(11/24/2009) Pot pies! What could be better at this time of year? Sure, you can buy frozen or premade, and these can range from very good to okay to downright nasty. But a homemade chicken or seafood or vegetable pot
 Durell Godfrey
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pie can be a glorious treat.
Although I love to cook, I will be the first to admit that pot pies can be a lot of work. Not hard, just time consuming — making a pie dough, making a bechamel sauce, precooking your vegetables and meat. So I set out to make the quickest and easiest pot pie with maybe one or two perfectly acceptable short cuts.
Frozen and refrigerated pie doughs are okay; Pillsbury makes a nice, flaky one. You can buy already-cooked skinned and boned chicken breasts at most delis and supermarkets. This is more practical than a whole cooked chicken if you prefer just white meat.
I bought some at the Hampton Market Place that had been nicely seasoned and cooked just enough. The young lady behind the counter got very excited over the prospect of my homemade-with-shortcuts pot pie project and shared her family’s favorite recipe, all peas and carrots, no mushrooms or pearl onions.
Some markets sell already prepped and chopped vegetables, which is another possible time saver. For the sauce, however, I would encourage you to make your own. It only takes about 10 minutes on the stove, and you can tailor it with your favorite herbs. Tarragon, dill, sage, and thyme are excellent with chicken, and you can add a drop of sherry for depth of flavor.
I am not writing about pot pies because after Thanksgiving you will be faced with a 20-pound turkey carcass every time you open your refrigerator. However, won’t it be convenient that you will already have meat, perhaps some leftover peas and creamed onions and gravy to get you started?
As for the crusts, I prefer an easier, deep-dish pot pie with only one top crust. The bottom crust always seems to be underdone or soggy and who needs all that extra work and dough, anyway? There are some theories that the only reason a bottom crust was used in the olden days was to prevent the off flavor that a cast-iron skillet would give the pie.
There are various versions of meat and vegetable pies all around the world: empanadas, pasties, and plenty of Northern European types. The name “pot pie” is American and refers more to a cooking method than the dish itself. Two hundred years ago in the royal households of France and England, chefs were making elaborate savory tarts filled with pheasant, turkey, and chicken. During the Elizabethan era, the pies were decorated with heraldic devices, flowers, and fancy curlicues.
Robert May’s “Accomplisht Cook” from 1685 lists a few recipes that relied more on the favored flavorings of the Middle Ages: pepper, salt, nutmeg, orange juice (huh?), lemon, chestnuts, mace, sugar, gooseberries, and grapes. A more appealing recipe from the same book calls for a pot pie with artichoke hearts, asparagus, onions, and lettuce.
The first frozen chicken pot pie was made in 1951 by the C.A. Swanson Company.
Since pot pies are essentially a stew baked into or under a crust, you can use your imagination with the fillings. Curry in chicken, or perhaps a drop of truffle oil in the filling and the crust. A seafood pot pie filled with scallops, cod, or halibut, and lobster with lemon and dill. A lamb or beef pot pie full of root vegetables, or a completely vegetarian version with a savory assortment of wild mushrooms.
You can buy some pretty good frozen pot pies, some made locally like the famous Sagg General Store version available at the Hampton Market Place. The Marie Callander chicken pot pie at supermarkets isn’t bad either. I would steer away from the Swanson, Stouffer’s, etc., versions, as they are gluey and you’ll only get about three carrot cubes and four peas in each portion.
Try making your own. I can assure you that your efforts will be greatly appreciated!
Chicken Pot Pie With a Few Shortcuts
Serves four.
One pie crust, frozen or homemade
4 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 package frozen peas
1 onion, peeled diced and sautéed
2 large, skinned and boned precooked chicken breasts, diced
Bechamel sauce
1 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp. butter
6 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken stock
Fresh or dried herbs to taste. Try tarragon, thyme, and sage.
To make bechamel sauce, cook flour and butter for two minutes over medium heat. Slowly add the cream, whisking all the while.
Add the stock, then cook, whisking constantly for about five more minutes or until the sauce is thickened to your liking. Add plenty of salt and white pepper and your desired seasonings — about two teaspoons of each herb would be good. Remove from heat and set aside.
Steam the carrots for about five minutes, then add the peas and cook for about four minutes more. Season well with salt and pepper. Add the sautéed onions to this and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400.
To assemble, combine the bechamel, diced chicken, and vegetables. Taste for seasoning. Place in a two-quart casserole dish and lay pie dough over the top, having cut it to fit the casserole dish. Cut a few vents into the top of the dough to let the steam out.
Bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown and the filling is bubbling up around the sides. Serve with a crisp green salad.
Seafood Pot Pie
Makes six servings.
This is a great recipe adapted from Sarah Leah Chase’s “Year Around Cookbook.” This is fancy enough for company!
Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
Pinch salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
4 oz. cream cheese, chilled, cut into small pieces
Filling
2 medium turnips
5 Tbsp. butter
2 fat leeks, white and light-green parts, trimmed, washed, and sliced into 2-inch-long julienne strips
2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
2 tsp. dried tarragon
2 cups dry white wine
1 bottle clam juice (8 oz.)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz. bay scallops, or sea scallops, cut in half
1 lb. fresh cod, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
Egg Wash
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. water
Prepare crust: Place flour, cornmeal, butter, salt, and cream cheese in food processor. Process just until it begins to gather into ball. Shape it into a disk and refrigerate for one hour.
Prepare filling: Boil turnips in salted water for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, peel, and cut into a small dice. Set aside.
Melt four tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks and carrots and sauté five minutes. Stir in tarragon and one cup white wine. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Uncover, increase heat, and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.
Place the clam juice, remaining cup of wine, and heavy cream in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium. Cook until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes. Blend the flour into the remaining one tablespoon of butter and whisk into the sauce. Cook until quite thick, then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper and lemon juice.
Combine the sauce with the turnips, sautéed leeks and carrots, and the raw shrimp, scallops, and cod. Preheat the oven to 400 and butter a round two-quart baking dish.
Transfer the filling to the baking dish and sprinkle the Swiss cheese over the top. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about one-quarter-inch thick and in a circle one inch larger than the baking dish.
Place the dough over the top of the dish and crimp the edges. Mix the egg and water and brush over the top of the dough. Slash some steam vents into the dough. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let sit for five minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.