Monday, October 15, 2007

Mrs Furious Has Lived A Life Of Great Intrigue

Last night I made a FANTASTIC Chicken Pot Pie.

Although after doing a little research I guess technically I made a Chicken Pie, since I used a double crust. All of you who are already rolling your eyes because you don't know what the hell "double crust" means... don't skip this post... intriguing insights into Mrs Furious past are about to be revealed...

Okay back to the Chicken Pie.
When I was thinking about writing this post and about pot pies I was forced to bring up from my subconscious the childhood memory of eating Rabbit Pot Pie. MMMM... bunny. No seriously, for a while my mother and her 2nd husband went through a little "let's live off the land" phase which involved raising rabbits for food. They also raised pigs and chickens. I can still remember hiding by the side of the house not wanting to watch the chickens running around with their heads cut off... and yet being drawn to it like a bad accident. So why didn't we have Chicken Pot Pie I wonder? During this strange, albeit fascinating, time my stepfather shot a squirrel and we HAD to eat it for dinner. I am currently almost crippled with a fear of squirrels... coincidence?... I think not. I also have a pretty strong "memory" of seeing a UFO under our mulberry tree at about this same time... so I might not be an accurate reporter ;)
No seriously the eating of bunnies and squirrel did happen.
Anyhoo my Pot Pie is not made of rodent... so enjoy!


Chicken Pie

I made a double crust using a basic pie crust recipe, except I tried out some new White Wheat Flour (not worth the extra $.. still tastes like regular wheat, and isn't exactly white anyway)

I roasted a pack of chicken legs (400 degrees for about 35 minutes)

I melted 3 T butter in the bottom of a saucepan then added 3 T flour and stirred this over a low flame for about 2 minutes then slowly added 1 & 1/3 cups of Chicken Stock to this. I seasoned this with salt, pepper, ground sage, ground thyme & a little onion powder and simmered this. (I didn't measure but not a lot 1/4t each maybe.. salt to taste)

I pulled the meat off the roasted Chicken Legs and added it to the "gravy".

To this I added one bag of Trader Joe's Vegetable Melange (this stuff is fantastic and I use it in Shepard's Pie as well). If you don't have a Trader Joe's this is a mixed vegetable with a seasoned butter (5 servings 70 cal each... if you need a butter sauce factor to keep in mind while you look at other brands).

Anyway I added the veggies to the chicken and gravy and poured it into my pie crust and then covered it with my top crust.

I baked that at 375 for 40 minutes.

Oh yeah brush the crust with some egg that has been beaten with a little milk or cream.

This makes 8 servings at 375 calories a piece

*************************************************************
UPDATE:

Mr F thinks I need to explain what double crust does mean.
A double crust is simply enough crust for the bottom and top crusts of a pie. A typical "pot pie" has no bottom crust and is really filling inside of a casserole dish with a top crust. Homey don't play that way. I want my filling encased in crust.

basic recipe:
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
2/3 c shortening (FYI shortening makes for a flakier crust!)
6-7 T ice cold water

Blend the flour and salt together with a fork in a large bowl. Use two knives to cut the shortening into the flour until it is in pea sized bits (this is really easy.. but of course you can use a food processor... personally I don't think it is worth the clean up). Sprinkle the mixture with the water a Tablespoonful at a time while using a fork to press & mash it into a dough. It should still be a little crumbly when you are done. Divide the dough into two circles. Roll one out on a floured surface (you'll need more for rolling) and place in the pie plate. Trim edges to a little past your plate. Roll out top crust. I roll the edges off my bottom crust and crimp. Then for a pot pie I place the plate on top of the top crust and use a pizza cutter to cut around the bottom of the plate. This makes a circle slightly smaller than the pot pie. Place this top crust on top... it will not meet the edge just center it in the middle of your pie... this looks great when you are done. I also roll out the scraps and cut out some decorative leaf shapes with a cookie cutter (what.. just because we eat pretty food doesn't mean we aren't furious!). Beat an egg with a splash of milk and brush your top crust and the edges of your bottom crust. This also acts as glue for your decorative pieces... brush the tops of those too! The egg wash gives your crust that shiny golden color.

21 comments:

michelline said...

Michelline's a big pot pie fan. I like them ok. Now I may be wrong, but I think that what's marketed as frozen pot pies these days always have a bottom crust. Pot pie seems to have become another name for a non-fruit pie.

Mr Furious said...

"... personally I don't think it is worth the clean up"

LOL! That's bullshit!

I distinctly recall washing said food processor parts last night.

Mrs Furious said...

I distinctly recall washing said food processor parts last night.

