guild's production of Mame and Erica is acting as Marcie's dresser. (Great show, by the way! I saw it last night with Linda & Bruce.) Since Erica was going to be in the neighborhood, I saw an opportunity for culinary experimentation and a fresh batch of Stargate Atlantis episodes.

I found a recipe for Turkey Pie with Cornbread Crust in a little book by Beatrice Ojakangas from the University of Minnesota Press called Pot Pies. This is my adaption. It's reasonably faithful, but I halved the recipe for filling and kept the full recipe for the cornbread crust. I like cornbread.

Chicken Pie with Cornbread Crust

Cornbread Crust

Stir together:

• 1 c flour
• 1 c medium grind cornmeal
• 2 T turbinado sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t salt

Beat together and mix with the dry ingredients until just combined:

• 1 egg (beat up first)
  
• 1 c milk
• 3 T grapeseed (or vegetable) oil

Cover and chill.

Pie filling

Saute:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-2 T butter

Stir in:

• 2 heaping tablespoons flour
• 1.5 c hot chicken broth
• salt, pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce to taste

Mix until a gravy is formed. Cook to thicken slightly.

In a 2 qt casserole dish (I used a rectangular dish), mix:

• 2 c shredded, cooked chicken
• 1 c diced, cooked potatoes (skin-on is good)
• 1 c diced, cooked carrots
• 1 c frozen peas (doesn't matter if you thaw these)

Pour the gravy over the mixture in the pan. Spoon on the chilled cornbread mixture. Bake at 425F for about 30 min or until the cornbread is golden brown.

Would I make this recipe again? Most certainly! I think it would be even better with turkey. Erica said it was very good and different from other pot pie she'd had because it wasn't swimming in gravy. We agreed this was good because it meant less fat.