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these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing. I first came across “Aunt Cleo’s Chicken Pie” while digging through my fiancé’s tattered purple recipe folder, filled to the brim with handwritten index cards that his mother, Tina, had originally sent with him to college. We were only in the beginning phases of dating when I rummaged through the file, but I figured out pretty early that he was a sucker for his mom’s home cooking. The very Southern recipe was inherited from Tina’s childhood nanny, the beloved “Aunt Cleo.” It was a dump-in-the-pot-and-stir dish if there ever was one (canned cream of soup, canned veggies, hardboiled eggs), but dang if it didn’t make my fiancé swoon. The part about this particular chicken pot pie that made me swoon, however, wasn’t the creamy (i.e. store bought) filling, but its golden, fluffy biscuit topping. It was like the best part of a crème brûlée, that irresistible crunch you can’t wait to tap, tap, tap with a spoon. After just one bite, I knew the puff-pastry pot pie crusts of my past were for the birds.
I’ve since turned good ol’ Aunt Cleo’s original recipe on its head, leaving only the biscuit topping (and the hard boiled eggs) the same. My new-and-improved “chicken pie” bathes poached chicken and fresh vegetables in a rich, flavorful sauce. It’s pure, delicious comfort food in its best form. This chicken pot pie is perfect for a cold winter night, whether it’s for your family or all of your closest friends. I think, no, I know, Cleo would approve! olive oil large leek, chopped chopped onions, small dice chopped carrots, small dice green beans, cut into 3/4-inch pieces butter all-purpose flour hot chicken stock, preferably reserved from cooked chicken whole milk, warmed dry sherry sugar cooked, shredded chicken (see note) hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper For the topping
Instructions
Recipe NotesI poached 4 pounds of bone-in chicken thighs with aromatics--carrots, celery, onions--until cooked through. I shredded the chicken and used the stock for the pot pie. (I also added the remaining bones and extra chicken back to the pot with more water to make additional stock for using later.) For extra flavor, blanch the green beans in the reserved stock from poaching the chicken instead of boiling water. How do you keep the bottom crust of chicken pot pie from getting soggy?Remove crust from oven and remove parchment and beans(set aside beans or rice to use the next time you need to blind bake a pie crust). 8. Immediately brush bottom and sides of hot crust with beaten egg. This will help create a moisture barrier, so the crust will not get soggy.
What is the sauce made of in chicken pot pie?What is the sauce made of in chicken pot pie? Heavy whipping cream, chicken broth or stock, butter, and all-purpose flour. Simmered together creates a luxurious, rich sauce that suspends the filling ingredients. This combination prevents a runny consistency that would make a soggy bottom crust as it sits.
How do you raise canned biscuits?You can easily turn canned biscuits into scones by pressing dried fruit, oats and brown sugar, or chocolate chips into the dough before baking. Also try drizzling a simple glaze (made with milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar) over them after baking to fancy them up.
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