#1 I had to process the oats for the cookies since it was already out and dirty I decided to do the dough in there too... back off.. you eat... you clean

#2 It was by using it that I was refreshed about how much I hate using it.. less control of dough and obviously a big thing to clean.

Mrs Furious said...

Now I may be wrong, but I think that what's marketed as frozen pot pies these days always have a bottom crust.

You may be right. I don't buy a lot of pre-made things. When I searched out recipes to figure out how I was going to go with it they seemed mostly top crust only or were called "chicken pie"... and then I realized "pot pie"... pie in a pot.. hence no bottom crust. But I'm sure the term has been bastardized by stouffer's and the like.

Mrs Furious said...

And what no one is phased by my having to eat squirrel?!?

michelline said...

And what no one is phased by my having to eat squirrel?!?

Eh, I live in the South, remember. Squirrel is good eatin' :).

Actually, I used to go squirrel hunting with a friend when we were teenagers and I've had a little squirrel. I've had rabbit too.

Mrs Furious said...

Squirrel is good eatin'

retch

Anonymous said...

Eh, I live in the South, remember. Squirrel is good eatin' :).

Speak for yourself. Of course, you fail to mention that your friend's name was "Buzzy". No joke. Horrible, isn't it?

Anyway, chicken pot pie is my absolute favorite food in the ENTIRE world. I would kill for a good one right now. hhhmmm... Tell Chris to make me one? Pretty please?

Unknown said...

cool, we are going to have to try this. we were just talking last week about me making some from scratch.

we ate rabbit and maybe squirrel too....country girl, remember.

and dude, we have a huge box of cornflakes. next time CALL or bop over (in the pantry by the fridge).

Mrs Furious said...

Michelline,
sorry to say but... I like them ok.. doesn't sound like Chris is gonna be rolling you out a double crust anytime soon!

Mrs Furious said...

and dude, we have a huge box of cornflakes

yeah I thought of that (remembered you made something for your boy with 'em) but it was too late they were already bad! :(

go get the TJ's veggies for the pot pie. Also just get ready made pie crusts (the kind in the box in the refrigerated section) that are already rolled out. If you pick up a roasted chicken ... you could have this in the oven in about 15 minutes! (that doesn't mean I don't think you can do it ;).. just this would be an easier version)

Mrs Furious said...

I have to say I am SHOCKED at how seemingly common the eating of rabbit & squirrel has turned out to be!

michelline said...

Hey, and you can pick up some emu leg at Disney.

eurydice said...

SQUIRREL!???!!!!! Eeeewwwwww!

(Was that ok?)

Mrs Furious said...

eurydice,

yes!... that is more like it! thank you :)




Chris,

emu is a bird.. not even close to as disgusting!

E. Broderick Photography said...

If it makes you feel any better--I think eating squirrel and rabbit is totally weird and gross! Obviously I understand it and wouldn't feel that way if I had grown up with it, but I didn't, so --EW! (We grew up on hot dogs, hamburgers with mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, tomato soup, and the like. No spices, mind you. Plain as can be. And before I was old enough to know better, who knows how many times I ate food past its prime, or with the mold cut off.) I had my appendix removed when I was 5. The doctor said it was perfectly healthy on removal, but once they cut you open they have to remove it b/c otherwise future doctors would assume it was gone...My theory now that I am grown and know my mother's lax attitude about eating old food? I probably had food poisoning.

Mrs Furious said...

Eileen! that is fascinating... I was always under the impression that you were older than that when you had yours removed.. and I never heard that there wasn't actually appendicitis! crazy! and freaky!

eating squirrel is gross! rabbit is still gross.. although I realize that that is much more common (I think you can even get it at our gourmet grocery store)

E. Broderick Photography said...

Oh. And after all these years it has come out in the last week or so that researches/doctors think they have discovered the appendix does have a purpose after all! Greeeaat.

Mrs Furious said...

I kind of find the whole "once you're open we have to take it out" logic odd...isn't that what medical records are for?
What is its purpose?
they say the same thing about gallbladders... but having had one out i can testiy that they are wrong and it is helpful to have one!

E. Broderick Photography said...

I also find it odd that they have to remove the appendix once they cut you open but I guess the idea is: REAL appendicitis is acute and urgent--if you present to an ER where they do not have immediate access to your medical history, if they saw the scar they might rule out appendicitis (wrongly assuming it had been removed) and the consequences could be horrific. They can't very well cut you open "just to check." Maybe they could tattoo a patient after a false slice? Something like, "Oops--appendix still inside!" Hmm...

Mrs Furious said...

"Oops--appendix still inside!"
lol... very funny!

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