chicken pot pie

its been forever since i have blogged...mostly because the only thing of significance that has gone on in the past eight months of my life involves an eye problem and lots of doctors.  i mean, there have been other significant things, but that was the most significant thing for a while, and i really don't feel like talking about that more that i am already forced to.  if you really want to know what happened, feel free to ask me--i would be happy (ish) to tell you.  but i can't really stand the thought of documenting the whole saga in cyber print, if you know what i mean.

so, i have recently moved back to provo and it feels wonderful.  to get prepared for the first week of school (and because i was totally craving it), i decided to make a chicken pot pie.  i put most of it in the freezer, but i tasted some of it and it was delicious, so i thought i would share the recipe.  it is super simple, and makes about eight servings.  instead of making a crust for it, i topped it with my grandmother's recipe for biscuits...also know as the best biscuits in the world--no joke.  its all about the technique though, so follow the directions for the biscuits carefully.

chicken pot pie a la gramsy biscuits


for the chicken soup:
1 tbs butter
1/4 c chopped shallot
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 c chopped onion
1/3 c dry white wine (use cooking wine, or i would suggest a bottle of kendall jackson chardonnay)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
2 c chopped roasted chicken (i used 3 cans of costco chunk chicken, drained two and left the water in one)
2 bags frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water
1 c half and half

for the gramsy biscuits:
2 c flour
2 tbs baking powder (its a lot, i know)
2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 c shortening
2/3 c milk

melt butter in a skillet.  add shallot and thyme and sauté 2 minutes.  add onion and sauté 2 minutes.  add half of the chicken and white wine, cook until evaporated.  stir in dijon mustard and chicken broth.  bring to a boil and cook 4 minutes.  stir in rest of chicken, vegetables, and salt and pepper.  cook 1 minute.  combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl.  add cornstarch mixture and half and half to pan.  reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.  spoon mixture into a 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray.  cover with biscuit batter.  bake at 425 for 20 minutes until biscuits are golden brown.

for biscuits, sift all dry ingredients together.  cut shortening in with a pastry blender.  add milk and stir with no more than 20 strokes.  using your hands, dump batter out onto a cutting board, knead once or twice to combine everything, and flatten to a half inch thick, handling dough as little as possible--don't worry if it is not all combined.  cut into rounds.  (if just making biscuits with this recipe, place the biscuits close together--we like to call them "cosy"--in a 9x9 pan.  bake at 450 for 8-12 minutes until golden brown.)

pictures to come soon!