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This is the post where I tell you how/why I made chicken pot pies. Prepare to salivate.

I will admit to having not one but TWO cookbooks in my possession recently that prominently feature chicken pot pies. While I never got around to making the recipe found in Cooking for Two: Perfect Meals for Pairs, I did finally squelch my obsession by making the recipe from New Classic Family Dinners. Does it seem like a lot of work? Yes. Is it enormously satisfying? Absolutely.

Think about this: how do you really make a pot pie? Blanch some veggies, cook some chicken, make some sauce, top with pre-made puff pastry, bake.  SIMPLE!

Now all of that really does add up to a lot of work. But dang it, if I, a food styling dunce, can take some freakin fantastic pictures of the finished product, you too can make a jaw-dropping meal. Impress your lady or man (or lady man?) and GET LAID! This meal will do it. But don’t call it a chicken pot pie. Call it something sexier. How about… the butter-topped chick bake. How’s that?

Let’s get to the real recipe…

Chicken Pot Pie

Adapted from New Classic Family Dinners by Mark Peel

• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups thinly sliced carrots
• 1 1/3 cups thawed frozen peas
• 1 fat handful trimmed green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces, steamed
• 1 cup peeled and quartered small onions
• 3/4 pound cooked chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves
• 1/4 creme fraiche
• 1 8 oz sheet puff pastry, thawed if frozen
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the carrots, reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the carrots with a straining spoon and transfer to a bowl with the peas and green beans. You won’t need this again until later so set it aside.

Take out another saucepan and add salted water. Once boiling, drop the onion bits into it. Allow to cook for 10 minutes or until tender. It’s ok if the segments break apart while cooking. When soft, remove and cool in a bowl of ice water. Add the drained onions to the peas, green beans, and carrots. Dump in the chicken and mix together. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Now you’ve got the main filling. Sauce time!

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and add the flour. This is a roux. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to brown. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chicken stock. Put the pot back on the heat and simmer, whisking constantly. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, taking care to mix so that the sauce doesn’t char on the bottom. Add salt and pepper to taste and add the sage. Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the creme fraiche. Pour the sauce over the meat and veggies, mixing well. Presto, saucetastical filling.

Butter 4 ramekins. Distribute the filling between the ramekins and prepare the puff pastry by cutting it into 4 pieces that will amply cover the top of the ramekins. (An aside: at this point in the unadulterated recipe, Mark Peel recommends refrigerating the filling and then popping the pot pies in the freezer for 20 minutes. I didn’t do that. He doesn’t say why he does it and my pot pies came out fine without the extra waiting time.)

Whisk together the egg and water to use for puff pastry sealant. Brush it over the edges of the ramekins then place the puff pastry pieces over the top. Press, seal and crimp the puff pastry around the edge of the ramekin. Pierce the pot pies in the top to allow steam to escape. Brush the top with the egg mixture and place on a cookie tray. Bake until a lovely shade of golden brown, around 20 minutes. Eat. Enjoy! YUM.

DANG IT. Now all I want to eat right  now is some buttery crust dipped in pot pie sauce with a nice piece of chicken in the bite. Oh man, ecstasy.

So here I am, sorting through pictures for today’s post about a our trip to the Christmas tree farm. And BAM there’s a pic, there’s another one, and holy hell a third pic! All food porn. All of them baked last week. Here’s what you can expect to hear from The Hipster Home soon…

Chocolate chip cookies, chicken pot pie and baked eggs with bacon, caramelized onion, garlic and jalapeno and greyere. And they tasted every bit as good as they look!

Sometimes a recipe doesn’t look like much. But if I need SOMETHING to go off of, some vague inspiration, anything will do. Recipes off the back of a Trader Joe’s box included. Last night I’m not proud to say it, but that’s exactly what I did. Realistically, I knew from the get-go that this was some crazy-ass cracked out version of reality where stir frys are related to quinoa and 2 cups of chicken broth disappear magically into a dish without consequence. But damn it, I wasn’t sure what else to cook. So I gave the Trader Joe’s recipe a whirl.

So how’d it turn out? PERFECTO! 2 thumbs up! Good enough for me to tell ya about here! But no, oh no. I won’t just reprint the bizzaro-world recipe they gave me. I’ll both share it for amusement and give you what worked for me below that. In the end, the saving grace of the whole meal (besides my fantastical ability to freestyle) was the shining beacon of heavenly fresh produce that made it work.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa, Peppers and Basil (NO NO NO)

1 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Quinoa, prepared with chicken stock according to package directions
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breast tenders
4 Tablespoons garlic flavored oil oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
20 cleaves fresh sweet basil, julienne
Grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cut chicken into one-inch pieces. Heat large nonstick skillet over high heat and add the oil. Add chicken and saute for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Add onions, bell peppers; saute for one or two more minutes; add garlic and saute until peppers become slightly limp, but still bright, about one to two minutes; season with sale and pper. Remove the pan from heat; add basil and quinoa. Toss until basil wilts; garnish with parmesan cheese. Serves four

Um, what???

Now you might ask yourself, “Wait a second, I made the quinoa using chicken stock like the directions on the side of the box but wait, I just used 2 cups chicken broth so is that the same thing, why would they list it again? And basil… julienned?? Don’t they mean chiffonade? Why does Parmesan cheese not sound like an appetizing topping?? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?? THIS RECIPE IS THINLY SLICED.

But don’t get yer panties in a bundle, I fixed it. But first you should know that we roasted a chicken Zuni-style the night before, so instead of cooking the raw chicken, I modified the recipe to re-heat slices of my cold, pre-cooked roast chicken. Here, this is the good recipe. I call this one…

Quinoa with Chicken, Peppers and Basil (YES YES YES)

1 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Quinoa
2 cups + 2 tablespoons chicken broth
1  pound skinless and boneless roast chicken, in chunks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, diced
20 cleaves fresh sweet basil, julienne
salt and pepper to taste

Place quinoa and 2 cups chicken broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook until all water is absorbed (10-15 minutes). The grain will be soft and translucent when done. Heat a cast-iron skillet and add the oil. Add onions, bell peppers; saute for one minute; add garlic, sliced chicken and saute another minute. Lower the heat; add the cooked quinoa, 2 tablespoons chicken broth; stir and cover with a lid. Cook a few more minutes until the peppers become slightly limp, but still bright. Remove the pan from heat; add basil; season with sale and pepper. Serves four… or two hungry bitches… just kidding, two will have leftovers